PROGRESSIVE MEN 



Oh 



THE STATE OF WYOMING 



ILLUSTRATED 



A people who take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestor^, will never achieve anything 
worthy to be remembered with pride by remote generations.i-MACAULAY g 



CHICAGO, ILL. 

A. W. BO WEN & CO., 

Publishers and Engbaveh-. 
1903 



<7S 



.77 



Knowledge of kindred and the genealogies of the ^Ancient 
Families deserveth the highest praise. — Lord Bacon. 









WYOMING. 



The whole land is old. People, plants, animals, of strange appearance and 
?ize lived here when the world was new. They died. Long the land lay desolate. 
Centuries passed. Then came bold heroes of a strange white color, the latest of 
the many tribes who had crawled over its wrinkled face. They came with noise, 
with rhythmic shouts and yells, with the sharp talk of strange instruments that 
breathed smoke and fire. They ran to and fro. They hunted to the death the 
wild men who had come to the land ages upon ages after the first strange days. 
They killed, in the vigor of their keen enjoyment, the shaggy beasts that covered 
the plains even like great swarms of bees. They dug up the ground. They dug 
great ditches. Their fat kine and their wool-covered beasts everywhere sur- 
mounted the low hills and plains and ran in the valleys, and the white men waxed 
fat. But ever they were filled with unrest and ran to and fro. They found vast 
wealth in the land and in their labors ; but ever they continued to run to and fro ; 
and, to this day, they are disquieted, seeking more gain, seeking more wealth ; 
ever runninsr to and fro. And the fame of this land hath encircled the earth. 



#/^-W] 



t 

r 



There is no heroic poem in the world but is at the bottom 
the life of a man. — Sir Walter Scott. 



TO OUR PATRONS. 



The struggle and accomplishment, the unrest and labors, the depriva- 
tions and pleasures, the failures and successes of the founders of the state, and of 
the present Progressive Men of Wyoming, are much better told by themselves 
than they could be by others in many ponderous volumes of elaborate historical 
disquisitions. These men of activity, who have in this volume given the unpre- 
tentious annals of their lives, will, at no far-distant future day, receive a nation's 
reverence as a race of heroes, "the demi-gods of the dawn of time," the creators of 
civilization in a desert wilderness, swarming with wild beasts and with wilder men. 
They will be held in distinctive honor as the founders of families, then equaling 
in ability, in prominence and in wealth, the most distinguished of those established 
in the Colonial days of American history by the Cavaliers of Maryland, Virginia 
and the Carolinas, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, the Knickerbockers of New York 
and New Jersey, the Pilgrims and Puritans of New England. The short and sim- 
ple annals, which, taken down from their own lips, are here presented to the reader, 
will, in the extended course of time, be considered as a priceless heritage by the de- 
scendants of these "men of mark." In centuries to come this volume, containing 
their tales of the new land, the unformed but progressive Wyoming, will have 
a value to all Americans, which we; practical men of to-day, cannot fully realize. 

It has been well said that the 'custodians of records, who place their knowl- 
edge, concerning useful men of preceding generations and their descendants, in 
enduring, preservable and accessible form, perform a valuable public service in 
thus rendering honor to whom honor is due, and by thus establishing reliable fam- 
ily histories, which loyal descendants will take a just pride in continuing for the 
benefit of other generations of their descendants in the centuries yet to come. To 
this work the publishers and their assistants have earnestly applied themselves, in 
this volume presenting the results of their faithful labors. They desire to express 
their thanks to those progressive citizens of the state whose laudable enterprise 
has rendered possible the publication of this memorial volume. Their grateful 
acknowledgments are also extended to those whose important and valuable services 
have been given in aid of the compilation. of this work — men of brains, of thought, 
of sagacity, possessing pride in their glorious commonwealth — and of the many 
courtesies extended to them by the Press of the entire state. One of the heartiest 
cooperators in their labors, the late Governor Richards, the greatest man in this land 
of great men, gave here his latest information and has passed on to the Silent 
Land, mourned and reverenced by the people of the whole nation. 

The engravings scattered through this volume add much to its charm and 
value. It is to be greatly regretted that others of the prominent citizens of the 
state are not thus represented, but, not fully recognizing the value thereof, which 
each successive year will make more apparent, they have not in this manner co- 
operated with the publishers, often, indeed, failing even to give the necessary data 
for a memoir. Of many of the oldtime worthies, there, even now, "remains no 
track nor trace." Trusting that the result of their arduous labors will meet a cor- 
dial greeting and be fully appreciated, the publishers now hand the book to yon. 



\ 



\ 



Ye setting down of ye events in ye life of a person, should 
with great care be accomplished. They make up ye record 
whereof future men shall judge him. — Old Writer. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



Abbott, J. H 34 

Adams, A. E 535 

Adams, J. D 307 

Adams, W. T 565 

Agee, J. W 736 

Alexander, E 739 

Alger, H. C 308 

Allan, R. P 578 

Allamand, M. J 714 

Allen, C. J 602 

Allen, C. Z 604 

Allen, H. C 35 

Allen, J. W 535 

Alsop, Mrs. M. F 309 

Alston, F 737 

Amoretti, E., Jr 189 

Anderson, O. 740 

Anderson, D 310 

Anderson, L 739 

Anderson, Mary J 742 

Anderson, O. F 740 

Anderson, T. J 741 

Andrews, H. A 742 

Ankeny, D. E 743 

Arnold, H. M 33 

Arnold, W 745 

Ashley, H. D 37 

Ashby, W. H 36 

Avent, C 603 

Avery, W. S , 536 

Atchison, W 39 

Austin, R. H 746 

Ayres, A. W 626 

Baker, N 312 

Bailey, F. A 37 

Baily, Mrs. L. M 311 

Baldwin, Mrs. J 190 

Baldwin, M. N 449 

Baldwin, R. A 747 

Banks, A. 748 

Banks, H. W 564 

Barber, A. W 450 

Barnes, J. F 749 

Barrow, M. C 499 

Barry, S. F 608 

Bath, F. C 605 

Bath, H 448 

Bath, P. H 314 

Battrum, A. P 192 

Bawker, I. S 748 



Bawker, J. T 750 

Beehler, J. G 751 

Beeman, N 98 

Belknap, C. C 750 

Bell, G. A . 752 

Bell, T 38 

Beitz, E. T 315 

Benedict, G. A 753 

Bennett, G 605 

Benzon, J 755 

Bergerson, B 40 

Bess, J. L 726 

Billcox, J 537 

Bird, C 540 

Bird, T 606 

Black, J. A 40 

Blackham, S 313 

Blake, C. C .' 607 

Blake, M. J 755 

Blakesley, L 608 

Blight, J 609 

Blyth, T 463 

Blydenburgh, C. E 610 

Boggs, A 41 

Bolln, G 316 

Bond, F 454 

Booth, W. J 756 

Borner, J. G 538 

Bowers, W. W 455 

Boyce, W 317 

Boyden, J. B 725 

Boyer, J. B 318 

Bramel, C. W 162 

Brandley, E. J 7.57 

Brenning, H. L 42 

Bresnahen, L. R 322 

Bright, J. N 319 

Bristol, A. W 758 

Bristol, N. S 320 

Brittain, H 43 

Brooks, B. B 460 

Brooks, L. H 324 

Brookman, D 43 

Brought S. R 452 

Brown, A. E 196 

Brown, J 453-760 

Brown, J. F 761 

Brown, J. H 769 

Brown, M. F 612 

Brundage, G 462 



Brundage, W. H 612 

Bucknum, C. K 690 

Budd, D. C 715 

Buechner, H. E 44 

Buell, C. E 321 

Bugas, A. P 644 

Bull, F 566 

Bullock, H. M t. 542 

Bullock, 1 457 

Bunce, C. A 760 

Bunce, U. R 761 

Bunn, J. G 46 

Burch, G. W 762 

Burdick, C. W 461 

Burdick, D. C 46 

Burgess, J. H 325 

Burg, G. A 47 

Burger, J 763 

Burke, C. E 764 

Burke, M 539 

Burkhalter, C. C 772 

Burkhalter, G. H 767 

Burleigh, O. W 766 

Burnett, F. G 765 

Burns, H 48 

Burns, J. C 768 

Burton, A. F 613 

Burton, T. F 714 

Butterfleld, B. S 192 

Butterfleld, C. W 191 

Butterfleld, G. C 192 

Butterfleld, W. H 192 

Byrne, J. W 325 

Byrne, J. P 537 

Byrne, M 456 

Call, A. V 616 

Call, J. H 771 

Callander, H 464 

Callaway, H. L 193 

Calverly, R 7 73 

"Calamity" Jane 965 

Cameron, J 54 

Canfleld, J. A 774 

Cannon, T 775 

Cantley, A. N 775 

Card, H. B 326 

Carey, J. M 27 

Carlstrum, C. E 328 

Carnahan, T. B 776 

Carpenter, W. S 615 



Xll 



INDEX. 



Carr, J. A 614 

Carr, F. P 779 

Carragher, J 49 

Carroll, W. P 130 

Carter, J. V. A 586 

Carter, Mrs. M. E 51 

Carter, Hon. W. A 50 

Carruthers, E 777 

Casey, J. G 56 

Cashin, W. J 327 

Casto, I. F ■ 540 

Casto, W. C 199 

Cave, S. G 541 

Cazier, C. D 780 

Chalice, A. T 648 

Chamberlain, A. D 330 

Chapman, G. F 196 

Chapman, J. W 778 

Chatfleld, E. E 777 

Chatterton, F 22 

Cheeseman, H. E 617 

Cheney, S 567 

Christensen, 1 619 

Christmas, H. E 56 

Clark, A. T 468 

Clark, C. F 329 

Clark, F. L 53 

Clark, G 472 

Clark, H. D 779-781 

Clause, J. H 543 

Clegg, E "782 

Clemmons, C. P 482 

Clendenning, H. M 717 

Coates, F. W 783 

Coble, J. C 57 

Cockins, E. V 614 

Cockins, S. H 784 

Cody, W. F 82 

Coffey, W 653 

Cole, H 203 

Cole, J j 785 

Coleman, A. L 787 

Collett, F. K ■ 788 

Collett, S 200 

Collins, C. W 507 

Collins, M. R 331 

Collins, W. J 619 

Collins, W. S 789 

Conant, A. A 568 

Conley, J. T 467 

Connelly, W. L 790 

Connors, T 543 

Cook, A. D 465 

Cook, C. H 467 

Cook, F 952 

Cook, J. C 542 

Cooney, M 618 

Ccpman, W. R 791 

Corbett, J. F 792 

Corn, S. F 469 

Cornelison, J. M 332 

Cornwell, R 793 

Corson, S 333 

Cotner, S 620 

Cotner, S., Jr 620 

Cowhick, D. R 334 

Coy, W. B 58 

Crawford, J. E 793 

Crawford, S. A 473 

Creswell, G. W 336 



Crocheron, J. A 201 

Crompton Bros 795 

Crook, W. W 337 

Cross, G. H 471 

Crout, D. F 198 

Crow, A. H 58 

Cunningham, H. B 794 

Curtis, K. K 200 

Curtis, W. G 59 

Cusack, E 197 

Daly, J. H 61 

Daniels, A. B 62 

Danielson, C 548 

Davidson, J. C 65 

Davies, E. B 62 

Davis, B. F 64. 

Davis, C. A 621 

Davis, E 716 

Davis, G. W 796 

Davison, J 63 

Davis, W. R 645 

DeVall, S. G 796 

Dean, J 339 

Dean, S. ., 205 

Deane, J. W 798 

Decker, C 621 

DeGraw, F. C 207 

Delaney, P. J 797 

Deloney, C 206 

Deming, W. C 466 

Denebrink, F 340 

Dereemer, O. A. 727 

Dewey, J. C 572 

Dibble, A. D 69 

Dickey, J. H 70 

Dickey, S 341 

Dickinson, A. L 800 

Dickinson, I. J 622 

Dickinson, P. P 204 . 

Dickinson, W. H 799 

Dickson, T. C 67 

Dinneen, M. P 342 

Dinneen, W. E 342 

Dinwiddie, E. R '. 343 

Ditlinger, J 798 

Ditto, S. D 800 

Dodd, W. H 343 

Dodge, J. T 70 

Dolan, W 345 

Dolar, J. W : 72 

Donahue, J 549 

Doty, S 4T4 

Dougherty, J 71 

Downs, A 803 

Draper, W. F 623 

Drury, E. S 73 

DuSault, P. E 75 

Dudley, Mrs. E. M 74 

Duling, J. E 346 

Durnford, Mrs. E 347 

Durnford, G. T 347 

Early, C. J S01 

Early, J 544 

Eaton, E 546 

Ecker, J. B....* 624 

Edwards, C. H 674 

Edwards, C 570 

Edwards, M 803 

Elder, B 75 

Ellingson, E 209 



Ellingson, S. J 208 

Emge, J. P 625 

Enoch, J. M 805 

Erderley, E. C 211, 

Erickson, A 76 

Estes, F. M 804 

Eychaner, J. E 209 

Faddies, R 807 

Faddies, J. W 806 

Fairchild, J. E 84* 

Fairchild, J. E., Jr So 

Fakler, D. A 810 

Farlow, E. J 629 

Farlow, J. N 211 

Faust, E 625 

Faust, W. O 717 

Fawcett, F. B 79 

Ferris, G 575 

Ferguson, I &08 

Fenner, Mrs. S. H 78 

Fenton, J. J 577 

Fenton, R 627 

Fiero, J. G 386 

Firesione. W. S 212 

Fisher, E. E 568 

Fisher, J. W 347 

Foote, F. M 475 

Forbes, G A 631 

Foster, J. H 86 

Foster, L. B 812 

Foster, T. J 349 

Fox, G. A 630 

Franc, 628 

Francis, J 813 

Francis, T. A 809 

Frank, M 350 

Freaney, T 352 

Freel, Mrs. E. H 351 

Freel, J. H 350 

Freeman, W. C. C 77 

Frevert, F. W Sll 

Frost, J. M 813 

Fulmer, H 352 

Fye, A. H 814 

Fye, B. M 744 

Gadby, J 815 

Gaines, A 213 

Gambell, A. D 786 

Gamble, C. T 815 

Garlock, H. C 89 

Gerber, J. A 213 

Gerber, J. F 87 

Gerdel, P. H 476 

Giessler, L. L 817 

Gilford, Van L S16 

Gilchrist, A '. 355 

Gildersleeve, A. M 361 

Giltner. M. V S19 

Gleaver, J. B 819 

Goddard, D. E 353 

Godfrey, A. C 214 

Godfrey, F. E 357 

Godfrey, H. M 820 

Good, W 88 

Goode, A. M 81 

Goodman, J. S 216 

Goodman, J. C 358 

Goodrich, G. T 477 

Goodrich, W. D 821 

Gordon, P 88 



INDEX. 



Gotwals, A 634 

Gould, J. V 822 

Gould, W. B 631 

Graham, J 358 

Graham, J. R 632 

Graham, W 215 

Gramm, 66 

Grant, D 478 

Grant, G. C 91 

Grant, L. R 479 

Greene, S. D 90 

Gregg, M. D. . . 821 

Gregory, C.M 90 

Gregory, H. J 481 

Greub, J 92 

Griffin, G. N 545 

Griffin, J. H 80 

Griffin, J. W 484 

Griggs, N. W 546 

Grimmett, 370 

Grinnell, C. H 530 

Groshon, M 483 

Gross, C. J 834 

Grundy, C. J 823 

Guernsey, C. A 486 

Guild, C 360 

Guild, G. T... 362 

Guild, J. A 574 

Guild, J. H 823 

Guild, J. P 487 

Guild, W 217 

Gunning, J. C 824 

Gunston, T 951 

Haddenham, H 718 

Haddenham, J 718 

Hagbery, J. F 633 

Hale, D. N 547 

Haley, 488 

Hall, P. J 489 

Hall, R 490 

Hall, T 363 

Hamilton, O. A 93 

Hamilton, R. R 838 

Hamilton, W. F 363 

Hammond, F. D 828 

Hamner, A. D 94 

Hanna, O. P 218 

Hanner, D. W 635 

Hanscum, J. C 634 

Hansen, H 610 

Hanson, H. S 223 

Hardee, O. P 832 

Hardin, S. H '. 221 

Hardman, J 222 

Harper, J 591 

Harper, R. A 97 

Harrison, F 364 

Harrison, H. H 224 

Harsch, P 830 

Hart, K. F 825 

Harter, W 833 

Hartley, G 841 

Harvard, H. F 636 

Harvey, G. P '. 365 

Harvey, R. B 225 

Harvey, W. H 491 

Hatfield, W. B 835 

Hauf , C 95 

Hauphoff, J. J 492 

Hawken, A. E 847 



Hawken, A. G 847 

Hawken, C. R 845 

Hawken, H. O 846 

Hawken, T. R 846 

Hawkins, J. T 838 

Hawley, J. R. . 225 

Hay, H. G 231 

Hays, G. Y 828 

Haygood, A. W 366 

Hecht, R. E 97 

Heder, A. G 840 

Heder, G 839 

Hegge, F. J 368 

Heidrich, C 842 

Held, H 232 

Heller, J 827 

Helmer, F. D 833 

Helms, H 636 

Hemler, A. A 99 

Hench, J. M 368 

Henderson, A. C 844 

Henke, O. R 100 

Hepp, C. J 233 

Herschler, J. H 234 

Hersey, G. P 101 

Hewitt, Mrs. A 335 

Hicks, T. B 371 

Higgins, J. E 826 

Hill, A 829 

Hinkston, M. A 637 

Hinton, W 493 

Hocker, W. A 102 

Hodgin, H. E 372 

Hoge, A 843 

Hoge, J. M 728 

Holden, C. W 235 

Holt, T. D 494 

Holliday, W. H 373 

Homer, H 550 

Hacker, W. A 102 

Hopkins, J. D 548 

Hopkins, M 840 

Hornecker, J. M 831 

Hoskins, A. D 103 

Hosack, J. S 495 

Horr, C. W 376 

Howe, M. G 496 

Hudson, E. B 236 

Huff, J. T 549 

Hufford, V 841 

Hughes, W. S 836 

Hunsinger, 581 

Hunt, R. C 573 

Hunt, W. F 638 

Hunt, W. H 729 

Hunter, J 837 

Hunter, J. G 497 

Hunton, J 377 

Hyatt, S. W 551 

Hyde, H 836 

Iden, Mrs. A 514 

Iden, S. A 514 

Iredale, John 639 

Iredale, Joseph 239 

Irvine, W 640 

Isherwood, J. P 848 

Ives, C 641 

Jackson, C. F 369 

Jackson, W. E . , 504 

James, F. H 500 



Jay, T. 237 

Jenne, J 505 

Jennings, H.*B 104 

Jensen, C. E 105 

Jensen, G 105 

Jensen, J 719 

Jensen, P 238 

Jesurun, M 501 

Johnson, C. W 379 

Johnson, E 947 

Johnson, J 107 

Johnson, L. E 849 

Johnson, 108 

Johnson, W. G 240 

Johnson, W. W 849 

Johnston, J. L 503 

Johnston, J. R 502 

Johnston, M. R 380 

Jones, C. H 505 

Jones, D. J 241 

Jones, H. R 552 

Jones, J 381 

Jones, J. T 851 

Jordan, H 660 

Judson, C. E '. 382 

Kane, R . . . , 852 

Kastor, 1 383 

Kastner, J . . . . .' 853 

Keas, A. M 383 

Kearns, F 109 

Keister, S. A. D 242 

Kelley, J. L 641 

Kelly, W. T 243 

Kenast, F 854 

Kenington, W. H 855 

Kendall, A 108 

Kennedy, J. H 384 

Kennedy, R. M 385 

Kershner, A. A 854 

Kershner, C. B 580 

Kershner, G. W. 719 

Kessler, J. A 244 

Keyes, W. L no 

Kilpatrick, R. J .' 506 

Kilpatrick, S. D 506 

Kilpatrick, W. H , 506 

Kimball, E. H 856 

Kimball, W. S 553 

Kime, J 562 

Kinney, J. R 859 

Kinney, P. J 387 

Kipping, P 246 

Kirkpatrick, J Ill 

Kirkpatrick, J. W 245 

Kise, S 858 

Klassert, H 508 

Knight, J 509 

Knittle, R. H 511 

Knobs, A 859 

Krauss, L 861 

Kriiger, J. D. C 247 

Kueny, B. F. A 248 

Kun.tzman, G 112 

Kuykendall, W. L 115 

Kuykendall, H. L 860 

Lacey, J. W 24 

Lachapelle, C 865 

Lane, A. D 249 

Lannen, W 388 

Larsen, H 120 



XIV 



INDEX. 



Lathan, G. 390 

Lavell, C. E 119 

Lawyer, W. P 661 

Lehmberg, A 554 

Lelimer, L 729 

Leifer, 178 

Leman, D. W 391 

Lester, H 392 

Levers, E. E 393 

Lewis, J. F 250 

Lewis, J. H 864 

Lewis, J. L 869 

Lewis, R. H 720 

Lindsey, J. J 868 

Lippoldt, H 862 

Logan, G 723 

Long', A. W 863 

Lord, G 395 

Loucks, J. D 395 

Loughran, J 251 

Lovat,t, J. A 290 

Loveday, I 867 

Low, 724 

Lowe, B. F 251 

Luce, W. W 450 

Lufkin, C 663 

Luman, A 194 

Luman, J ' 910 

Lund, J 254 

Lundie, F 864 

Lusk, F. S : . . 117 

Lytle, J 643 

McAllister, D 118 

McAuley, R 555 

McAvoy, J. A : 255 

McCaffrey, B 256 

McCallum, D 397 

McCarell, J. J 661 

McCannel, D. C '. 662 

McCormick, J. J 721 

McCoy, J. L 402 

McCreary, L 869 

McDonald, D ■. 257 

McDonald, K 113 

McGee, T. H 512 

McGee, T. L 871 

McGinnis, W. J 575 

McGrath, M 261 

McGraw, J. A 870 

Mcliquham, J. J 120 

McLennon, D 665 

McLaughlin, J. R 666 

McLoughlin, J 513 

McNay, O. W 664 

McNeil, W 962 

McNiven, J 664 

McNish, J 264 

McPhee, H. M 121 

McPhillamey, R 964 

McReynolds, W 498 

McWhinnie, C. H 122 

MacFarlane, W. F 260 

Maghee, G. H 730 

Maghee, T. G 210 

Magoon, J. H 123 

Major, S. T 265 

Manley, M 515 

Mann, E. W 516 

Manorgan, J. A 517 



Manning, W. F 871 

Marcliessault, A. R 262 

Marquette, G 666 

Marialaky, M 557 

Marrin, J. J 556 

Marshall, E 872 

Martin, A. J 667 

Martin, L. E 518 

Martin, S 124 

Marston, C. A 668 

Mason, A. H 125 

Mason, I. G 669 

Mason, M 875 

Mass, P 146 

Mathews, F. M 398 

Matthews, J. B 873 

Matthews, T. N 263 

Maxwell, W 874 

May, J. 1 558 

May, J. M 127 

May, R 731 

Mead, G. S 670 

Meeks, C. D 876 

Megeath, E. Y 877 

Megeath, J. G 877 

Megeath, T. A 877 

Mellor, W. H 131 

Melloy, A. R 127 

Mendenhall, W. H 529 

Merrill, G 878 

Merrill, J. L -879 

Metcalf, G. W 520 

Meyer, Mrs. B 560 

Meyer, J. S 559 

Middaugh, I. 519 

Miller, A. L 398 

Miller, C. F 403 

Miller, G 669 

Miller, H. C 880 

Miller, H. E 880 

Miller, J. M 560 

Miller, J. W 884 

Miller, R 265 

Miller, R. A 723 

Miller, W. H 399 

Mills, S. A 133 

Mitchell, F. S 518 

Mitchell, G 521 

Mondell, F. W 646 

Moody, S. V 883 

Moore, J. R 129 

Moran, J 405 

Morgan, O. C 565 

Morgareidge, C. W 267 

Morsch, W. J 523 

Morton, J 400 

Morris, D. M 561 

Morris, W. E 671 

Morrison, C. A .'....' 134 

Morse, R. A 670 

Moslander, C 722 

Moss, W. H 401 

Mott, J 135 

Moyer, C. A 136 

Murphy, M. H 405 

Murphy, M 802 

Murray, E. S 961 

Murta, F. J 724 

Muzzy, F. H 659 



Myers, A 571 

Myers, G. A 563 

Myers, W. S 

Nagle, E 354 

Nagle, G. H 355 

Nansell, L 883 

Neel, S. R 137 

Neilson, A 266 

Neilson, R 138 

Nelson, T. F 673 

Neuber, A. F -. 139 

Newcomer,. E 140 

Newell, F. M 524 

Newell, G. H 406 

Newell, H. J 268 

Newell, M. A 407 

Newman, J. M 338 

Newman, R. L 140 

Nichols, M 142 

Nickerson, H. G 114 

Nickerson, O. K 269 

Nicol, F 882 

Nietfeldt, H 885 

Nihart, F. L 143 

Niland, Vv T 886 

Nisbet, A 411 

Noble, E. R 576 

Noble, F. F.... 270 

Noble, J. M 579 

Noble, W. P 434 

Noble, Z. T 569 

Norton, E. D 409 

Norwood, C. C 408 

Nottingham, W. W 272 

Nowlin, D. C 866 

Nylen, C. W 410 

O'Brien, J 886 

O'Brien, J. D 144 

O'Donnell. W. H 887 

O'Flvnn, T. D 412 

O'Neal, C 888 

Olsen, P. 827 

Packard, W. H S89 

Padget, J. W 270 

Padgett, W. H 890 

Pahlow, R 891 

Painter, J. R 672 

Palmer, C. C 271 

Pardee, G. B 275 

Parks. S. C 732 

Partridge. C. E 145 

Patten, J. .1 582 

Patzold, O. A 14S 

Paul, H. R 431 

Paulson, P 432 

Paxton, G. E 433 

Payton. J. W 892 

Pearce. W. H 894 

Peay. W. W 676 

Pease, W. D 433 

Pearson. J 147 

Perdue. E 14S 

Perkins. B. F 436 

Perkins. H. L., Sr 

Perkins. H. L.. Jr 945 

Perry, H 437 

Peters, E. E 150 

Petersou, G. H 893 

Petersen. H 897 



INDEX. 



xv 



Petty, J 43S 

Pflster, G. F 441 

Phelps, S. E 276 

Phillips, A. W 439 

Phillips, J. B 439 

Phillips Bros 439 

Pickett, W. D 897 

Pingree, G. W 150 

Pollard, C. A 123 

Pollock, G. N 151 

Pomeroy, R. R 273 

Porath, F 277 

Porter, A 895 

Porter, G. M 899 

Porter, W. 1 901 

Potter; C. N 458 

Powell, G 153 

Powers, A 441 

Powers, T. G 900 

Prat ley, J 153 

Preator, R. L 676 

Price, J 902 

Purdy, J 152 

Putnam, A. L 442 

Quealy, P. J 654 

Rae, R 903 

Ragan, A. B 903 

Ralston, W. H 157 

Ralli, P. A 904 

Rath, R. B 678 

Rathbun, D. B 154 

Rawhouser, R . . 905 

Reals, O. A 443 

Redman, G 279 

Reel, A. H 278 

Reel, Mrs. S. B 278 

Reese, D. H 279 

Reid, C 444 

Reid, J 677 

Reid, J. M 850 

Reid, Mrs. E 445 

Reynolds, W. M 738 

Rhein, W. H 280 

Rice, C 155 

Richards, DeF 19 

Richards, J. DeF 445 

Richardson, A 906 

Richardson, J. B 156 

Rideout, E. N 907 

Reitz, C. F 907 

Riner, J. A 26 

Ripley, A. L 908 

Ritterling, H 680 

Roadifer, W 681 

Roberts, A 583 

Roberts, F 909 

Roberts, T. H 281 

Robertson, A. B 682 

Roberson, C. F 418 

Robinson, A 157 

Robinson, B 683 

Robinson, R. D 911 

Robinson, W 912 

Rogers, B. G 683 

Rogers, W 158 

Rohrbaugh, B. P 446 

Rooney, W. D 912 

Rose, J .'.. 583 

Royer, D. C 447 



Rowlands, W 913 

Rowlands, Mrs. K 913 

Rue, F. I 584 

Russell, G. H 914 

Russell, Geo. S 679 

Rutherford, A 158 

Rutherford, U 915 

Rutledge, T. J 159 

Ryan, J 915 

Sabin, G. H 918 

Sackett, J. H 411 

Sackett, Mrs. M. A 411 

Safely, G 413 

Salathe, F ,770 

Salmela, J.. , 916 

Sandercock, H. A 415 

Sandercock, T. B 414 

Sawyer, I. B 920 

Sawin, M. L 282 

Saxton, Eli '284 

Saxton, Mrs. M. H 284 

Schleuning, F 918 

Schoonmaker, C 917 

Schuneman, J. W 416 

Scott, G. W i 284 

Scott, N. H 585 

Scully, D. T 684 

. Seaman, J 684 

Senff, F. L 735 

Senff, Mrs. P 736 

Sedgwick, J 589 

Shafer, P. W 160 

Shaw, C. B 686 

Shaw, J 919 

Shaw, J. C 587 

Sheehan, J. H 921 

Shepard, P. A 163 

Sherlock, J 588 

Sherlock, P. R 588 

Sill, W. L 161 

Simmons, A 163 

Simmons, Mrs. E. L 164 

Simonson, E 922 

Simpson, J. P 922 

Simpson, J. S 285 

Simpson, W. L 686 

Sims, J 920 

Slack, E. A 220 

Slaughter, J. R 166 

Sliney, G. M 706 

Small, S. C 923 

Smalley, E. J 416 

Smiley, E. E 29 

Smith, A 165 

Smith, A. W 242 

Smith, C 687 

Smith, F 289 

Smith, I. N 167 

Smith, G. H 286 

Smith, H 287 

Smith, H. F 924 

Smith, J. R 167 

Smith, J. T. H 688 

Smith, O. C 168 

Smith, J. J 925 

Smith, L. L 689 

Smith S 689 

Smith, S. F 926 

Smith, R 287 



Smith, R. C 926 

Smith, W. F 170 

Smith, W. J 927 

Smyth, O. J 417 

Sneddon, T 291 

Snow, G. W 419 

Snow, J. T 292 

Solliday, W. H 172 

Sodergreen, C. F 171 

Somsen, H. J 928 

Spence, W 175 

Spencer, G. W 173 

Spencer, J. C 174 

Spinner, B 692 

Spinner, K 175 

Spratt, T 693 

St. John, B. T 283 

Stahle, J ■. 420 

Steed, A. A 590 

Stein, C 929 

Stitzer, F. A 30 

Stoll, G 525 

Stoll, W. R 421 

Stone, E. W 32 

Stoner, J. "W 292 

Storrie, J 591 

Stough, C. L. 930 

Stover, W. J 694 

Strickler, S 693 

Strong, F. S 697 

Strong, F. W 526 

Strong, H 930 

Strong, J. E 176 

Strong, J. H. W 696 

Sullivan, J. H 931 

Sullivan, P 527 

Summers, W. M 642' 

Sutherland, A , 932 

Sutherland, G. A 698 

Sutton, E 176 

Swan, L. J 528 

Swanson, P 934 

Swanson, C 179 

Sweney, H. K 695 

Sweney, R 933 

Sweet, T. P 531 

Tait, R 422 

Taylor, C. B 423 

Taylor, H. J. B 933 

Taylor, W. B 937 

Terry. G 936 

Thatcher, J. D., Jr 593 

Thatcher, N. D " 939 

Thayer, D. M 177 

Thayer, R. L '. 592 

Thayer, W 697 

Thayer, W. H 293 

Thomas, C. S 532 

Thomas, D. G 593 

Thomas, H. J 935 

Thomas, L. R 179 

Thompson, B 181 

Thompson, F. O 938 

Thorne, J. A .' 93S 

Thraus, J 698 

Tibbets, G. W 754 

Tidball, L. C 297 

Tisch, H <-. 294 

Tisch, 295 



XVI 



INDEX. 



Tolman, J. M 941 

Trimmer, T. S 699 

Turner, E 700 

Turpin, B 424 

Tuttle, R. M 940 

Twitchel, J 595 

Twitchel, B 595 

Van Dyke, E. E 652 

Van Noy, T. L 940 

Van Orsdel, J. A 229 

Van Patten, W 942 

Vandervoort, F 944 

Vanorii, V 700 

Veitch, A. L 943 

Vible, J 598 

Venter, E 881 

Virden, F. H 944 

Wade, J. B ■ 946 

Wagstaff, A 182 

Wall, J 597 

Wallace, D. D 650 

Wallace, Mrs. J 651 

Wain, R. A 701 

Wain, W. S 534 

Walters, J 651 

Ward, J. H.. 950 

Warner, M. H 702 

Warren, F. E 226 

Warren, J. B 734 

Waters, I. U.. 703 

Watson, J. D 657 



Weaklen, R. S 425 

Webb, L. A 947 

Webel, C. C. P 948 

Weber, J 949 

Webster, W. P 703 

Wedemeyer, J. T 426 

Weintz, J 704 

Welch, J. M 296 

Weller, D 708 

Weltner, F '. . 297 

Weltner, J. C . . 297 

Wendt, H 183 

Werlin, J 953 

Wernli, W. J 299 

Wfston, J 954 

Whalon, N. H 658 

Whalon, R 955 

Wheeler, W. L 435 

Whitney, J. M 300 

Wickmire, B. F 599 

Wilcox, J. F 180 

Wilde, A 957 

Wilde, J '. 427 

Wilkinson, A 258 

Wilkinson, J 274 

Willadsen, M 301 

Willey, J. W 428 

Williams, A 302 

Williams, F. 598 

Williams, F. M 705 

Williams, H. H 184 



Williams, Mrs. M 303 

Williams, W. R 708 

Willson Bros 188 

Willson, E. B 188 

Willson, G. L 188 

Wilson, J. M 429 

Wilson, Mrs. M 600 

Wilson, Mrs. M. B 709 

Wilson, R.. 303 

Wilson, S. T 957 

Wilson, Z 959 

Wolbol, M 430 

Wolf. F. G 187 

Wolff, J. M 710 

Wood, L 594 

Wood, N. D 818 

Woodruff, D. P 710 

Wright, J. M 958 

Wrisinger, J. W 960 

Wyman, W. H 186 

Wvmer, J. A 959 

Yount, H. S 711 

Yensen, S , 713 

Youmans, H. M 306 

Young, E 602 

Young, J 305 

Young, W. 961 

Yoder, H. Z 304 

Yoder, P. J 185 

Zummack, C 183 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Allan, R. P 578 

Ayres, A. W. 626 

Borner, J. G 538 

Beeman, N 98 

Bresnahen, L. R 322 

Bramel, C. W 162 

Bucknum, C. K 690 

Carroll, W. P 130 

Carter, Judge W. A 50 

Clemmons, C. P 482 

Cody, W. F .. 82 

Deming W. C 466 

Early Life in Wyoming 546 

Edwards, Chas. H 674 

Ferris, G 575 

Fiero, John G 386 

Gramm, Otto 66' 

Grimmett, 370 



Gross, Chas. J 834 

Hansen, H 610 

Held, H 232 

Held, Mrs. Henry 232 

Iden, Mrs. Alice 514 

Iden, S. A '. . . 514 

Kime, Jas 562 

Leifer, Otto 178 

Luce, W. W 450 

Luce, Mrs. W. W 450 

Luman, Abner 194 

Maghee, Thomas G 210 

Mass, Philip 146 

McCoy, John L 402 

Mondell, F. W 646 

Moslander, Charles 722 

Murphy, M 802 

Nagle, E 354 



Newman, J. M 338 

Noble, W. P 434 

Nowlin, D. C 866 

Quealy, P. J 654 

Reynolds, Wm 738 

Richards, DeF 19 

Roberson, C. F 418 

Sliney, Geo. M 706 

Smith, A. W 242 

Summers, Wm. M 642 

Tibbets, Geo. W . 54 

Warren, F. E 226 

Wilkinson, Anthony 258 

Wilkinson, John 274 

Wood, L 594 

Wood, Mrs. M. J 594 

Youmans, H. M 306 






PROGRESSIVE MEN 



-OF- 



THE STATE OF WYOMING. 



gov. Deforest richards. 

When on April 28, 1903, the tolling bells in- 
dicated the departure from its mortal tenement 
of the ethereal essence of the late Gov. DeForest 
Richards, a great commonwealth was enshrouded 
in gloom. A great man had passed from earth. 
The chief executive of a vigorous, important and 
progressive state had no longer anything to do 
with the stirring activities in which he for so 
long a period had borne a most conspicuous part, 
and the mighty commonwealth felt crushed and 
paralyzed under the loss of one of its most ar- 
dent champions and strongest friends. All over 
the broad land thousands upon thousands of peo- 
ple felt a personal anguish, not only in the loss 
of the governor of the state, but from the thought 
that one of the strongest and truest personal 
friends of the people of the whole state had 
ceased to exist, that his loving words of welcome 
would no more greet them, that his sunny smile 
would never again beam on them, that his earn- 
.est endeavors would never again battle for the 
people's cause. New England has contributed 
many notable men to the country west of the Mis- 
sissippi River. The sturdy spirit which rescued 
New England from the wilderness and, the sav- 
age, and made it the cradle of civilization on the 



western hemisphere, has to a large extent built 
up the states of the new West. The most ener- 
getic and adventurous of the sons of New Eng- 
land, having in their veins the blood of cen- 
turies of Puritan ancestry, have left the hillsides 
of their native East and have come to the rolling 
plains of the West, bearing with them the con- 
trolling spirit of free institutions which was 
brought over by the Pilgrims in the Mayflower. 
They have planted here in the outposts of civ- 
ilization the seeds of full freedom, have beaten 
back savagery and laid the foundations of great 
and prosperous states. A fine type of the stalwart 
sons of New England who have written so large 
a page, not only in the history of America, but 
of the world, was Hon. DeForest Richards, late 
governor of Wyoming. No man in the state was 
nearer to the hearts of the people and no man 
better deserved their affection arid respect. Gov- 
ernor Richards, was a large man, physically and 
mentally, and he possessed all the sterling traits 
of character of a long line of the best New Eng- 
land ancestry. A native of Charlestown, N. H., 
where he was born on August 6, 1846, his an- 
cestors have borne an honored and prominent 
part in the business and public life of New Eng- 
land for many generations. The original Ameri- 
can emigrants of the Richards family arrived at 



20 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Cape Cod, Mass., in 1630, only ten years after 
the historic landing of the Pilgrim fathers at 
Plymouth and his maternal ancestors, of the well- 
known Jarvis family, came to 'the Massachusetts 
Bay colony about 1640. No history of New Eng- 
land can be written without frequent reference 
to the achievements of members of these two fam- 
ilies during early Colonial times or during the 
stormy period culminating in the Revolution. 
The great-grandfather of Governor Richards, Dr. 
Charles Jarvis, was an intimate friend and close 
political associate of Samuel Adams, John Han- 
cock, John Adams and Gen. Joseph Warren, and 
of others whose achievements are a noble part 
of the story of mankind's struggle for liberty. 
In the contest with the tyranny of King George, 
the ancestors of Governor Richards were prom- 
inent among those who bore the heat and burden 
of that momentous day and won immortal fame 
in the patriotic service they rendered to man- 
kind. The maternal grandfather of Governor 
Richards, William Jarvis, a son of Dr. Charles 
Jarvis, was one of the leading men of Massa- 
chusetts for many years, being appointed by 
President Jefferson in 1802 as consul to the city 
of Lisbon, Portugal, and acting charge d'affaires 
to that kingdom. A man of progressive ideas, 
always planning to benefit his own country and 
the industries of her people, it was entirely 
through his efforts that the first Merino sheep 
were brought to America from Spain. This 
great service to the sheep and woolgrowing in- 
dustries of the nation has been fittingly recog- 
nized and acknowledged in the. reports of the 
agricultural department of the government. In 
the report of 1892 occurs this statement: "Con- 
sul Jarvis was successful in his efforts to amelio- 
rate the trouble to which our shipping was sub- 
jected, so that at the commencement of the 
Peninsular War he secured the immense neutral 
trade of the armies engaged in that conflict. It 
was fortunate also that he possessed a mind com- 
prehensive enough to see the great advantage to 
his country of the acquisition of the Merino 
sheep, and the energy of character necessary to 
secure them. There can be no question that his 
example in securing some of the best sheep in 



Spain, not only for himself, but for others, was 
a great incentive to the trade in them that im- 
mediately followed, by which so many thousand 
sheep were transferred to this country to increase 
her wealth and encourage her manufactures of 
fine woolen goods." The father of Governor 
Richards was J. DeForest Richards, a Congrega- 
tional minister and one of the leading educators 
of the United States. In later life he was the 
president of the Ohio Female Seminary, at Col- 
lege Hill, Ohio, and afterward president of the 
Alabama State University at Tuscaloosa. The 
Governor's mother, whose maiden name was 
Harriet Bartlett Jarvis, is still living at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-three years and is a woman 
of strong character, whose faculties are as clear 
as in her younger days. During his early life, 
his parents removed from Charlestown to Weath- 
ersfield, Vt. This place is situated on the Con- 
necticut River, just below the old town of AA'ind- 
sor, where in 1777, the independence of Ver- 
mont, then known as the New Hampshire Grant, 
was originally declared. Young Richards early 
entered the Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden. 
N. H, where he pursued a thorough course of 
study and was graduated with distinction, later 
becoming for one year a student of the well- 
known Phillips Andover Academy of Massa- 
chusetts. In youth he gave promise of the strong 
and manly character he became in later years. 
Thorough in his studies and devoted to his 
books, he was yet first in all manly sports, ex- 
celling both in the classroom and on the campus. 
Even when a lad he was noted as an athlete and 
his devotion to outdoor sports laid the founda- 
tion of the vigorous health he enjoyed up to 
recent years. At the close of the Civil War. in 
1865, he accompanied his father to Alabama, 
where on the father's plantation in Wilcox county 
he engaged in raising cotton. After getting the 
enterprise fairly started, the father left the plan- 
tation in full charge of his son and returned to 
his northern home. For three years young Rich- 
ards ably conducted the plantation, with varying 
success. The father in the meantime had re- 
turned to Alabama, and was at the head of the 
State University for several years, dying, howev- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



21 



er, at Mobile in 1872. His estate was found to 
be so badly involved that there was practically 
nothing left for the heirs. In 1867, just after he 
had attained his majority, DeForest Richards was 
elected a member of the first state legislature of 
Alabama under reconstruction. In 1868 he was 
the sheriff of Wilcox county, and served as such 
four years. He was then elected county treas- 
urer and served two terms in that capacity. He 
then retired from politics and engaged in the 
operation of a tannery, in which he became heav- 
ily involved in debt through no fault of his own. 
With his sterling honesty he determined to meet 
his obligations in full, resolutely set about a re- 
organization of his business and after working 
day and night at the shoemaker's bench for two 
years, he was enabled to pay his debts in full and 
have $1,500 as a capital with which he engaged 
in merchandising at Camden, Ala., where by his 
industry, perseverance and good judgment he 
built up a large and profitable trade. In 1885 he 
decided to remove his residence to Nebraska and 
previous to his leaving Camden, the mayor and 
city council of that place tendered him a ban- 
quet, at which they presented him with a marble 
statuette, suitably engraved, with expressions of 
their regret at his departure and good wishes 
for his future welfare. Upon coming to Nebras- 
ka, he established himself in both merchandising 
and banking at Chadron, and in 1886, he organ- 
ized the First National Bank of Douglas, Wyo. 
He was elected president of the latter institution, 
a position which he held until his death. Sub- 
sequently he was elected treasurer of the county 
of Dawes, Neb., and upon the expiration of his 
term of that office, he removed to Douglas, Wyo., 
where he has since made his home. Governor 
Richards became largely interested in extensive 
livestock and mercantile operations at Douglas, 
and was the owner of mercantile establishments 
at Casper also and other points in northern 
Wyoming. He was the president of the Platte 
Valley Sheep Company and of the Lander 
Transportation Co., which conducts very exten- 
sive freighting and transportation, employing sev- 
eral hundred teams and a large number of men, 
and during 1901 handled over six million pounds 



of wool. From these various financial enter- 
prises fortune came to him in no unstinted meas- 
ure. Governor Richards was ever a stanch ad- 
herent of the Republican party, one of the ablest 
and most trusted of its leaders in the western 
states. He was a most eloquent champion of the 
cause of Republicanism in both state and Na- 
tion, foremost in the advocacy of all honorable 
measures calculated to promote the welfare of 
that political organization. During his residence 
in Wyoming, Governor Richards held many posi- 
tions of honor and trust. He was the mayor of 
Douglas for one term, from 1891 to 1894 he 
was the commanding officer of the State National 
Guard, he was a member of the convention that 
framed the constitution of the state, and a mem- 
ber of the State Senate in 1892 and 1893. In 
1898, he was first nominated and elected governor 
of Wyoming, this term of his exalted office ex- 
piring on the first Monday of January, 1903. At 
the time of his lamented death he was serving 
in his second term of office as governor, having 
been reelected in November, 1902. In 1871, Gov- 
ernor Richards was united in marriage at Engle- 
wood, N. J., with Miss Elise J. Ingersoll, a na- 
tive of Alabama, who is of Puritan and Hugue- 
not descent, her father having been born in Pitts- 
field, Mass., a member of the famous New Eng- 
land family of the name, and her mother being 
a representative of a distinguished Huguenot fam- 
ily of the Carolinas. She received her educa- 
tion at Camden Female Institute, one of the most 
select educational institutions of the southern 
states. Two children were born of this union. 
The son, J. DeForest Richards, resides at Doug- 
las, Wyo., the vice-president of the First Na- 
tional Bank. The daughter is married and re- 
sides in California. Governor Richards was an 
honored member of the Masonic fraternity. He 
was worshipful master of the Masonic Lodge at 
Camden, Ala., an honor not often conferred upon 
a northern man in that state. In Wyoming he 
has served as grand master of the Grand Lodge 
and belonged to the Commandery, the Consist- 
ory of Scottish Rite Masons and to that Ma- 
sonic club, the Mystic Shrine. His funeral ser- 
vices, conducted by the Masonic fraternity, were 



.22 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the most impressive ever held in Wyoming. Bet- 
ter than any words of ours, the utterances of those 
Wyoming people who have known the late Gover- 
nor long and well, will portray his nature, charac- 
ter and the position he occupied in public and pri- 
vate life and in the hearts of the people. The 
Cheyenne Tribune voices public sentiment in the 
following words : "Governor Richards is gone. 
This great man, who has done so much for Wyo- 
ming, has passed beyond, yet how truly it can 
be said : 'His works will follow him.' ' The loss 
to the state of a man of such sterling worth is 
indeed a public calamity. That loving hand which 
was ever extended to aid the deserving is for- 
ever helpless, yet how sweet will be the remem- 
brance of those who have been blessed by that 
hand with deeds prompted by the noblest of 
hearts. In the death of Governor Richards Wyo- 
ming has lost one of its most ardent champions. 
Not only within its borders have his good words, 
deeds and influence been felt, but in his travels, 
which have been of wide scope, the state of which 
he was chief executive was ever brought to 
the front ; and how unselfishly he performed his 
good work, spending his time and money in trav- 
ersing the country to tell the people of its great 
resources and advantages. He loved success, and 
what an example of success his life has been. 
Beginning in a humble way, he fought life's bat- 
tles manfully, and how beautifully he has shown 
to the world what crowning there is in honest, 
steadfast, noble effort, backed by unswerving 
character. As a friend Governor Richards was 
loyal, ever. No truer friend ever lived. One of 
the gems in his lovable character was his loyalty 
to his friends against all possible influences. This 
is one of the grandest tests of manhood. All 
hearts are sad, very sad, today." The following 
was written by an individual fully competent to 
justly estimate the life, services and character 
of the distinguished gentleman who so courteous- 
ly and ably filled every station in life to which 
he was called, domestic, civic, social, state or 
national : "The state mourns. Death has re- 
moved its chief executive, but the grief, which is 
felt as keenly in the remotest hamlet as in the 
capital city, springs not so much from the ti- 



dings that the Governor is dead as from the real- 
ization that DeForest Richards is no more. The 
people's grief is that of friends for a friend, to 
those who knew him the greatness of this man 
as director of the commonwealth palls before the 
nobility of his life as a private citizen ; in the 
hour of his soul's departure we grieve for DeFor- 
est Richards, who honored, was not honored, by 
the title of chief executive. Death has taken 
him away, but the memory of his beautiful char- 
acter can not die. As governor he was a states- 
man, a rare combination, but his character as a 
man was rarer still ; he was one of the few of 
each generation who love, and are loved, by all 
mankind. Death came to him softly while his 
devoted wife and daughter were at his side. His 
son, himself sick in a city a thousand miles away, 
was unable to be present." 

HON. FENIMORE CHATTERTOX. 

This honored gentleman, who fills with dis- 
tinction the high office of secretary of state of 
Wyoming, and by reason of the lamented death 
of Governor Richards is now the acting gover- 
nor, is a typical representative of the choicest 
element of New England manhood, although not 
of New England birth. He comes of an old 
Vermont family, the lineage of which goes back 
to an early period of that commonwealth. He in- 
herits in a marked degree the sterling mental 
characteristics for which his ancestors were long 
noted. Rev. Germon Chatterton, the father, 
was a native of the Green Mountain state and 
for many years filled the chair of literature in 
Middlebury College. Later, in Oswego, N. Y., 
he practiced law for some years, subsequently 
retiring from that profession for the purpose of 
pursuing the theological course in the Auburn 
Theological Seminar) - , one of the leading Pres- 
byterian educational institutions of America. He 
became an able and scholarly divine, filled a 
number of prominent pulpits and earned an en- 
viable reputation as a leader of religious thought 
in his denomination. A man of wide culture and 
varied attainments, he impressed his personality 
on every community in which he lived, winning 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



23 



a permanent place in religious, educational and 
professional circles. After a long and useful ca- 
reer, he resigned his professorship, relinquished 
ministerial labors and is now living a life of 
honored retirement in the state of New York. 
Leveret Chatterton, the paternal grandfather of 
the one of whom we now write, was born in Rut- 
land county, Vt., and passed all his life within 
the confines' of his native state. He served with 
distinction in the War of 1812 and lived to a 
ripe old age, dying in 1874. Ama Mazumon, 
wife of Germon Chatterton and mother of the 
Hon. Fenimore Chatterton, was also of Vermont 
birth and died in 1867. Fenimore Chatterton 
was born in the city of Oswego, N. Y., on July 
21, i860. When he was but a young child his 
parents moved to Washington, D. C, in which 
city he spent the years of his childhood and 
youth and also received his preliminary discip- 
line in the schools of the national capital. The 
training thus acquired was supplemented by a 
full course in Columbiana college, from which in- 
stitution he was graduated with an honorable 
record as a student. Finishing his intellectual 
education, Mr. Chatterton took up the study of 
law in Washington, D. C, but was not admit- 
ted to the bar until some years later, breaking 
off his professional research in 1878 for the pur- 
pose of seeking his fortune in the West. In that 
year he came to Wyoming and accepted a clerk- 
ship in the poststore at Ft. Steele, in which capac- 
ity he continued until purchasing the stock and ' 
becoming sole proprietor some time later. He 
conducted the business with encouraging finan- 
cial results until 1888,. when he disposed of the 
establishment to enter upon his duties as pro- 
bate judge and treasurer of Carbon county, to 
which offices he was elected in the fall of that 
year. Mr. Chatterton discharged his dual func- 
tions until 1890, when he resigned both positions 
and took his seat as senator in the first session 
of the State Senate. He served with credit in 
that body, was a careful and conservative mem- 
ber and his name was associated with the im- 
portant committees, rendering much valuable 
service to his constituents and to the state. He 
served three terms 'in the Senate and his career 



as a lawmaker fully met the high expectations 
of the people, who honored him with this sig- 
nal mark of their confidence and favor. Actuated 
by a laudable desire to strengthen and enlarge 
his legal knowledge, Mr. Chatterton in 1892 en- 
tered the law department of Michigan Univer- 
sity, from which he was graduated the following 
year. Meantime he had been admitted to the 
bar and, opening an office at Rawlins, he soon 
won a respectable standing among the successful 
practitioners of Carbon county. Shortly after 
his election as secretary of state he associated 
with himself L. E. Armstrong in this legal prac- 
tice and the partnership thus constituted still ex- 
ists, and it is needless to say that this firm takes 
high rank at the bar of the state. It is not mere 
partisan praise or adulation, nor is it overes- 
timation, to say that Mr. Chatterton is at the 
present time one of the most scholarly and best- 
equipped barristers of the bar where he practices. 
As a lawyer, he is sound, clear-minded and well- 
disciplined, intellectually and professionally. The 
limitations which are imposed by Federal pow- 
ers are well understood by him. With the long 
line of decisions from Marshall down to Fuller, 
by which the constitutions have been expounded, 
he is familiar as are all thoroughly skilled law- 
yers. He is at home in all the departments of the 
law, from the. minutiae of general practice to 
the greater topics, wherein are involved consid- 
eration of the ethics and philosophy of jurispru- 
dence and the higher concerns of public policy. 
But he is not learned in the law alone, for he 
has studied long and carefully the subjects that 
are to the man of affairs of the greatest im- 
port, the questions of finance and political econ- 
omy, in which he has kept abreast of the best 
thinking men of the state. In the management 
of cases he is actuated by the best interest of his 
client, being felicitous and clear in statement of 
legal principles involved, forcible and thoroughly 
earnest in argument, full of vigor of conviction, 
never abusive of adversaries, always imbued 
with becoming courtesy, yet a foe worthy the 
steel of the ablest opponent. From 1894 to 1896 
Mr. Chatterton served as county attorney and 
in 1898 was elected by the Republican party of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming - to the high office he now holds, sec- 
retary of state. His previous intellectual discip- 
line in one of the most noted educational insti- 
tutions in the land, and his training in the intri- 
cacies of the law, both, combined with a natural 
aptitude for the undertakings requiring abilities 
of a high order, have peculiarly fitted Mr. 
Chatterton for the very important station with 
which his fellow citizens have so honored 
him. His administration of the office has 
demonstrated the wisdom of his election and 
it is safe to affirm that the state has never had 
a more capable, obliging or popular public ser- 
vant. For some years past Mr. Chatterton, with 
others, has been largely interested in the min- 
ing industry. He was instrumental in organiz- 
ing what is now known as the Kurtz & Chatter- 
ton mine in the Grand Encampment district and 
about 1900 he organized the Kurtz and Chat- 
terton Mining Co., and erected works for the de- 
velopment of a large area of valuable mineral 
property. He has also interests in various other 
mining enterprises and has become one of the 
leaders of that industry in Carbon county and 
elsewhere. In politics Mr. Chatterton yields an 
unwavering allegiance to the Republican party 
and has served as chairman of the central com- 
mittee of his county at different times. He is 
public spirited in all which the term implies and 
has done much to advance the material and in- 
dustrial interests of both his county and state. 
All enterprises having for their object the intellec- 
tual and moral good of the body politic find in 
him a zealous friend and a liberal patron and he 
keeps in close touch with the trend of thought 
on all the great questions of the day, national 
and international. In a fraternal way he has 
advanced to high degrees in the ancient and noble 
order of Freemasonry, having attained the Thir- 
ty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. From 
1894 to 1896 he was the grand master of the 
Grand Lodge of Wyoming, in addition to which 
exalted position he served as potentate of the 
Mystic Shrine and as deputy grand commander 
of the Grand Commandery of Wyoming. Mr. 
Chatterton's fidelity to the high duties of citi- 
zenship has been signally manifested in every re- 



lation of life in which he has been placed. His 
is a broad mentality, his a strong, loyal, and sym- 
pathetic nature, and his aim has been unmistak- 
ably to live as nearly to his possibilities and 
ideals as has been in his power to do, both in 
private and public life. Such men deserve much 
more than a modicum of respect and honor, and 
that these have not been denied to Mr. Chatter- 
ton is evident to one who has marked even in a 
cursory way the leading facts in this brief record. 

HON. JOHN W. LACEY. 

Hon. John W. Lacey, ex-chief justice of 
Wyoming and for a number of years a distin- 
guished lawyer of the Cheyenne bar, was born 
in Randolph county, Indiana, on October 13, 
1848, the son of Rev. Henry J. and Elizabeth 
(Thompson) Lacey, the father being a noted 
Methodist divine who passed a long and eminent- 
ly useful ministerial life in the Hoosier state 
and is now living in a superannuated relation in 
the county of Randolph. William Lace} - , father 
of Henry J., was a native of Georgia, but in an 
early day he moved to Wayne county, Ind., 
where he passed the greater part of his life, dy- 
ing there a number of years ago. The Judge 
is one of a family of four sons and three daugh- 
ters, of whom three of the sons are living. In 
his youth he enjoyed such educational privileges 
as were afforded by the public schools of the 
different places where his father was stationed, 
but, being of a studious nature and a great lover 
of knowledge, he determined to prosecute his in- 
tellectual researches under more favorable condi- 
tions. Accordingly he entered De Pauw Uni- 
versity at Greencastle, Ind., where he made a 
creditable record as a student, completing the 
prescribed course in 1871. After graduating 
Mr. Lacey turned his attention to teaching, but 
a limited experience in that calling induced him 
to choose some other profession for his lifework. 
Having early manifested a decided taste for the 
law he began preparing for the legal profession 
by a course of preliminary reading under the 
direction of Isaac Van Devanter, o.f Marion. Ind.. 
whose office he entered in 1875 and with whom 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



25 



he continued his studies until his admission to 
the bar the following year. Prior to 1875 he 
had read law at intervals in the office of William 
O'Brien of Noblesville, but his most substantial 
progress was made in the later period. Judge 
Lacey began legal practice at Marion, Ind., and 
by close application and conscientious fidelity to 
the interests of his clients soon won a conspic- 
uous place among the successful lawyers of the 
Grant county bar. For ability, as well as for suc- 
cessful effort, he was excelled by few of his 
professional brethren, as the large amount of 
business which came to him attested. He con- 
tinued at Marion with a constantly increasing 
clientele until 1884, when President Arthur ap- 
pointed him chief justice of Wyoming, in which 
high office he served with eminent ability until 
the latter part of 1886. In November of that 
year he resigned his office and resumed the prac- 
tice of law at Cheyenne, effecting a copartnership 
with W, W. Corlett and Judge Riner under the 
firm name of Corlett, Lacey & Riner, which as- 
sociation lasted until the death of Mr. Corlett 
four years later. Messrs. Lacey and Riner con- 
tinued to practice as partners until the latter's 
appointment to the district judgeship in 1890, af- 
ter which Judge Lacey was alone until he be- 
came associated with Mr. Van Devanter, the 
firm of Lacey & Van Devanter lasting to the 
present time. Judge Lacey has ever been a close 
student of his profession and his management 
of a case at once demonstrates his careful and 
painstaking preparation and his thorough mas- 
tery of the situation, being well-grounded in the 
underlying principles of jurisprudence and pos- 
sessing the ability and tact to apply his theoret- 
ical knowledge to practice, he is quick to notice 
the weak points in the argument of an opponent 
and notes with avidity every detail and its prob- 
able bearing in the case, never, however, losing 
sight for an instant of the important points upon 
which the decision of every case finally turns. 
He comprehends with little or no effort the rela- 
tion and dependence of facts, and so groups them 
as to enable him to throw their combined force 
upon the point they tend to prove. Judge Lacey 
met the high expectations' of the people as chief 
justice and his record while in that office not 



only added to his reputation as an able jurist, 
but gave him distinctive prestige with the bar 
throughout the state. At the present time the 
firm of which he is a member has a practice of 
great magnitude and wide scope, his name ap- 
pearing in connection with nearly every impor- 
tant case in the courts of Laramie county. He 
is frequently retained as counsel in cases of 
large moment in other parts of Wyoming, his 
fame as a scholarly and erudite lawyer being 
known in every county of the state. In addition 
to his professional and judicial career Judge 
Lacey has a military record, having served as a 
soldier during the latter years of the Civil War. 
He first enlisted in 1863, joining Co. F, One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-seventh Indiana Infantry, but 
did not long remain with that command, being 
mustered out before the expiration of the year. 
In 1864 he enlisted in Co. B, One Hundred and 
Fifty-second Indiana Infantry, with which he 
served until the close of the war, the regiment 
principally doing guard duty in various parts 
of Virginia. Turning to the domestic pages in 
the story of Judge Lacey's life we find that he 
was happily married at Marion, Ind., in 1878 
with Miss Elizabeth Van Devanter, a native of 
that state and a daughter of his former precep- 
tor in the law, Isaac Van Devanter, and of their 
felicitous -union six children have been born, 
Herbert V., Walter M., Ruth, Elizabeth, Louise 
and Margaret. In politics Judge Lacey has 
always been a pronounced Republican, earnest 
and unwavering in the support of his political 
convictions. A potential factor in local and 
state affairs, he has contributed much to his par- 
ty's success as an advisor, planner of campaigns 
and as an energetic worker in the ranks. He is 
very prominent in the Masonic fraternity, having 
taken the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish 
Rite, and he also belongs to the commanderv. 
The Judge is a public spirited citizen, deeply 
interested in everything pertaining to the wel- 
fare of his city and state and he has been a 
leader in inaugurating and carrying to a suc- 
cessful completion various public improvements. 
His life has been a very busy and useful one 
and Wyoming acknowledges her indebtedness to 
him in many lines of advancement . 



26 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



HON. JOHN A. RINER. 

In no profession is there a career more open 
to talent than in that of the law and in no field 
of endeavor is there demanded a more careful 
appreciation of the ethics of life or of the un- 
derlying principles which form the basis of all 
human rights and privileges. Unflagging appli- 
cation, an intuitive wisdom and a determination 
to utilize fully the means at hand are the neces- 
sary concomitants which insure personal success 
and prestige in this great profession, which stands 
as the stern conservator of justice, and into it 
none should enter without a recognition of the 
obstacles to be overcome and the battles to be 
won, for success does not attend all persons who 
enter the competitive fray, but comes only as the 
sequel of- capacity and unmistakable ability. The 
subject of this review is one who has won dis- 
tinctive precedence in the legal profession and 
whose abilities and attainments have placed 
him in some of the most distinguished official 
positions within the gift of the state. Hon. John 
A. Riner, a son of John and Mary (White) 
Riner, was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 
1850. The father, a millwright by trade, was 
also a native of Ohio, but left that state in 1868, 
emigrating to Butler county, Iowa, where he 
passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1899. 
His father, whose name was also John, was born 
in Virginia but moved to Ohio in an early day, 
being one of the pioneers of Preble county. 
Mrs. Mary Riner, the mother, was of New Eng- 
land birth and when young she was brought 
from her native state of Vermont 'to Preble 
county, Ohio, where she grew to maturity, mar* 
ried and reared a part of her family, thence re- 
moving to Iowa where she departed this life about 
1897. The youthful life and discipline of Judge 
Riner was similar to that of the average boy 
reared in country or town. He assisted his par- 
ents as long as he remained at home and attended 
the public schools, in which was laid the foun- 
dation of the broad and liberal intellectual cul- 
ture which he gained in later years. He con- 
tinued to be thus employed until attaining the 
age of young manhood, when his quickened am- 



bition prompted him to select for a lifework the 
profession in which so many of the world's great- 
est men have achieved distinction. After a pre- 
liminary course of reading of legal textbooks, 
Mr. Riner entered the law department of the 
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from 
which he was graduated with the class of 1879, 
the same year beginning the legal practice in 
Cheyenne, Wyoming. Inheriting a decisive and 
reliant nature, it was not long until he forged 
to the front and built up a remunerative busi- 
ness. In 1 88 1 he was elected city attorney, the 
duties of 'which he discharged satisfactorily to 
all concerned until the expiration of his term, 
meanwhile attending closely to his constantly 
growing private practice. When it became ne- 
cessary to fill the office of U. S. district attor- 
ney for Wyoming, Mr. Riner was one whose 
talents and success caused him to be prominently 
mentioned as in every way fitted for the position. 
Accordingly in 1884 he was appointed to the 
place and immediately entered upon the dis- 
charge of his official functions. He acted in 
that capacity for one year and in 1886 was 
elected by the Republican party to the upper 
house of the General Assembly, where he made 
an honorable record as an able and discreet legis- 
lator. He introduced a number of important 
bills which, becoming laws, had a decided bear- 
ing in promoting the interests of the state in 
many ways, and he also served as president of 
the body during the session. He labored faith- 
fully for the welfare of the people, for with him 
patriotism has always been above party and loy- 
alty to his constituents paramount to every other 
consideration. Retiring from the legislature. 
Judge Riner resumed his practice, which in vol- 
ume, scope and importance at that time was sec- 
ond to none in the state. Ever a forceful factor 
in public affairs, he was elected in 1S80. a mem- 
ber of the constitutional convention, in the delib- 
erations of which he took a deep interest and act- 
ive part, serving on the judiciary committee, 
where his eminent legal talents were of especial 
value. One year later he was again elected to 
th State Senate, but resigned before the legisla- 
ture convened, in order to accept a place upon the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



27 



U. S. district bench, to which he was appointed 
on September 23, 1890. His career on the bench 
more than met the high expectations of his 
friends and the public, for he so discharged the 
duties of his high office as to receive the warm 
and hearty approval of the bar and all who had 
business to transact in this court. His rulings 
were fair and characterized by depth of legal 
knowledge, attesting a familiarity with the law, 
while but few of his decisions ever suffered re- 
versal at the hands of the Supreme Court. The 
Judge was married in 1882, with Miss May Jil- 
lich of Ohio, and they have four children, Ida 
M., Gertrude, Dorthra and John A. Fraternally, 
Judge Riner has long been prominent in Ma- 
sonic circles, having risen to the Thirty-second 
degree of the Scottish Rite, being also an active 
worker in the Commandery. For some years he 
has been affiliated with the Pythian Brother- 
hood in the lodge ot Cheyenne. Judge Riner has 
been associated in the practice of law with va- 
rious prominent and eminent members of the 
Cheyenne bar, among them being Judges Potter 
and Lacey and W .W. Corlett, the last named 
dying in 1890. For a period of seven years he 
was an attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad, 
in which capacity he demonstrated abilities of 
a high order, discharging the often complicated 
duties coming within his sphere in such a 
way as to add to his already firmly established 
reputation as one of the state's leading legal 
minds. The Judge possesses high intellectuality, 
broad human sympathies and tolerance, and is 
imbued with fine sensibilities and clearly defined 
principles. Honor and integrity are synonymous 
with his name and he enjoys the respect, confi- 
dence and high regard of the people of his adopt- 
ed city and state. His eminent success in the 
line of his profession offers the best evidence of 
his intellectuality and mastery of his chosen call- 
ing. In his political adherency the Judge has 
been a lifelong Republican. As a member of the 
state central committee his council and leader- 
ship were effective in promoting harmony and 
strength and giving the party a prestige which 
resulted in victory in more than one campaign. 
His fame is secure as a patriotic citizen. 



HON. JOSEPH M. CAREY. 

Upon the magnificent roll of the founders 
and builders of the prosperity and existence of 
the young state of Wyoming stands no more con- 
spicuous or worthy name than that of Hon. Jos- 
eph M. Carey, whose services to the territory and 
state have been of most distinguished order, and 
whose prominence and power in public, civic and 
industrial circles have been far-reaching and 
distinctive from early pioneer days until the 
present. It is not our desire to enter into a pro- 
lix encomium upon this sterling, symmetrical, 
many-talented man, but to record in plain and 
concise form the statement of his life to serve 
as memorial and incentive in after years, as a 
portion of the just history of Cheyenne and the 
state. Senator Carey descended from the old- 
time English family of that name, its residence 
on American soil, however, dating back to an 
early period in the settlement of the Old Domin- 
ion, where it soon attained position and standing. 
The ancestors of ex-Senator Carey inclined to 
merchandising and agriculture and became mer- 
chants of Delaware, where his grandfather, Jos- 
eph Carey, was born and passed his life in mer- 
cantile and agricultural pursuits. He died in 
1838. The father of the ex-Senator Carey, Rob- 
ert H. Carey, born 181 1, died 1891, succeeded to 
the merchandising interests of his father and 
conducted successful business in Sussex county, 
Del., in which state he also passed his life, mar- 
rying there Miss Susan P. Davis, born 1813, died 
1881, also a member of an old Colonial family, 
and rearing four sons and two daughters. The 
subject of this sketch was born on January 19, 
1845, m Sussex county, Del, and here he re- 
ceived his early educational training at public 
and private schools. Following these advan- 
tages he became a student at the Fort Edward 
(N. Y.) Collegiate Institute, where he was fitted 
for Union College, located at Schenectady, N. 
Y., where he was in diligent study from 1863 
until 1865. This college' made him an honorary 
chancellor in 1894 and conferred upon him the 
degree of Doctor of Law. He began the tech- 
nical study of the law in the office of Benjamin 



28 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



F. Temple in Philadelphia, Pa., thereafter con- 
tinuing instruction under the direction of W. L. 
Dennis and Henry Flanders, leading attorneys of 
that city, and in the law department of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, acquitting himself with 
credit and being graduated therefrom in 1867. 
Being thus well fortified and equipped for his 
chosen profession, he was engaged in legal prac- 
tice in Philadelphia until 1869. During this pe- 
riod he had an admirable preparation for his sub- 
sequent useful career in Wyoming, as by active 
practice and attention to business matters in Phil- 
adelphia he was well educated for western life. 
When he was a student in the lawyers' offices 
in Philadelphia and after his admission to the 
bar he made political speeches and canvassed 
portions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 
May, 1869, Wyoming was organized as a terri- 
tory, Mr. Carey becoming the first U. S. attor- 
ney for the new territory and he took an active 
interest and part in bringing order out of chaos. 
He was well qualified for the position. He pros- 
ecuted violators of the law in all the counties of 
the new territory. His official labors were dis- 
charged with ease, promptly and always with 
satisfaction to the people and the government he 
represented. In recognition of his ability and 
services, in 1871, when he was less than twenty- 
eight years of age, he was again honored by Pres- 
ident Grant by an appointment as an associate 
justice of the Supreme Court of the territory. 
This office he held until 1876, fidelity to his dit- 
ties and an appreciation of their responsibilities 
marking his full term of office. The centen- 
nial year witnessed the retirement of Judge Carey 
from both judicial office and the practice of law, 
his energies thereafter being expanded in the 
development of the state's great industrial enter- 
prises. He was one of the earliest to realize the 
inexhaustible resources of Wyoming as a stock- 
growing state and he was one of the leaders in 
this field of wealth, in company with his brother, 
R. Davis Carey of Philadephia, in 1871 he en- 
gaged in stock raising, their operations being 
very large and while they were interested in sev- 
eral large companies, among these the Penn 
Cattle Co. and Carev Co., their chief business 



has been conducted under the name of J. M. Ca- 
rey & Bro., which firm still has very large live- 
stock interests in Wyoming and the Dakotas. 
The citizens of Cheyenne honored themselves, as 
well as Judge Carey, when in 1880 they elected 
him the mayor of their progressive city, increas- 
ing this honor in 1881 by his second election to 
the same official station, while in 1882 they 
crowned their action by choosing him as mayor 
without opposition for the third time. In the 
mayoralty he inaugurated and carried to com- 
pletion important improvements, constructed 
valuable water and sewer sytems and placed the 
young city easily at the front of cities of similar 
size and importance in the Northwest. In 1884 
he was chosen the delegate of the territory to 
the Forty-ninth Congress, serving with such 
clear-sighted statesmanship that he held the of- 
fice by successive reelections through three 
eventful terms, it being his hand that drew up 
and introduced to the favorable consideration of 
Congress the important bill which created the 
state of Wyoming. It is very easy to see that, 
following services of this momentous and ac- 
ceptable character, that, in 1890, at the first ses- 
sion of the state legislature, the distinguished 
delegate of the state should receive still further 
honors in his election as Wyoming's first U. S. 
Senator. In the dignified body of the country's 
leading statesmen Senator Carey took his seat 
as to the manor born, discharging the duties in- 
cumbent upon him to the certain welfare of his 
state, dignifying the commonwealth by his con- 
ceded ability and holding the honors of this ex- 
alted position until 1895. His record here is 
surely an enviable one. Among other measures 
of vital importance to the great West he intro- 
duced and brought to successful passage the leg- 
islation entitled the Carey Arid Land Law, the 
first existing declaration of Congress upon this 
important question. He also was successful in 
obtaining the necessary legislation under which 
several government buildings were constructed 
in Wyoming, including the magnificent struc- 
ture in Cheyenne, and in securing the establish- 
ment of four of the goverment land-offices in the 
state. But to recapitulate his accomplishments 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



29 



in the U. S. Senate would be to write a volume ; 
suffice it to say, that here as elsewhere he won 
high laurels. He lost a reelection to the Sen- 
ate because of his stand in favor of the gold 
standard, and in this connection he said he never 
proposed to be compelled to apologize to his con- 
science In business life in Cheyenne and in the 
state, Senator Carey has ever been an imposing 
factor. He was one of the organizers of the 
Wyoming Development Co. in 1885, and of this 
corporation, organized to develop and advance 
the value of the land owned by the state, he 
was the honored president. He was also the 
president of the Wheatland Roller Mill Co. or- 
ganized in 1897, the Wheatland Industrial Co., 
and with many other kindred enterprises he has 
been primarily and usefully connected. His 
firm, J. M. Carey & Bro., erected the Carey 
block in Cheyenne in 1876, the Delaware block 
in 1883, the opera house block in 1896, and they 
purchased and rebuilt the Davis block in 1896. 
The}- have from 1876 almost even- year added 
to the city in the way of the erection of resi- 
dences of which the citizens are proud. As a 
member of the Republican party the Judge has 
shown unfailing fealty, being long a member of 
and for many active years the chairman of the 
Republican State Central Committee, while for 
twenty years he was a working member of the 
Republican National Committee. On September 
2 7> I 877, Judge Carey married Miss Louisa 
David, a native of Dubuque, Iowa, and a daugh- 
ter of Edward C. and Eliza J. David, natives of 
Isew Hampshire and Missouri. The family be- 
came residents of Cheyenne in 1876 when the 
father was the surveyor general of the Wyoming 
territorv. Two children were born to Judge 
Carey and his wife. Robert Davis and Charles 
David. The oldest one is a graduate of 
Yale University, the class of 1900, and is now 
at Careyhurst, Wyoming, the manager of 
the J. M. Carey & Bros.' cattle interests at 
that place, while the younger son was educated at 
the Hill school in Pennsylvania and at Yale Uni- 
versity. We have here given a brief synopsis 
of- the more salient points of the unusually full 
and busv life of this most eminent citizen of Wy- 



oming. His character in its relation to his public 
and business career has been sufficiently indi- 
cated in the preceding narrative and in its rela- 
tion to his private life it has ever possessed the 
added grace of uniform courtesy, kindness of 
heart and a sympathetic nature, binding him by 
the strongest ties to his family and friends. In 
both of these relations he has stood unwaveringly 
an earnest and true man. 

ELMER E. SMILEY. 

One of the leading educators of the West 
and one whose career gives great promise of fu- 
ture achievement, is Elmer E. Smiley, the presi- 
dent of the State University of Wyoming. A 
man of liberal views and large humanitarian- 
ism, he is a profound scholar and a fine execu- 
tive officer, devoted to his work, having the best 
ideals of life both in private place and public sta- 
tion. His emigrant American ancestors were of 
Scotch-Irish descent, a stock which has contrib- 
uted so many distinguished men to American 
history. They settled first in New Hampshire in 
1727. The family took an active and patriotic 
part in public affairs during the Colonial period 
of New England history and three of them were 
active participants in the Revolutionary War, 
one being a minute man, and one a soldier at 
the battle of Bunker Hill. During the late Civil 
War there were descendants of the family on 
both sides of the conflict, but the parents of Pres- 
ident Smiley were patriotic adherents to the 
Union cause. He is a native of New York, born 
in the city of Syracuse on August 6, 1862. His 
parents, Alpheus and Rosetta K. Smiley, were 
ardent admirers of Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, the 
gallant young Union leader who was killed at 
Alexandria, Va., at the beginning of the Civil 
War, and named their son in honor of the dead 
hero. The father of President Smiley was en- 
gaged in the coopering business at Syracuse at 
a time when the barrels containing Syracuse salt 
were shipped to all parts of the world. As a 
young boy, Elmer E. Smiley was of studious 
habits and gave promise of a brilliant future. 
Pie attended the common schools but later was 



3° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sent to the celebrated Onondaga Academy, where 
he pursued a thorough preparatory course of 
study, and was graduated as the valedictorian of 
the class of '79. At the same academy, founded 
as early as 1813, Thurlow Weed and Horatio 
Seymour received their early education, and 
many other of its sons have borne honored part 
in their country's history. After completing his 
course at the academy he engaged in pedagogic 
labors for a time and then matriculated at the 
famous Syracuse University, where he entered 
upon the full classical course. Although com- 
pelled by circumstances to suspend his studies 
from time to time for the purpose of teaching in 
order to earn funds to meet living expenses, he 
persevered in his ambition to acquire a thorough 
education and was graduated with the degree 
of A. B., as a member of the class of '85. From 
his previous experience in teaching he was en- 
abled to secure a good position and at once be- 
came the principal of the East Bloomfield Free 
Academy in western New York. Fie continued 
in that position for two years and met with con- 
spicuous success.- He then tendered his resigna- 
tion to take a post-graduate course in the Se- ' 
mitic languages at Yale University, under the 
instruction of Prof. William R. Harper, then one 
of the leading professors at Yale and now pres- 
ident of the Chicago University. At the end of 
a three-years' course of study he received the 
degree of B. D., with special honors. Having 
decided to enter the ministry, he remained an- 
other year at Yale and pursued a course in the- 
ology, philosophy and sociology. He soon ac- 
cepted a call from Vancouver, Wash., where he 
became the founder of the Pilgrim Congrega- 
tional church. He was very successful in this 
chosen work and acquired a high reputation as 
an elocmerit preacher. In 1894 he received a call 
from the First Congregational church of Chey- 
enne, Wyo., which he accepted, and then removed 
his residence from the city of Vancouver. For 
many years this church had been distinguished 
by the able and eloquent men who had occupied 
its pulpit, among others being the Rev. J. D. 
Davis, D. D., now of Doshisha College, Japan, 
and the Rev. Tosiah Strong, D. D., author of 



"Our Country," and the high standard of excel- 
lence which they had established was continued 
during the administration of Doctor Smilev. In 
1898, he was elected ' to the presidency of the 
State University of Wyoming, and resigned his 
pastorate for the purpose of accepting that re- 
sponsible position. Since he has been at the 
head of the State University that institution has 
had a remarkable advance in power and influ- 
ence and is rapidly becoming one of the leading 
educational institutions of the West. His man- 
agement has been characterized by ability of a 
high order and its influence for good has been 
largely extended throughout the state. On June 
17, 1 89 1, before coming to the West, Mr. Smiley 
was united in marriage with Miss Edith Con- 
stance House, of Lysander. X. Y., and his wife 
has been a great help to him in his lifework, be- 
ing a woman of strong character and of marked 
literary tastes, ability and high culture. To their 
union have been born two children, Hollis B. 
and Dean F., two bright lads who give promise 
of being worthy successors of their father. The 
home of President and Mrs. Smiley is the center 
of a gracious and refined hospitality, which they 
take pleasure in dispensing to their large circle 
of friends. Doctor Smiley is comparatively 
young and is evidently destined to have a long 
and distinguished career of usefulness. The 
honorary degree of A. M. has been conferred 
upon him by Yale University and the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity by his alma mater. He is 
one of the strong men of the educational world 
and his future career will be watched with in- 
terest. 

GEN. FRANK A. STITZER. 

Distinguished as a soldier in one of the 
greatest struggles in the annals of warfare. 
equally prominent as a civilian and as an official, 
filling worthily positions of honor and trust. Ad- 
jutant-General Stitzer has won a prominent place 
among the public men of Wyoming. He was 
the tenth in a family of thirteen children born 
to John and Sarah (Sticknor) Stitzer. natives 
of Pennsylvania, and dates his 'life from August 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3i 



28, 1840. He first saw the light of clay in Berks 
county, Pa., and for a very limited period only 
attended such schools as his neighhorhood af- 
forded, being- thrown upon his own resources 
at a very early age. He earned his first money 
by driving a team on a canal, and after fol- 
lowing this means of livelihood for several years, 
he engaged with a party to learn paperhanging, 
in which he soon became an efficient workman. 
He was thus employed when the ominous clouds 
of impending Civil War darkened the national 
horizon and threatened the destruction of the 
Union. When the conflict broke out and the 
President appealed to the loyal sons of the North 
for volunteers, he was one of the first in his part 
of the. country to respond, enlisting early in 1861. 
Entering the service as a private he was soon 
made first sergeant of his company and by suc- 
cessive promotions rapidly rose to the ranks of 
first and second lieutenant and captain, while la- 
ter in the same year he was commissioned major 
of a Pennsylvania regiment and with this rank 
he participated in several noted campaigns, dis- 
tinguishing himself in a number of bloody bat- 
tles, among which were South Mountain, Bull 
Run and Antietam. He served four years and 
four months without receiving an injury and 
retired from the army with a record for bravery 
and gallantry of which any soldier might well feel 
proud. At the close of the war Captain Stitzer 
resumed paperhanging and decorating, contin- 
uing in that line of work until 1869, when he ac- 
cepted a clerical position with the Lehigh Valley 
Railroad. After filling that place for some time 
he resigned and for sixteen years thereafter, he 
served as U. S. deputy revenue collector with 
headquarters at Easton, Pa. At the expiration of 
that period he came to Wyoming in the same ca- 
pacity, having received the appointment in this 
state through the instrumentality of the collector 
for Colorado, and continued to discharge the 
duties of the position during the ensuing seven 
years. In 1890 he was appointed adjutant-gen- 
eral of Wyoming, which office he has since held 
with credit to himself and to the entire satis- 
faction of the people of the state. In connection 
with his duties as adjutant-general he holds the 



important position of superintendent of the 
State Soldiers' Home at Cheyenne, Wyo., to 
which he was appointed on August 9, 1895. 
In this, as in other official relations, he has dem- 
onstrated a wise judgment and a far-reaching 
sagacity of a high order and acquired a reputa- 
tion second to that of none other of the state's 
public men. Since he was old enough to wield 
the elective franchise he has been an ardent 
supporter of the Republican party, earnest in the 
defense of his convictions and active in promot- 
ing the interests of the cause in local, state and 
national campaigns. He has proven himself an 
able and an efficient organizer and an untiring 
worker, and while contributing to his party's suc- 
cess in not a few campaigns, his course as a poli- 
tician has always been honorable and free from 
the methods to which so many professional par- 
tisans resort. He is identified with several fra- 
ternal organizations, notably the Masonic and 
Pythian orders, belonging to the Uniform Rank 
in the latter, the Grand Army of the Republic 
and Loyal Legion of the United States. As a 
gallant and intrepid officer on some of the blood- 
iest battlefields of the Southland he proved his 
loyalty to the government, in public and private 
life he commands unusual respect and esteem, 
while as a neighbor and a citizen his name has 
long been synonymous with integrity and honor- 
able conduct. General Stitzer is a self-made 
man, and as such easily ranks with the most en- 
terprising and public spirited of his compeers. 
It is not too much to say for him that no man 
in the city of his residence enjoys a greater de- 
gree of popularity and, as he is still in the prime 
of life, his friends look for him to receive still 
further honors, although he can well afford to 
rest on the laurels already earned. On January 
1, 1866, at Cressona, Pa., Captain Stitzer and 
Miss Josephine Hause, a daughter of Peter H. 
and Hannah Hause of that state were united in 
the bonds of wedlock, the union resulting in 
three children, Edgar P., who holds a position 
in the U. S. custom-house at New York City; 
Frank P., engaged in the insurance business at 
Cheyenne; Emily D., a professional stenogra- 
pher of Cheyenne. 



32 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






EDWARD W. STONE. 

Public honors as well as financial success 
have attended the career of the substantial busi- 
ness man and representative citizen whose name 
furnishes the caption of this biographical re- 
view. For a number of years prominently iden- 
tied with the commercial business of his own 
city and other towns and also having mineral 
interests in various sections of the state, he has 
been a forceful factor in the industrial develop- 
ment of Wyoming, besides taking an active part 
in political and public affairs as a leading poli- 
tician and as an official empowered with honor- 
able trusts. Edward W. Stone is a native of 
Ohio, a state which doubtless has furnished the 
West more clear-brained men of of definite pur- 
pose than any other section of the American 
commonwealth. He was born in the town of 
Belpre, Washington county, on February 8, 1862, 
being the only child of Loring and Joanna Stone, 
natives of Ohio and Indiana respectively. By 
occupation Loring Stone was a miller, in connec- 
tion with which trade he also carried on the 
mercantile business in Belpre. He was a man 
of considerable local prominence and the success 
which marked his business career shows him to 
have been the possessor of judgment, discretion 
and capacity of no mean order. At the proper 
age Edward W. Stone entered the public schools 
of his native town and in due time completed the 
full course, graduating from the high school 
with an honorable record as an industrious and 
consecutive student. Actuated by a desire to 
prosecute his studies still further, he afterwards 
entered Oberlin College, where he pursued the 
higher branches of learning for two years, thus 
laying a substantial foundation for the active 
and successful career which followed in due 
course of time. At the age of twenty he began 
working in his father's flouring mill at Belpre 
and after spending one year in that capacity, 
came west, arriving at Cheyenne, Wyo., in Jan- 
uary, 1884, where he soon became bookkeeper 
for Mr. J. S. Callins, one of the city's leading bus- 
ness men. Mr. Stone continued in the employ of 
that gentleman about five years, when he be- 



came associated in the grocery business with 
Pitt Covert, the firm thus constituted lasting tm- 
til Mr. Stone sold out to his partner and ef- 
fected a business relationship with John E. Vree- 
land. The well-known business house of Vree- 
land & Stone is still in existence, being one of 
the largest and most successful commercial firms 
of Cheyenne, with a branch store at the town of 
Uva, which carries on an extensive trade in that 
section of the state. While meeting with success 
in his business affairs such as few merchants at- 
tain, Mr. Stone has by no means devoted all of 
his time and attention to private interests. Mind- 
ful of the duties which every true citizen owes to 
the community in which he lives, he early began 
taking an active part in the public affairs of his 
city and county, and in recognition of valuable 
services rendered to his party, as well as by rea- 
son of his eminent qualifications for the office, 
he was elected in 1889 the treasurer of Lara- 
mie county. This was the first election under 
the present constitution, consequently to Mr. 
Stone belongs the honor of serving as the first 
custodian of the public funds after Wyoming 
was admitted to statehood. In the fall of 1898 
he was elected on the Republican ticket a mem- 
ber of the upper house of the General Assem- 
blv and his senatorial experience was character- 
ized by a faithfulness to his constituency that 
won him the high regard of his district and. when 
he retired from that body he carried with him 
the good will of the people, irrespective of polit- 
ical affiliation. His career as county treasurer 
was also above reproach, for he discharged the 
duties of that office with a fidelity to the interests 
of the public, which earned him the reputation 
of being one of the ablest officials by whom the 
county was ever served. Mr. Stone has ever main- 
tained an enviable standing among the business 
men of Chevenne and by a course of conduct 
beyond adverse criticism has proven himself emi- 
nently worthy of the high esteem in which he 
is- held. He is a true type of the successful self- 
made man, having risen to his present place in 
business and political circles with no assist- 
ance beyond his own talents and well-directed 
energies. In the true sense of the term he has 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMLXG. 



33 



been "the architect of his own fortune" and, meas 
ured by the correct standard of success, his life 
affords many lessons, which, if properly studied, 
cannot fail to lead others into the highway whose 
ultimate goal is position and competency. Mr. 
Stone is a Thirty-second degree Mason and oc- 
cupies a conspicuous place among the leading 
members of the fraternity throughout Wyoming. 
He has also held distinguished positions in the 
Pythian order, having been grand chancellor ; be- 
sides in other capacities contributing to the suc- 
cess of the local lodge with which he is identi- 
fied. Mr. Stone is a married- man, having a 
comfortable and attractive home in Cheyenne, 
where he delights to meet his many friends and 
dispense a generous hospitality which bespeaks 
the large mind, warm heart and liberal hand. 
His wife, whom he married at Belpre, Ohio, in 
January, 1888, was formerly Miss Mary Harri- 
son, the accomplished daughter of Capt. Jack- 
son Harrison, for so many years a popular steam- 
boat man, plying the Ohio and other rivers. 

HENRY M. ARNOLD. 

Henry M. Arnold, the subject of this sketch, 
is one of the few pioneers of the Great West 
remaining to weave the thread of personal in- 
cident into the historical fabric of the past, 
and he has led a life of great activity replete 
with interesting experiences at times bordering 
upon adventure and dangers. Henry M. Arnold 
is a scion of an old Colonial family that came 
to America a number of years prior to the 
War of Independence and settled in one of 
the Atlantic States. They were Germans and 
when the Revolutionary War broke out several 
of the family joined the American army and 
fought bravely until independence was secured. 
Later others distinguished themselves in the War 
of 1812, and when the safety of the Union was 
threatened by the armed hosts of secession, 
Joseph H. Arnold, the subject's father, re- 
sponded to the call for volunteers and gave up 
his life while defending the flag. In an early 
day Mr. Arnold's grandparents moved to In- 
diana and later to Iowa, in which state Joseph 



H. Arnold was reared to manhood. He there 
married Martha Osburn, a native of Ohio, and 
made a livelihood by devoting his life to agri- 
cultural pursuits. He entered the army at the 
breaking out of the Civil War, enlisting in the 
First Iowa Cavalry, and, in 1864, while taking 
some soldiers to St. Joe from St. Louis, was 
captured at Centralia, Mo., by a band of guer- 
rillas under the notorious Bill Anderson and 
the whole company, being unarmed was lined 
up and shot, but one succeeding in making his 
escape. Shortly after her husband's death Mrs: 
Arnold went to Ohio where she lived for about 
twenty years, removing to York, Neb., where 
now is her permanent home. Henry M. Arnold 
was born in Lee county, Iowa, on January 
30, i860, and when quite young he was taken 
by his mother to Ohio and remained in that 
state until the fall of 1875 when he returned 
to Iowa to live with an uncle, a physician of 
Council Bluffs. He was in the employ of this 
relative for a period of four and one-half years, 
meantime supplementing his early educational 
discipline by attending the public schools of the 
above city. In March, 1880, Mr. Arnold left 
Iowa and came to Wyoming, passing some- 
time thereafter prospecting in the vicinity of 
the Raw Hide Buttes and riding the range in 
that and other localities. In July of the fol- 
lowing year he drove cattle to Montana and 
after his return, resumed prospecting until the 
spring of 1884, when he engaged in gardening 
on the Raw Hide, spending one summer at that 
vocation. Subsequently in company with 
Charles Young, afterwards his partner, for thir- 
teen years Mr. Arnold traveled over the greater 
part of Wyoming and Montana in the cattle 
business, and in 1886 became a cook on a large 
ranch, leaving Mr. Young to look after their 
stock interests. Lie passed the seven ensuing 
years in Montana, cooking and doing ranch 
work and in the fall of 1895 went to Nebraska 
where his partner had gotten together quite 
a number of cattle, spending the succeeding 
winter in that state. The following spring this 
partnership was dissolved, after which Mr. 
Arnold brought his share of the cattle to 



34 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming and put them on land on die Platte 
Valley which he had previously leased. He 
ran stock there until 1898 when he purchased 
a ranch one mile east of Tobington, where he 
has since remained, meanwhile improving his 
land and building up a very prosperous stock 
business. When Mr. Arnold took possession 
of his place a considerable part of the land 
was comparatively bare and of little value for 
grazing purposes, but by a successful system of 
irrigation it has been rendered very fertile and 
productive, and by reason of this and other 
improvements the ranch is now one of the model 
properties of the kind in his part of the country. 
It embraces an area of 480 acres much of which 
is devoted to the raising of hay, which Mr. 
Arnold has found quite a profitable industry. 
He also keeps a fine lot of high grade cattle, 
and everything to which he addresses himself 
appears to prosper. As stated in the initial 
paragraph Mr. Arnold is one of the few old 
range men left in this part of the state, and by 
reason of long residence and extensive travel he 
is widely and popularly known throughout 
Wyoming and the greater part of Montana. 
He is a fine example of the wide-awake, enter- 
prising Westerner and has done much for the 
material improvement of Laramie county and 
the promotion of the cattle industry in this 
and other sections. Mr. Arnold is a single man 
and appears to enjoy his independent life of 
bachelorhood. He enjoys the confidence of 
his friends and neighbors and all with whom 
he has relations speak in high terms of his in- 
tegrity and honorable business methods. 

JOHN H. ABBOT. 

One of the leading commercial men and mer- 
chants of Carbon county, a resident of Hanna, 
Wyoming, John H. Abbot was born in Massa- 
chusetts, having been born in 1855, the son of 
Ezra and Caroline (Lincoln) Abbot, both na- 
tives of that state. His father, a native of Es- 
sex county, Mass., was born in 1807, and was 
graduated from the medical school of Harvard 
University, and practiced his profession at the 



town of Canton, Mass., attaining a high repu- 
tation and standing, until his death in 1871. He 
was the son of Ezra Abbot and his mother's 
maiden name was Hannah Poor, a member of 
the well-known family of Massachusetts. The 
Abbot family resided on land originally granted 
to a great-great grandfather of the subject of 
this review by George III, and he took an active 
part in the colonial life of the old commonwealth. 
The mother of John H. Abbot was born in 1837 
and passed away from earth in 1879. being the 
mother of four children, of whom he was the 
second. She was the daughter of Abraham and 
Martha (Howard) Lincoln, the former a native 
of Massachusetts, and the latter of Maine. Her 
father early made his home in Bath. Maine, and 
one of his sons, Frederick Lincoln, was at one 
time mayor of Boston. John H. Abbot grew to 
manhood in Massachusetts and received his early 
education in the public schools, after which he 
pursued a course of study in pharmacy and was 
graduated in 1876, then removing to Omaha, 
Neb., where he obtained a position in a drug 
store and remained in this employment for about 
three years, thence removing to Osceola, where 
he engaged in the drug business for about two 
years. He then sold out the drug store for the 
purpose of engaging in merchandising in the 
western portion of the state. He continued in 
that business for about fourteen years, then dis- 
posed of his interests and property in Nebraska, 
and removed to Wyoming, where he established 
himself at Hanna, Carbon county, where he was 
first a clerk in the Union Pacific Railway Com- 
pany's general store, and was soon appointed as 
manager of the local business, in which capacity 
he has continued since that time. He has been 
successful, and is ranked as one of the leading 
merchants of this section of this state. In 1885 
Mr. Abbot was united in marriage with Miss 
Tessie Gunncll, a native of Illinois, and the 
daughter of O. and Harriet (Mitchell) Gunnell, 
well-known and highly respected citizens of Il- 
linois, who subsequently removed to Nebraska, 
where the father was for many years one of the 
representative business men of his section, but 
is now retired from active business, and residing 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



35 



at Osceola, Neb. To Mr and Mrs. Abbot have 
been born four children, Amy G., Harriet M., 
George and John, all now living except John, 
who died in 1894. Mr. Abbot is a stanch mem- 
ber of the Republican party, one of the trusted 
of the leaders of that political organization in 
Carbon county. Popular, progressive, and highly 
esteemed by all classes of his fellow citizens, he 
might, if he so desired, be the recipient of 
public honors in the state. He is one of the 
most valued citizens of the community in which 
he maintains his home. 

HENRY C. ALLEN. 

Intimately associated with the professional 
life of the thriving city of Rock Springs, and 
taking a prominent part in the public affairs of 
the county, Henry C. Allen has not been tinder- 
estimated by a people who have learned to ap- 
preciate his true value as a forceful factor in the 
body politic. His father, Hon. Henry N. Allen, 
was born in Rochester, N. Y., in 1847, reading 
law he was early admitted "to the bar and within a 
comparatively short time became one of tthe 
most brilliant and successful men of the pro- 
fession in Western New York. He was elected 
from time to time to various high official po- 
sitions, notably among them being judge of the 
municipal court of Rochester, and he adorned 
every station he was called to fill. For several 
years he was a political leader, and was a shrewd 
campaigner and an - eloquent speaker, and be- 
fore juries and upon the hustings he had few 
equals. Had it not been for his premature death 
hastened by exposure while delivering an 
oration in the campaign of 1881 he doubtless 
would have achieved national distinction as a 
lawyer, orator and publicist. Hon. Henry N. 
Allen was the son of Dr. Newell Allen,. a native 
of New Hampshire and for many years a lead- 
ing physician and surgeon of Rochester, N. Y. 
Gertrude (Hall) Allen, wife of Doctor Allen, 
was born in the state of New York, and is re- 
membered as a woman of strong mentality and 
varied and cultured attainments. She made a 
special study of scientific subjects 'and became 



noted as a chemist, and in this way was a val- 
uable assistant to her husband in his professional 
work, her knowledge of materia medica having 
been extensive and profound. She was vig- 
orous physically, as well as mentally, a splendid 
specimen of symmetrically developed woman- 
hood and lived to the age of seventy-eight years. 
The maiden name of the mother of H. C. Allen 
was Fannie Van Alslyne. She was born in 
Albany, N. Y., in 185 1, the daughter of N. J. 
and Sarah (Pease) Van Alslyne, both parents 
being natives of the Empire State and of Dutch 
descent. Mrs. Allen is still living, a cultured and 
refined lady, and has long been active in re- 
ligious and charitable work, being a devoted 
member of the Congregational church. Henry 
C. Allen was born in Rochester, N. Y., on Jan- 
uary 24, 1873. After acquiring a knowledge of 
the elementary branches in the excellent schools 
of Rochester, he prosecuted the higher courses 
of study in the University of Pennsylvania, and 
in 1892 was graduated with honors from the 
law department of that institution, soon there- 
after going to Colorado, where he opened a law- 
office at Montrose, and during the ensuing eight - 
years built up a lucrative practice and took high 
rank as an attorney. Meanwhile he took an 
active interest in public and political affairs and 
served as chairman and secretary of the Repub- 
lican Central Committee, and also held the office 
of city attorney for three terms, and served one 
term as deputy district attorney. In the .spring 
of 1 90 1 Mr. Allen located at Rock Springs, 
Wyoming, where he has since been actively en- 
gaged in legal practice, his abilities winning him 
a conspicuous place among the leading lawyers 
of the Sweetwater county bar. At this time he 
is attorney for the Sheepmens' Association and 
for various other corporations, and is the sec- 
retary of the Business Men's League. As a 
lawyer he is successful and has a practice wide 
in scope and remunerative. He is well-grounded 
in the underlying principles of jurisprudence, a 
safe and reliable counselor, prepares his cases 
with the greatest care and spares neither time 
nor pains in looking- after interests intrusted to 
him. He is a gentleman of pleasing address, 



3& 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



fine social qualities and undoubted integrity. 
Studious and attentive in matters of business, he 
is not unmindful of his duties to the community 
as a citizen, consequently his name appears in 
connection with nearly every enterprise having 
for its object the material, intellectual and moral 
welfare of the city of his residence. Fraternally 
he belongs to the Elks Lodge at Rock Springs 
and politically supports the Republican party. 
Mr. Allen and Miss Helen Cobb, of Philadelphia, 
were united in the bonds of wedlock in 1896. 
Mrs. Allen is the daughter of Mark Cobb, for 
many years editor of the Philadelphia North 
American and a noted figure in Pennsylvania 
journalism. ' He served as chief clerk of the 
United States Senate during the latter years of 
the Civil War and was also private secretary 
.of Hon. Simon Cameron when that distinguished 
statesman was at the head of the war depart- 
ment in President Lincoln's cabinet. 

W. H. ASHBY. 

The buoyant life and daring energy which 
so unmistakably is shown in the development 
of the Great West springs in large measure 
from the coming hither of the bravest people 
of all nationalities, who bring the best elements 
of their respective countries and localities, form- 
ing a composite civilization of the highest value. 
This is notably shown in the young, pro- 
gressive state of Wyoming, and in this volume, 
especially dedicated to the "Progressive Men 
of Wyoming," such men demand consideration. 
Among this number in the county of Converse 
we must particularly give attention to W. H. 
Ashby, who, a native of England, has cast in 
his lot and given his mental strength and physi- 
cal abilities to the task of aiding in the re- 
deeming of the state from its primitive condi- 
tion of unproductiveness by replacing the wild 
beasts with domestic animals and thus ex- 
ploiting the numberless resources of the state 
in the interests of civilization. Mr. Ashby 
comes of an oldtime sterling family of England, 
his birthplace being in Northampton, where 
he was born on June 15th, 1848, a son of George 



and Mary A. (Starmer) Ashby, his maternal 
grandfather William Ashby, being a shoemaker, 
while on the paternal side his grandfather was 
a farmer, as was also his father, who continued 
in that honorable vocation all the days of his 
life. The eldest of the seven children of the 
family, Mr. Ashby early had great conceptions 
of the advantages presented in the wonderful 
land of America, and at the early age of four- 
teen crossed the mighty ocean and made his 
residence in the scenic city of Ottawa, Canada, 
soon however crossing the international line, 
he passed two years in New York occupied 
with freighting, at the termination of this em- 
ployment migrating to Iowa, being there in- 
dustriously engaged for two years, thence re- 
moving in 1868 to Wyoming, then in the first 
period of pioneer occupancy. Cheyenne was 
but a small town of tents, but here Mr. Ashby 
found congenial friends, and employment for 
a time on the Union Pacific Railroad and later 
in the dangerous life of a freighter. The In- 
dians were then roaming in numbers over the 
vast plains and frequently made hostile demon- 
strations on the freighting outfits they con- 
sidered they could easily overpower, and in this 
connection Mr. Ashby had manifold adventures. 
In 1872 he engaged in range riding, continu- 
ing this life of intrepidity and excitement until 
1890, thence going to Grant, Oregon, and en- 
gaging in distilling for three years, when a 
mighty flood swept away, not only the distil- 
lery, but the entire town. Returning to Wyo- 
ming, for eighteen months he was in charge of 
the Van Tassell cattle outfit, thereafter com- 
ing to the La Prele valley and purchasing the 
interests of George La Vassar on the upper 
La Prele, where he is building a most attract- 
ive hc/me and conducting a fine stock business, 
having 320 acres of well located land, a por- 
tion being under effective irrigation, and rais- 
ing large crops of alfalfa, etc. His residence, 
barns and other accessories to good husbandry 
are creditable additions to the estate, and the 
whole form a most desirable home. For a num- 
ber of years Mr. Ashby was the efficient fore- 
man of the Bridle Bit outfit of the Union Cattle 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



37 



Co., running 35,000 head on the Platte River. 
Miss Mona Furnall and Mr. Ashby were mar- 
ried on January 1, 1890. She is a native of 
Ohio, where her father has long been con- 
nected with coal mining. 

FRANK A. BAILEY. 

A varied career has been that of Frank A. 
Bailey, now residing at Laramie, in the state of 
Wyoming. A native of Orange county, N. Y., 
he was born in 1847, tne son of Harrison and 
Mary (Randall) Bailey, both natives of that 
state. His father responded to the call of his 
country for defenders during the trying times 
of the Civil War, in 1861 enlisting in Co. C, 
One Hundred and Tenth New York Regiment. 
In the sanguinary battle of Gettysburg he was 
killed and was buried at Florida, N. Y., being 
a son of Silas and Sarah (Harrison) Bailey, both 
natives of New Jersey. Silas Bailey followed 
the occupation of blacksmithing during his life 
time, and died in 1866 at the age of eighty- 
two years, also being buried at Florida, N. Y. 
Sarah (Harrison) Bailey, the paternal grand- 
mother of Frank A. Bailey, was the daughter of 
George A. Nater, a native of Germany and a 
respected citizen of the state of New York. 
The mother of Mr. Bailey was the daughter of 
John and Sarah Randall, oldtime residents of 
New York state. In early life Mr. Bailey was 
practically without any s'chool privileges what- 
ever and being compelled to commence to earn 
his own livelihood at the early age of ten years 
he became a driver on the Erie Canal for two 
seasons. He then went into a machine shop 
at Pittsburg, Pa., as an apprentice to learn the 
trade of machinist. He remained in this em- 
ployment for about six years and then in 1873 
enlisted as a private in Co. B, Eighth United 
States Infantry, and in the following year he 
was stationed with his regiment at Cheyenne, 
Wyo., and subsequently he was transferred 
to Fort Saunders and still later to Fort Lara- 
mie, where he remained for about eight months 
and was then ordered to California, where he 
was mustered out of the service at Angel's 



Island. He then secured employment on a 
cattle ranch in California, for the purpose of 
acquiring a practical knowledge of the cattle 
business, with a view to entering upon that pur- 
suit. He remained in California for about four 
years, then came to Oregon and later to Idaho 
and Montana. In 1888 he purchased a ranch 
on the Powder River in Johnson county, Wyo., 
and there engaged in ranching and cat- 
tle raising, four years later disposing of his 
ranch and cattle interests to good advantage, 
when he accepted a responsible position on the 
Union Pacific Railroad. He has remained in 
this employment up to the present time (1902). 
Mr. Bailey has never been married. He is a 
highly esteemed citizen of the community where 
he maintains his home. 

HENRY D. ASHLEY. 

Among the leading business men of the city 
of Encampment, Wyoming, Henry D. Ashley 
is one whose enterprise and public spirit have 
done much to build up that young city. He 
was born at Acushnet, Bristol county, Mass., 
on May 3, 1862, the son of Calvin and Rebecca 
(Davis) Ashley, both natives of that state. His 
father was born at Lakeville, Mass., and early 
established his home at Acushnet, where he 
engaged in farming and was also interested to 
quite an extent in the whale fisheries, his home 
being adjacent to New Bedford, formerly the 
great center of that industry in America, and 
he remained there until his death in 1868. He 
left a family of six sons and four daughters 
and after the death of his father, Henry D. 
Ashley removed with the other members of 
the family to Taunton in the same state, where 
he grew to manhood, received his early educa- 
tion in the public schools and learned the trade 
of wood-turning, at which he was employed in 
Taunton until 1890 when he removed to Iowa, 
where he located at Sioux City, and continued 
to work at his former occupation for about four 
years. At the end of that time he removed 
to Des Moines and engaged in the bakery busi- 
ness for two years, when he sold out and came 



38 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



west to Colorado Springs, Colo. He made 
his home at this place for about one year and 
in January, 1898, came to Encampment, Wyo., 
where he has since made his home, being one 
of the pioneers of the place, then in its infancy. 
From his first arrival here he has been uni- 
formly successful in business. He first engaged 
in conducting a lodging house and continued 
successfully in that pursuit up to the spring of 
1902. In 1901 he engaged in the real estate and 
insurance business, associating himself in busi- 
ness with Mr. Leo Davis under the firm name 
of Davis & Ashley, the former attending to the 
mining brokerage department and the latter 
giving special attention to insurance and real 
estate. On May 3, 1884, Mr. Ashley was united 
in marriage at Taunton, Mass., with Miss Min- 
nie F. Moxon, a native of Massachusetts, and 
the daughter of Frederick and Emma A. 
Moxon, well-known and respected citizens of 
Taunton. Her father was a native of England 
who came to America in 1850, and established 
his home in the city of Taunton. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ashley are the parents of two children, namely: 
Jennie M. and Carleton H., both of whom are 
still living, and their home is one of the most 
hospitable in the city of Encampment. Mr. 
Ashley is largely interested in the Vulcan Cop- 
per Mining Co., of which he is vice-president. 
This company has valuable mining claims situ- 
ated within a few hundred feet of the celebrated 
Ferris-Haggarty copper property, and gives 
promise of being equally valuable. He is also 
the secretary of the Grant Copper Mining Co., 
located at' Pearl, Colo. He is the representa- 
tive of several of the leading insurance com- 
panies, among others the Liverpool, London & 
Globe, the Providence Washington Insurance 
Co., the Phoenix Insurance Co., of Hartford, 
Conn., the Niagara Insurance Co., of New 
York, and the Fire Association of Philadelphia. 
Although engaged in business but a short time 
he has won the confidence of the business com- 
munity by his energy, industry and attention 
to all the details of his business, and he has 
been steadily adding to it from month to month. 
He is one of the leading business men of the 



locality and has done much to build up the 
new city of Encampment. He was a member 
of its first city government and was reelected 
in 1902. He is also a member of the school 
board and prominent in all matters that affect 
the public welfare or promote " the general 
good of the community. 

THOMAS BELL. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of 
the Dominion of Canada, having been born at 
Port Neuf, on November 20, 1863. He is the 
son of Peter and Elizabeth (Webb) Bell, the 
former a native of Scotland, and the latter of 
Liverpool, England. His father came to 
Canada from his native country when a young 
man, and remained there until the year 1867, 
when he removed to Colfax county, Neb.. 
where he engaged in farming and stock rais- 
ing operations up to the time of his decease, 
in 1877. He was a man of education and one 
of his brothers is at the head of one of the 
leading" educational institutions of Edinburg, 
Scotland. The mother is still living at Nor- 
folk, Neb., at the advanced age of seventy-nine 
years. She was the mother of fifteen children, 
of whom Thomas was the eleventh. His boy- 
hood days were passed in Colfax county, 
Neb., and there he received his education 
until 1878, when he left Nebraska, came to 
Wyoming and located at Cheyenne, and se- 
cured employment as a range-rider. He fol- 
lowed this occupation for many years, and ac- 
quired a thoroughly practical knowledge of the 
stock business. A considerable portion of this 
time he was in the employ of the Swan Cattle 
Co., one of the largest concerns in Wyoming. 
He began business for himself in 1894 and pur- 
chased the Node ranch situated about twelve 
miles east of Lusk. He shortly afterward also 
purchased the Handson property and is now 
the owner of about 3.000 acres of land, well 
stocked and improved, and is conducting a suc- 
cessful and profitable business. His cattle are 
principally Herefords crossed with Shorthorns, 
and he has a fine herd of 4.000 head, which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



39 



is being added to from year to year. On De- 
cember 7, 1892, Mr. Bell married with Miss 
Cora L. Root, a native of Vermont and the 
daughter of B. A. Root, a well-known and 
highly respected gentleman, now residing at 
Lusk. To their union have been born five chil- 
dren, Lionel Everard, Thomas Lloyd, Floyd 
Cecil, Maxwell Keith and Cora Irene. Their 
home is one of the most hospitable in the state. 
Fraternally, Mr. Bell is affiliated with the Ma- 
sonic order, having attained the Thirty-second 
degree of the Scottish Rite, and he is also a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He takes an active interest in the fra- 
ternal and social life of the community where 
he maintains his home, and is looked upon as 
one of the solid business men and substantial 
property owners of Converse county, being 
held in high esteem by his fellow citizens and 
worthy of their confidence. 

WILLIAM ATCHISON. 

One of the best ranches in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, is that belonging to William Atchi- 
son and situated on the Laramie River eleven 
miles west of the Fort, where he has been liv- 
ing since 1898. He was born in Williamstown, 
Indiana, on February 21, 1850, a son of Walter 
and Margaret (Craigmyle) Atchison, natives 
of Kentucky. The Atchison family is an ancient 
English one, representatives of which came to 
America in early Colonial days, the descendants 
later making their home in Ohio, whence they 
scattered to various parts of the country — 
Atchison, Kansas, receiving its name from 
David Atchison, a 'relative of William. The 
Craigmyle family is of Irish extraction, and the 
immediate maternal ancestors of William Atchi- 
son were also early settlers in America. Walter 
Atchison, father of William, was a merchant 
in Zionsville, Boone county, Ind., where he was 
quite prominent and lived until 1868, when he 
went to Minnesota and shortly afterwards to 
Iowa, where he settled on a farm six miles from 
Des Moines, where he followed agricultural pur- 
suits until his lamented death in August, 1881, 



his remains being interred in Polk county. His 
widow still resides in Des Moines and makes 
her home with a daughter. William Atchison 
received his education in Indiana and at the 
■age of seventeen years went to Minneapolis, 
Minn., and there worked at the carpenter's 
trade for two years, becoming an expert in 
this handicraft. In the fall of 1868 he went with 
his father to Iowa and assisted him on the 
farm until the latter's death in 1881. In De- 
cember, 1881, he came west with his wife and 
took up his residence in Colorado to recuperate 
his health, which had become impaired. Here 
he purchased a ranch about five miles from 
Fort Collins and embarked in the cattle busi- 
ness in combination with farming, in which he 
continued until March, 1887, when he sold out 
and came to Wyoming, and here was employed 
on the T V ranch with the people on Chug- 
water until 1898, in the fall of which year he 
purchased his present ranch, where he has since 
been most successfully engaged in cattle rais- 
ing. This ranch is one of the best managed in 
the county and his dwelling of the most modern 
construction. William Atchison was united in 
marriage at Des Moines, Iowa, on September 
15, 1875, with Miss Esther E. Kitchel, a na- 
tive of Indiana, and the accomplished daughter 
of John and Esther (Peck) Kitchel, natives of 
New Jersey and New York. Mr. Kitchel, a 
farmer in Indiana, removed to Iowa, becoming 
a pioneer of Warren county, and was there en- 
gaged in farming until his death on March 3, 
i860, his remains being interred in Warren 
county. His widow, now eighty-eight years of 
age, lives with a daughter in Page county, 
Iowa. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Atchi- 
son has been blessed with three children, Nellie 
L., now Mrs. Roach; Clara M., now Mrs. Clou- 
ser, and Walter K. The family worship at the 
Methodist church and are classed with the best 
people of Laramie county and of the state, be- 
ing foremost in moral and religious work. As 
a citizen, Mr. Atchison is recognized as a Re- 
publican and a most useful citizen, inasmuch as 
he is ever among the foremost to contribute 
toward public improvements and to advocate 



/ 



40 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



their introduction when their necessity becomes 
apparent. Recognition of the ability of Mrs. 
Atchison to successfully administer public af- 
fairs has been made by the United States gov- 
ernment in her appointment as postmaster of 
Grey Rocks postoffice, the duties of this office 
being discharged with great acceptability and 
the satisfaction of the postoffice department 
and the patrons of the office, with whom she 
is distinctively popular. 

BERT BERGERSON. 

The young state of Wyoming owes much 
to her citizens of foreign birth, those men of 
rugged type who have brought to their new 
homes in the West those admirable traits of 
industry, economy and thrift which they learned 
in the homes of their childhood beyond the sea. 
Prominent among this class in his section of the 
state is Bert Bergerson, who is a native of Nor- 
way, having been born on October 14, 1855, the 
son of Berger and Carrie (Thoreson) Berger- 
son, both natives of that country. His father 
followed the occupation of farming until his 
death in 1887, and now lies buried amid the 
scenes of his active life. The mother resides 
at the old home in Norway. Bert Bergerson 
grew to man's estate and received his early 
education in the schools of his native county, 
afterwards following the occupation of farm- 
ing with his father, until he was twenty-six 
years old, then the limited business opportuni- 
ties of his home and the reports which had 
come to him of the splendid possibilities in 
the new world across the Atlantic Ocean influ- 
enced him to seek his fortune in America. 
Therefore, in June, 1882, with such small sav- 
ings as he had put aside from his years of toil, 
he took ship and sailed away to the land of 
promise in the West. Arriving in America in 
due course of time, he proceeded first to Fayette 
county, Iowa, where he had acquaintances and 
secured employment as a farm hand, and re- 
mained in that vicinity engaged in that pur- 
suit, until the spring of 1886, when he went to 
Cheyenne county, Neb., and took up a home- 



stead claim, and entered upon the business of 
farming for a year when he came to Cheyenne, 
Wyo., where he remained for about one year 
and then secured employment at the ranch 
owned by Andrew Gilchrist, on South Crow 
creek, where he continued for a number of 
years, returning, however, each spring and fall 
to his homestead entry in Nebraska until he 
had fully complied with the requirements of 
the laws of the United States and had acquired 
a government title to the land. In the spring 
of 1895 he made an extended trip through 
Montana, Oregon and Washington, to find a 
desirable location to engage in ranching and 
stockraising, but he was unable to find any 
that equalled Wyoming. He therefore returned 
and in the fall of 1895 secured a lease on his 
present ranch situated on Middle Crow creek, 
about twenty miles west of Cheyenne. Here he 
has since remained engaged successfully in the 
business of raising cattle and doing general 
ranching. He is still the owner of his home- 
stead in the state of Nebraska and his wife is 
also the owner of a ranch on the table lands 
near Pine Bluffs, Wyo. On June 13, 1900, Mr. 
Bergerson was united in matrimony at Salem, 
Wyo., with Miss Nathalia Anderson, a native 
of Sweden and the daughter of Lars and Katie 
Anderson, both natives of Sweden. This esti- 
mable married pair are members of the Lutheran 
church, and take an earnest and sincere inter- 
est in all works of religion and charity in the 
community where they maintain their home. 
They are the best type of citizens, honest, in- 
dustrious, law-abiding and devoted to the in- 
stitutions of their adopted country. Politically, 
Mr. Bergerson is identified with the Republican 
party, and as every good citizen should, takes 
an active and patriotic interest in all matters 
calculated to affect the public welfare. 

HON. JOSEPH A. BLACK. 

A resident of Wyoming for nearly a quarter 
of a century and occupying during much of that 
time a position of commanding influence in the 
civil and political councils of the territory and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



4i 



state, Hon. Joseph A. Black, of the Big Piney 
section of the country, has been a potential 
force in the settlement and development of 
his portion of the state, and has exhibited in his 
work here the self-reliance, strength of mind, 
courage and general resourcefulness he ac- 
quired in a varied and eventful experience else- 
where. On August 23, 1853, in the state of 
Indiana his life began as the son of B. F. and 
Louisa (Matthews) Black, the former a native 
of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana, both 
being children of ministers in the Christian 
church and prominent men. The father was 
also a minister of that faith and a veteran of the 
Civil War, in which he served as master of 
transportation in his command. They were 
the parents of eight children, five boys and 
three girls, of whom six are yet living. Joseph 
A. Black was educated in the public schools of 
Indiana and at a reputable private school in 
Iowa, whither his parents had removed before 
he was of age. In 1873 he sought the free and 
adventurous life of the plains in Texas where 
he rode the cattle ranges and followed trail 
work, continuing this in. every state and ter- 
ritory west of Missouri until 1890, a part of the 
time serving as foreman in charge of extensive 
interests. In 1881 he came to Wyoming and 
within her promising and rapidly improving 
bounds he has since resided, carrying on a pros- 
perous and extensive stock industry on a tract 
of 320 acres of land which he owns and has 
well improved, and on which he has fine herds 
of graded Hereford cattle and on which he has 
resided continuously since 1890. Mr. Black is 
a Freemason, belonging to Evanston (Wyo.) 
Lodge, No. 4, and he manifests great interest 
in its progress, although so situated that he is 
unable to be a frequent lodge attendant. He 
was elected a member of the Wyoming legis- 
lature in 1900 and was re-elected in 1902. His 
course in the body was highly commended and 
his services to his constituents were of great 
and appreciated value. Although a Republi- 
can in politics, he is free from extreme partisan- 
ship and sees the interests of his county with 
breadth of view and in an enterprising spirit. 



He was married on January 1, 1887, with Miss 
Mary Jaycox, a native of Illinois, at the time of 
the marriage living in Wyoming. They have 
five children, Ida, Orline, Edna, Joseph A. 
and Mary. Mr. Black is one of the leading 
citizens of the state and takes an active and in- 
telligent interest in all her affairs. He has been 
a resident of Wyoming since 1880 and has made 
substantial contributions to her development 
and improvement. 

ALEXANDER BOGGS. 

A successful ranch and stockman of Albany 
county, Wyoming, is- the subject of this sketch, 
Alexander Boggs, whose residence is at Pol- 
lock, in that county. A native of Indiana, he 
was born in 1848, a son of Matthew L. and 
Amanda (Stackhouse) Boggs, both natives of 
Pennsylvania, where the father was born on 
March 4, 181 3, and followed railroading in his 
native state as a conductor on the first railroad 
built in the state. He later established his home 
in Shelby county, Indiana, where he engaged 
in farming, in 1857, disposing of his farm he 
removed to Illinois and continued agricultural 
pursuits in Coles county until 1878, when he 
removed to Kansas, where he was occupied in 
the same pursuit up to the time of his wife's 
death, then he sold his farm and now makes his 
home with his children. He was the son of 
Alexander and Magdaline (Shafer) Boggs, 
both natives of Pennsylvania. Alexander 
Boggs, the grandfather, passed all his life in 
Pennsylvania, living to the age of 89 years, his 
wife Magdaline living to the remarkable age 
of 106 years. The mother of the subject of this 
writing was born in 1827, was married in 1844, 
and died in Kansas in 1886, being the mother of 
eleven children, four boys and seven girls. 
Alexander Boggs of this review attained man's 
estate in Illinois and there received his early 
education in the public schools. At the age of 
eighteen years, he was compelled by poor 
health to leave school and engage in business 
for himself, first following the occupation of 
farming in Illinois, later removing to Minnesota 



42 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and still later to Kansas, continuing in farm- 
ing and stockgrowing operations until 1880, 
making his residence in the county of Rooks. 
In the spring of 1880, he came to the territory 
of Wyoming and settled on a ranch in the 
vicinity of Laramie and devoted his full energy 
to the business of raising cattle. In this pursuit 
he has met with success, increasing his holdings 
both of land and stock from year to year since 
that time, and he is now the owner of a fine 
ranch, well fenced and with good improvements, 
suitable buildings and surroundings for a suc- 
cessful ranching and cattleraising business. In 
1890 he was united in holy matrimony with 
Miss Delia Eychaner a native of New York 
and the daughter of Milton and Magdeline 
(Haram) Eychaner, of the same state. The 
father of Mrs. Boggs is still living, engaged in 
farming in Iowa, but the mother passed away 
in 1879 at the age of forty-six years. She was 
the mother of nine children and was the daugh- 
ter of John and Mary (Sawyer) Hamm, both 
natives of Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Boggs 
four children have been born, namely, Fay, 
Pearl, Ethel and Roy, all of whom are living. 
Politically Mr. Boggs is identified with the Re- 
publican party and takes an active and patriotic 
interest in public affairs. He has never sought 
or desired political position, preferring to give 
his time and attention to the management of 
his business interests. Pie is one of the most 
respected citizens of the community where he 
resides. 

H. L. BRENNING. 

In every flourishing community there are 
certain men, who, by their enterprise, straight- 
forward business methods and public-spirit, 
maintain the prosperity and progressiveness of 
the place, and, when to these qualifications we 
can add the mechanical and technical skill of 
an architect and builder, we can see how forms 
of beauty in wood and brick will arise to 
beautify the town and by its improved appear- 
ance attract a desirable element to become its 
citizens. These reflections arise when consider- 



ing the eminently useful life and labors of 
Henry L. Brenning, the popular architect and 
builder of Douglas, the monuments of whose 
architectural skill are everywhere patent to the 
observer. Mr. Brenning was born in the old 
town of Norwood, Mass., on March 25, 1851, the 
son of Thomas and Catherine (Hitchins) Bren- 
ning, natives of Norwood and New Hampshire. 
His paternal grandfather came from Quebec to 
Massachusetts, becoming a lifelong resident of 
the state, his son Thomas following farming in 
Norfolk county and raising a family of eight 
sons and three daughters. Henry L. Brenning 
was the youngest child of this family, and after 
receiving an excellent education he thoroughly 
learned the trades of carpenter and bridge 
builder in the extensive car shops at Norwood, 
there applying himself to labor in these lines 
and the acquisition of technical instruction in 
this connection until 1879, when he was carried 
to Leadville, Colo., on the wave of excitement 
over the rich mineral discoveries in that camp, 
there engaging in profitable employment as a 
bridge builder on the line of the Denver & 
Rio Grande Railway, in 1880 making his home 
in Denver. Not long thereafter he came to 
Boulder, Wyo., where he passed two years, 
thence removing to Cheyenne, and engaging in 
contracting and carpenter work in the construc- 
tion of dwellings, etc., continuing in that city 
until 1886 when he was attracted by the pros- 
pective advantages of the new town of Douglas 
and removed thither as one of its very earliest 
settlers, his wife being the first woman resident 
of the town. From that time to the present Mr. 
Brenning has been one of the busiest men of 
the place, having been the builder of every 
structure constructed of brick erected in the 
city, the first one of importance being the at- 
tractive building containing the First National 
Bank, since which construction his services and 
skill have been in constant requisition, erect- 
ing many business houses and numerous resi- 
dences costing from $10,000 upwards. He has 
just completed the fine high school building of 
three stories. 35x104 feet in size, which was 
commenced in 1887. and is now giving atten- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



43 



tion to the erection of the elegant Unity Tem- 
ple, which is 75x120 feet in size and of two 
stories, constructed of pressed brick. These and 
other notable specimens of his handiwork will 
long stand as monuments to his artistic taste, 
his work being of solid and enduring character 
and his industry and painstaking strongly mani- 
fest. Mr. Brenning belongs to both the Ma- 
sonic and Odd Fellows fraternal societies and 
he is connected with Wyoming's leading indus- 
try as one of the three associates in the Table 
Mountain Sheep Co. He was married on De- 
cember 1, 1875, at Fremont Temple, Boston, 
Mass., to Miss Annie E. Davis, a native of 
Quincy, Mass., and a daughter of Benjamin 
Long Davis, a descendant of early and honor- 
able families of the Plymouth and Massachusetts 
colonies. Their family consists of an adopted 
son, Roy F. Among the people of the section 
none stand in higher repute or have more 
numerous friends than Mr. and Mrs-. Brenning. 

HARMON BRITTAIN. 

A frontier farmer and stockgrower, a 
valiant Nimrod in these western wilds when 
they were not as yet much broken to civiliza- 
tion and game was plentiful, with an excellent 
record to his credit in each capacity, and a 
secure and enviable place in the regard of his 
fellowmen, Harmon Brittain of near Dayton 
in Sheridan county, Wyoming, can look upon 
his life in both prospect and retrospect with 
a large measure of satisfaction, having always 
met its responsibilities with a manly and cour- 
ageous spirit and having at hand and before him 
enough of worldly wealth and cor sideration to 
give safety and sunshine to his declining years. 
He was born in Indiana on March 7, 1839, hi s 
parents, William and Rachel (McReynolds) 
Brittain, natives of Kentucky, having settled in 
that state in early times. There when he was 
six years old his mother died, and ten years 
later, in. 1849, his father moved to Iowa and in 
1855 removed his family to Grundy county, 
Mo. After a residence of some years in that 
county he settled in Bates county in the same 



state and there in 1889 in the fulness of years 
he died and was laid to rest. Harmon Brittain 
grew to manhood and was educated in Missouri, 
and for more than a quarter of a century was 
there engaged in farming. In 1886 he removed 
to Wyoming and, locating on Pass Creek in 
Sheridan county, prosecuted a vigorous and 
profitable stock industry, handling and raising 
horses, until 1895 when he removed his base of 
operations to Johnson county, thirty miles 
south of Buffalo, where he carried on the same 
enterprise. In June, 1902, he came to Dayton 
and purchased a ranch adjacent to the town of 
160 acres of superior land, highly improved 
and in an excellent state of cultivation, where 
he has a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle and also 
nearly 200 horses of good breeds. A special 
feature of his ranch and the industries thereon 
conducted is an apiary of unusual proportions, 
value and productiveness. It is one of the best 
in this section of the country and has attracted 
the attention of men interested in bee culture in 
many places. On his land he raises large crops 
of alfalfa and other farm products, and his beau- 
tiful residence is one of the ornaments of the 
neighborhood. Mr. Brittain was first married 
in Grundy county, Mo., in i860, with Miss 
Julia E. Leonard, a Kentuckian,' who died on 
December 27, 1900, leaving two children, Wil- 
liam F., the postmaster at Sheridan, and Sarah 
C, now wife of Arthur Cossit of Pass Creek. 
On January 1, 1902, he was again married, on 
this occasion to Mrs. Nettie Shadduck, a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania, the- marriage being solem- 
nized at Buffalo. In his career as a hunter Mr. 
Brittain has killed twenty-two bears and 300 deer 
and elk. ' He still pursues the sport with all the 
ardor if not all the vigor of his early days and 
brings home many trophies of his skill and 
prowess. 

DAVID BROOKMAN. 

This well-known gentleman is one of Wyo- 
ming's honored pioneers, having been actively 
identified with the industrial history of the 
Great West from 1867. He is an American by 



44 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



adoption, being a native of England where his 
birth occurred in 1827. His father John 
Brookman, was a blacksmith for the greater 
part of his life residing in the city of Newport, 
England, where he enjoyed the reputation of 
an able and skillful mechanic. The mother 
died when David was two years old after which 
he lived with a sister, Mrs. Griffins, for some 
years, later making his home with an aunt, also 
a Mrs. Griffins. When still young he began to 
learn blacksmithing, in which he soon acquired 
more than ordinary efficiency and skill, work- 
ing at his trade in various places and carefully 
husbanding his earnings with the thought of 
emigrating to the United States, of which coun- 
try he had read much and heard many favorable 
reports, and in 1849 ne to °k passage on a 
vessel bound for the New World and in due 
time reached his destination, where he entered 
upon a new career under conditions radically 
different from those of England. Being master 
of an honorable and useful calling, from the 
time of his arrival until 1861 he worked at his 
trade in Pennsylvania. When th<? Civil War 
occurred Mr. Brookman was one of the first 
young men of the place of his residence to ten- 
der his services to the government, enlisting in 
1861 in Co. D, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Regi- 
ment, with which he shared the fortunes and 
vicissitudes of war for three years and three 
months, taking part in the noted campaigns of 
the Army of the Potomac, demonstrating his 
loyalty to the flag of his adopted country in 
some of the bloodiest battles known to history, 
prominent among them being the great battle 
of Gettysburg, where his hearing was per- 
manently impaired. In all the trying scenes 
through which he passed he never shirked a 
responsibility, however onerous, nor shrank 
from duty even though its performance were 
attended by danger and the immediate prospect 
of death. At the close of the war Mr. Brook- 
man returned to Pennsylvania and engaged in 
mining until about 1867, when he came to Wyo- 
ming. The year following his arrival he passed 
in Carbon and then changed his abode to Rock 
Springs, with the industrial growth and de- 



velopment of which he was for many years 
actively identified. He has been largely in- 
terested in mining and was one of the pioneers 
of this industry in Sweetwater county. He has 
seen the industry grow from an insignificant 
beginning to its present mammoth proportions 
and not only has he been a witness of the re- 
markable development but he has been largely 
instrumental in bringing about the results which 
have made this part of Wyoming foremost 
among the rich mining regions of the west. In 
all material improvements which have marked 
the last quarter century of the county's growth, 
he has left the impress of his strong individu- 
ality upon public and private institutions as well 
as upon the industrial developments. In a 
large measure he has paved the way that others 
might follow, having been a pioneer in many 
avenues, as well as an early settler. For a 
number of years Mr. Brookman took a lively 
interest in politics and was one of the Republi- 
can leaders in Rock Springs and Sweetwater 
county, but has never been an aspirant for po- 
litical honors, although called from time, to time 
to local offices in which his course was marked 
by duty ably and conscientiously discharged. 
Since 1898 he has been living in honorable re- 
tirement, enjoying the fruits of his many years 
of honest toil. His home in Rock Springs is 
presided over by an amiable wife and devoted 
helpmeet to whom he was united in wedlock in 
1894. Mrs. Brookman's maiden name was 
Elizabeth Buchanan ; she is the daughter of 
John and Elizabeth (Hazleton) Buchanan, na- 
tives of Ireland and at the time of her marriage 
to Mr. Brookman was the widow of Robert 
Harvey, who departed this life in the Emerald 
Isle in T890. 

HUGO E. BUECHXER. 

"Earn thy reward: the gods give naught 
to sloth," said one of the ancient sages, and 
the truth of the admonition has been strikingly 
exemplified in human affairs throughout the 
ages. The gentleman to whose life story the 
reader's attention is here invited, has by cease- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



45 



less toil and endeavor attained a marked suc- 
cess in the business world, being recognized as 
one of the representative men of Cheyenne 
where he has maintained a residence of over a 
quarter of a century. Hugo E. Buechner is a 
native of Germany, the eldest of three children 
constituting the family of William and Louise 
(Hermann) Buechner, and he was born on Oc- 
tober 30, 1849. He attended the schools of his 
native place for five years and then came to the 
United States, reaching this country on Septem- 
ber 3, i860. During the ensuing three years he 
received instruction in the public schools and 
in June, 1863, entered an establishment at New- 
ark, N. J., where jewelry was manufactured, for 
the purpose of learning this trade, remaining 
with the firm of Field & Co. for a little over 
twelve years, during which time he became thor- 
oughly trained in all branches of the business 
and earned a reputation second to none as a 
skillful workman. In 1875 Mr. Buechner came 
to Cheyenne and accepted a position in the 
jewelry house of Joslyn & Park, with whom he 
remained two and a half years, severing his 
connection for the purpose of engaging in busi- 
ness for himself, and in partnership with P. 
Zehner and A. Jackson, under the firm name of 
Zehner, Jackson & Buechner he started upon 
a business career which in due course of time 
won him not only the leading place among the 
jewelers of the city, but placed 'him at the head 
of the industry in Wyoming. The above part- 
nership lasted until 1887 when the name of the 
firm was changed to Zehner, Buechner & Co., 
by which it continued to be known until 1895 
when Buechner & Son became proprietors. 
Under the last name the business is still car- 
ried on, the firm now being the only manufac- 
turers of fine jewelry in the state and it is 
standing at the head of the trade as general 
dealers. The house as at present constituted 
consists of H. E. and Charles Buechner, with 
a second son identified with the business in a 
clerical capacity with the prospect of ere long 
also becoming a member of the firm. From the 
beginning the enterprise has been successful, 
fully meeting the most sanguine expectations 



of those interested under the skillful manage- 
ment of Mr. Buechner, who gives close atten- 
tion to every detail and employs only the finest 
workmen. The business has so increased in 
magnitude of operations as to keep the estab- 
lishment running at its full capacity in order 
to meet the constantly increasing demands for 
their high-grade goods, and calls come from all 
parts of the state for their exquisite workman- 
ship in engraving and chasing. Mr. Buechner 
has not only succeeded to a high place in the 
business circles of Cheyenne and the state but 
is equally prominent in the social and political 
life of the city. In 1882 he was elected to repre- 
sent Laramie county in the Seventh Territorial 
Legislature, and, when Wyoming was admitted 
to statehood, he was a member of the First Gen- 
eral Assembly under the present constitution. 
In politics he is pronounced in his allegiance 
to the Republican party and has been prominent 
in local and state affairs. He is also public 
spirited and takes a pardonable pride in the 
growth and development of Cheyenne, having 
the utmost confidence in the continued pros- 
perity of the city. Mr. Buechner has been suc- 
cessful in the accumulation of wealth and is 
now the possessor of an ample fortune, which 
has been earned by close attention and suc- 
cessful management since locating in the West. 
He owns a beautiful home and his domestic re- 
lations are most pleasant and agreeable, the 
family moving in the best society circles of the 
city- Fraternally he is a member of the Benevo- 
lent Protective Order of Elks, enthusiastic in 
disseminating the principles of that excellent 
organization and active in carrying out the good 
work inaugurated under its auspices. Mrs. 
Beuchner was formerly Miss Lena Schmaltz of 
Newark, N. J., in which city she married her 
husband in 1872. This most happy union has re- 
sulted in two sons and one daughter, namely ; 
Charles G., his father's partner, a young man 
of excellent business and social standing, 
Mayme, wife of Frederick J. McKie, and Au- 
gustus, who holds an important position with 
the firm of Buechner & Son, and who will soon 
join in the partnership and tread in the foot- 



46 



PROGRESSIVE 'MEN OF WYOMING. 



steps of his father, with a full knowledge of 
the jewelry business. Mr. Buechner is to be 
congratulated in having two sons who so well 
adapt themselves in the business. He has now 
spent forty years in an active service at the 
jeweler's bench. 

JOHN G. BUNN. 

John G. Bunn, of Meriden, Wyoming, is a 
native of Otsego county, N. Y., and was born 
on January 13, i860, a son of John P. and 
Sarah (Bard) Bunn, both natives of New York 
state. His father was engaged in the occupa- 
tion of farming in Otsego county and later re- 
moved to the county of Delaware, where he 
still resides, following the same occupation. The 
mother passed away during the residence of 
the family in Otsego county and lies at rest be- 
neath its sod. Mr. Bunn received his early edu- 
cation in the common schools of Otsego and 
Delaware counties, N. Y., and remained with 
his father on the farm until he had attained the 
age of twenty-one years. He then engaged in 
business for himself and worked for wages as 
a farm hand in New York until 1882. He then 
resolved to seek his fortune in the West and 
came to Nebraska, where for three months he 
worked on a farm, and then secured a position 
on the Union Pacific Railroad as a member 
of a repair crew on the line of that road as 
far as Ogden, Utah. In the fall of 1882 he 
returned to Cheyenne and was employed in 
the construction of railroad shops at that place, 
remaining in that employment until the spring 
of 1883. He came then to Lagrange, Wyo., 
and secured employment on the ranch of Mr. 
R. Martin, which adjoins his own home prop- 
erty. Here he remained for one year and ac- 
quired a thorough and practical knowledge of 
the stock business from that best of all schools, 
the school of experience. In the spring of 1884 
he took up the ranch where he now resides on 
Bear Creek, about thirty-one miles east of 
Chu«-\vater. Here he has since made his resi- 
dence and is engaged in the profitable industries 
of cattle and horseraising, and he possesses 



one of the finest hay and stock ranches in his 
section of the state. He owns 320 acres of 
patented land and has a tract of range land 
which he holds under lease from the state. His 
business is being steadily increased from year 
to year, and from small beginnings, by hard 
work, perseverance and close attention to de- 
tails he has built up a successful ranch prop- 
erty and also won the highest respect of the 
community where he resides. On November 
18, 1886, Mr. Bunn was united in marriage 
with Miss Anna Fletcher, a native of Iowa, 
a daughter of William and Martha ( Ewers) 
Fletcher, both natives of Ohio. Her parents 
early emigrated from their native state to 
Iowa, settling first in Jefferson county, and 
they were among the very earliest of 
the pioneers of that section, where they 
followed the occupation of farming, later 
removing to the county of Decatur where 
they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Bunn have six 
children, William, Walter, Ralph, Elsie, Arthur 
and Archie. They are all still living. Mr. Bunn is 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, being affiliated with the lodge at La- 
grange. Politically, he is a stanch member of 
the Democratic party, giving unswerving and 
loyal support to that organization, although he 
has never sought or held a political office. 

DELWIN C. BURDICK. 

Delwin C. Burdick. of Meriden, Laramie 
county, Wyoming, is a native of Walworth 
county, Wisconsin, having been born in that 
section of the great Middle West on Decem- 
ber 27, 1856, the son of Edwin and Mary 
(Carpenter) Burdick, both natives of New York. 
His father was a physician who emigrated from 
the Empire State in 1840 to the Badger State, 
and settled in the city of Walworth and en- 
gaged in the practice of his profession. He 
was one of the very earliest of the pioneers 
of that section of Wisconsin, and took a 
prominent part in the upbuilding of that fron- 
tier country. He remained at the beautiful lit- 
tle city of Walworth in an active medical prac- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



47 



tice up to the time of his death in 1870. The 
mother passed away from earth at Walworth 
in 1858, when her son Delwin was only two 
years of age and both his parents were buried 
in Walworth county. Mr. Burdick remained in 
attendance upon the public schools of Walworth 
county until the death of his father in 1870, 
when at the age of thirteen years he removed 
to Minnesota and lived with relatives in that 
state for two years, going then to Rock county, 
Wis., where he attended the public schools, but 
being compelled to leave school at an early age, 
he secured employment in a feedjnill for four 
years, but in 1880, desiring to engage in busi- 
ness for himself he left Wisconsin for the Black 
Hills of South Dakota, where he engaged in 
mining for about one year with little success. 
The following year he returned to his early 
Wisconsin home and again secured employment 
in a feedmill and remained engaged in that 
business for about two years. In the spring of 
the year of 1883, having determined to enter 
upon a field of endeavor where there would be 
suitable rewards for his industry and effort, 
where he would have an opportunity to estab- 
lish himself in an independent business and to 
acquire a competency, he proceeded to the ter- 
ritory of Wyoming, where amid the more favor- 
able conditions of a new country he hoped to 
acquire a fortune. Here he took up the ranch 
which he still owns and occupies, on Bear Creek, 
about fifty miles northeast of Cheyenne, and 
at once embarked in the business of cattle rais- 
ing. Beginning in a small way he has added to 
his operations from year to year and by careful 
attention to business and persistent effort he 
has overcome every difficulty which he en- 
countered, and is now the owner of a fine ranch 
of 480 acres of patented land, which is well 
stocked and in a prosperous condition. On 
November, 16, 1889, at the city of Cheyenne, 
Wyo., he was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Lilly A. Burke, a native of Connecticut and 
the daughter of the Rev. W. N. Dunham, a native 
of Vermont, but now residing in the city of 
Cheyenne, Wyo., having been a resident there 
since 1898. Mr. Burdick is a member of the 



Modern Woodmen of America, being affiliated 
with the lodge at Lagrange, while Mrs. Bur- 
dick is an active member of the Protestant 
Episcopal church, most earnest and devoted in 
all matters connected with church and char- 
itable work. 

GUS A. BURG. 

A representative Swedish-American citizen 
who has prospered in the land of his adoption, 
is Gus A. Burg, a prominent resident of Wood's 
Landing, in Albany county, Wyoming. Born 
in 1844, in Sweden, he is the son of Jonas Burg, 
his parents both being natives of the same 
country: His father was born in 1801 and fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming in Sweden up 
to the time of his demise, which did not occur 
until he had arrived at the advanced age of 
ninety-five years. The mother was born in 
181 1 and passed away within two days of the 
death of her lifelong companion and they are 
buried side by side near the scenes of their 
lives' activity. Gus A. Burg grew to man's es- 
tate in Sweden and he there received his edu- 
cation, attending the public schools and availing 
himself of every opportunity at his command 
for the purpose of acquiring knowledge in early 
life. When he had attained to the age of 
twenty-one years he began life for himself, on 
a farm near the paternal home, where he re- 
mained for about one year, then came to 
America to ascertain the whereabouts of an 
elder brother, who had been a soldier in the 
Civil War in this country and had not since 
been heard from. In America he engaged in 
various occupations in different localities in the 
eastern states for about one year and then came 
to Omaha, Neb., where he remained for about 
one year, thence coming to Laramie, in the 
territory of Wyoming. In 1868 he engaged in 
railroading, on the Union Pacific Railroad, con- 
tinuing in that employment up to 1874, when 
he located the ranch he now occupies, where he 
has since been engaged in stockraising. At 
first he entered in a small way in sheepraising 
and woolgrowing, but subsequently he changed 



4 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



his stock and has since devoted his energies to 
cattleraising, in which he is now engaged. 
Starting with two hundred and eighty acres 
of unimproved land he has added to his hold- 
ings, both of land and stock from year to year, 
until he is now the owner of a fine ranch con- 
sisting of over 1700 acres of land, well- fenced and 
improved, with modern buildings and all ap- 
pliances and conveniences for the successful con- 
ducting of the cattle industry, being one of the 
prosperous and thrifty property owners of the 
county. In 1884 he was united in matrimony with 
Miss Anna C. Matson, a native of Sweden. To 
their union have been born two children, Ames 
Oliver and Leonard C, both of whom are attend- 
ing school in Omaha, Neb. Politically Mr. Burg 
is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and 
for many years he has been active in the coun- 
cils of that political organization and taken a 
leading part in the public affairs of the com- 
munity where he maintains his home. Deeply 
interested in the work of the public schools, he 
has served as a member of the school board of 
his district, and has contributed liberally of 
both his time and means to the promotion of 
every worthy measure calculated to advance the 
best interests of his section of the state. He is 
widely respected as a successful, enterprising 
and public spirited citizen. 

HUGH BURNS. 

Hugh Burns, of Inyankara, Crook county, 
Wyoming, was born in County Donegal, Ire- 
land, on February 24, 1830, the son of John and 
Mary (Carr) Burns, whose forefathers had lived 
in the Emerald Isle for many generations, tilling 
the soil and bearing the burdens of their lot 
with patience, fidelity and cheerfulness and doing 
what they coidd in their unostentatious way to 
advance the interests of the community. In 
1842, when he was twelve years old, Hugh 
Burns was brought to America by his parents 
who settled in Greene county, N. Y., and there 
in the midst of the picturesque and historic Cat- 
skill Mountains they pursued the peaceful voca- 
tion of their fathers until death ended their la- 



bors. Their son Hugh began his education in 
his native land and completed it in his new 
home, where he remained until he was twenty- 
four years old aiding in the work on the farm. In 
1864 he sought a new country for his hopes and 
aspirations, and removing to Leavenworth, 
Kan., engaged in freighting operations between 
that city and Fort Laramie, Wyo. He con- 
ducted his operations to various cities and 
camps in Wyoming until 1867, and then halted 
at Cheyenne, then only the promise of a town 
and mainly composed of tents. From there he 
went to Fort. Saunders and was there when 
Laramie was founded. He worked on ranches 
and at other occupations in that neighborhood 
until 1883 when he removed to his present ranch 
in Crook county, seventeen miles south of Sun- 
dance, where he was one of the first settlers 
and saw much of the real hardship and priva- 
tion of pioneer life, his very ranch being part 
of a battlefield on which whites and Indians had 
fought desperately for the mastery and civiliza- 
tion had triumphed over barbarism in 1875. 
Since then nature has covered the wounds of 
that struggle with her greenest tapestry, and 
skillful husbandry has transformed the wilds 
into fruitful fields periodically white with the 
harvests of systematic industry, so that now 
what w r as at Mr. Burns' settlement an almost 
unbroken wilderness is one of the thickly popu- 
lated and highly cultivated sections of a great 
and growing, although still youthful state, and 
it owes its development and progress largely 
to his thrift, enterprise and influential spirit of 
advancement. Fie and his two sons, who have 
ranches adjoining his. have as fine a body of 
land as the county contains, and carry on one 
of the most active and profitable stock indus- 
tries in this portion of the state. In all the af- 
fairs of his locality Mr. Burns has taken a great 
interest and a leading part. He is the post- 
master at Inyankara and is looked up to as 
a man of commanding influence in all lines of 
civil and commercial life in the community. On 
January t, 1878, at Laramie, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary J. McCall, a native 
of Ireland, where her parents. Terence and Jane 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



49 



McCall, were also born of ancestry that had 
been resident there from time immemorial. Her 
father was a prosperous shoe merchant in Ire- 
land, and both of her parents have died and been 
buried there. Mr. and Mrs. Burns have two 
children, both sons, Charles and John. All 
the family are members of the Catholic church, 
and it is but just to say of the sons that they are 
exemplars of the business thrift and energy, 
the sterling worth and all the amenities of life 
for which their parents have been distinguished 
from their youth. 

JAMES CARRAGHER. 

A prominent rancher of Spring Hill, Wyo- 
ming, is James Carragher, who is one of the 
leading citizens of Albany county. He was 
born on June 12, 1854, in Livingston county, 
N. Y., the son of John and Catherine (Carney) 
Carragher, both natives of Ireland. His father 
was a mason by trade and followed that occu- 
pation in Livingston county for many years and 
up to 1861, when he enlisted in Co. G, Eighth 
New York Cavalry, and went to the front in 
the great Civil War. At the battle of the Wil- 
derness he was captured and taken as a prisoner 
of war to Libbey prison and died there in 1864. 
The mother remained in the New York home 
and at this writing makes her home at Cale- 
donia in that state. James Carragher grew to 
man's estate in Livingston county and received 
his early education in the public schools of Cale- 
donia. After having completed his education, he 
remained at home with his mother and followed 
farming until he had attained to the age of 
twenty-four years. In the spring of 1879, he 
determined to seek his fortune in the country 
farther to the west, came to Omaha, Neb., ac- 
cepted a position in the machine shops of the 
Union Pacific Railroad and remained there for 
about one year. In 1880 he removed to Colo- 
rado, where he engaged in prospecting and min- 
ing in the county of Gunnison with varying suc- 
cess for about four years. He then abandoned 
the business of mining, and came to the city of 
Denver, in the state of Colorado. He then 



again entered the employ of the Union Pacific 
Railway and went to the territory of Idaho, 
where he was employed as a stone-mason. After 
he had completed his engagement in Idaho he 
returned to Denver' where he remained a short 
time, and then went to Cheyenne, where he was 
employed as a stone-mason, securing employ- 
ment on a ranch near that city, he remained 
three years. In the fall of 1887 he came to 
Albany county, and in the spring of the follow- 
ing year he located a ranch on Bear Creek, 
about fifty miles south of Douglas, Wyo., and 
there engaged in the business of raising cattle. 
He continued, here in the cattle business with 
considerable success up to 1900, when he dis- 
posed of his ranch to good advantage and pur- 
chased his present place on Trail Creek, a tribu- 
tary of Horseshoe Creek, in Horseshoe Park, 
one of the most desirable ranch locations in the 
state. He has since that time continued to re- 
side on the latter ranch, and has met with suc- 
cess in his chosen industry, being now the owner 
of 480 acres of land, well fenced and improved, 
with a modern residence and all suitable build- 
ings and conveniences for the carrying on of 
a general cattle business. His success is clue 
to his own efforts and to the energy, ability and 
good judgment he has shown in the manage- 
ment of his ranch and stock interests. Pie is 
one of the most respected citizens of Albany 
county, and has the warm friendship and es- 
teem of all who know him. On November 17, 
1899, Mr. Carragher was united in marriage 
at Cheyenne, Wyo., with Miss Margaret Abney, 
a native of Wyoming and the daughter of Jack- 
son and Margaret (Moody) Abney, the former 
a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. 
The father of Mrs. Carragher was long en- 
gaged in the cattle business in Wyoming, hav- 
ing a ranch near the city of Cheyenne. Dur- 
ing the early days before the advent of the 
railroad, he was engaged in freighting from 
Missouri River points to the country farther 
to the west, and was an active and prosperous 
business man for many years in Wyoming and 
one of the earliest pioneers ot the territory. 
He passed away in March, 1896, and lies buried 



50 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in Cheyenne. The mother died in 1879, an d lies 
by the side of her husband. Mrs. Carragher is 
a devout member of the Protestant Episcopal 
church and her husband is a member of the 
Roman Catholic church, but both take active 
interest in all works of religion and charity in 
the community where their home is located. 
Politically, Mr. Carragher is identified with 
the Democratic party, a conscientious be- 
liever in the principles of that political organiza- 
tion, although never taking a partisan position 
in local politics. 

JUDGE WILLIAM A. CARTER. 

Judge William A. Carter was born on April 
15, 1818, at Pittsylvania, Prince William county, 
Virginia, a son of Wormley and Lucinda 
(Washington) Carter, and the plantation of his 
birth had been for generations an ancestral 
heritage. The Carter family is one of the old- 
est and proudest on the roll of ' Virginia's 
earliest settlers, the first American ancestor, 
John Carter, the emigrant, coming to the col- 
ony in 1649 an d acquiring landed possessions 
and making his residence at Corotoman in 
Lancaster county. He soon became a man of 
importance and wealth, and in that troublous 
period of the Old Dominion's history his record 
is that of loyalty, good judgment and conserva- 
tive influence. His son, Col. Robert Carter, at- 
tained a higher position than his father and his 
wealth was far in excess of his father's for- 
tune. In 1730 Lord Fairfax conveyed to him 
63,000 acres of the great "northern neck" of 
Virginia, and a historian writes that "on this 
tract, around the present village of Millwood, 
settled numerous friends and relatives of the 
proprietor, bringing with them the traits of the 
lowlands." In this attractive country (one 
American writer called it "the New Arcady,") 
the Lowlanders located their families and serv- 
ants ; erected the "Old Chapel" church which 
still nestles under the lofty sycamores and 
here their descendants remain to this day. Be- 
fore 1727 Col. Robert Carter, who bad filled 
various important offices with dignity and capa- 



bility, was advanced from the high position of 
"president of the council" to the highest office 
in the colony, that of governor, in which office 
he was succeeded by William Gooch. His 
name is perpetuated by numerous descendants, 
identified in a marked manner with various 
places of the state, as it has been conferred on 
mountains, rivers and other localities. At the 
time of his death he was considered the wealth- 
iest man of the state. Judge Carter was a direct 
descendant in the fifth generation from Col. 
Robert Carter, but was early left an orphan, his 
father dying when his son was but seven years 
of age and leaving a widow and five children. 
William remained near his birthplace until he 
was seventeen, waxing strong and vigorous 
amid the pleasant rural surroundings and in 
the beautiful country air, receiving the educa- 
tional advantages of the country schools. While 
yet a lad his heart was filled with thoughts of 
the future and the ambition to be a leader 
among men, and it was no wonder that his 
adventurous spirit caused him to enlist in the 
U. S. army for services against the Seminole 
Indians at the above mentioned age. His 
manly bearing and strong personality impressed 
themselves upon his superiors and be was soon 
appointed sergeant in Co.. A of the Second U. 
S. Dragoons. His term of service was faith- 
fully served, and after his muster-out be had 
no difficulty in obtaining the appointment of 
sutler or posttrader at a number of the U. S. 
military posts in Florida. The official roster 
of the commissioned officers serving in the 
Seminole War continued some later prominent 
names, and during Mr. Carter's residence in 
that locality he formed strong friendships with 
the young officers who, later, in the Civil War, 
acquired distinction as Generals Harney, Ord 
and Sherman. The privations and sufferings 
they endured together in the Everglades tended 
to bind more closely the bonds of unity, it be- 
ing particularly' so in the case of Harney, and 
it is pleasing to note that that celebrated In- 
dian fighter passed one of the last summers of 
his life at Judge Carter's home at Fort Bridger. 
In 1842, after 'recovering from a severe at- 





tS^i /u^^- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



5i 



tack of yellow fever, he returned to Virginia 
and, in 1845, with his brothers, John and Rich- 
ard, William A. Carter emigrated to Missouri, 
where he purchased a farm seven miles from 
Columbia in Boone county, and engaged in 
agriculture. Here he married on November 2, 
1848, Miss Mary E. Hamilton, who had just 
come to Boone county from Virginia with her 
mother's family. Their acquaintance had ex- 
isted since childhood and had ripened into love. 
The young couple resided on the homestead 
near Columbia for over two years. Mrs. Car- 
ter was a daughter of Robert and Ann F. 
(Carter) Hamilton, natives of Virginia and de- 
scendants of early English and Scotch emi- 
grants of the Colonial days, while members of 
both branches of the ancestral line participated 
in the Revolution as ardent patriots. Her 
father was a son of John and Susannah (Beale) 
Hamilton. Judge and Mrs. Carter were parents 
of six children, of whom we here enter brief 
record.. Ada, wife of Joseph K. Corson, a sur- 
geon in the U. S. A. ; Anne F., married J. Van- 
A. Carter (now deceased) ; Lulie L. married 
Maurice Groshon ; William A., married Miss 
Kate Chase of Omaha, Neb., and lives in Den- 
ver, Colo. ; Roberta H., wife of W. H. Camp 
of Alameda, Cal. ; Edgar N., superintendent of 
the U. S. fish commission, who married Miss 
Boydie Faulkner, daughter of Senator Faulk-, 
ner of West Virginia, and maintains his home 
in St. Johnsbury, Vt. The glittering reports 
brought from California contrasted too strongly 
with the quiet pastoral life of Missouri and 
again the adventurous spirit was awakened in 
Mr. Carter. In April, 1850, leaving his wife 
to the care of relatives he started on the long 
and dangerous overland journey across the 
plains and mountains for the bewitching land of 
Sold, and with him went his brother Richard and 
brother-in-law Richard Hamilton. A severe 
illness resulted in partial loss of sight caused 
his early return to Missouri. Wild and danger- 
ous as was the trip to California, the return 
was far more difficult. The constant exposure 
to pestilential miasmas and the sleepless vigi- 
lance 'required to circumvent the savage men 



and dangerous animals to be contended with 
in the intricate swamps *of Nicaragua soon sap- 
ped the constitution of the returning miners, 
hundreds of whom there found their last rest- 
ing place. His strong mind dominating all 
physical discomfort, Mr. Carter reached Cuba 
in August, 185 1, immediately after the capture 
of the filibuster Lopez by the Spanish govern- 
ment. All arrivals in the island, especially of 
Americans, were considered those of filibuster 
tendencies, and Mr. Carter narrowly escaped 
confinement and death, but finally reached his 
home in Missouri, where for some years he 
conducted agricultural operations. When the 
military expedition against the Mormons in 
Utah was decided upon, General Harney of- 
fered Mr. Carter the post-tradership of one of 
the posts he, as commander of the department, 
was about to establish. Harney was soon suc- 
ceeded by Gen. Albert S. Johnston, and under 
his administration Mr. Carter became post- 
trader at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, his opera- 
tions commencing in the winter of 1857-8 in the 
camp established two miles above the place 
where the fort was to be erected. In 1858 the 
site of the fort was located and work begun on 
the buildings. The poststore and trader's resi- 
dence occupied a square adjoining the officers, 
and here was Judge Carter's home, which in 
time became known throughout a wide area 
as the center of a bounteous hospitality. This 
title of "judge" came to him from his appoint- 
ment as U. S. commissioner, in which judicial 
capacity he had frequently to examine and often 
commit for trial by the Federal court at Salt 
Lake City, the lawless and dangerous men then 
frequenting this wild section. Fie was a firm 
and fearless official, never swerved from duty 
by threats or attempted intimidation. In 
August, 1861, the exigencies of the Civil War 
took away the garrison at Fort Bridger. Cap- 
tain Clark of the quartermaster's department 
with one private was left in charge of the gov- 
ernment property until the spring of 1862, when 
he too was ordered east. At his urgent request 
Judge Carter assumed the transportation of 
the government property to Denver. This un- 



52 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



dertaking required forty wagons and besides 
arming each driver a guard of twenty selected 
men accompanied the train. From Denver 
Judge Carter hastily returned to Fort Bridger 
where the departure of the troops had left no 
security for the safety of life or property. 
Bands of Indians were committing outrages 
and there was nothing to check their ravages. 
Millersville, the station east of Fort Bridger, 
was burned, herds of horses were stolen and 
fears were entertained for the safety of the 
fort. To meet this emergency Judge Carter 
organized a company of sixty men from the set- 
tlers and employes of the Overland Stage Co. 
and himself, and purchasing arms for the outfit 
at his own expense he converted a portion of 
his store building into an armory and drill 
room and daily drills were initiated. Although 
having no governmental authority, the installa- 
tion of this company maintained order and 
peace, and safely protected both private and 
public property until the. arrival of a company 
of California volunteers in December, 1862, 
ended the necessity of its existence. General 
Conner, commander of this military department, 
under an erroneous impression reported to the 
War Department that Judge Carter was actuated 
by selfish and mercenary ends in this matter, 
but on visiting the field was convinced that the 
action was a patriotic and praiseworthy one, 
became one of the warmest friends of the 
judge, and becoming convinced that the 
stories of Indian depredations sent him by 
Judge Carter did not magnify the danger, in 
the spring of 1863 organized an expedition to 
punish and conquer the savages. At this time, 
and through the whole of the Civil War period, 
Judge Carter was in constant and dangerous 
activity. He was then a special agent of the 
U. S. P. O. department for the inspection of 
the handling of the mails, his duties calling him 
frequently over the wild route of the Overland 
Stage Co., and sometimes to the Pacific coast. 
As the stages were not infrequently attacked 
by Indians, he had his share of excitement and 
often numerous escapes from death. But his 
cool and undaunted courage never faltered and 



not a duty was neglected and his entire course 
was heartily approved by his supporters. Fore- 
seeing the departure of the troops Judge Car- 
ter had disposed of nearly all of his goods prior 
to that event, realizing that in such an emer- 
gency as then confronted him an intelligent 
business man should so arrange his property as 
to make it come under adequate protection, and 
had invested in other fields and enterprises. As 
early as March, 1867, he had begun to locate 
mining claims and was successful in obtaining 
valuable properties in the rich mineral region 
of South Pass, still keeping Fort Bridger as 
his home and base of operations. When peace 
was declared, immigration again commenced 
into the west, the various branches of indus- 
trial activity took on new life and in this prog- 
ress and development, especially in the region 
around about Fort Bridger, Judge Carter was 
a forceful agent. On the discovery of gold at 
South Pass, he fitted out and equipped a num- 
ber of prospecting parties ; when oil was dis- 
covered in a spring in Uinta county not far 
from Fort Bridger he utilized this product, with 
a small still producing and refining enough oil 
for illuminating purposes at the fort before the 
advent of the Union Pacific Railroad. He was 
the first person to engage in the manufacture 
of lumber in Western W'yoming. He engaged 
extensively as a pioneer in cattleraising and 
was one of the earliest to note and take ad- 
vantage of its wondrous possibilities. In many 
other and widely varying fields of commercial 
activity he demonstrated his faith in the capa- 
bilities and productiveness of his part of the 
western territory and success crowned his ef- 
forts in a high degree. His plans were far 
reaching, wise and sagacious. Although cool, 
careful and conservative, whenever his judg- 
ment approved a business venture he gave to 
it the whole force of his energetic nature and 
persistently carried it to a successful comple- 
tion. He took a prominent part in the efforts 
made to organize the territory of Wyoming, 
and, from his opportunities and the character 
of his extensive acquaintance, was largely re- 
sponsible for its establishment. At that time 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



53 



his winters were passed in New York and 
Washington and his personal connection with 
prominent public men and statesmen stood in 
good stead in the carrying out of this wise de- 
sign, which meant so much in advancing the 
progress of civilization in this land of his adop- 
tion. During the winter of 1867-8 he devoted 
his time and means freely to acquainting mem- 
bers of Congress with the true conditions of 
the land, and the rights of the people of Wyo- 
ming to a representation in the councils of the 
nation. His labor was successful and when the 
boundaries of the territory were established his 
efforts located its western line. He was so 
prominently connected with the formation of 
the territory that President Grant offered to 
commission him as its first governor, an exalted 
honor, which he declined, as the duties would 
deprive him too much of that domestic life 
that was to him the highest charm of existence. 
Although his successful business operations 
were extensive and multitudinous, they were so 
systematically arranged that during his later 
years he devoted himself largely to the enjoy- 
ment of the wealth his ability had produced. His 
greatest pleasure lay in lavishly entertaining 
the numerous friends with whom he was united 
as with bands of steel, and in his hospitable resi- 
dence at Fort Bridger many of America's most 
prominent people have enjoyed the pleasant 
society of the Judge and of his excellent wife, 
who ably seconded and aided her husband in his 
undertakings, dispensing a hospitality as 
bountiful as that of royalty. Among their 
friends and visitors were the distinguished sci- 
entists, Professors Leidy, Marsh and Cope, 
Generals Harney, Sherman, Ord and Cook, and 
the great railroad magnates and financiers, John 
W. and Robert Garrett of the Baltimore. & Ohio 
Railroad, Jay Gould and Sidney Dillon. With 
such friends and companions life passed pleas- 
antly and usefully until November 7, 1881, 
when, in his sixty-third year, Judge Carter was 
called from earth to those activities that have 
no weariness and mourning rested upon all the 
people. Of southern birth Judge Carter deeply 
sympathized with the South in the troubles 



antedating and accompanying the War of 
Secession, but his hatred of negro slavery and 
love of country united him with the most ar- 
dent supporters of the Union. Always in 
politics a strong supporter of the Republican 
party and deeply interested in public matters, 
yet his ardent love of domestic life caused him 
to decline all nominations to office or elective 
public trusts. His moral courage, tried in many 
occasions, was never found wanting. Neutrality 
was impossible to him, for he never shirked a 
duty or an issue. His latent resources under 
the stimuli of difficulty and opposition were 
always equal to the demands made upon him 
in meeting weighty responsibilities and bearing 
the heavy burdens involved. He possessed the 
fine feelings so characteristic of Virginia birth 
and breeding and was intensely loyal to his 
friends. As there is an inspiration to others 
in the achievements of such men, we gather 
this review of the salient points of the life of 
Judge Carter and lay it as an honorable record 
where its influence may descend with helpful 
strength to other generations. His memory 
will long be cherished and his life is a part 
of the history of the state. 

FRED L. CLARK. 

After years of wandering and working in 
various places, pushing one enterprise after 
another with characteristic energy and winning 
success from many hard conditions through 
clearness of vision and resoluteness of purpose, 
Fred L. Clark of near Inyankara, Crook county, 
Wyoming, at length halted his wear}' feet in one 
of the most picturesque and desirable sections 
of his last adopted state and is there engaged 
in a profitable and extensive business, raising 
cattle in large numbers and of superior grades, 
constantly enlarging his herds and improving 
their quality. Mr. Clark's life began on De- 
cember 22, 1859, in Lake county, Ohio, where 
his parents, Nathan and Margaret (Tinny) 
Clark, passed the years of their maturity, the 
mother dying in 1866 and the father in 1899, 
up to which time he carried on a high-grade 



54 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



merchant tailoring establishment, doing busi- 
ness in Cleveland, although residing at Wil- 
loughby, a beautiful lake town about twenty- 
five miles distant. Here their son Fred attended 
school and after finishing his education he 
clerked in stores, living with his father until 
he was twenty- four years of age. In 1882 the love 
of adventure, a spirit of independence and a thirst 
for larger opportunities and a freer life attract- 
ed him to the far west, and he came to Hailey, 
Idaho, and collecting there a fine herd of milch 
cows he opened a dairy business which he con- 
ducted through the summer, taking his cattle 
to Boise City in the fall and disposing of them 
at that place and turning his attention to the 
stock business, handling blooded horses and 
cattle, later entering a general store as a clerk 
until the summer of 1889, when he came over- 
land to northern Wyoming and located a home- 
stead in Crook county fourteen miles south of 
Sundance, where he remained engaged in stock- 
raising until the fall of 1899, when he sold the 
ranch and bought the one on which he now 
lives, eighteen miles south of Sundance, at the 
foot of Mt. Kara. Lying among the hills with- 
a pleasing and advantageous succession of up- 
land and plain, it is well watered, produces large 
crops of hay and grain and has an unusually 
fine body of grazing ground. The home place 
contains 480 acres and Mr. Clark controls about 
800 more, all of which are under tribute to his 
extensive cattle business, which is one of the 
largest and most renowned in that part of the 
state. In addition to its natural beauty and 
interest, the section of country in which Mr. 
Clark's ranch is located has historic associations 
and suggestions of value. What is known as 
Custer's trail runs by the ranch, marking the 
route of the distinguished but unfortunate gen- 
eral when in pursuit of the Indians. His name 
is cut in bold letters on the bald rock far up the 
mountain side, and it is said that inscription 
was the cutting of the general's own hand. 
April .18, 1889, witnessed the marriage of Mr. 
Clark to Miss Ollie Thompson, who was born 
in Colchester, 111., in 1870, the ceremony being 
performed at Soda Springs, Idaho, and the 



bride was a daughter of Michael S. and Nancy 
(Dunsworth) Thompson, members of pioneer 
families in the great Prairie State, who settled 
in Idaho in 1884 and went to ranching near 
Boise City, where Mr. Thompson now resides, 
his capable wife having passed into the Eternal 
Silence in 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have had 
four children, Nathan S., John V., Delia B., de- 
ceased, and Ethel L. Politically Mr. Clark af- 
filiates with the Republican party, but is more 
concerned for the advancement of the com- 
munity than party triumphs and he is held in 
high esteem throughout a large scope of 
country. 

JOHN CAMERON. 

Enjoying distinctive prestige as one of the 
representative farmers and stockraisers of 
Laramie county, Wyoming, and standing as a 
leading citizen of the community in which he 
resides, Mr. John Cameron owes his success 
entirely to his own efforts and is clearly en- 
titled to the proud American appellation of self- 
made man. The story of his life is easily told, 
for into his career have entered no thrilling ex- 
periences, his every action standing open to the 
closest scrutiny and most critical judgment of 
men, not an eventful life, but one that has not 
been denied a goodly harvest. John Cameron 
hails from far-away Scotland, and is a notable 
example of the wholesome influence which the 
sturdy Scotch element has exercised upon our 
industrial and national life. His father, James 
Cameron, was a forester of Perthshire, dying 
in Scotland in 1884. The maiden name of the 
mother was Elizabeth McAntish ; she also lived 
and died in Perthshire, where her son John was 
born, on May 14, 1856, and he received his early 
educational discipline in such schools as his 
neighborhood afforded, growing up amid the 
bracing air of outdoor life, strong of body and 
independent of spirit and until his eighteenth 
year he remained under the parental roof, con- 
tributing his share to the family's support. In 
1874 he was enabled to carry out a desire of 
long standing and bidding farewell to the ro- 
mantic scenes of his childhood he turned his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



do 



face to the new world and entered upon a new 
destiny. Reaching the United States after an 
uneventful voyage, young Cameron proceeded 
at once to San Francisco, Cal., thence to Los 
Angeles, near which city he soon secured em- 
ployment on a cattle ranch. After remaining 
on the Pacific coast until 1880, he went to Lari- 
mer county, Colo., where he followed agricul- 
tural pursuits about six years, thence removing 
to Wyoming, of which state he has since been 
an honored resident. On coming to Wyoming 
Mr. Cameron made a judicious selection of land 
on the North Platte River, twenty miles east of 
Fort Laramie, taking up and buying 564 acres, 
admirably situated for agricultural and graz- 
ing purposes. He has reduced a part of his 
ranch to successful cultivation, besides making 
a number of valuable improvements, his place 
and the buildings in general comparing favor- 
ably with the leading properties of the kind in 
this part of the state. He has made commend- 
able progress in the stock industry, and from 
the beginning his career presents a series of 
continued successes until he stands to-day 
among the leading cattle men in the county of 
Laramie, being a practical man of progressive 
ideas and supervising with the greatest of care 
his large interests. He bears the highest repu- 
tation for enterprising methods and is widely 
esteemed by the stockmen of this section and 
all other classes of people with whom he has 
relations. He manages his affairs on strictly 
business principles, is systematic and methodi- 
cal and close attention to details, capability and 
fair dealing have brought to him not only a high 
degree of success, but the confidence of the 
public. Mr. Cameron has read much and is a 
close student of current and political questions, 
especially those bearing on state and national 
legislation. He is the recognized Democratic 
leader of the precinct in which he lives and has 
long been in close touch with the management 
of the party throughout the county. His deep 
interest in local and state politics has brought 
him to the front as a successful party worker 
and in a number of campaigns he has done 



much to promote the success of the ticket. 
From 1896 to 1898 inclusive he served as a 
justice of the peace while for four and one-half 
years he was the popular postmaster at Tor- 
rington, holding the office until the railroad 
was completed, when it was located in a station 
bearing the same name. In promoting and 
carrying to successful completion public enter- 
prises, especially those affecting the material 
development of the country, Mr. Cameron has 
been a leading spirit. He helped organize the 
Torrington Ditch Co., which has proved such 
a benefit in irrigating and reclaiming a large 
part of Laramie county, and for ten years has 
been the secretary of the corporation and one 
of its largest stockholders. He has assisted to 
the limit of his ability other measures for the 
general good, and his influence is invariably 
exerted in behalf of any enterprise calculated to 
improve the moral and social conduct of the 
people and advance the standard of citizenship. 
While on a visit to his native land in 1878, Mr. 
Cameron was initiated in the Ancient Order of 
Free and Accepted Masonry and has been 
an active worker of the mystic tie ever since, 
belonging to Scotts Bluff Lodge, No. 201. He 
was reared rather rigidly in the strict faith of 
the Scotch Presbyterian church and has always 
been loyal to its teachings and precepts. He and 
wife were members of the church and active in 
the good work of the congregation with which 
they are identified. Mr. Cameron entered mar- 
riage relations at Fort Collins, Colo., on June 
2, 1883, with Miss Mary Watson, also a native 
of Scotland and daughter of John and Jane 
(McKenzie) Watson, both her parents living 
and dying in that country. Two children came 
to their marriage, Paul and Jane McKenzie 
Cameron. Mrs. Cameron died of consumption 
after a lingering illness, on June 7, 1902, and 
she was interred in West Lawn cemetery at 
Gering, Scott's Bluff county, Neb., passing over 
to those activities which have no weariness with 
the cordial love and blessings of an unusually 
large number of personal friends, who highly 
prized her many excellent traits of character. 



56 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



HON. JOHN G. CASEY. 

? 

Hon. John G. Casey, mayor of Kemmerer, 

Wyoming, is a native of Watertown, Wis., born 
in\i88~y) the son of Matthew and Susan (Milick) 
Casey. Matthew Casey was born in Rosscom- 
mon county, Ireland, and was a thrifty farmer, 
who emigrating from Ireland settled at Water- 
town, Wis., where his thrift made farming suc- 
cessful for him until his death at the ripe age 
of j6. Mayor Casey's mother was born in the 
same place as his father, with whom she was 
married in Watertown, Wis., where she still 
resides, both herself and her husband being 
devout members of the Catholic church. John 
G. Casey remained with his parents until his 
thirty-fifth year, when he went to Laramie, 
Wyo., and opened a saloon, which he conducted 
until 1890, when he went to Ogden, Utah, and 
followed the same business there for nine years 
after which he moved to Kemmerer, Wyo., 
where he has since lived conducting the same 
vocation. His citizenship is so satisfactory to 
his townsmen that they have made him their 
mayor and his popularity is ever in evidence 
and he is a member of the fraternal lodges of 
the Eagles and the Elks of Rock Springs, Wyo. 
Mr. Casey was married in 1882 with Minnie 
Sutherland, daughter of August Sutherland and 
a native of Sweden. The couple have had four 
children : Edward ; George, now deceased ; Har- 
ry ; Margaret. 

COL. HORACE E. CHRISTMAS. 

This prominent attorney and citizen of 
Kemmerer, Wyoming, is a native of England, 
born in 1857, the son of Charles and Amelia 
(Bachelor) Christmas. The father, a capitalist 
and man of affairs, was born in Hampshire, Eng- 
land, and came to America in 1873, locating at 
Grand Haven, Mich., where he lived mostly in 
retirement but prosperously managed his own 
business, being a successful financier and hav- 
ing interests in London, Michigan and Minne- 
sota. He was a Republican in politics but 
would never accept public office, though asked 



to do so, dying in 1883 at the age of 70 years, 
being a member of the Episcopal church and 
devoted to his home and the education of his 
children. His father was an English county 
squire and capitalist who died at the venerable 
age of ninety-two years and was buried at Lip- 
book, England. Mrs. Amelia (Bachelor) Christ- 
mas was born at Guilfort, England, in which 
land she was married and died in 1883, at 
Coopersville, Mich., and was buried at Grand 
Haven, aged sixty-five years, being a devoted 
member of the Episcopal church, in whose af- 
fairs she took an active part, and a model wife 
and mother, who left four sons and four daugh- 
ters, her own parents both dying early in life. 
Horace E. Christmas was educated at Ackender 
College, Hampshire, England, where he was 
graduated in 1873, thence coming with his par- 
ents to Grand Haven, Mich., where he was en- 
gaged in the lumber business for about three 
years, after which he accepted a position as 
cashier of the American Express Co., at Grand 
Haven and remained in it until 1881, when he 
went to Omaha, Neb., with S. R. Callaway, the 
general manager of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
and took up the duties of clerk in the purchas- 
ing and supply department of the road, in which 
he continued until 1884 when he was made chief 
clerk of the coal department under D. O. Clark. 
This position he held until 1891 when he became 
the assistant cashier of the First National Bank 
of Rock Spring-s, Wyo., and so continued until 
1895. Meanwhile having studied law, he was 
admitted to practice in the Supreme and Dis- 
trict Courts in this year. Law was now his busi- 
ness and profession, and after a short practice 
of it at Rock Springs he moved to Kemmerer 
and has since resided there. Colonel Christmas 
is a Republican and has always refused to stand 
for any elective office, but was' appointed post- 
master at Kemmerer. His fraternal affiliations 
are with the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen 
of the World and the Eagles. He received a 
military training in England and has always 
been actively interested in military affairs. In 
Michigan he took a prominent and important 
part in the Second Regiment of the Michigan 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



57 



National Guard, later organizing- the First Na- 
tional Guard of Wyoming of which he was 
colonel for five years. He held command (by 
courtesy) of the Seventh and Eighth United 
States Infantry at Fort Logan and Fort Rus- 
sell, Wyo., and has always brought enthusiasm 
as well as knowledge and skill to his military 
work, being a man of fine bearing and cour- 
teous and pleasant manners. Colonel Christ- 
mas married in 1880, with Margaret J. Leggat, 
a native of Grand Haven, Mich., daughter of 
Robert and Cornelia (Avery) Leggat. Her 
father has large mining interests in Butte, 
Mont., and her mother, now deceased, was buried 
at Grand Haven. Seven children enlarge and 
brighten this family circle, Robert, Charles A., 
John A., Frank M., Marian, Margaret and 
Marjorie. 

JOHN C. COBLE. 

One of the most successful stockmen of 
Albany county, whose address is Bosler, Wyo- 
ming, is the subject of this sketch review, and 
a native of Carlisle, Pa., his birth occurring on 
June 4, 1858, the son of John and Hettie (Wil- 
liams) Coble, prominent and highly respected 
citizens of that state. John C." Coble grew to 
man's estate at Carlisle, there received his early 
education in the public schools and subse- 
quently attending Duffs College, also Cham- 
bersburg Academy at Pittsburg, also Dickinson 
College, at Carlisle, Pa., and pursuing thorough 
courses of study at these institutions, being 
graduated in the class of '76. Desiring to avail 
himself of more favorable business conditions 
than he found in his native state, he left the 
home of his childhood and early manhood and 
went to the North Platte valley of Nebraska 
and entered upon the business of raising cattle 
until the following year and then removed his 
residence to the Powder River country in John- 
son county, Wyo. Here he continued the same 
industry and met with great success, remaining 
in that locality until 1887, when he removed to 
Albany county, where he now resides. From 
, small beginnings he has increased his herds and 
landed possessions until he is now one of the 



largest property owners in his section of the 
state. His success and present standing in the 
community as a prosperous man of business has 
been due entirely to his own efforts, and to the 
industry, ability and good judgment with which 
he has handled his operations. He has given 
his exclusive attention to the cattle business to 
the. neglect of all other branches of industry, 
no matter how inviting as money-making ven- 
tures, and has kept down the expenses of his 
enterprise within reasonable limits. It is to this 
feature of economical management that he at- 
tributes a large measure of his remarkable suc- 
cess; holding firmly to the belief that the ma- 
jority of failures in the stock industry are direct- 
ly due to the lack of safe and economical meth- 
ods of carrying on the business. His own suc- 
cess in all his business transactions would seem 
to vindicate his judgment. He is now the owner 
of immense tracts of land in Albany county and 
other sections of the state and is one of the 
solid and most substantial business men and 
property owners of Wyoming. For many years 
he has been conducting experiments in the rais- 
ing of fine breeds of cattle and horses, and has 
a large number of the finest and most valuable 
animals in Wyoming, his especial pride being 
thoroughbred stallions and high-class cattle. 
He carries on his business operations under the 
name of the Iron Mountain Ranch Co., and his 
home ranch is one of the . most perfectly 
equipped places for stockraising on a large scale. 
Mr. Coble has never been married and frater- 
nally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks and with the Masonic 
order, taking a deep interest in fraternal life. 
No one in Albany county has done more to pro- 
mote the growth and development of his sec- 
tion or to promote the welfare of the people. 
Public spirited, progressive in his ideas and 
enterprising and ♦straightforward in his business' 
methods, Mr. Coble stands high in the esteem 
of all classes of his fellow citizens and repre- 
sents the best type of the successful men of the 
West. A man of education and force of char- 
acter, he might be prominent in the political life 
of his state if his ambitions led him in that di- 






58 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



rection, but thus far he has preferred to give 
his entire time and attention to the care and 
management of his extensive business interests 
and to leave public affairs in other hands. 

WILLIAM B. COY. 

The gentleman whose biography ,is set forth 
in the following lines is a western man by birth 
and education and his life has been very closely 
identified with the states of Colorado and Wyo- 
ming. His father, John G. Coy, was a native 
of New York and the mother whose maiden 
name was Emily Adams was born in England. 
These parents came west in i860 settling in 
Larimer county, Colo., where Mr. Coy pur- 
chased land and engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits about one mile from Fort Collins, and his 
son William B. was born at the latter place on 
August 21, 1867, and remained with his parents 
until about twenty years old, meanwhile attend- 
ing the schools of Fort Collins, acquiring a fair 
knowledge of- the fundamental branches of 
study. He was reared to farm labor and early 
learned to place a true estimate on honest toil, 
the lessons thus learned proving of great prac- 
tical value when he left home to seek his own 
fortune. In July, 1887, Mr. Coy came to Lara- 
mie county, Wyo., and located on his present 
ranch, to which his father had laid claim three 
years previously, and from that date to the pres- 
ent time he has been actively engaged in farm- 
ing and stockraising, realizing liberal results 
from both vocations. In 1888 he took up land 
adjoining his place and now owns 720 acres, all 
admirably situated for grazing purposes, being 
well watered and overgrown with a dense 
growth of the nutritious grasses on which stock 
feeds readily and fattens so quickly. When Mr. 
Coy first came to Wyoming he was in partner- 
ship with his father, but the* relation termin- 
ated in 1893, since which time he has carried on 
business alone, meeting with gratifying success. 
He pays especial attention to cattle and horses, 
and from a small beginning has steadily but 
surely widened the area of his operations, until 
he is now classed with the enterprising ranch- 



men of his section, his place being well stocked 
with a fine grade of animals, while the future 
outlook is most encouraging. Mr. Coy is a true 
son of the West, imbued with the broad mind 
and progressive character of the wide-awake 
men of this great region, and possesses those 
sterling qualities of head and heart which in- 
sure not only financial success, but the con- 
fidence and esteem of the public. He is popular 
in his community and ready at all times to con- 
tribute his influence to any movement for the 
good of his fellowmen, and those who know him 
best speak in complimentary terms of his hon- 
orable business course and manly character. 
On February 10, 1891, Mr. Coy and Miss Belle 
Paddock were united in marriage near the town 
of Minatare, Neb. Mrs. Coy is a native of Ver- 
mont, the daughter of Harmon N. and Harriet 
(Baldwin) Paddock, and both parents were born 
and reared in Vermont. The family moved to 
Nebraska in 1886 and after three years there 
came to Wyoming, settling on the Platte River 
where Mr. Paddock followed farming until his 
death on January 22, 1901. Mrs. Paddock now 
makes her home with Mrs. Coy. Two bright 
children have greatly added to the interest and 
happiness of this home circle ; their names being 
Floyd N. and Alice E. 

ARTHUR H. CROW. 

One of the successful mining men of Wyo 1 
ming, Arthur H. Crow, of Encampment, is 
one of the progressive and enterprising citizens 
who have recently brought the southern por- 
tion of that state into prominence as a mining 
section. He was born on December 28, 1872. 
at Tama City, Iowa, the son of Jonathan S. and 
Manila L. (Montgomery) Crow, both natives 
of Spring-field, Ohio. The paternal grandfather 
was also a native of Springfield, and his wife 
was a member of the well-known Yag"er family 
of Pennsylvania. This family came originally 
from Holland to Pennsylvania during the early 
colonial period. The Crow family came from 
Scotland, and settled in Xew England during 
the early days of the Massachusetts colony, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



59 



members of the family subsequently removing 
to Ohio, where they were among the earliest 
pioneers. Shortly before the Civil War, the pa- 
ternal grandfather, Mathias Crow, disposed of 
his property in Springfield, Ohio, and went to Il- 
linois, where Jonathan S. Crow, the father of 
the subject of this sketch, who was the eldest 
son of the family, enlisted in 1861 in the Thirty- 
fourth Illinois Regiment. He saw a great deal 
of active service during his army life and was 
a participant in the battles of Shiloh and Gettys- 
burg, and was in the army of Sherman on his 
march to the sea. He served throughout the 
entire war, and was mustered out in 1865 with 
the rank of first sergeant. He then returned to 
his former home at Sterling, 111., and engaged 
in farming until 1870, when he disposed of his 
property in Illinois, and removed to Iowa, lo- 
cated at Tama City, and continued in the oc- 
cupation of farming for about two years, then 
going to Nebraska, where he established his 
home in Howard county and continued suc- 
cessfully in his former pursuits of farming and 
stockraising. After a residence here of about 
eight years, he disposed of his farms and en- 
gaged in railroad contracting. He was success- 
ful in this business, in which he remained for 
about eight years. He then purchased a stock 
ranch in Valley county, Neb., where he en- 
gaged in stockraising, in which he continued 
to be employed until the time of his death on 
March 3, 1892. He left a family of eight chil- 
dren. Arthur H. Crow was the fourth son and 
he grew to man's estate at St. Paul, Neb., ac- 
quired his elementary education in the public 
schools of that place and completed his educa- 
tion at the Normal School of Lincoln, and upon 
his graduation from that institution, he engaged 
in the stock and grain business in Lincoln in 
partnership with Mr. C. M. Jaques. They con- 
tinued in successful business until 1899, when 
they sold their interests there, and removed to 
the young city of Encampment, Wyo., where 
they acquired large interests in valuable mining 
property. Since that time they have been en- 
gaged in mining, being uniformly successful 
in their operations. Mr. Crow is now the gen- 



eral manager, a director and a principal owner 
of the Blanche Copper Mining Co., which owns 
valuable mining claims adjoining the New 
Rambler mines. He is also a director and the 
superintendent of the Copper King Mining Co., 
and a large stockholder in the Verde Copper 
Mining Co., which owns one of the finest prop- 
erties in the new copper district. On May 20, 
1896, Mr. Crow was united in marriage with 
Miss Minnie M. Turner, a native of Missouri, 
and the daughter of J. J. Turner, who subse- 
quently removed with his family from Missouri 
to Nebraska, where he engaged in farming and 
stockraising with great success and is now re- 
tired. Three children have been born to bless 
the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, Arthur, 
Margaret and John, deceased. Their home at 
Encampment is noted for its hospitality. Fra- 
ternally, Mr. Crow is affiliated with the order 
of Freemasonry and with the Knights of Pythias 
and the Modern Woodmen of America, and 
takes an active interest in all work of charity 
and fraternity. 

WILLIAM G. CURTIS. 

Standing distinctly as one of the alert and 
progressive men of Laramie county, being 
largely interested in agricultural pursuits and 
in the stock industry, and in a public way identi- 
fied with enterprises that have done much 
towards developing this part of the country and 
making for the general welfare, Mr. William 
G. Curtis is a native of Connecticut where his 
ancestors settled in Colonial times, emigrating 
to this country from England. His father, 
Lucius Curtis, was born and reared in Connec- 
ticut and there followed farming until his death 
in 1889. His wife was before her marriage. 
Miss Mary Cleveland ; she preceded her husband 
to the grave, dying on September 22, 1857, 
when her son William G. was but five days old. 
He was born in the city of Waterbury, Conn., 
on September 17, 1857, and he entered the pub- 
lic schools of his native town early but did not 
attend them long enough to complete the pre- 
scribed course, laving aside his studies when 



6o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



twelve years old to work in a factory at Bridge- 
port. For some time thereafter he was engaged 
in different manufacturing establishments of 
hardware and cutlery, working principally in 
Bridgeport, Torrington and Meriden until 1883, 
and with the exception of a few months at farm 
labor in Illinois, he worked at mechanical pur- 
suits until coming west, passing about ten years 
in the Union hardware factory at Torrington. 
In 1883 Mr. Curtis resigned his position to see 
something of the country and for nearly a year 
thereafter traveled quite extensively over the 
eastern, middle and southern states, visiting 
many places of interest and greatly enlarging 
his knowledge before the expiration of his tour, 
going as far west as Colorado, where he passed 
about three months working on a ranch and 
on September 17, 1884, the twenty-seventh an- 
niversary of his birth, he arrived on the Platte 
River, Wyoming, one mile from his present 
place of residence, and there took up a tract 
of land for ranching purposes, coming hither to 
help build the North Platte ditch, incorporated 
by Colorado people, Mr. Curtis also becoming 
a stockholder in it. This ditch, thirteen miles 
long, has been of inestimable value in making 
habitable a large area of exceedingly fertile 
soil which without water would probably have 
lain as useless land for years. Two years after 
locating his place he began a general system of 
improvements which greatly enhanced its value, 
meantime devoting his energies to stockraising, 
farming and irrigation, making agriculture a ■ 
very profitable undertaking. Mr. Curtis lived on 
his first location until June, 1901, when he 
moved to' his present ranch at Torrington sta- 
tion, where he had previously erected one of 
the finest country residences of the state and 
other buildings in keeping therewith. His 
house, a model of architectural beauty, supplied 
as it is with all the comforts and modern con- 
veniences which ample means can procure, is 
not only the handsomest private dwelling in the 
Platte Valley, but' it is doubtful if in the state 
outside of the larger cities its equal can be 
found. Mr. Curtis has attained such financial suc- 
cess as few acquire in a much longer lifetime. 



and certainly he has not been sparing of his 
wealth for the pleasure and satisfaction of him- 
self and family. Meeting with rich rewards in 
the first irrigating enterprise with which he was 
connected, Mr. Curtis, in 1890, was led to un- 
dertake another one, inaugurating and incor- 
porating the Torrington Ditch Co., in that year. 
The ditch of this company was completed in 
due time ten and one-half miles in length and 
it has also been the means of reclaiming a large 
area of country, which for fertility and agri- 
cultural purposes is not excelled in the state. 
Mr. Curtis gave personal attention to the work 
and named the ditch "Torrington" in compli- 
ment to the city in Connecticut where he lived 
for so many years as a factory hand. The en- 
terprise bears the impress of his strong per- 
sonality, and his judgment and progressive busi- 
ness methods _have been the principal factors 
of its success. The career of Mr. Curtis since 
coming to Wyoming has few if any parallels in 
the state. His rise from a modest beginning 
and rapid progress to a position of honor and 
affluence in the business world and the high 
reputation he has gained as a public benefactor 
attest a mind of wide scope and a leadership 
which all are ready to acknowledge. He is 
a far-sighted business man, knowing how to 
take • advantage of opportunities and mould 
them to his purpose and where they do not ex- 
ist he possesses the rare power of creating them. 
The people are under a heavy debt of gratitude 
to him for his achievements in their behalf and 
they have not been slow in their recognition of 
his services, for in 1902 he was nominated and 
elected to the lower house of the State Legis- 
lature, giving valued labors for his constituents 
The home ranch of Mr. Curtis consists of 213 
acres of fine land, it is all irrigable and the 
greater part under a high state of cultivation. 
He also owns 960 acres of grazing land, also 
well watered and exceedingly fertile. In his 
agricultural work he employs the most modern 
methods, and as a stockraiser easily ranks with 
the leading men of that great industry in the 
state. He makes a specialty of fine cattle and 
spares no pains to improve his breeds, having 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



61 



some of the most valuable animals of the 
comity. While deeply interested in business and 
■public enterprises, Mr. Curtis has not been un- 
mindful of the duties of a neighbor and citizen, 
being a most genial companion, ever ready to 
help a friend or lend his influence to any -move- 
ment for the good of his fellowmen. He is 
one of the leading Republican politicians of 
Laramie county, never failing to take an active 
interest in party affairs, thus setting an ex- 
ample every true citizen should follow. He is 
a member of the lodge of the Woodmen of the 
World of Scotts Bluffs, his only fraternal as- 
sociation. The presiding genius of Mr. Curtis's 
elegant home is an intelligent and cultured lady, 
with whom he was wedded at Avon, Conn., 
on June 17, 1879. Her maiden name was Miss 
Delia Downer, and her parents, William and 
Elizabeth (Watson) Downer, were also born 
in Connecticut. Two children have blessed the 
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, Mattie, now 
the wife of Lee Root, born April 25, 1880, and 
Elsie, whose birth occurred on March 17, 1882, 
who has passed from earth and was laid to rest 
in the beautiful cemetery at Auburn, N. Y. 

JAMES H. DALY. 

One of the Daly brothers of Gillette, leading 
merchants and stockmen, James H. Daly, has 
had an interesting and varied career in this 
state. He has seen the flow and ebb of com- 
mercial tides, the rise and decay of business 
centers, the sudden expansion of trade under 
primitive conditions and circumstances of diffi- 
culty, and has felt the keen pangs of disappoint- 
ment and adversity from sudden and complete 
disaster. Yet through all he has preserved the 
same constant spirit of fortitude and cheerful- 
ness, has laughed at misfortune and challenged 
Fate herself into the lists against him with a se- 
rene and lofty courage. He was born at Wal- 
pole, Cheshire county, N. H., on March 7, 1863, 
the son of Michael arid Mary A. (Hyde) Daly, 
natives of Ireland. The father came to the 
United States when he was fourteen years old 
and went to work on a farm in New Hampshire 



where he remained until 1873 and then removed 
to Kansas, settling in Mitchell county, he took 
up a homestead near Beloit and farmed it until 
1899. I 11 that year he made Beloit his residence 
and is now living in that city. James H. Daly 
remained with his parents on the Kansas farm 
until he reached his majority and was educated 
in the public schools. In 1883 he engaged in 
farming on his own account near his father's 
place and later worked in a lumber yard in Be- 
loit, remaining in that town and vicinity until 
1887 when he came to Wyoming and settled at 
Sundance. For a few months he worked on a 
ranch and was then appointed jailer under 
Sheriff James Ryan and afterwards under John 
W. Rogers, holding the office four years in 
succession. In the summer of 1891 his brother 
John opened a general merchandising estab- 
lishment at Gillette, and in December of that 
year James joined him in the enterprise as a 
partner. Their store was small and their stock 
was limited, but business was brisk and the in- 
crease was rapid. The railroad was then build- 
ing through this section and Gillette had a popu- 
lation of at least 1000, all activities being on 
the boom. When the road .passed the town 
James Daly followed the construction camps with 
a stock of goods in a tent and did a thriving 
trade in necessary commodities for six months 
or mors and then returned to Gillette where his 
brother was conducting the main store. In 
November, 1895, their buildings and stock were 
completely destroyed by fire. They immedi- 
ately put up a temporary, structure and con- 
tinued their business in it through the winter, 
beginning at once the buildings which now 
house their enterprise. These were finished 
and ready for occupancy by the next spring 
and spacious as they were and complete in 
equipment, they had not capacity sufficient to 
meet the demands of their expanding trade, 
which has grown to great proportions and is 
now the most extensive and carries the largest 
and most complete stock within a radius of 
manv miles. In 1898 the brothers took up land 
eighteen miles northwest of Gillette and be- 
gan a stock industry which has developed into 



62 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



a large and exacting business. They have im- 
proved their ranch with the necessary appurte- 
nances, and give to its needs and its progress 
the same intelligent and studious attention that 
characterizes them in all their undertakings. 
They have also much real estate of value in the 
town. Both are members of the Catholic 
church. 

A. B. DANIELS. 

Conspicuously identified for many years 
with life in its wildest phase on the western 
border, one of the energetic, pushing men 
whose stirring action has been such a forceful 
power in the development of the country, and 
now a leading citizen of Converse county, where 
he maintains his home and center of his busi- 
ness operations at Douglas, Wyo., A. B. Dan- 
iels was born at Watrousa, near Milwaukee, 
Wis., on March t, 1855, being the son of Ma- 
son Smith Daniels, a native of Buffalo, N. Y.. 
and his wife, Theodocia M. Ross, who was 
born in Indiana. The father migrated from 
Buffalo to Wisconsin while it was yet a terri- 
tory and engaged extensively in the manu- 
facture of lime near Milwaukee for years, later 
purchasing a farm in Jefferson county in that 
state, and there resided until his death, being 
a public spirited citizen. A. B. Daniels ,was the 
second in a family of eight children and at the 
early age of fifteen years he left his Wisconsin 
heme, and he has from that period been the 
successful architect of his own fortune. His 
first field of independent action was Nebraska, 
where he started and operated for a year the 
first dray and street-sweeper of the town of 
Sutton, then paying a visit to Iowa he outfitted 
for Colorado, joining the stampede to Lead- 
ville, where he made his headquarters for thirty 
months, and, engaging in freighting, had in 
full measure the varying experiences of that 
adventurous life, by his industry and intrepidity 
meeting with success. In this line of labor he 
was occupied until 1882, freighting to all the 
new mining camps, Cothic City and Crested 
Butte among the number. In the spring of 



1882 he came through to Laramie with a wagon 
freight-outfit, taking the route through Middle 
and North Park, making his terminal point at 
Rawlins, Wyo., helping also to relocate and 
transfer the property of White River and Snake 
River forts, thereafter coming to Rock Creek 
and making that place his base of operations in 
freighting for three years, making trips to 
Fort McKinney, Sheridan and other points. 
In 1886, at the creation of the town of Douglas, 
he purchased the lot on which he erected his 
present commodious brick store and has been 
a resident and an active factor in the advance- 
ment of the town until the present writing. His 
store is 25x60 feet in size and in its second 
story seven "secret societies" have their lodge 
rooms. Mr. Daniels has an interest in the 
new Unity Temple and in various ways mani- 
fests a liberal and generous attitude toward 
public improvements and his advice and coun- 
cil is often sought, as he is a shrewd, conserv- 
ative man, of cautious, yet vigorous action. 
Anything tending to the benefit of Douglas 
meets prompt acceptance and recognition from 
him, and he has given excellent service in the 
city government. He is financially connected 
with the Table Mountain Sheep Co., having its 
headquarters at Sand Creek, and with the 
Douglas Loan Association of Douglas. Po- 
litically Mr. Daniels exercises a great influence 
in local circles, while fraternally he is a Royal 
Arch Mason and an Odd Fellow. The marriage 
of Mr. Daniels and Mrs. Esther Downey oc- 
curred on December 6, 1891, and they have two 
children, Arthur and Esther. In their beau- 
tifully located residence the family dispenses a 
generous hospitality to their many friends. 

ERNEST B. DAVIES. 

One of the prominent citizens of the city 
of Laramie, Wyoming, being the present city 
marshal of that thriving place, Ernest B. 
Davies is a native of England, born in 1850. 
being the son of Tbomas and Sarah (Brown) 
Davies, the former a native of Wales and the 
latter of England. The father emigrated from 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



^3 



his native country to America in 1852 and es- 
tablished his home in the state of New York, 
where he was employed by the New York Cen- 
tral and Hudson River Railway as a pattern 
maker. Subsequently he removed his residence 
from New York to Wisconsin, and still later to 
Indiana, and thereafter in 1873 he moved to 
Wyoming and followed the machinists trade, 
where he still continued to reside up to the 
time of his decease, which occurred in 
1899, when he had arrived at the age 
of eighty-three years. His father, whose 
name was Thomas, was also a mechanic and 
followed mechanical occupations during his 
life time in his native country. The mother of 
Marshal Davies, who passed away in 1869 at 
the age of fifty-four years, was the daughter of 
Thomas and Sarah Brown, both natives of 
England. Ernest B. Davies came from his na- 
tive England to America, when a small child 
with his parents, attained manhood in Indiana, 
where he received his early education in the 
public schools. After his school life he learned 
blacksmithing and followed that occupation 
for several years, being in the employ of the 
Lake Shore Railway for the greater portion of 
that time. On March 9, 1869, he came to the 
then territory of Wyoming and located in the 
present city of Laramie, where he engaged in 
blacksmithing until 1876, when he accepted a 
position as fireman on the line of the Union 
Pacific. He remained in this employment until 
1880, when he was promoted to locomotive en- 
gineer, continuing in the latter position up to 
the year 1889, and he then took position as the 
foreman in a round house until 1894, then again 
went on the road as engineer until on December 
10, 1899, he met with a serious injury through 
an accident while in the discharge of his duties 
and for a long time he was incapacitated from 
service. Upon his recovery he was tendered 
the position of city marshal of Laramie and he 
has since been holding that office, discharging 
its duties with ability and satisfaction to his 
fellow citizens. In 1877 Marshal Davies was 
united in marriage with Miss Eliza Renshaw, 
a native of Great Britain and the daughter of 



George Renshaw, also a native of the same 
country. One child has been born to bless their 
union, namely Sarah B., who is residing with 
her parents, whose home is noted for its gener- 
ous hospitality. The ancestors of the Davis 
family for many generations have been engaged 
in mechanical pursuits, many of them occupy- 
ing leading positions as mechanics. In public 
affairs he has long taken a prominent part, be- 
ing one of the most public spirited and pro- 
gressive citizens of the city, always foremost in 
matters which have a tendency to promote the 
growth or general welfare of the city. He is 
a respected citizen and an honored official who 
never hesitates in the discharge of duty. 

JAMES DAVISON. 

Few men in Wyoming have led a more 
active business life than the well-known gentle- 
man whose name introduces this review. Self- 
made in all the term implies, he has won a large 
measure of success in a financial way and as a 
public spirited man of affairs his influence has 
tended greatly to the material upbuilding of 
the various communities with which his career 
has been closely interwoven. James Davison 
was born in Ogdensburg, N. Y., on Decem- 
ber 13, 1855, the son of Richard and Jane 
Davison, the father being a native of Ireland 
and the mother of New Brunswick. Richard 
Davison served over eight years in the British 
army as an artilleryman and then came to the 
United States and settled in New York. He 
was married in the city of Ogdensburg about 
1852 to Miss Jane McDonald and became the 
father of nine children, seven attaining to ma- 
turity and James being second in order of birth. 
After living in New York for some years Rich- 
ard Davison moved to Ohio where he died near 
Burton City at the age of sixty ; his wife, who 
lived to be sixty-two years old, departed this 
life at Akron, Ohio, in 1898. James Davison 
was quite young when his parents moved to 
Ohio, and there enjoyed the advantages of a 
common school education and there began life 
for himself as a coal miner, which calling he 



6 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



followed continuously for fifteen years. In 
1878 he went to Colorado where he worked at 
mining about two years, at the end of that 
period coming to Carbon, Wyo., near which 
place he followed mining and stockraising about 
the same length of time. Then after a short 
trip to California Mr. Davison located in Vir- 
ginia City, Nev., where he worked for some 
time in the Sutro tunnel and devoted consider- 
able attention to his chosen calling. At the end 
of two years he left Nevada for Utah where he 
passed about one year in the Great Horn silver 
mine, thence returning to Wyoming and set- 
tling at Twin Creek. During the greater part of 
the succeeding three years he was engaged in 
coal-mining at that place after which he opened 
a store at Twin Creek where he carried on 
general merchandising and stockraising for 
about two years. Closing out his establishment 
at Twin Creek Mr. Davison in the spring of 
1890 erected the first business house in the new 
town of Opal and here continued merchandis- 
ing until 1892 when he disposed of his store 
and changed his residence to Granger, where 
he bought of George W. Roberts a stock of 
goods, which he handled with success and finan- 
cial profit until July, 1901, when he discontinued 
trade and removed to his large ranch six miles 
west of Opal, where he has since been exten- 
sively engaged in stockraising, devoting special 
attention to cattle. Mr. Davison's ranch em- 
braces an area of 3,056 acres, of which 800 acres 
are irrigable, the whole being well situated and 
admirably adapted for stockraising. He also 
owns 160 acres of tillable land adjoining Gran- 
ger, besides considerable town property, all in 
good condition and continually increasing in 
value. Financially Mr. Davison has met with 
well merited success and by intelligent manage- 
ment and wise forethought has accumulated 
a handsome property, being one of the leading 
stockmen of his section, and the success which 
he has already attained bespeaks for him a still 
larger and more remunerative business in years 
to come. Mr. Davison served two years as 
postmaster of Opal and for nine years had 
charge of the postoffice of Granger. He was 



also a justice of the peace at Granger and took 
an active and prominent part in politics as a 
Republican. He has been in close touch with 
the leaders of his political party for a number of 
years and by his well-timed counsel and ac- 
tivity, he has contributed much to its success, 
both locally and in the district and state. He 
holds membership with the Odd Fellows' fra- 
ternity and believing thoroughly in the teach- 
ings of the order he has endeavored to square 
his life in harmony therewith. Mr. Davison 
was married in Evanston, Wyo., on June 19, 
1890, with Miss Annie J. Robinson, a daughter 
of Arthur and Almeda J. (Snyder) Robinson, 
the father a native of Ireland and the mother 
of Ohio. Mrs. Davison first saw the light of 
day in Primrose, Pa., and she has borne for 
her husband five children, William, James B., 
Arthur R., Samuel M. and Jane. The home life 
of Mr. and Mrs. Davison is most exemplarv and 
happy, the domestic circle is perfectly har- 
monious and under the guiding hand of the mis- 
tress of the house, a most tender and devoted 
wife and mother, it has become an almost ideal 
one. The career of Mr. Davison in the west 
has been attended by many hardships but an 
untiring perseverance and wisely directed 
energy have enabled him to overcome oppos- 
ing circumstances and win an honorable po- 
sition both as a business man and citizen. In 
his relations with his fellow men he has done 
well his part and as already indicated the fu- 
ture awaits him with promised success. 

BENJAMIN F. DAVIS. 

Highly esteemed among the people where 
he has passed the last twenty years of his life, 
having served them in all the best features of 
private life and also in public station as a 
county commissioner during an important 
period in the history of the county, the builder 
and maker of a leading stock industry in their 
midst which he has developed from a small be- 
ginning and holding himself in readiness for 
the manly discharge of every duty, Benjamin 
F. Davis, of near Newcastle in Weston county, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



65 



illustrates in his character and career the ster- 
ling qualities and useful elements of American 
citizenship. He is by nativity one of that rest- 
less and conquering class known as New Eng- 
landers, having been born at Shutesbury, Mass., 
on November 8, 1847. His parents, John H. 
and Mary (Gray) Davis, were also natives of 
Massachusetts and passed their lives within the 
borders of that state, the father being an ener- 
getic farmer and lumberman who died in Feb- 
ruary, 1901, surviving his wife by forty years, 
she having died in 1861. Both were born and 
reared in Shutesbury, and their bodies now 
quietly rest beneath the green sward of its 
cemetery. Benjamin F. Davis remained at 
home until he was nineteen years of age, re- 
ceiving his education in the public schools of 
his native place, at New Salem Academy and 
at Cazenovia (N. Y.) Seminary. In 1867 he 
took up the burden of life for himself by ac- 
cepting employment in a sawmill in his home 
county, remaining with this outfit for seven 
years, when he went to work for a butcher and 
soon thereafter a hotel, keeping at these various 
occupations until 1874. In that year, seeking 
a home and an opportunity for larger business 
in the boundless West, he traveled through 
Iowa and adjoining states for a year, making 
his way gradually into Texas and there en- 
gaging in bridge building for the G. H. & S. A. 
Railroad, in whose employment he passed three 
years. In 1878 he returned north to Nebraska, 
there becoming a clerk and salesman for Jones, 
McGee & Co., lumber merchants, and with 
them following the construction of the Bur- 
lington Railroad through the state. In the 
autumn of 1880 he located in Custer county, 
S. D., and did carpentering, ranching and min- 
ing, as opportunity offered or necessity re- 
quired. Three years later he came to Wyo- 
ming and taking up the ranch he now occupies, 
began a stock industry on a small scale which 
he has gradually expanded and improved until 
it is one of the leading enterprises of its kind 
in this part of the state and it is conducted on 
a ranch which he has greatly developed and 
improved with good buildings and by skillful 



cultivation. In connection with Mr. Sweet, 
whose ranch adjoins his, he runs a sawmill 
which is operated at the junction of their prop- 
erties. He is also interested in the oil industry, 
owning promising land in the Newcastle fields. 
In politics Mr. Davis is an ardent and active 
Republican, having given close and serviceable 
attention to the affairs of his party, bearing 
his share of the burdens of its campaigns and 
yet not seeking its honors or emoluments. He 
yielded once however to a popular demand and 
served as county commissioner for the 1 term of 
1892-94. Fraternally he is connected with the 
order of Freemasons, holding membership in 
the lodge at Newcastle. 

JAMES C. DAVIDSON. 

A native son of Wyoming, and one of the 
successful and progressive young stockmen of 
Albany county, James C. Davidson, of Pollock 
postoffice, is the subject of this sketch. He was 
born on March 25, 1876, at the city of Laramie, 
and is the son of James and Elizabeth David- 
son, the former a native of Scotland and the 
latter of County Wexford, Ireland. His father 
was born in Glasgow in 1838, and was a brick- 
layer in his native country until he had attained 
to the age of twenty-two years, when he emi- 
grated, and upon arriving in this country he 
located in Menominee, Michigan, where he re- 
mained for a number of years, following his 
occupation of bricklaying. In 1874 he came to 
Laramie, in the territory of Wyoming, where 
he resided until his death in 1890. He was a 
Thirty-second degree Freemason and a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
The mother came to America during early life 
and passed away at the age of fifty-four years, 
leaving four children, John (deceased), Frank, 
James C. and William. James C. Davidson 
grew to manhood in Laramie, Wyo., and re- 
ceived his early education in its public schools. 
At the age of seventeen years he left school 
and secured employment in a mercantile store 
in his native place. Here he remained for 
eight years and acquired a thorough knowledge 



66 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of merchandising, but believing that stockrais- 
ing offered larger opportunities for the ac- 
cumulation of a fortune, he resigned his posi- 
tion in the Laramie store and purchased the 
ranch at Pollock which he now occupies, and 
engaged in cattleraising. He is now the owner 
of a fine ranch to which he intends adding from 
time to time and makes a specialty of growing 
fine grades of Shorthorn cattle. He is slowly 
but surely building up a good paying business 
and is one of the rising young stockmen of that 
section of Wyoming. In 1900 he was united 
in marriage to Miss Irene Johnson, a native of 
Germany and a daughter of Hans and Chris- 
tina (Brady) Johnson, both natives of that 
country. The parents of Mrs. Davidson are 
well-known and respected citizens of Wyoming. 
Politically, Mr. Davidson is a stanch member 
of the Republican party, and takes an active 
and leading part in public affairs. In his sec- 
tion he is one of the most trusted and- energetic 
of the local leaders of the party, ever foremost 
in all matters that concern the public welfare. 
He is at present the postmaster at Pollock, 
having been appointed to that position. during 
the administration of the late President Mc- 
Kinley and he has discharged the duties of the 
position to the satisfaction of the public and 
the department. To Mr. and Mrs. Davidson has 
been born one child, namely, Lloyd, who 
alread}' gives promise of being a worthy suc- 
cessor of his father. Their home is a popular 
resort for a large circle of friends, and they find 
pleasure in dispensing a generous hospitality. 

HON. OTTO GRAMM. 

In compiling a work devoted to the repre- 
sentative men of the young and rapidly growing 
state of Wyoming, completeness of the record 
requires that due reference be made to the serv- 
ives of those who in leading business connections 
and high official positions have contributed es- 
sentially and largely to the development of the 
commonwealth. Conspicuous among these is the 
progressive business man, Otto Gramm, a man 
favorably known as the leader of extensive in- 



dustrial enterprises and as one of the state's dis- 
tinguished men of affairs. Otto Gramm is a 
native of Ohio, born in Chillicothe on November 
11, 1846, while his parents, Moses and Helen 
(Limle) Gramm, came to this country from Ger- 
many many years ago and settled in Ohio, where 
they reared a family of five children, of whom 
Otto was the first born. The circumstances under 
which he attained manhood were in no wise 
encouraging, for his early life was beset with 
many privations, not the least of them being 
the almost complete absence of educational fa- 
cilities, the amount of his schooling being 
included in one term under the direction 
of a decidedly indifferent teacher. But pos- 
sessing an enquiring mind and craving for 
knowledge, he made up in a great measure for 
this deficiency by industrious reading and close 
observation, and he also obtained by contact with 
the world in various business pursuits a vast 
fund of that valuable education which is only ob- 
tainable in the hard school of experience. At 
the early age of nine he began earning money for 
himself by working in a drug store in his native 
town, and in this way passed the greater part of 
his time until he was twenty-four. By close ap- 
plication he became well versed in the drug busi- 
ness so that in 1870, when he left his native state 
and came to Wyoming, he was able to open and 
conduct a drugstore of his own, establishing 
himself in the business at Laramie. He de- 
voted himself earnestly to the business until 1886, 
when he was elected to fill the dual office 
of both probate judge and treasurer of Albany 
county, the duties of which he ably discharged 
for a period of six years. In the meantime he 
took a very active part in political affairs, 
of his section of the state and was so prominently 
mentioned for nomination as the first state 
treasurer that the office was practically thrust 
upon him. For four years he filled this office 
to the satisfaction of the people, so firmly fixing 
its policy on a sound and progressive basis that 
no change has been necessary. At the close of 
his term he became lessee of the Laramie Rolling 
Mills, the name of which was later changed to 
the Laramie Iron & Steel Co., and continued in 




-•■■ 




PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



6 7 



charge of the enterprise until 1900. At that 
time he relinquished it and engaged in the coal 
business he is still conducting, being the execu- 
tive head and general manager of the Laramie 
Coal Co., one of the largest enterprises of the 
kind in Wyoming. In addition to the official 
stations and business connections named, Mr. 
Gramm has been actively identified with various 
other industries of local prominence, notable 
among them being the First National Bank of 
Laramie of which he is a director. He is 
largely interested in mining, aside from the local 
company of which he is the head, owing valuable 
mineral properties in different parts of the state. 
Mr. Gramm has ever manifested a commendable 
pride in Wyoming, and is optimist enough to 
believe that the state has a most promising 
future. He .has been a warm friend of its public 
institutions, using his intelligence and influence 
in all possible ways to advance their best interests 
and increase their usefulness. Deprived of early 
educational privileges, and highly appreciating 
the value of intellectual discipline to the country, 
he has been untiring in his efforts to promote the 
efficiency of the schools and enhance the power 
of education throughout the state. For more 
than seventeen years he has been officially identi- 
fied with educational affairs and at this writing 
(1902) he is president of the Laramie school 
board, a position in which his peculiar ability as 
an inspiration for good has been of great serv- 
ice to the community. He has also been for 
years president of the board of trustees of the 
State University, and has given to its counsels 
the full benefit of his breadth of view and practi- 
cal wisdom. In politics he is always active, tak- 
ing a leading part in every campaign and render- 
ing invaluable service to his party, both as an 
ardent worker among the rank and file and as 
a member of the county and state committees. 
In fraternal circles he is well known and highly 
esteemed as an enthusiastic and bright Free- 
mason, holding the high rank of past grand 
commander of the Knights Templar order of 
the state, and also in having taken the Thirty- 
second degree given in the Scottish Rite. In 
addition to his zeal before the altars of Free- 



masonry, he has earnest and useful relations with 
the order of Knights of Pythias, being past grand 
chancellor and with the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks, holding membership in their local 
lodges. He has one daughter, Edith G. In the 
diverse and important interests with which he 
has been identified in his eventful career, Mr. 
Gramm has shown grasp of mind and mastery 
of details, essential qualities in a leader of great 
enterprises. His people have not been slow in 
recognizing and employing his splendid abilities, 
or niggardly in rewarding his services with their 
highest honors and most cordial esteem. 

THEODORE C. DICKSON. 

In a retrospect of Western men due recogni- 
tion should be accorded to those of the older 
generation who came while the savage still 
held undisputed possession of the land and were 
the forerunners of the civilization which now 
prevails. The large majority of those sturdy, 
and clear brained veterans, who laid the foun- 
dation whereon others builded, have passed 
away, but here and there a scattered few re- 
main to recount their deeds of daring and tell 
to a younger generation the trials they experi- 
enced while blazing the way through a rich 
region abounding in obstacles and dangers, 
which none but the most courageous cared to 
encounter. Among this class is the worthy 
gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, 
whose life for many years past has been very 
closely identified with the Great West as a 
pioneer, and also as a promotor of -enterprises 
that have had influence in developing the re- 
sources of several states and territories. Theo- 
dore C. Dickson is a native of Montgomery 
county, Ohio, and a son of Ira and Nancy 
(Bobo) Dickson, the father being born in Ver- 
mont of Irish ancestry and the mother in Ohio 
of French. The Dickson family came to 
America prior to the War of Independence, 
settling in New England. The mother's people 
were also early comers to the United States and 
were among the pioneers of Ohio. Mr. Dick- 
son was born on January 2, 1832, attended 



68 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



school in his native county during his child- 
hood and youth, and when a young man learned 
the saddlers' trade, also becoming an efficient 
harnessmaker, working at these trades in Ohio, 
later traveling as a journeyman quite exten- 
sively through the eastern states. In 1858 Mr. 
Dickson went west as far as the present site 
of Denver, Colo., then included in the terri- 
tory of Kansas. It is a matter of historical in- 
terest that he was the first man to recognize 
the natural advantages of Denver and the su- 
periority of its geographical position as the site 
for a great populous and industrial center. 
With rare foresight he communicated his ideas 
to others and in due time quite a number of 
people became interested in the founding of 
a town. In September, 1858, when the original 
plat was surveyed, Mr. Dickson drove the first 
stake and assisted the engineer until the lines 
of the future metropolis of the west were fully 
run. The town was first called St. Charles but 
the name was changed in compliment to Gover- 
nor Denver of Kansas. Mr. Dickson remained 
in Colorado about four years spending part of 
the time at Denver which he saw grow from 
an insignificant mining settlement to a town of 
fair propositions and after prospecting in various 
parts of the territory he started a store in 
Central City, conducting a fairly lucrative trade 
there until 1862 when he sold out and went 
to Montana to engage in mining, being one of 
the pioneer miners of the Treasure state, but 
he did not at first realize a fortune. He located 
several mines which afterwards became valuable 
and bought and sold a number of properties, 
but in 1866 disposed of them and returned to 
Denver, where in December, 1866, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Louisa King of 
Illinois. In the spring of 1867 Mr. Dickson came 
to Wyoming, locating at Cheyenne six months 
after the founding of the town. It was then 
only a mining camp but within eighteen months 
the population had so increased that the term 
city was very appropriately applied. Seeing a 
favorable opportunity for making money, he 
opened a restaurant and for about eighteen 
months conducted it with success, realizing suf- 



ficient money to enable him to engage in a 
more congenial and as he had every reason to 
believe, a more remunerative undertaking, cat- 
tleraising. Accordingly in 1870 Mr. Dickson 
located two ranches in Laramie county, one in 
the northern part and the other east of Chey- 
enne, but only stocked the latter. His business 
prospered and it was not long before he was 
on the high road to fortune. In 1882 he 
brought cattle to his northern ranch and a little 
later became interested in the "Green Mountain 
Boy" copper mine, which he developed and 
worked until the deposit was exhausted. This 
also proved handsomely remunerative and when 
the ore ran low he disposed of the property and 
turned his attention to other branches of busi- 
ness, continuing cattleraising and various min- 
ing operations until 1890, when he decided to 
retire from active life. By close attention to 
his undertakings and successful management he 
had accumulated a handsome fortune, and now 
in his beautiful home in Cheyenne and pleasant 
summer home at Frederick, surrounded by his 
family and friends, with everything to make 
life comfortable and desirable, he is enjoying 
the fruits of his many years of toil. He still 
has interests in mines he located a few years 
ago and which from present indications promise 
rich and early returns in gold, silver and cop- 
per. As a business man Mr. Dickson possesses 
abilities of a high order and his judgment of 
men and transactions is rarelv at fault. He 
manages his affairs upon strictly business prin- 
ciples, his methods have been most honor- 
able, and he has been prompt and liberal with 
his means and influence in public and private 
enterprises for the advancement of the com- 
munity. He is endowed with marked good 
common sense and possesses the mental ca- 
pacity to investigate fully every question sub- 
mitted to his consideration, being a marked 
example of the successful self-made man. such 
as onlv conditions under our free institutions 
can produce. In the course of his long and 
active career he has come in close personal 
touch with all classes and conditions of men. 
meeting with a stern practical experience which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



69 



proved a true test in developing the genuine 
moral fiber and real worth of the individual. 
For many years he has been a power in the 
political affairs of Laramie county, working dili- 
gently for the success of his party, but never 
asking official honors for himself. He was an un- 
compromising Republican from the organiza- 
tion of the party. By reason of his long resi- 
dence in Laramie county he is familiar with 
every foot of its territory, being as widely 
known and as highly esteemed as any citizen of 
the state. Mr. Dickson has been twice mar- 
ried, his first wife dying on January 6, 1883, and 
on February 27, 1884, he was united in mar- 
riage at St. Louis, Mo., with Miss Belle Rusk, 
a native of Maryland and daughter of John 
Rusk, Esq. Mr. Dickson is the father of two 
children, Hazel B. and Clearmont. The Baptist 
church represents the religious 'creed of the 
family, church relations being held with the con- 
gregation worshiping at Cheyenne. 

ABRAM D. DIBBLE. 

The gentleman whose name heads this bio- 
graphical notice is a pioneer of Wyoming and 
has held several offices of honor and trust 
among her people both before and since she 
arrived at the dignity of statehood. He was 
born in Vermont in 1831, a son of Eli and 
Sarah (Whitney) Dibble, descendants of old 
English families who settled in New England 
early in our Colonial history and in the Revo- 
lution espoused the cause of American freedom 
with ardor. Eli Dibble was born at Burling- 
ton, Vt., where he followed the manufacturing 
of woolen goods for a time after which he went 
to Warsaw, Wyoming county, N. Y., where he 
started a woolen-mill, but some years later re- 
moved to Oil Creek, Pa., and there erected a 
large mill, run by water "power, the first in 
that section of the country and there he passed 
the remainder of his life. Sarah (Whitney) 
Dibble was also born at or near Burlington, 
Vt., and was married there. She died at War- 
saw, N. Y., in 1847, leaving five children. At 
the death of his mother Abram D. Dibble, then 



about seventeen years of age, broke off his 
academical studies and started out to make his 
own way in the world, passing two years in 
Pennsylvania and one in New York, then going 
to Cass county, Mich., where he remained until 
1868. From there he came to Wyoming, and 
after passing a short time at Bitter Creek, lo- 
cated at Rawlins and worked for the railroad 
company there and was transferred to Creston 
in Sweetwater county, remaining there until 
1872. At that time he bought the first building 
lots sold in Green River and erected on one 
of them his present dwelling. In the early days 
he did a great deal of prospecting and some 
mining, but did not quit railroading until 1882. 
In 1883 and 1884 he was the assessor of Sweet- 
water county, elected as a Republican, he hav- 
ing been potential in organizing the party and 
making its work effective in the county, and 
being one of its original members in the country. 
He likewise was postmaster of Green River 
for one full term of four years, during the presi- 
dency of Harrison, was later appointed U. S. 
marshal for the district and in 1895 he was elect- 
ed justice of the peace, an office he has filled 
with signal ability and fairness and which he 
is still holding, his opinions being so manifest- 
ly right that few if any appeals are taken from 
his decisions. In 1896 he became a Silver Re- 
publican and has since affiliated in politics with 
that wing of his party. Fraternally he has been 
a member of the Masonic order 'for fifty years, 
belonging to the "Blue Lodge" for that length 
of time, and has been connected with the Royal 
Arch Chapter, Commandery and Scottish Rite 
for about thirty-seven years. In 1854, at War- 
saw, N. Y., he was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary L. Sawer, a native' of New York and 
a daughter of Andrew and Louisa (Dinsmore) 
Sawer, natives of Vermont who died and were 
buried in Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Dibble 
were born five children, Lillie, now the wife of 
Mr. Baxter ; Nerta P. ; Minnie, now the wife 
of Mr. Hawley; and Eben L. and Justin S., 
who were killed in the railroad service and 
whose remains rest in the cemetery at Green 
River. Mr. Dibble's citizenship has been pro- 



7o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ductive of much good in the development and 
advancement of the material, moral and educa- 
tional interests of Wyoming. 

JAMES H. DICKEY. 

■ James H. Dickey, the popular manager of 
the Mountain Trading Co.'s stores at Diamond- 
ville, Wyoming, was born in Kirkwood, St. 
Louis county, Mo., on July 30, 1862, his grand- 
parents on the paternal side being John and 
Mary Dickey, natives of Ireland, who were for 
years residents of Pennsylvania, where they 
settled on coming to this country. Their son, 
James Dickey, was a native of the Keystone 
State and married Miss Sarah F. Chandler, 
who was born in Havre De Grace, Maryland, 
and of their four children James H. Dickey 
was the second in order of birth. He received 
his educational training in the schools of St. 
Louis, and in 1880, when about seventeen years 
old, he entered the employ of the Rock Island 
Railroad, with his headquarters in St. Louis 
and after remaining with that company about 
seven months he resigned his position and came 
to Evanston, Wyoming, where for the ensuing 
seven and one-half years he was a clerk for 
Beckwith, Quinn & Co. After this long and 
faithful service Mr. Dickey went to Montana 
where he was for two years the capable man- 
ager of the Anaconda Copper Co.'s mercantile 
department at "Belt, Mont., and he subsequently 
acted in the same capacity for large corpora- 
tions of a similar character until 1900 when he 
came to Diamondville and took the manage- 
ment of the Mountain Trading Co., the duties 
of which position he has since most efficiently 
discharged. The' three stores over which he 
exercises supervision do a large business and 
are among the most successful establishments 
of the kind in this section of the state. In 
their management, he displays not only famili- 
arity with every detail of commercial life but 
an executive ability of high order and a sound- 
ness of judgment eminently fitting him for 
leadership in commercial life. He has capacity 
and aptitude for great undertakings and from 



the beginning of his career to the present time 
his straightforward course has proven highly 
satisfactory to the several companies with 
which he has been identified. His sterling in- 
tegrity, energy and perseverance has raised 
him to a high position among his fellow men 
and he has become not only a leader in busi- 
ness circles but a potential factor in social life. 
Mr. Dickey was married on June 19, 1886, with 
Miss Elizabeth Abrahams, daughter of Griffiths 
and Maria Abrahams, the ceremony taking 
place at Rock Springs, Wyo. Mrs. Dickey's 
parents are natives of Wales who came to the 
United States a number of years ago, settling 
in Utah. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Dickey, Clifford W., James H. 
and Charles C, the first named dying at the 
age of six and a half years. Fraternally Mr. 
Dickey is a Freemason of high standing, for 
he has taken a number of degrees including 
those of A. F. and A. M., R. A. M., K. T. and 
Sir Knight, and is an enthusiastic worker in 
the various organizations of the fraternity. He 
is also identified with the Pythian Brotherhood, 
in which he has been honored with important 
official positions. He has a strong constitu- 
tion, a strong mind and clear brain and is now 
in the prime of physical and mental manhood. 
Temperate in his habits, a genial companion, a 
trusted friend and a popular citizen, he is emi- 
nently worthy the high esteem in which he is 
held and deserves to be classed with the repre- 
sentative men of his community. 

JOHN T. DODGE. 

A representative stockman of Albany 
county is John T. Dodge, the subject of this 
sketch, whose address is McGill, Wyoming. A 
native of the state of Michigan, he was born 
near Saginaw City in 1850, and is the son of 
Nathan and Hannah (Robb) Dodge, both be- 
ing natives of Michigan. His father was en- 
gaged in farming in Michigan up to fhe time of 
his death, which occurred in 1852, and he was 
buried at the city of Saginaw. The mother 
passed away in Nebraska and lies buried at 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7J 



Lyons in that state. John T. Dodge attained 
manhood in Michigan and Nebraska and re- 
ceived his education in the public schools of 
the latter state. At the early age of sixteen 
years he was compelled to leave school and 
earn his own livelihood and engaged in farm- 
ing in Nebraska, in which pursuit he continued 
with varying success up to 1876, when he 
removed his residence to Colorado, where he 
established his headquarters at Fort Collins and 
engaged in freighting operations from that 
place, continuing to be thus employed for about 
four years, then selling his freighting business 
to good advantage, he removed to North 
Park, Colo., where he engaged in mining until 
1883. He then disposed of his mining prop- 
erty and removed to the territory of Wyoming, 
where he established his home on the Laramie 
River on the present site of the Dodgeville 
placer mines. At this point while making an 
excavation for the cellar of his residence placer 
gold was discovered in paying quantities and 
he at once started extensive placer mining 
operations. He carried on this business for 
some time with considerable success and was 
at the same time engaged in the cattle busi- 
ness. Subsequently he removed his residence 
to his present ranch, situated about ten miles 
south of Dodgeville, and he has since there 
continued in the stock business, meeting with 
substantial success, being counted one of the 
representative stockmen of that region. . In 
1872, Mr. Dodge was united in the holy bonds 
of wedlock with Miss Mary E. Belleville, a na- 
tive of Ohio and the daughter of Samuel and 
Jane (Helms) Belleville, well known and highly 
respected citizens of that state. To the union 
of Mr. and Mrs. Dodge six children have been 
born, namely, William A., Thomas, Nora A., 
Arthur, Samuel and Walter. The three latter 
passed away in childhood, and are buried in 
Nebraska. Politically, Mr. Dodge is a stanch 
adherent of the Republican party and an earn- 
est and enthusiastic advocate of the principles 
of that political organization, believing that 
their dominance in public affairs of state and 
nation to be for the best interest of the public 



welfare. He is one of the most trusted leaders 
of the party in Albany county, although he has 
never sought or desired any office, preferring to 
devote his time and attention to his personal 
business affairs. He stands high in the esteem of 
all classes of his fellow citizens, irrespective of 
political affiliations. 

JAMES DOUGHERTY. 

.One of the oldtime pioneers of Wyoming 
and now a prominent ranchman and cattle 
owner of Hatton, Albany county, is James 
Dougherty. A native of Ireland, he was born 
in 1833, tne son OI James and Rose (McCray) 
Dougherty, both natives of that country. His 
father, born in 1810, was a merchant, all of his 
active life following that pursuit up to the time 
of his decease in 1871. He was the son of 
George Dougherty also a native of Ireland and 
a merchant, with which he combined farming, 
and living to the great age of ninety-eight 
years, and dying in 1848. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Celia McCue, also lived to 
an advanced age, dying in the same year with 
her husband at the age of ninety-six years. 
The father of George Dougherty was named 
Daniel, and he was a carpenter and a skilled 
mechanic, the builder of the first wheel-cart 
made in Ireland. The mother of the subject of 
this review passed away in her native country 
in 1848 at the age of thirty-two years, being 
the daughter of Daniel and Rosy (Madden) 
McCray, well-known and highly respected resi- 
dents of Ireland. James Dougherty grew to 
manhood in his native land, and received his 
early education, such as circumstances per- 
mitted to him, in the schools of the vicinity of 
his home. When he arrived at the age of 
twenty-one years he resolved to free himself 
from the hard conditions that surrounded him 
in his native country and to seek his fortune 
in the country of free institutions, and in the 
company of a number of other young men of 
like aspirations he left the home of his child- 
hood and early manhood, the memory of which 
has ever been dear to him through all his after 



72 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



life, and sailed away to America. Arriving in 
New York he soon found employment in draying, 
and followed that pursuit for about two years. 
He then secured employment on a railroad run- 
ning through the states of Maryland and Vir- 
ginia, and continued this business until 1861, then 
he responded to the call of his adopted coun- 
try for troops to defend the flag and the in- 
tegrity of the Union, and enlisted as a private 
in Co. C, Third Pennsylvania Cavalry. With 
this regiment he served throughout the war, 
and for a total period of four years, two months 
and six days, and was mustered out of the 
service with a commission as a captain, a pro- 
motion he had earned by gallant service in 
the field. During his long term of service he 
was in many engagements, but escaped without 
serious injury from either wounds or disease. 
At the end of his army life he established his 
home in Maryland and engaged in contracting, 
in which he continued for about three years. 
He then removed his residence to Missouri, 
but soon proceeded to Council Bluffs, Iowa. 
Not finding business conditions here as favor- 
able as he had anticipated, he went on to 
Laramie City, Wyo., where he arrived in 1868. 
Here he engaged in railroading and overland 
freighting, going as far as Nevada, and was 
in this employment for about four years, then 
he eng-aged in ranching and cattleraising at 
Sheep Mountain on the Little Laramie River, 
being one of the earliest of the pioneer stock- 
men of that section of the country and one of 
the first to recognize its superior advantages 
as a stockgrowing section. He has met with 
success in his business operations and is now 
one of the representative business men of the 
county. In 1872 Mr. Dougherty was united in 
marriage with Mrs. Ellen M. Hunt, a native of 
Ireland, whose maiden name was Cosgrove. 
She passed away in 1876, leaving one son. The 
present wife of Mr. Dougherty at their mar- 
riage was Mrs. Mary S. Luber, a native of New 
York. They have no children. Mr. Dougherty 
is a staunch member of the Democratic party 
and for many years he has taken an active and 
prominent part in the councils and management 
of that party in the county where he resides, and 



during the administration of President Cleveland 
he received the appointment as postmaster of 
Hatton postoffice in Albany count)-. He is one of 
the leading citizens of his county and is held in 
the highest esteem by all classes of his fellow 
citizens. 

J. W. DOLAR. 

J. W. Dolar, popularly known as "Buck" 
Dolar, one of the successful citizens of Kem- 
merer, Wyoming, was born in 1862 at Paola, 
Kas., the son of Andrew and Caroline (Huges) 
Dolar. Andrew Dolar was born in Pennsyl- 
vania. He was a shoemaker by trade and long 
conducted a shoe store at Paola, Kas., and at 
another time one in Nashville, 111., where he 
died in 1890 at the age of fifty-seven, being an 
original Democrat in politics and an old John 
Brown man. His chief interest was in his fam- 
ily, and he was married in Pottawatomie, Kas., 
in which place he was a pioneer and built the 
first house. His wife, who was born in Vir- 
ginia, is now living on a ranch about seven miles 
north of Granger, Wyo. J. W. Dolar at fifteen 
years attained his first employment in a livery 
stable at Nashville, 111., where he continued in 
the livery line for twenty years, for the last four 
of them being in business for himself. Selling 
cut at this place, he went to Trinidad. Colo., 
where he remained two years, then went to 
Granger, Wyo., and engaged in the sheep busi- 
ness, in which he continued for nine years, when 
selling his stock he moved to Kemmerer, Wyo., 
returned to his first love and has continued in 
the livery business here ever since. Mr. Dolar 
has always been a horsetrader and is fully im- 
bued with the philosophy that characterizes the 
successful men of that vocation and it is by his 
good trading and successful investments that 
he has made his money. He is a Democrat in 
politics. He was first married in 1877 in Du- 
quoin, 111., to Mary C. Cowan, a native of Illi- 
nois, and a daughter of Isaac and Sarah Cowan. 
She died in 1890, leaving one son, John E. 
Dolar, and lies buried at Taylorville, 111. The 
present Mrs. Dolar was Martha Davis, also a 
native of Illinois. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



73 



EDWIN S. DRURY. 

The founder, editor and one pf the proprie- 
tors of the Grand .Encampment Herald, olie of 
the leading newspapers of southern Wyoming, 
Edwin S. Drury, is a native of Tabor, Fremont 
county, Iowa. He was born on February 23, 
1872, the son of C. J. and Mary (Dunham) 
Drury, both natives of Michigan. His paternal 
grandfather, Charles Drury, was a native of the 
state of New York, removing from that state 
many years ago to Michigan, where he was one 
of the earliest pioneers, and long engaged in 
agricultural pursuits. The maternal grand- 
father of Mr. Drury was also born in New York 
and removed from that state to Michigan, 
where he spent the latter days of his life, being 
a prominent minister of the Baptist faith. The 
father of our subject in 1861 answered to the 
call of President Lincoln for troops to defend 
the integrity of the Union, and enlisted as a 
member of the Seventeenth Michigan Regiment 
and was in service for some time, but was com- 
pelled to retire from active service on account 
of illness for a considerable time. Upon his re- 
covery he again enlisted and continued in the 
military service up to the close of the Civil War. 
Upon being mustered out of the army he deter- 
mined to seek his fortune in the far West, and 
removed his residence to California, where he 
remained for about three years, engaged in 
prosperous farming, stockraising and mining. 
He then returned to Michigan and later re- 
moved his home to Iowa. During his residence 
in Michigan he ably served the people of his 
county in the office of sheriff, discharging the 
responsible duties of that position with credit 
to himself and to the satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. He was for many years one of the 
representative men of the section of the state 
where he maintained his home. Edwin S. 
Drury was the first son of a family of six chil- 
dren, and grew to man's estate in Michigan, 
receiving his elementary education in the public 
schools of Cass county. He early learned the 
printers' trade and at the age of eighteen years 
went into business for himself at Lawton, 



Mich., where he began the publication of the 
newspaper known as The Lawton Leader. In 
this enterprise he met with success, due to the 
energy and industry with which he conducted 
the business. Subsequently he successfully 
passed the civil service examination for employ- 
ment in the service of the United States govern- 
ment and was assigned to the Bureau of Print- 
ing at Washington, D. C, where he remained 
but a few months owing to the failure of his 
health through malaria, and he resigned his po- 
sition and removed to Wyoming, where he se- 
lected the new town of Encampment as a de- 
sirable location for a newspaper. This was in 
the fall of 1897, when there were but three 
buildings in the place, but he was satisfied with 
its prospects, and returning to Michigan he 
closed up his business interests in that state 
and in the spring of 1898 made his home at En- 
campment, where he associated himself in busi- 
ness with his brother, W. C. Drury, and they 
began the publication of the Grand Encamp- 
ment Herald. They have been very successful, 
and are now the owners of one of the best 
equipped printing plants in Wyoming, and their 
publication is recognized as the leading news- 
paper of that section of the state. On Novem- 
ber 29, 1893, Mr. Drury was united in marriage 
with Miss Elizabeth Root, a native of Michigan, 
and the daughter of D. T. Root, a highly re- 
spected citizen and horticulturist of that state. 
Fraternally Mr. Drury is affiliated with the 
Freemasons and also with the Modern Wood- 
men of America, and takes an active interest in 
the social and fraternal life of the community. 
Politically he is a stanch member of the Repub- 
lican party, recognized as one of the trusted 
local leaders of that political organization. In 
1898 he received the appointment of postmaster 
of Encampment, and upon the expiration of his 
term of office was reappointed for another term 
of four years. His administration has given 
satisfaction to the business men of the com- 
munity, as well as to the public generally. Mr. 
Drury is largely interested in mining enter- 
prises in and about Encampment, was the or- 
ganizer of the Coldwater Copper Mining Co.,. 



74 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



which is the owner of the six valuable Wolverine 
claims located at Pearl, Colo., which promise 
to develop into one of the great mines of that 
state. He is the vice-president and manager of 
this company, and has successfully conducted 
its operations, and he also holds the same posi- 
tion in the Kalamazoo Mining Co., which owns 
property adjoining that of the Coldwater Co. 
As a newspaper man and editor, Mr. Drury en- 
joys a well-merited reputation, and his publish- 
ing establishment is supplied with all modern 
improvements and appliances for the publication 
of a live and up-to-date newspaper. Progres- 
sive, enterprising and ever foremost in the ad- 
vocacy of all measures calculated to be of ad- 
vantage to the general public, he is a powerful 
factor in the development of this section of his 
adopted state. He has done much, both per- 
sonally and through the Herald, to attract the 
atention of outside capital to the great re- 
sources of Carbon county, and to bring about 
the further settlement of the country in the vi- 
cinity of the city of his residence. He is one of 
the rising men of Wyoming, and destined to 
take a prominent place in its future history. 

MRS. EMMA M. DUDLEY. 

The multifarious requirements of American 
life, especially among the yet untamed condi- 
tions of the great Northwest, afford opportuni- 
ties to every class and character of human en- 
terprise and usefulness, and open to women of 
progressive and resolute spirit as many doors 
to profitable activity as to men. Among the 
members of the fair sex who are entitled to 
special mention as influential and productive 
elements in the civilization and development of 
this section, none has shown greater resource- 
fulness and self-reliance, or achieved more sub- 
stantial and continuous success than Mrs. Emma 
M. (Armstrong) Dudley, now of Davis Ranch, 
Laramie county, Wyo. She was born in Ot- 
sego county, N. Y., on December 23, 1839, a 
daughter of William and Eunice (Gibson) Arm- 
strong, also natives of the Empire state. Her 
father was a stonemason bv trade, a member of 



the Masonic fraternity and in 1849 he removed 
his family to Wakeman, Ohio, and there fol- 
lowed his craft profitably until his death in June, 
1893, at the age of ninety-nine years. His wife 
died in 1884, aged eighty-four. Mrs. Dudley 
was educated in the schools at Wakeman, Ohio, 
remaining there until her marriage on October 
3, 1858, to Joseph Dereemer at Xorwalk, Ohio, 
who was a native of the state and a prosperous 
farmer. She and her husband removed to Cali- 
fornia in 1863, where, after three years of min- 
ing and other pursuits her husband died, his 
widow then returning to her Ohio home, where 
she remained until 1871, when she came to 
Wyoming and took up a ranch on Horse Creek 
near her present location and engaged in cattle 
raising. In 1887 she sold her ranch and passed 
five years in Ohio, educating her daughter, Lil- 
lie Lathan, the child of a second marriage, who 
attended schools at Wakeman and Norwalk. 
During her stay in Ohio at this time Mrs. Dud- 
ley's father died, and in September, 1893, she 
returned to Wyoming and the next year took 
up her present ranch on Horse Creek, thirty- 
three miles north of Cheyenne, on which she has 
since resided, being busily occupied in her 
growing catttle industry, building it up from an 
unpretentious beginning to very gratifying pro- 
portions. She gives her personal attention to 
every detail of the business and with rare ca- 
pacity and shrewdness pushes it to successful 
issues in every way. Her cattle are of high 
grade and have a rank in the markets second 
to none. By her marriage to Mr. Dereemer 
she had one child, Charles A. Dereemer. Her 
union with Daniel S. Lathan occurred at Chey- 
enne on March 27, 1871. They had one child, 
as has been noted, Lillian E. Lathan, now the 
wife of Charlie Bliss, of Cheyenne, and the 
marriage of Mrs. Lathan to William G. Dud- 
ley took place at Cheyenne on January ig, 18S8. 
Mrs. Dudley is a member of the Christian 
church, active in the charities and other good 
works conducted under its inspiration and super- 
vision. She was one of the early settlers on Horse 
Creek and braved the fury of savage men and 
inhospitable elements, having much trouble and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



75 



many exciting experiences with the Indians and 
seeing weather at times which required the ut- 
most fortitude and endurance. For a time her 
nearest neighbors were twenty-five miles dis- 
tant and self-reliance was one of the daily and 
hourly necessities of the situation. 

PHILEMON E. DU SAULT. 

Philemon E. Du Sault, county clerk of Sweet- 
water county, Wyoming, was born in 1866 at 
Three Rivers in the province of Quebec, Can- 
ada, a son of Remi and Anna (Lottinville) Du 
Sault. Remi Du Sault, also a native of Three 
Rivers, was a farmer until 1867, when he was 
appointed to a position in the Royal Mail serv- 
ice, which he still retains at the age of sixty-one, 
making" his residence at Montreal. His wife 
was born at Riviere du Loup, now Louiseville, 
Canada, but died when her son Philemon was 
but five years old. Her parents were reared in 
■the Catholic church, but her father left that 
communion and followed Rev. Chiniquy, who 
emigrated and founded a colony at Bourbon- 
nais, 111., and removing his family to that place 
he there passed the remainder of his life. Phile- 
mon Du Sault received his education in the 
schools of Quebec, Canada, and when he was 
eighteen years of age removed to St. Anne, 111., 
but only remained there two or three months, 
then went to Chicago for a short time, from 
there to Aberdeen, S. D., at which place he 
"went broke," but nothing daunted he tramped 
nearly five hundred miles across the plains to 
Buffalo, Wyo., and when he reached the town 
sat on the steps of the First National Bank of 
Buffalo, Wyo., to rest. While sitting there he 
was approached by L. H. Parker, foreman of a 
large cattle ranch, who inquired into his condi- 
tion, gave him employment and advanced funds 
for his immediate necessities. Mr. Du Sault be- 
gan work for him on July 4, 1886, and remained 
in his employ three years. He then removed 
to Green River and engaged with the Union 
Pacific Railroad as a clerk, and continuing in 
that service until 1894, when he accepted a place 
in the clerical department of the Rock Springs 



Coal Co. In 1895 this company was absorbed 
by the Sweetwater Mining Co., for which Mr. 
Du Sault acted as traveling salesman for two 
or three years and then again went into the em- 
ploy of the Union Pacific, remaining with that 
company until he assumed the duties of county 
clerk of Sweetwater county in 1899, an office 
he still holds and in which his services have 
been of material advantage to the county and 
have been highly appreciated. In fraternal rela- 
tions Mr. Du Sault is identified with the Ma- 
sonic order, holding membership in the lodge 
at Rock Springs, the chapter and commandery 
at Green River and the mystic shrine at Raw- 
lins. On June 20, 1894, he was joined in mar- 
riage with Miss Annie Jones, a native of Frank- 
lin, Idaho, and a daughter of Daniel and Min- 
nie (Clarkson) Jones, natives of Wales. Her 
father died in 1900, and was buried at Rock 
Springs, where his widow still lives and where 
the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Du Sault was 
solemnized. They have one child, Donald Dud- 
ley Du Sault, whose presence adds sunshine to 
their pleasant home. 

BERT ELDER. 

One of the active, vigorous and successful 
ranchmen and live stockgrowers of Converse 
county, Wyoming, Bert Elder, is the proprietor 
of a fine ranch situated on the La Prele Creek, 
nine miles west of the thriving city of Doug- 
las, his postoffice address. Mr. Elder was born 
in Bedford county, Pa,, on August 27, 1858, a 
grandson of Robert Elder and the son of J. S. 
and Sarah (Rhodes) Elder, both being repre- 
sentatives of families resident in Pennsylvania 
from the clays of William Penn, and taking part 
in the wars and Indian troubles in the Revolu- 
tionary and later periods, the original Elders 
being of mingled Dutch and Welch lineage, 
while the Rhodes were of German extraction. 
An aunt of his mother was captured by the In- , 
dians in her girlhood and carried to Canada, a 
number of years passing before her release and 
return could be accomplished. Robert Elder 
was a millwright, who erected many solid mills 



7 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in Pennsylvania before his death. J. S. Elder 
remained in his native state until 1868, marry- 
ing there and raising a family of seven sons 
and two daughters, of whom Bert was the 
fourth in order of birth. The family home was 
transferred to the near neighborhood of Har- 
risonville, Mo., in 1868, the father there con- 
ducting agricultural operations and stockrais- 
mg until his death in 1901, at the age of sev- 
enty-four years. Bert Elder remained with his 
parents and became well versed in farming 
operations, receiving a good common school 
education in Pennsylvania and Missouri, in 1879 
joining the stampede of goldseekers to Lead- 
ville, Colo., and engaging in mining in that 
state until 1882, thence going to Carbonette, 
near Glenwood Springs, in the same year, mak- 
ing his residence at Tie Siding, Wyo., where he 
was for three years engaged in lumbering oper- 
ations, thence, in May, 1886, locating on his 
present homestead ranch, where he is success- 
fully engaged in stockraising, being prosperous 
in his undertakings as the result of his diligent 
activity. His ranch is finely located, much of 
his land being under . irrigation, and he has 
greatly improved it by the erection of a com- 
modious residence of modern style, comforta- 
ble barns, outbuildings and other necessary ac- 
cessories to the proper carrying on of his 
special branch of husbandry. Mr. Elder formed 
a matrimonial alliance on December 23, 1885, 
with Miss Florence Sherwin, a native of Illinois, 
and a daughter of Marshal and Mary B. Sher- 
win, natives of Illinois. The father moved his 
family from Illinois to Kansas, and there his 
death occurred, the mother and children later 
coming to Wyoming in the early eighties. Their 
children are Sarah, Rawlin and Mary. His wife 
and daughter, Mary, were drowned in the La 
Prele Creek in 1894 and he later married with 
Miss Zenana Miller of Carthage, Mo., on Feb- 
ruary, 1896. Mr. Elder is interested in the pub- 
lic welfare as a member of the Democratic pol- 
itical party, and fraternally he belongs to the 
I. O. O. F. order at Douglas. He has been the 
artificer of his own fortune. Indefatigable in 



his efforts and guided by correct principles, he 
has secured a tangible reward in the acquisition 
of a handsome property and in the respect and 
confidence of all who know him. 

AUGUST ERICKSON. 

Every land has contributed of its best and 
most serviceable elements to build up and de- 
velop the great Northwest of the United States, 
and from none has come a more thrifty, more 
industrious, more law-abiding or more progres- 
sive people than from the land of Gustavus 
Adolphus and Charles the Twelfth, the land of 
manly spirit and intellectual progress, the land 
of frugality and industry, fair Sweden that basks 
in the radiance of the midnight sun. Among 
those of our citizens of Swedish nativity August 
Erickson, of near Inyankara, a prosperous and 
progressive farmer and stockman on Canyon 
Springs Prairie, twenty miles south of Sun- 
dance, has made a lasting impression on the 
community in which he lives and secured a firm 
hold on the esteem and confidence of its people. 
He was born at Stockholm, Sweden, on Novem- 
ber 8, 1857, the son of Lars Erickson, and lost 
his mother by death when he was but a child. 
He remained with his father until he was four- 
teen years old, attending school and learning 
what he could of men and life by observation, 
at that age being apprenticed to a stonemason 
of Stockholm, and after reaching his majority 
worked at the trade there for fourteen years. 
In 1892 he came to America, and after making 
a visit to his brother in Kansas and working 
at his trade for a short time in Kansas City, 
removed to Wyoming, where he was employed 
as a mason by Kilpatrick Bros. & Collins for 
a year and a half. He then settled at Inyan- 
kara and worked at his trade in that vicinity 
until 1895 when he took up the ranch on which 
he now lives and conducts a profitable enter- 
prise in farming and raising stock, and here Mr. 
Erickson has not only redeemed a goodly por- 
tion of the virgin soil of Wyoming from its 
wild condition and making it to smile with the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



77 



white harvests of peace and plenty, but has 
given an example of sterling' manhood, zealous 
industry and fidelity to duty which has made 
him a potential force for good in the commu- 
nity. He was married on March 3, 1883, at 
Stockholm, Sweden, with Miss Annie Johnson, 
also a native of Sweden, where for generations 
her forefathers were among the productive ele- 
ments of a progressive civilization. Four chil- 
dren have blessed their union, Eric, August, 
Oscar and Louis. The family render allegiance 
to the Lutheran church in religious affiliation 
and in politics Mr. Erickson is an unfaltering 
Democrat. 

WILLIAM CHARLES CLARKSON FREE- 
MAN, M. D. 

Prominent among the younger generation of 
medical men whose endowments and achieve- 
ments have added dignity to a profession which 
all ages have delighted to honor is Dr. William 
Charles C. Freeman, who since 1893 has been 
alleviating the sufferings of humanity in Rock 
Springs and the adjacent country. Much de- 
pends upon being born well and in this respect 
Dr. Freeman was peculiarly fortunate, as he 
comes of intelligent, noble-minded parents, 
whose ancestors for generations were noted for 
strong mentality, high intellectual endowments 
and sterling moral worth. Dr. William Free- 
man, the father, was a native of Ontario, Can- 
ada, born in 1830. After receiving a fine liter- 
ary education he took up the study of medicine, 
graduating. from the Toronto Medical College 
and subsequently prosecuting his researches at 
Guy's Hospital, London, Eng., and Edinburgh 
University, Scotland, and Bellevue Medical Col- 
lege, New York. He began medical practice 
at Georgetown, Ontario, in 1857, and until i8$q 
he did a large and -lucrative professional busi- 
ness in that city, being one of the ablest physic- 
ians and surgeons in the entire province. In 1889 
he came to Rock Springs, Wyo., and was in 
practice uninterruptedly until 1900 when death 
put an end to his labors. He atttained much 
more than a local repute, especially in surgery, 
where he had very few equals and never met a 



superior. His original investigations enabled 
him to make a number of new discoveries in 
medical science and he generously gave to the 
profession the benefits of his studies and re- 
searches in many able and scholarly papers. 
With all of his intellectual culture and high pro- 
fessional attainments, he was a quiet man, ab- 
solutely free from ostentation and found his 
keenest enjoyment in the bosom of his family, 
where shut from the world, he pursued unmo- 
lested his fascinating scientific studies. He was 
faithful to his practice, and had not an exces- 
sive modesty prevented, he might have become 
one of the most distinguished surgeons of his 
day and generation. Isaac Freeman, father of 
William, was a native of Ontario, as was also' 
his wife, who bore the maiden name of Hannah 
Kelley ; his father, also Isaac by name, was one 
of three brothers who came from England in a 
very early clay and settled in Massachusetts. 
Miss Mary Cobban, who became the wife of 
Dr. William Freeman, was a native of Ontario 
and a daughter of Dr. James and Catherine 
(Jarmy) Cobban, the father being a prominent 
physician and surgeon of that province. Her 
son, William Charles C. Freeman, was born in 
Ontario in 1868 and received his literary educa- 
tional training in the schools of Georgetown, 
Ontario, the Guelph Collegiate Institute, at 
Guelph, Ontario, the Upper Canada College 
and the Toronto University. Having decided 
to adopt for a calling the profession in which 
his father and his maternal grandfather had 
achieved such signal success, he began a pre- 
liminary course of medical training, subsequent- 
ly entering Trinity University Medical College 
at Toronto, Canada, from which noted institu- 
tion he was graduated with an honorable record 
in 1893. Immediately after obtaining his de- 
gree he began medical practice at Rock Springs, 
Wyo., and it was not long until his superior 
professional abilities brought him prominently 
to the notice of the public as a physician and 
surgeon of exceptional merit. He soon estab- 
lished himself in the confidence and esteem of 
the people and gained a large and lucrative 
practice which presents a series of successes 
rarely equaled in the career of one so young. 



78 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



His ruling- ambition has been to excel in his 
chosen calling, the best energies of his mind 
have been lent in that direction, and in this he 
has not failed, as is shown in part by the many 
notable cures he has effected and by the enthu- 
siasm with which he still keeps up his studies 
and researches. The Doctor has performed a 
number of very difficult surgical operations in 
which the greatest skill was required and is 
easily the peer of any of his professional asso- 
ciates as a family physician. Books are his 
loved companions and his library is replete with 
the ablest medical works and authorities, and 
he is a close and critical reader of the latest 
standard literature bearing upon his profession. 
He has served as city health officer of Rock 
Springs and was for some time physician and 
surgeon to the Sweetwater Coal Mining Co. 
He has built well upon the broad foundation 
of intellectual culture and moral principles • a 
goodly edifice which will stand the test of time, 
and though still a young man he has achieved 
a reputation such as few men much older in the 
medical world attain. He takes an active interest 
in all matters pertaining to the good of his city 
and links his influence to whatever tends to the 
intellectual and moral advancement of his fel- 
low men. He belongs to several benevolent 
and fraternal organizations, among them the 
Independent Ordejr of Redmen, I. O. O. F., 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, Degree of 
Honor and the Eagles. He was married in 
October, 1896, with Miss Marie R. A. Levesque 
and is the father of two children, a son Paid 
Deschnes Cobban and a daughter Marv Fran- 
ces Dorris. Indicative of the inherent energy 
and progress of the Doctor it may be stated that 
he is the only physician in Rock Springs who 
visits his patients by means of an automobile. 

MRS. SARAH H. FENNER. 

Although quite a young state there will be 
found among the inhabitants of Wyoming sonic 
of the brightest people in the Union, whose 
intellectuality is and ought to be a matter of 
congratulation to those whose good fortune 



has given them a home in the young common- 
wealth, and among these intellectual residents 
of the state may be mentioned Mrs. Sarah H. 
Fenner-, the amiable postmistress of Opal, 
Uinta county. She is the widow" of John W. 
Fenner, who was born in Rhode Island, a son 
of John and Lucy Fenner, natives of the same 
state. He was always engaged in merchandis- 
ing and in very numerous travels through the 
country, dying in Vermont on July 4, 1886, his 
remains were interred in North Bennington, 
Vt., wdiere he was married with Sarah H. 
Wright, the subject proper of this review, on 
December 25, 1869. Mrs. Sarah H. (Wright) 
Fenner is a daughter of William B. and Sarah 
A. (Randall) Wright, the former being a native 
of New York and the latter of Massachusetts. 
Her grandfather. Chester Wright, married with 
Olive Mosier, both being natives of New York 
of English descent. Freeman Randall, the ma- 
ternal grandfather of Sarah H. Fenner. was a 
veteran of the Revolution and her father was 
always active in the public affairs of his day, 
both parents being devout and consistent mem- 
bers of the Established Church of England. To 
John W. and Sarah H. Fenner w 7 ere born three 
children: William, born in North Bennington. 
Vt., and dying at the age of six weeks; Alice 
P., who died and was buried in Ogden, Utah, 
on January 23, 1901, when she was twenty- 
three years, two months and two days old ; 
Walter E., now living on his ranch seven miles 
w'est of Kemmerer, Wyo., who married Miss 
Cora M. Wright, a daughter of James M. and 
Avis (Robinson") Wright, old settlers in Wyo- 
ming. Mrs. Fenner, who was long a teacher 
of more than ordinary erudition and experience, 
came west immediately after the death of her 
husband and continued her educational labors 
in various schools from 1886 until her abilities 
attracted the attention of the U. S. postofhee 
officials and she was appointed postmistress 
of Opal on November 7, 1896: a position she 
has since filled to the entire satisfaction of the 
public and the Postoffice Department. She is 
the pioneer teacher of Wyoming and her com- 
ing 1 was welcomed as heartily as that of the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



79 



sturdiest pioneer who ever put foot inside of 
the territory. She gave her inestimable services 
to the charge of the first school organized on 
Hanna's Fork, Uinta county, and has taught 
in Evanston and various other places beside 
Opal with invariable success. And she was ably 
fitted for her profession by an academic and 
normal education in Vermont and has been en- 
gaged in teaching since she was seventeen years 
of age. A woman of great financial ability and 
executive power, she erected the first hotel in 
Opal, conducted it for three years and then 
retired from its management. 

FRANK B. FAWCETT. 

Comfortable in worldly possessions after 
many hardships and much privation, safely an- 
chored from the storms of life after many strug- 
gles with fate and adverse fortune, ripened by 
experience in many longitudes and through 
contests with civilized and savage men, Frank 
B. 'Fawcett, of the renowned Stockade Beaver 
Creek region of Wyoming, a prominent ranch- 
man, stockraiser and public official of Weston 
county, has risen to his secure place in the con- 
fidence and esteem of his fellow men through 
efforts and vicissitude, having attained to his 
present estate by his own endurance and manly 
demeanor under all circumstances, being well 
entitled to the peaceful haven he has built 
among this people. He was born on the fruit- 
ful soil of Columbiana county, Ohio, on March 
15, 1850, the son of Samuel and Hannah E. 
(Harlan) Fawcett, where his father was a lead- 
ing contractor and builder at Salem, and passing 
a busy and useful life, being now more than 
ninety years of age. The mother died in 1855, 
when her son Frank was but five years old. He 
remained with his father until he was fifteen 
years old, attending school and aiding in the 
business and at this early age left the paternal 
fireside for the far West, going to Michigan and 
hiring out as a farm hand near Hillsdale, there 
working during the summer and attending 
school for a short time in the winter. He re- 
mained there for two years and in 1866 removed 



to Kansas and went to working on a farm near 
Emporia until October, 1868, when he enlisted 
in the Nineteenth Kansas Cavalry for service 
against the Indians. His service took him 
through Kansas, the Indian Territory and Texas 
and with General Custer in his expedition 
through the Southwest. His term was for six 
months and most of the time he was under the 
guidance of that gallant commander whose he- 
roic death is one of the deeply tragical events 
of our history. At the end of his military ca- 
reer Mr. Fawcett settled in Wilson county, 
Kan., and engaged in milling for two years, 
then turned again to farming and until 1884 
devoted his energies to that pursuit in Wilson 
and Allen counties, Kan. In the year last 
named he sold out and moved to the Black 
Hills, remaining there engaged in farming until 
1887 when he came to Wyoming, and in July 
took up the ranch on which he now lives on 
Stockade Beaver Creek, sixteen miles northeast 
of Newcastle. He has found this a permanent 
anchorage and has remained here, busy with his 
farming and stock industries and contributing 
his share of inspiration, example and substan- 
tial aid in building up the country and develop- 
ing its resources, being a citizen of broad views, 
progressive ideas and decided public energy and 
intelligence. He came into this country with 
nothing and is now one of its most substantial 
citizens, with a well improved and highly culti- 
vated ranch, containing a commodious and con- 
venient residence, tastefully arranged grounds 
and every other evidence of thrift, comfort and 
enterprise. From a wild and rugged frontier 
he has seen the landscape changed into an ex- 
panse of peaceful and productive farms, furnish- 
ing happy homes for industrious and peaceful 
residents and all the bounty of Mother Earth 
for their sustenance. In public affairs he has 
taken a constant and forceful interest, giving 
freely his time, energy and influence to the 
improvement of the community, both as a pri- 
vate citizen and in official station, having served 
as county commissioner from 1894 to 1896 and 
again from 1898 until 1902, during the last four 
years being chairman of the board. He is a 



8o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



Republican in politics, but a patriot rather 
than a partisan. At Iola, Kan., on July 30, 
1871, Mr. Fawcett was united in marriage with 
Miss Martha C. Armstrong, a native of Indiana 
and daughter of John and Julia E. Armstrong, 
the former born in Virginia and the latter in 
Tennessee. They were taken by their parents 
to Indiana in early life and there Mr. Armstrong 
was a prosperous farmer until 1868, then re- 
moving to Kansas and locating in Allen county, 
there pursuing his chosen occupation of farming 
on his homestead until a few years ago when he 
removed to Morgan in that county, where his 
wife died on June 15, 1902, and where he still 
lives. Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett have eight chil- 
dren ; Mary, married to Paul Kipping, who has 
specific mention on another pag'e in this work ; 
Alice, married to Mr. Bedell ; Julia ; Elsie ; 
John ; Frank ; Frederick ; Harrison. 

JAMES H. GRIFFIN. 

Among the more prominent of the oldtime 
citizens of the state of Wyoming, is Mr. James 
H. Griffin, a native of Dearborn county, Indi- 
ana, who came to the territory of Wyoming in 
1875 an d nas since seen the country west of 
the Missouri River pass through all of its 
stages of development from the wilderness and 
the barren alkali desert to its present civiliza- 
tion. He comes of a family of pioneers, being 
the son of David and Elizabeth (Andrews) Grif- 
fin, the former a native of Virginia and the 
latter of Indiana. The father came to Indiana 
with his parents from the Old Dominion when 
but one year old, in 1810, and grew up with 
and took part in the development of the great 
Middle West. Not having a taste for farming 
in which occupation his father was engaged, 
David Griffin served an apprenticeship to and 
learned the profession of piloting on the Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers and followed that re- 
sponsible profession during all the years of his 
active life, voyaging between Pittsburg and 
New Orleans. During this early period in the 
history of the country most of the transporta- 
tion, both of passengers and freight, was on 
river steamers and many of these vessels were 



veritable floating palaces, the river pilot in 
those days being a^ personage of the greatest 
importance, for hundreds of lives and millions 
of dollars in property were daily entrusted to 
his skill and care. The father of our subject 
followed this responsible occupation from early 
manhood to old age, more than forty-seven 
years, and was considered one of the safest and 
most reliable of the great number engaged in 
that important calling. In 1885 he retired from 
business after a long life of activity, responsi- 
bility and usefulness, and removed to Wyo- 
ming, where he made his home with his son, 
James, up to his death in 1887. The mother 
survived him, dying in Hamilton county, Ind., 
in 1898, where he was residing with a daugh- 
ter. James H. Griffin grew to manhood in 
Dearborn county, Indiana, and received his 
early academical training in the common 
schools and in the graded school at Aurora. 
He resided in the old home in Dearborn county, 
following the vocation of brick moulder most 
of the time until 1875, when, having arrived- at 
mature manhood, his birth having occurred on 
December 12, 1852, he determined to seek his 
fortune in the far West and came to the then 
territory of Wyoming and secured employment 
on the ranch known as the "J. H. D. ranch,'' 
owned by the Durbin Bros., on Horse Creek. 
He remained here for two years and went to 
the ranch located on Bear Creek, owned by 
Seabury and Gardiner, with whom he remained 
for seven years, being foreman during the 
greater portion of that time, having entire 
charge of the extensive interests of his em- 
ployers. In this capacity he had an excellent 
opportunitv to thoroughly familiarize himself 
with the management of the stock business and 
in 1884 he took up a ranch adjoining his pres- 
ent ranch property and personally engaged in 
the cattle and horse business. He remained at 
this place, meeting with substantial success and 
constantly increasing his business, until 1892, 
when he purchased the ranch where he now 
resides and where he is extensively engaged in 
cattle and horseraising. Here he has 520 
acres of land patented, with large adjacent 
range, and also controls several thousand acres 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of leased lands, all on Bear Creek, one of the 
finest and most picturesque sections of the 
state. Mr. Griffin is considered one of the 
solid and substantial stockmen of Wyoming, 
and beginning in the early days without capital 
and with few advantages of outside support, he 
has, by economy, good judgment and careful 
and practical management, built up a success- 
ful and prosperous business. On March 19, 
1881, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage at 
Mississippi county, Mo., to Miss Tillie J. Shreve, 
a native of Indiana, a daughter of Thomas and 
Malinda (Andrews) Shreve. Her parents came 
from their native state of Indiana to Nebraska, 
in 1880, settling in the county of Otoe, where 
they followed farming, subsequently however, 
removing to Cass county, where they continued 
in the same occupation until their death, which 
occurred in 1901, the mother passing away on 
March 27, and the father on March 31-, in that 
year, both being buried in Cass county. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Griffin has come a family of five 
children, Gertrude M. ; Ola E. and Lola M. 
(twins) ; Ruth D. ; Sadie L. ; all are living, and 
all residing at the parental home except Ger- 
trude, who was married on November 12, 1901, 
to F. W. Hughes and they reside near Phillips, 
Wyo. Politically, Mr. Griffin is identified with 
the Republican party, taking an active and pa- 
triotic interest in public affairs, believing it to 
be the duty of every citizen to give a portion 
of his time to the promotion of the public 
welfare, but he has never held or sought any 
public office with the exception of postmaster of 
Phillips, which he has held for sixteen years. 

A. M. GOODE. 

One of the successful ranch and cattle men 
of Albany county, Wyoming, is A. M. Goode, 
a prominent resident of the city of Laramie. 
A native of A^irginia, he was born in the county 
of Chesterfield, in 1845, the son of George and 
Martha (Borsee) Goode, both also Virginians. 
The father was born in 1818, and followed the 
occupation of farming in his native state, sub- 



sequently removing his residence from Virginia 
for a short time to Kentucky, whence he soon 
returned to his native state, becoming a farmer 
near the old town of Lynchburg, Bedford 
county, until his death on March, 25, 1901, at 
the advanced age of eighty-three years. He 
was the son of Edward Goode, a pioneer minis- 
ter of the Baptist denomination who passed his 
life in the Old Dominion. The mother of the 
subject of this review is still living and makes 
her home on the old family homestead. A. W. 
Goode came to man's estate and received his 
early education in the Virginia schools, avail- 
ing himself of such opportunities as were offer- 
ed him to obtain an education, but leaving 
school at an early age, for with many of his 
young associates he answered the call of Vir- 
ginia for troops to engage in the Civil War, en- 
listing in Co. I, Thirty-fourth Virginia Infantry, 
C. S. A. He served with his regiment during 
the entire war, and, although engaged in many 
battles, escaped without a wound, and without 
serious injury to his health. After the war he 
removed to Iowa, soon however removing to 
Missouri, where he engaged in farming, subse- 
quently removing to Texas with a view of en- 
gaging in raising cattle. Not finding conditions 
there as favorable as he had anticipated, he 
came on to the territory of Wyoming in 1875, 
locating at Laramie, where he remained until 
1879, when he availed himself of his homestead 
right near that place, and began in a modest way 
to raise cattle and horses. Starting with his 
homestead of 160 acres of land, he has in- 
creased his holdings until now he is the owner 
of a fine ranch property of over 4,000 acres, well 
fenced and improved, with suitable buildings 
and appliances and the necessary and convenient 
appointments for an extensive ranching and 
stockraising industry. By his perseverance, 
thrift and business ability, he has built up a 
large and fine property, and is now considered 
one of the solid business men and substantial 
property owners of his section of Wyoming, 
his ranch being situated about seven miles 
southeast of Laramie. Mr. Goode has never 



82 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



married. Politically, he is a member of the 
Democratic party, but has never sought or 
desired to hold public office. He is one of the 
most highly respected citizens of Albany county. 

COL. WILLIAM F. CODY. 

Each age, each race, each country, inscribes 
itself with more or less distinctness on History's 
dial. The cities of the world's infancy, and some 
of later date, deep-buried in the ruins of time and 
almost faded from our traditions of their day, 
revisit us in the freshly exhumed sculptures and 
picture writings unearthed by the German ex- 
plorers and in the sparkling pages of their nar- 
ratives. The Egypt of Sesostris and the Phara- 
ohs survives in her obelisks and pyramids no less 
vividly than in the ever enduring records of 
Moses and Manetho. Jerusalem, in her lonely 
humiliation, best typifies the Hebrew state and 
race for centuries, while her uncrumbling edi- 
fices and reviving dignity suggest the unconquer- 
able spirit and intense intellectual energy of her 
people which dominates all the marts and money- 
centers of the modern world. Ancient Rome 
lives for us in the Capitol and Coliseum, as does 
her medieval and sacerdotal offspring in St. Pet- 
er's and the Vatican. Royal and feudal France, 
the France of Richelieu and Louis le Grand, still 
lingers in the boundless magnificence and prodi- 
gality, the showy sieges and battle-pieces of Ver- 
sailles, while the England of the last four cen- 
turies confronts us in the Bank, very substan- 
tial and well furnished, the fit heart's core of a 
trading, money-getting people. And so we Amer- 
icans will be found in due time to have written 
ourselves most legibly, though all unconsciously, 
on the earth's unfading records ; how, or in what, 
time alone can tell. We have already linked 
ocean to ocean with hoops of steel and put our 
electric girdles around the world. We have ar- 
ranged for portraying, as on a common dial, all 
the storms and calms at any moment prevailing 
within the earth's atmosphere and foretelling 
those that are to come, thus providing in advance 
against the rage of the elements. Our character- 
istic and most typical record may be in these or 



in something very different from any or all of 
them. Essential History insists upon writing it- 
self, and will not be controlled or anticipated. 
Certainty one of the most striking phases of our 
multiform life, impulse and activity, with all its 
trials and triumphs; its challenge to every condi- 
tion and circumstance, and its conquest over 
all, is in the wild life of the pioneers on our 
western frontier and the mighty fabrics of hu- 
man progress, civilization and philanthropy that 
have been woven from the fruits of their daring 
and endurance. They were the trail-blazers for 
an oncoming army of great events, the heralds of 
a new evangely of beneficence which should aid 
in making and keeping our land what it has most 
aptly been called, the great charity of God to the 
human race. The wilderness into which they 
ventured was deep, boundless and seemingly im- 
penetrable. Wild beasts, wild men and Nature 
herself seemed all in arms against them. The 
ordinary armor of civilized man, organized and 
concentrated effort, convenience in communica- 
tion and transportation, the power to mass forces 
and supply them with munitions of war. was 
wholly unavailable, even the means of supporting 
life itself was uncertain and often difficult of at- 
tainment. Yet this race of heroes halted not nor 
hesitated. With intrepid courage and all-con- 
quering resourcefulness, with the sublime faith 
that moves mountains and laughs at impossibil- 
ities, they went forward ' and occupied the land, 
in all things compelling it to minister to their 
needs. The story of their daily lives, common- 
place, monotonous and unworthy of note as it 
may have appeared to them, is in brief the narra- 
tive of an empire's birth, of the start of a new 
epoch in human annals. And among the prod- 
ucts and the exemplars of this far western life, 
the molders and makers of this new domain, es- 
pecially the conservators for legitimate history 
of its picturesque form, its decided tints and its 
thrilling incidents, perhaps no man stands forth 
in the gaze of the world in proportions more he- 
roic, with attributes more striking, scenic settings 
more spectacular, yet withal truthful, or elements 
of manhood more characteristic of the time, the 
region and the conditions, than Col. William F. 




: f HE iiRY ~a fLOR JH 




I t 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



83 



Cody, the world-renowned "Buffalo Bill," whose 
portrayal of this sparkling chapter of American 
history has preserved its features and made them 
known to the peoples of many climes and tongues. 
He was one of the star actors in the dramas which 
his "Wild West" epitomizes and depicts, and he 
has thrown them upon the great canvas of hu- 
man story in glowing and imperishable portrait- 
ure. William Frederick Cody was born on Feb- 
ruary 26, 1846, in Scott county, Iowa, the son of 
Isaac and Mary B. (Laycock) Cody, who re- 
moved to Kansas when he was eight years old 
and were the first white settlers in that state. 
They located in Salt Creek Valley five miles west 
of where now stands the city of Leavenworth, 
which the father helped to lay out and to the 
progress of which he was a substantial contribu- 
tor. He was very active in helping to make 
Kansas a free state, conspicuous in the border 
trouble which signalized the birth of that now 
great and progressive commonwealth. Every 
hour of • time was fraught with danger to the 
prime movers in public affairs and all men went 
armed. At a hot political meeting Mr. Cody was 
fatally stabbed and taken home in a critical 
condition. He was not safe there, however, even 
in his wounded and practically dying state, . and 
was obliged to flee from his home and family 
and find shelter where he could. He died of his 
wounds and exposure in April, 1857. The son 
was thus thrown on his own resources at-^the 
early age of eleven years and, being the only boy 
in the family, became literally its head >and a 
very necessary contributor to its support. He 
secured employment as messenger for the firm 
of Russell, Majors & Waddell, at that time the 
most extensive freighters in the United States. 
His duties obliged him to visit every fort and 
military post west of the Missouri, and his fidel- 
ity, capacity, courage and modesty soon made 
him a favorite with the plainsmen and soldiers, 
while his experience educated him rapidly in 
knowledge of human nature, independence of 
thought and action, self-reliance and readiness 
for emergencies. It was during this time, too, 
that he had his first experience in fighting Indi- 
ans, shooting one dead when he was only eleven 



years old. In November, 1863, he was summoned 
home by the serious illness of his mother, who 
died not long after his arrival. For a number of 
years she had kept a wayside inn in Salt Creek 
Valley and had made its name, "The Valley 
Grove House," a synonym for all that involves 
comfort and abundance in entertainment, high 
character and strict propriety in a public house. 
By this time the Civil War had begun and young 
Cody enlisted in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry 
and acted as scout for that regiment until the 
close of the war. Upon his discharge from the 
army he became one of the famous pony-ex- 
press riders, being the youngest boy who ever 
crossed the plains in that capacity. In 1866 he 
married at St. Louis, Mo., with Miss Louisa 
Fredricie, a bright, beautiful and accomplished 
young lady of that city, and their union has been 
blessed with four children, two of whom died in 
infancy. After his marriage he severed his con- 
nection with the pony express line and engaged 
in business near Leavenworth. But his mind 
was too large, his nature was too resourceful and 
his habits of restless activity were too well fixed 
for this quiet life, so he soon disposed of his in- 
terests and again started west. Locating at Fort 
Hayes, Kansas, he entered the employ of the Kan- 
sas Pacific Railroad, then in course of construc- 
tion, and some little time later took a contract to 
furnish meat for the railroad builders. While 
filling this contract he acquired the title of "Buf- 
falo Bill" from the great number of buffaloes he 
slew, 4,280 in eighteen months. He had become 
a dead shot with the rifle and never missed his 
mark. After the completion of the railroad he 
enlisted in the Ninth U. S. Cavalry, and was as- 
signed to duty as a scout and guide, with head- 
quarters at Fort McPherson, Neb. In this ser- 
vice he took part in many battles with the In- 
dians and had numerous hair-breadth escapes. 
Before its conclusion he was made chief of scouts 
for the Department of the Missouri and the 
Platte, a well-earned and universally approved 
promotion for merit. While stationed at the fort 
he was also elected to the Nebraska legislature 
from that district. During his brilliant military 
career he served under nearly all of the great 



8 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



generals of the time and met many noted charac- 
ters of his own and other lands. He acted as 
guide for the Grand-Duke Alexis of Russia in 
his celebrated hunting expedition, piloting the 
party through the whole of the trip and bringing 
it back unharmed and loaded with game. For 
this service he was richly rewarded and received 
from the Grand-Duke, as a personal souvenir of 
the expedition, a scarfpin studded with precious 
stones. In 1870 Colonel Cody obtained leave of 
• absence from the government, organized his first 
theatrical venture, and for a few years thereafter 
played in the principal cities of the United States 
with phenomenal success. In 1876 the Sioux war 
commenced and, disbanding his show, he joined 
the Fifth U. S. Cavalry and took an active and 
leading part in that sanguinary contest. In a 
furious hand-to-hancl fight in the battle of Indian 
Creek, he killed Yellow Hand, one of the most 
noted and dangerous - of the Cheyenne chiefs. 
After this war he reorganized his exhibition on 
a larger scale than before and in 1882 added new 
features, rebaptizing the organization as "Buf- 
falo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough 
Riders of the World." With this aggregation 
he has since been on the road, except when oc- 
casional calls have enlisted his aid in suppress- 
ing minor Indian uprisings, and has made many 
successful tours of the United States and Europe. 
But, although for years busily occupied with 
this gigantic enterprise, he has not lost interest 
in the welfare of his country, nor lacked indus- 
try or zeal in pushing forward the development 
of that section of which he is so truly typical. 
In the autumn of 1894 he became a resident of 
Bighorn county, Wyo., founding there the flour- 
ishing town which bears his name, near which he 
owns numerous fine ranches, all stocked with his 
own superior grades of horses and cattle. He 
has erected one of the most elegant, most com- 
pletely equipped and best conducted hotels in •the 
state ; holds interests in many commercial and in- 
dustrial enterprises at Cody ; is president of the 
Shoshone Irrigation Co., which has been instru- 
mental in placing under cultivation thousands of 
acres of choice land ; and in every possible way 
has helped along the development and improve- 



ment of the region in which he has cast his lot. 
His services in this respect have been of inestim- 
able value and the town of Cody, with the healthy 
progress, rich productiveness and advanced cul- 
tivation of the country around it, forms the best 
monument to his enterprise, ability and patriot- 
ism. What an interesting career has been that 
of this man ! Born to the destiny of toil and 
obscurity of the frontier and inured to all its 
dangers, hardships and privations, deeply schooled 
in its rugged life and bearing the marks of its 
burdens, it has yet been his lot to be courted, 
feted and honored by the rich and the titled of 
earth's gayest capitals, to have the very flower 
of the most advanced civilizations wait upon his 
presence and Royalty itself bidding for his 
smiles. The delight of innocent childhood, the 
inspiration of budding youth, the stimulus of 
vigorous manhood, and the entertainment of ret- 
rospective old age, the diversion of the rich and 
the festival of the poor, his show has ministered 
to the enjoyment and the instruction of all classes 
and conditions of men. It has transported the 
wild flavor of our western plains and mountains 
to the busy marts of the East, carried the wild 
life of the New World into close contact with 
the culture of the Old, mingling the barbarism of 
the one with the refinement of the other, and 
so brought the ends of the earth together. And 
through all his varying experiences, his fidelity 
to chity in every field, his courageous endurance 
in every difficulty, his early trials and later tri- 
umphs, his mighty successes and the adulation 
which follows them, he has remained the same 
strong, true man, preserving unimpaired the firm 
fiber, high tone and unbending dignity of his 
American citizenship and the loyalty of his faith 
with his country, his manhood and his fame. 
Tried by all extremes of fortune he has never 
been subdued by any. 

JOEL E. FAIRCHILD. 

The gentleman to a brief review of whose 
career these lines are devoted is one of the re- 
cent comers to Wyoming, having been a resi- 
dent of the city of Kemmerer since 1899. ^ e 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



85 



is a scion of one of the old Colonial families of 
North Carolina, but traces his paternal ancestry- 
back to Massachusetts, where the Fairchilds had 
settled in a very early age as emigrants from 
Scotland. Mr. Abigail Fairchild, the paternal 
grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, but 
when quite young went to North Carolina, 
where he married, reared a family and passed 
the remainder of his life, being a blacksmith 
and following that calling for many years in 
Wilkes county, where he also devoted some at- 
tention to agricultural pursuits. He was a lad 
of thirteen when the colonies declared their in- 
dependence, and throughout the seven years 
War of the Revolution he served as a soldier 
in a North Carolina regiment, taking part in 
a number of battles and bearing himself bravely 
until the Briton was driven forever from Ameri- 
can shores. He had a son by the name of 
Abigah, whose birth occurred in the county of 
Wilkes on July 4, 1804. Abigah Fairchild, Jr., 
was married in his native state to. Miss Catherine 
Vannay, a daughter of Jesse W. and Mary 
(Kelly) Vannay, both parents descendants of 
old and well-known families of Wilkes county. 
Mr. Fairchild became a well-to-do farmer and 
lived to the ripe old age of eighty-six. As a 
staunch Democrat he took a lively interest in 
public and political affairs and is remembered 
as a man of wide intelligence, good common 
sense and sound judgment. He always mani- 
fested a pardonable pride in his home and fam- 
ily and dying left to his descendants a name 
and reputation above the shadow of anything 
dishonorable. Mrs. Fairchild died at the age 
of forty-nine years and by the side of her de- 
voted husband she sleeps beneath the quiet 
shadows of the New Hope churchyard near 
their old home. 

JOEL E. FAIRCHILD, Jr. 

Joel E. Fairchild of this review is a son of 
the Abigah and Catherine Fairchild referred to 
above. He was born in Wilkes county, North 
Carolina, in 1836, and was reared to agricultural 
pursuits on the family homestead. He early be- 



came familiar with the varied duties of the 
farm and grew up in the full understanding that 
man should earn his bread by honest toil. 
Under the tutelage of honorable God-fearing 
parents he laid broad and deep a foundation of 
usefulness and endeavored to make his life cor- 
respond to his highest ideal of manly conduct. 
After remaining under the paternal roof until 
his twenty-third year he started out for him- 
self, choosing for a vocation the ancient and 
honorable calling of husbandry, which he fol- 
lowed in his native state until the national at- 
mosphere became murky with the smoke of 
impending Civil War. When the great struggle 
of the sections ensued young Fairchild espoused 
the Southern cause and in i860 enlisted in Co. 
B, Thirty-seventh North Carolina Infantry, 
with which he served until the Confederacy 
ceased to be, sharing with his comrades all the 
vicissitudes and fortunes" through which his 
regiment passed, taking part in many noted 
campaigns, especially in Virginia, and partici- 
pating in some of the bloodiest battles in the 
annals of modern warfare, among them being 
the Seven Days' fight in the Wilderness and 
the terrible battle of Gettysburg, receiving a 
severe wound in the latter. Mr. Fairchild en- 
tered the service as a private, but for bravery 
under many trying and dangerous circum- 
stances was gradually promoted until he be- 
came first lieutenant of his company, in which 
capacity he was discharged when the Southern 
cause went down with the surrender at Appo- 
mattox. After the war Mr. Fairchild returned 
to North Carolina and resumed agricultural 
pursuits, remaining in his native county until 
1869, when he sold out and migrated to Boone- 
ville, Mo. Purchasing a farm near that place, 
he engaged in agriculture upon quite an exten- 
sive scale and continued the active prosecution 
of his labors until 1898, when he disposed of 
his place and retired from further labor. As a 
farmer Mr. Fairchild ranked with the enterpris- 
ing and successful men of his county, and by 
close application and good management he 
acquired a liberal share of worldly wealth, suffi- 
cient, in fact, to place him in independent cir- 



86 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



cumstances, so that he can pass the remainder 
of his days in the enjoyment of that rest and 
quietude, which only men who have battled long 
and successfully with the world know how to 
appreciate. After selling his farm he moved to 
Booneville, where he made his home until 1899, 
when for the purpose of recuperating his health 
he changed his residence to Kemmerer, Wyo., 
where since that year he has lived greatly to 
his physical advantage, the clear, bracing moun- 
tain air being peculiarly adapted to the building 
up and revivifying of his declining energies. 
Mr. Fairchild was married in 1854 with Miss 
Frances Phillips of North Carolina, a daughter 
of William and Jemima (Yates) Phillips, both 
natives of that state. This union was termi- 
nated by the death of Mrs. Fairchild, who en- 
tered into' rest in 1873, at the age of forty-two, 
leaving six children : George W., May, Hamil- 
ton, Ellen, Katie and John. On December 31, 
1876, Mr. Fairchild was again married, choos- 
ing for his companion Miss Lucy Waller of 
Missouri, a daughter of Benjamin and Lucy 
Waller, natives of Kentucky, a union which has 
resulted in one daughter, Ray Fairchild. In 
politics Mr. Fairchild has been a Democrat ever 
since old enough to cast a ballot and sees no 
reason why he should not continue to support 
the old historic party of the people. He has 
never been an aspirant for official honors or 
public distinction, but has labored earnestly for 
his friends with ambition in those directions. 
He has borne well his part in life and exer- 
cised a wholesome moral influence wherever his 
lot has been cast. A man of unquestioned 
veracity and pronounced integrity, he has won 
a place in the esteem of his fellows which time 
will strengthen, and all who have the pleasure 
of his acquaintance speak in complimentary 
terms of his sterling qualities and manly worth. 

J. H. FOSTER. 

Combining in his veins the chivalric devo- 
tion, gallantry and courtesy of the South, the 
vivacity, grace and geniality of France, and the 
rugged virtues of the Scotch-Irish race, and 



having taken conspicuous part and prominence 
in various realms of human activities not often 
the lot of man to experience, J. H. Foster of 
Manville, Wyoming, is one whose life and 
career present unique features. He was born 
on March 26, 1854, in Nicholas ville, Ky., the 
son of Robert and Mary (St. Clair) Foster. His 
paternal grandfather came to America in the 
early part of the nineteenth century from the 
north of Ireland, and after a residence of some 
time in Indiana made his permanent home in 
Kentucky. The father was reared in Kentucky 
and in 1861 enlisted in the Confederate service 
under the famous General Zollicoffer, with 
great loyalty following the fortunes and mis- 
fortunes of the Confederate forces until the 
close of the war which saw their defeat. His 
wife was a lady of most admirable qualities, 
born and educated in Paris, France, and was a 
mother capable of impressing her children with 
the principles of right, justice and honor. When 
peace came Robert Foster joined his family 
in Illinois, whither the sad fortune of war had 
driven them from Kentucky, where he was en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, 
leaving a family of ten children and surviving 
his wife for fifteen years. When our subject 
was fourteen years old he went with an uncle, 
John Foster, a celebrated clown connected with 
John Robinson's circus, to be his understudy 
and learn the business. In this connection he 
made such rapid progress that in two months 
time his proficiency was so great that his uncle, 
who was advanced in years and was at this time 
taken ill, persuaded him to take his position 
and allow him to retire. For four years there- 
after Mr. Foster accompanied the John Robin- 
son's circus and as a clown was equal to any 
in the country, acquiring a high reputation and 
a great popularity, in his life demonstrating that 
"a circus man," could be a man of character 
and good morals, for during his life as a clown 
he never used tobacco, never used intoxicants 
and never used profane language. His life on 
the sawdust ended, Mr. Foster learned .the 
painter's trade and for five years was the fore- 
man of the Chicago & Alton Railroad shops at 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



%7 



Bloomington, 111., thereafter serving for three 
years most efficiently on the police force of that 
city, then tendering his resignation to remove 
west to try the benefit of the western climate 
on his wife's impaired health, coming at once 
to Manville, Wyo., the place of his present resi- 
dence, and here he has been successfully and 
prominently connected with the stock industry, 
at present running a fine brand of Hereford 
cattle, and has been an active, useful and popu- 
lar citizen, holding at this writing the office of 
county assessor, to which he was first elected 
in 1900. He was the secretary of the McLean 
county (111.) Agricultural Society, and the cour- 
teous secretary of the Converse county Fair 
Association for six years, while in 1900 he was 
the U. S. census enumerator for the Manville 
district. The duties of his several important 
official positions have been discharged in a 
manner highly creditable to his ability, honor 
and integrity, also exhibiting his great natural 
tact and power of easily acquiring friends. He 
is a Republican in political creed. On Septem- 
ber 20, 1880, Mr. Foster and Miss Ida M. Port- 
lock, a daughter of the genial proprietor of 
the Palace Hotel at Gales'burg, 111., were mar- 
ried. Their children are Clyde E., train dis- 
patcher at Livingston, Mont. ; Capitola, now 
Mrs. A. E. Smith, of Manville, Wyo.; William 
P., a telegrapher at Whitehall, Mont.; Mil- 
ton, cartoonist ; and Bertha Grace, Ernest and 
Eva St. Clair, who are at the home at Manville 
where the family most charmingly entertain 
their numerous friends and acquaintances. 
Milton has demonstrated a rare talent as a car- 
toonist. 

J. FREDERICK GERBER. 

J. Frederick Gerber, of Granite Canyon, 
Wyo., is a native of Switzerland, and was born 
in that land of liberty on June 1, 1845, tne son 
of John and Katheryn (Ernst) Gerber, both 
natives of Switzerland. He grew to manhood 
amid the mountain surroundings of his early 
home, receiving there a good education and 
assisting his father in the work and manage- 



ment of his little farm. He remained at home 
until he had attained to the age of twenty-one 
years, when reports of the wonderful new world 
beyond the sea coming to him, he resolved to 
seek his fortune there. Leaving the home of 
his childhood with little or no capital save good 
health and a determination to succeed, he ar- 
rived in New York in March, 1866, and soon 
came west to Omaha, Neb., then a small town 
on the extreme western frontier, and here he 
soon secured employment as a butcher. He fol- 
lowed this occupation until June, 1867, when he 
accepted a position with the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, then under construction, on the station 
it was erecting in Omaha, and was also em- 
ployed in other work connected with the build- 
ing department of that company. In 1868 he 
returned to the meat business in Omaha, and 
there followed that vocation until 1876, when 
he came to North Platte, Neb., -and after a 
three months' stay went to Sidney, where he 
entered the employ of the Pratt & Ferris Cat- 
tle Co., with which he remained until the spring 
of 1877, working during most of that time as 
a teamster between Sidney and Fort Robinson. 
In 1877 he was for five months engaged on a 
large beef contract at Fort Robinson, then pro- 
ceeded to Fort Custer, Mont., subsequently 
going to Bozeman, where he worked at butcher- 
ing for the company which had the contract for 
supplying beef to the military post at Fort Cus- 
ter, remaining there until May, 1878, when he 
returned to the south and came to Cheyenne, 
where he secured employment at his trade for 
about three years. He then removed to Den- 
ver, Colo., where he followed the same occupa- 
tion until 1893, then he located a homestead 
about twenty miles north of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., 
and engaged in cattleraising, improving his 
land and steadily extending his business and in- 
creasing his herds. Through hard work, habits 
of economy and careful attention he built up a 
prosperous and successful business which gave 
promise of growing to large proportions, but 
in the spring of 1902 his health, which had been 
failing for some years, became so poor that 
he was compelled to give up active business and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



dispose of his ranch and stock. He has since 
been living a quiet and retired life, making his 
home with his brother John A. Gerber at Gran- 
ite Canyon. Fraternally, Mr. Gerber is af- 
filiated with the order of Red Men, being a 
member of the lodge at Denver. Politically, 
he is a member of the Republican party, and 
is a man of many admirable traits of character, 
and from his long experience on the western 
frontier he can relate many interesting reminis- 
cences of life on the plains, especially of the 
early days of the construction of the Union 
Pacific Railroad through Wyoming, Nebraska 
and Colorado. 

WILLARD GOOD. 

Born on April 3, 1858, in Bartholomew 
county, Indiana, the son of Thomas and Lucy 
A. (Piersol) Good, removing with his parents 
to the frontier of Iowa when but a small boy, 
and beginning life for himself at the age of 
fourteen, William Good of Crook county has 
passed almost his entire earthly existence 
among pioneers, surrounded by the scenes of 
new countries as yet undeveloped and just 
awaking to systematic production and improve- 
ment. His father was a native of Indiana and 
his mother of Pennsylvania. The father farmed 
in Indiana until 1870 when he removed his fam- 
ily to Jefferson county, Iowa, and there fol- 
lowed his regular vocation for a period of 
seven years at the end of which he went to 
Missouri for a time, then returned to Indiana 
where he has since resided. Willard Good re- 
ceived a limited education in the public schools 
of Jefferson county, Iowa, remaining at home 
and working with his father on the farm until 
he was fourteen years old. He then left the 
parental roof and taking up the burden of life 
for himself, proceeding to the northern part of 
the state and working on farms for eighteen 
months, thence going to Davis county, Mo., 
where his parents were living, and worked on 
a railroad for a year and a quarter, in 1880 
coming to South Dakota, where he located at 
Spearfish for nearly a year, then went to Central 



City in that state and made mining his occupa- 
tion for a year, and going to Missouri to spend 
the winter. In the spring of 1884 he found a 
permanent resting place in Crook county, 
Wyo., locating on the ranch he now occupies 
two miles northwest of Sundance, where he has 
since been engaged in raising cattle and de- 
veloping the agricultural features of a tract of 
land on which nature lavished a wealth of fruit- 
fulness which only needed the hand of the hus- 
bandman to make it ready for enjoyment. It 
comprises 700 acres and has been well improved 
with necessary buildings and careful cultiva- 
tion, diligence and skill having made it one of 
the most desirable ranches in this portion of 
the state, as it was one of the first to be taken 
up, there being when Mr. Good settled here 
very few residents in the section. On March 
1, 1883, at Bethany, Mo., he married Miss 
Melissa Piles, a native of Kentucky. They have 
two children, Alice and Willard. Mr. Good is 
an ardent Democrat in politics and gives to 
his party a zealous and devoted loyalty, yet 
seeks not for himself its places of honor and in- 
fluence, being content to push forward the ad- 
vance of his section of the state as a worker 
in the ranks of progress. 

PETER GORDON. 

Peter Gordon, of Kemmerer, Wyoming, a 
prominent and well-known man, was born in 
Scotland in 1843, tne son °f James and Maggie 
(Grant) Gordon. His father, a shoemaker by 
trade, was also a native of Scotland and like 
man)- others of his name and craft was promi- 
nent in the affairs of his country,' dying in 1879 
at the hale old age of 86. The name of Gordon 
has always been prominent in the annals of 
Scotland, and our Mr. Gordon traces his an- 
cestry in that land for many generations. His 
mother was a most devoted mother, a member 
of the Protestant church and of most excellent 
traits of character. She died in 1876 at the age 
of 82. Peter Gordon received his early educa- 
tion in Scotland, where he followed the work 
of a farmer in Banffshire and Murravshire, until 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



89 



1872, when he emigrated, coming to Boston, 
Mass., where he took up railroad work for two 
years in the neighborhood of Boston and then 
went to New York for a year after which he 
crossed the international line into Ontario and 
continued railroad work for eight years on the 
Great Western Railway thence coming to 
Waterfall, Wyo., he worked two years longer 
on railroads and opened a general store and 
saloon in Fossil, Wyo., which he conducted for 
ten or eleven years. There he sold out two 
years ago and established a business at Big 
Piney which he was able to sell to good ad- 
vantage in February, 1902. Returning to Fossil 
he again engaged in a business, which he still 
owns. In September, 1902, he engaged in the 
saloon business at Kemmerer, at which place 
he now makes his home, being a Republican in 
his politics. He married in i860 with Miss 
Jessie Herd, like himself a native of Scotland. 
She died four years ago, leaving these children : 
James, Maggie, Elsie, Anna and Peter. 

HARRY C. GARLOCK. 

No life characterized by activity and in- 
dustry can fail to be instructive and useful for 
if merits are revealed it is a good example, if 
faults are conspicuous it is useful as a- warning, 
but in the career of the enterprising young man, 
Harry C. Garlock, to whom this review is de- 
voted, the reader will find much to commend 
and little to criticise. He belongs to that large 
and practical class of men whose minds and 
energies are enlisted in the great livestock in- 
dustry, and, inheriting as he does a natural apti- 
tude for the business, .he has already won a 
conspicuous place among the successful cattle- 
raisers of his county. Wesley J. Garlock, the fa- 
ther of Harry, is a native of New York, removing 
to Michigan when a young man, and, locating in 
Livingston county, for many years he enjoyed 
the reputation of being one of the most ex- 
perienced and successful stockmen of the state, 
and passing a goodly portion of his life there 
as a farmer and stockraiser, devoting especial 
attention to fine grades of sheep, and being the 



first breeder of Shropshire sheep in that state. 
He served as judge at many state and inter- 
national fairs and expositions, and was con- 
sidered one of the best judges of sheep in the 
whole United States. In 1893 he disposed of 
his interests in Michigan and coming to Wyo- 
ming took up land in Albany county and gave 
his attention exclusively to stockraising. He 
also purchased a residence property in Laramie 
for a winter home, but by reason of failing 
health was obliged to seek a more congenial 
clime ; accordingly in 1901 he removed to Cali- 
fornia, where he now lives. His wife is a na- 
tive of Scotland and a woman of character and 
ability. Harry C. Garlock was born in Livings- 
ton county, Mich., in November, 1875, and dur- 
ing his youthful years he attended the public 
schools, and early in life began working with 
his father, whose ripe experience in the live- 
stock business early influenced the young man 
to turn his attention to that important and 
profitable industry. He accompanied his par- 
ents to Wyoming and resided with them until 
his twenty-first year, when he began life for 
himself as a mail carrier for the U. S. govern- 
ment, later choosing cattleraising as the surest 
means of acquiring a fortune. In the fall of 
1897 he took up a ranch on Blue Grass Creek, 
twenty-four miles southwest of Wheatland, Wyo., 
which he stocked with cattle and on which he 
has since lived in the active prosecution of 
a business in every respect encouraging in its 
financial results, his estate consisting of 760 
acres of meadow and 1000 acres of grazing land, 
unexcelled for situation and richness of herb- 
age and the large herds of cattle which feed 
thereon affords abundant evidence of the con- 
tinued prosperity of the enterprising proprietor. 
Mr. Garlock is truly a progressive young man, 
not only in business, but as a public spirited 
citizen, for he is interested in whatever tends 
to build up and improve the community. Thus 
far he has more than realized his financial ex- 
pectations, and those who know him best pre- 
dict for him a continued prosperity and he en- 
joys a large measure of public confidence and 
esteem. 



90 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF IVY MIX G. 



SAMUEL D. GREENE, M. D. 

A leading physician of Saratoga, Wyoming, 
and one of the rising professional men of the 
state is Dr. Samuel D. Greene, who was born 
at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on February II, 
1867, the son of John and Ellen (Leewey) 
Greene, the former a native of Canada and the 
latter of Ireland. The paternal grandfather 
was a native of Scotland, and came to America 
from his native country in the early part of the 
nineteenth century. He was a British soldier 
of the War of 181 2, and after the termination 
of that conflict, he engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits in Ontario. His son John Greene was long 
engaged in lumbering in his native country of 
Canada, and retired with a competency some 
years ago. He now makes his residence at 
Arnprior. Ontario. Dr. Greene attained man- 
hood in his native city of Ottawa, and there 
acquired his elementary education in the public 
schools. When he had completed his prelimin- 
ary preparation, he matriculated at the Queen's 
University, at Kingston, and pursued a special 
course of study for about two years, when he 
entered the medical department of the same in- 
stitution. After completing his course he was 
graduated in the class of '90, with the degree 
of M. D., C. M., and entered upon the practice 
of his profession at Bancroft, in County .Hast- 
ings, Ontario. He remained here for about 
three years, meeting with marked success, then 
disposed of his practice and removed to the town 
of Arnprior, where he continued in practice for 
about five years, when he located in Nebraska. 
Remaining here about six months, he removed 
to Rawlins, Wyoming, where he opened an of- 
fice and was engaged in successful practice for 
about one year. In the year 1899 ' ie disposed 
of his practice at Rawlins and removed to the 
city of Saratoga, Wyo., where he has since 
made his home and been continuously engaged 
in medical practice. He has been uniformly 
successful, has built up a large practice in Sara- 
toga and the surrounding country, and has an 
extended reputation. Fraternally the Doctor 
is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, holding 



the position of prelate in his local lodge ; and 
with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the 
Modern Woodmen of America, of which he is 
the physician. He is the examining physician 
for the New York Life Insurance Co., and the 
Mutual Life Insurance Co., of New York, and 
is often called in consultation by physicians in 
other sections of the state. He is a hard 
student, thoroughly familiar with the most mod- 
ern theories and treatment of disease, having 
the fullest confidence of the people in the com- 
munity where he maintains his home and is 
deservedly popular with all classes of people. 

CHARLTON M. GREGORY. 

One of the leading, public spirited and pro- 
gressive men of Albany county, Wyoming, is 
Hon. Charlton M. Greg'ory, a prominent citi- 
zen of Centennial and the subject of this re- 
view. A native of the state of New York, he 
was born in 1838, the son of Samuel K. and 
Cynthia (Blanchard) Gregory, the former a na- 
tive of New York, and the latter of Yermont. 
The father followed farming in his native state 
and subsequently removed his residence to Wis- 
consin, where he continued in the same pursuit, 
still later removing to Iowa, where he remained 
until his decease, which occurred in 1880. He 
was the son of James Gregory of Scotch descent, 
who lived to a very great age in his native state 
of New York, and not being less than 101 years 
old at the time of his death. The mother of 
the subject of this sketch was born in 1815. the 
daughter of Willard and Sally (Schley) Blanch- 
ard, well-known and respected residents of Yer- 
mont. She passed away in 1902, having attained 
the age of eighty-seven years. C. M. Gre- 
gory grew to manhood in the states of New 
York and Wisconsin, and received his early 
education in the public schools of the com- 
munities where the family resided during his 
childhood and youth. At the age of sixteen 
years he became a teacher in the public schools 
of Wisconsin and continued in that calling for 
some years. Desiring then to acquire a knowl- 
edge of merchandising, he gave up teaching 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



9i 



and secured a position in a Wisconsin mercan- 
tile establishment, in which he remained until 
1861. In that year he emigrated to the Pacific 
coast, returning in 1865. In 1866 he accepted 
a position as a commercial traveler, going on 
the road as a salesman for about ten years. He 
then engaged in the mercantile business for 
himself in the city of Warren, 111. Here he re- 
mained for some three years and met with 
varying success. At this time he was nominated 
and elected to the office of county treasurer, 
serving in that capacity with conspicuous ability 
for three successive terms. At the expiration 
of his term of office he disposed of his business 
interests in Illinois and removed his residence 
to South Dakota. Here he was engaged in 
farming for a time, and was nominated and 
elected as a member of the Board of County 
Commissioners of the county of which he was 
a citizen and was a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention in 1885. Disposing of his in- 
terests in South Dakota in 1890, he came to 
Wyoming and engaged in ranching and mining 
in the vicinity of Centennial. He has been suc- 
cessful in his business ventures and is a man of 
high character and fine attainments. Politically 
he has all his life been actively identified with 
the Republican party, and has been one of its 
trusted leaders in no less than three states. 
Since making his home in Wyoming, he has 
been twice nominated and elected as a mem- 
ber of the legislative assembly, and many' 
measures of legislation beneficial to the peo- 
ple of the state were enacted during his term 
of office, standing as monuments to his ability 
and patriotic devotion to public duty. He is 
one of the most capable men of his state in con- 
nection with all matters affecting the public 
welfare and his ability and popularity are such 
that should he desire further political honors they 
would be gladly conceded to him by his fellow cit- 
izens. In 1867, at the city of Warren, 111., Mr. 
Gregory was united in marriage with Miss Julia 
Suprise, daughter of Louis and Julia Suprise, 
well-known and honored residents of Illinois, 
the father being a Canadian by birth, who re- 
moved from his native country to the city of 



Lockport, N. Y., and subsequently established 
his home at Warren, 111. Both of the parents 
are living, making their home in Colorado. 
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory have five children : Charl- 
ton L., Myron S., Francis W., Albert E. and 
Louis A. Their home is noted for its sur- 
roundings of culture and -refinement, as well 
as for the generous and gracious hospitality 
there dispensed. 

GEORGE C. GRANT. ' 

Among the younger generation of pro- 
gressive business men of the state of Wyoming, 
upon whom must devolve the future develop- 
ment and government of the commonwealth 
is George C. Grant, of I slay, who was born on 
July 24, 1875, in Portage county, Ohio, and the 
son of William H. and Ella E. (Allyn) Grant, 
the former a native of Indiana, and the latter 
of Ohio. His father in early life was engaged 
as a carpenter and builder in Portage county, 
Ohio, and in 1878, he removed his residence to 
Iowa, settling in Dallas county and engaging 
in farming, in which he continued until 1886, 
when he removed to Nebraska, where he es- 
tablished his home in Hayes county, still con- 
tinuing farming. He remained there until 1894 
when, owing to the severe drought, he sold out 
and moved to Ozark county, Missouri. Here 
he continued in agricultural operations until 
the fall of 1901, when he moved to Kansas, and 
made his home in Stafford county. Here he 
has since maintained his residence, and is still 
following the occupation of farming. The 
mother passed away on July 6, 1899, and is 
buried in Stafford county. George C. Grant re- 
mained at home with his parents until he had 
attained to the age of eighteen years, receiv- 
ing his early education in the schools of Iowa 
and of Hayes county, Neb. In the spring of 
1894, having an ambition to make his own 
way in the world and to try his fortune in the 
new country farther west, he left his home in 
Nebraska and set out for Wyoming for the 
purpose of learning the cattle business and he 
soon secured employment at the ranch of O. 



9 2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Harris on the Running Water Creek for about 
five months, and in the fall of the same year 
he accepted a position on the ranch of R. S. 
Van Tassell in Converse county. He continu- 
ed here for about three , years, engaged during 
the greater portion of that time in riding the 
range, and in this capacity he acquired a thor- 
ough knowledge of the business of handling 
range cattle, so that now he is considered one 
of the most capable men on a cattle ranch in 
his section of Wyoming. In November, 1897, 
he made a visit to his parents at his old home, 
remaining with them until January, 1898, when 
he returned to Wyoming and became the man- 
ager of the ranch where he had formerly been 
employed. He remained here about one year, 
conducting the business with great success, 
and in the spring of 1899 he was given entire 
charge, with a working partnership interest, of 
the ranch where he now resides, on North Crow 
Creek, about twenty miles northwest of Chey- 
enne. This property is also owned by Mr. Van 
Tassell, and is one of the finest places in that 
section of the state, comprising about 5,100 
acres of land, with a large adjacent range and 
extensive improvements and a large tract of 
the best hay land. On November 23, 1898, Mr. 
Grant was united in the bonds of marriage, 
at Crawford, Neb., with Miss May A. Sides, 
a native of Pennsylvania, a daughter of Joseph 
and Delia C. (Miller) Sides, both natives of 
the state of Pennsylvania. Removing from 
their native state to Nebraska, the' parents of 
Mrs. Grant established their home in Dawes 
county, where the father engaged in the busi- 
ness of cattle raising, in which he is still oc- 
cupied. The mother passed away in Dawes 
county on August 29, 1890, and is buried in 
Crawford, Neb. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
Grant two children have been born, Ida I. and 
Roy A., both of whom are living. Fraternally, 
Mr. Grant is affiliated with the order of Modern 
Woodmen of America, being a member of the 
lodge at Harrison, Neb. Politically, he is a 
stanch adherent of the Republican party, and 
is an active and prominent factor in the party 
in his section of the state. He is a good type 



of the progressive, ambitious and successful 
young stockmen of Wyoming. Industrious, 
clear-headed and also having marked business 
ability, he is sure to be heard from in the future 
business life of his section of the young com- 
monwealth. 

JACOB GREUB. 

For nearly a quarter of a century con- 
tinuously was Jacob Greub a resident of the 
Crazy Woman Creek district of Wyoming, be- 
ing among the first white men to "stick their 
stakes" in this region at a time when it was cer- 
tainly an unbroken wilderness, given up to the 
successive ravages of ferocious beasts and pred- 
datory bands of savage men. He has seen it 
come kindly and generously into the ways of 
civilized life, yielding its tribute gladly to sys- 
tematic cultivation, as it had heretofore done to 
sporadic and thriftless violence. And if honor 
is accorded to one who inherits the triumphs 
and traditions of a long line of ancestry, surely 
not less does it belong to one who founds a 
race or helps to establish a dynasty in a new 
land. Such is the tribute due to Mr. Greub, 
who was born on July 12, 1861, at St. Joseph, 
Mo., the son of Rudolph and Elizabeth (Ofelder) 
Greub, natives of Switzerland, who came to 
America late in the 'fifties and settling near 
the city of St. Joseph, engaged in farming until 
1864, when they removed to Boulder county, 
Colo., and there passed the remainder of their 
lives in the same peaceful occupation. Their 
son Jacob grew to the age of seventeen in Boul- 
der county, assisting his parents on the farm 
and attending the district school until 1878, 
when, assuming the duties of life for himself, 
he went to Larimer county and found employ- 
ment for a year on a cattle ranch. In the sum- 
mer of -1879 he came with his brother-in-law 
to Crazv Woman Creek, driving a herd of cat- 
tle, and like the children of Israel in respect to 
Canaan, they found that the land was good and 
determined to make it their home. They squat- 
ted on the virgin soil and at once began an 
industry in raising cattle. They were the first 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



93 



settlers in all this region and, in spite of tempta- 
tions and seemingly strong inducements to go 
elsewhere, they steadily remained here until 
1896, pursuing their chosen vocations, improv- 
ing their land and adding to the conveniences 
and the value of their homes until they made 
the "wilderness blossom as the rose" veritably. 
In the year last mentioned Mr. Greub sold his 
ranch and removed to a leased one on Little 
Piney Creek, fifteen miles north of Buffalo, it 
being the homestead taken up by his father-in- 
law, George Hepp, in earlier years. Mr. Hepp 
moved into this region in 1882 and was en- 
gaged in ranching and cattleraising until his 
death on October 10, 1901. When the weight 
of years became heavy and he wished to retire 
from active pursuits, he took up his residence 
on an adjoining ranch which he owned, leasing 
his home place to Mr. Greub. It is now a part 
of his estate to which there are two heirs in 
addition to his daughter. It comprises 800 
acres of excellent land and is one of the finest 
ranches .on the creek. He has also a ranch on 
Shell Creek which he leases. On November 24, 
1885, in Johnson county, Wyoming, occurred 
the marriage of Mr. Greub and Miss Elizabeth 
Hepp, a native of New York city and daughter 
of George and Elizabeth Hepp, natives of Ger- 
many. Her mother is still living at her home 
in Buffalo, Wyo. In politics Mr. Greub is a 
Republican, one of the highly respected old- 
timers of the county, and he has the esteem 
and confidence of its people, not only as one 
of the founders and builders, but also as one 
of the most substantial citizens of their county. 

O. A. HAMILTON. 

Every honorable profession or vocation has 
its legitimate place in the scheme of human ac- 
tivity and constitute.s a part of the general plan 
whereby life's methods are pursued and man's 
destiny ultimately achieved. While all repu- 
table callings are needful, the actual importance 
of each is largely determined by its relative 
usefulness. So dependent is man upon his fel- 
lowmen that the worth of the individual is de- 



termined by what he has done to benefit his 
kind and in the main a man succeeds best in 
a single vocation, yet there are many who have 
achieved prominence in different lines of effort. 
The gentleman whose name appears above be- 
longs to the latter class in that his career has 
been a varied one, devoted at different times 
to different pursuits. As a civilian he has 
been a forceful factor in business and industrial 
affairs and as a soldier in the greatest civil war 
of history he did valiant service for his country, 
earning a record of which any defender of the 
Union might feel justly proud. O. A. Hamil- 
ton was born in Beaver county, Pa., in 1848, 
and his father, Milton Hamilton, was also a 
Pennsylvanian by birth and for a number of 
years a distinguished teacher in his own state 
and Ohio. He moved to Ohio about 1853 and 
until his death thirty-one years later was princi- 
pal of schools at various places, his last field 
of labor being the town of Middleport, where 
he departed this life in 1884. He was the son 
of Robert Hamilton, a native of Scotland who 
emigrated to America in an early day and 
settled in the Keystone State. Sophia Lyon, 
wife of Milton Hamilton and mother of the sub- 
ject of this review, was the daughter of Samuel 
and Katherine (Eaton) Lyon, all three born in 
Pennsylvania and the father a farmer by occu- 
pation. O. A. Hamilton was a lad of five years 
old when his parents moved to Ohio and he 
grew to maturity and received his educational 
training in that state, remaining at home until 
the breaking out of the Civil War when realiz- 
ing that the country had need of all the aid her 
loyal sons could render, he joined the army as 
an artificer, being too young to carry arms and 
perform the duties of a soldier, entering the 
service when only fourteen years and ten 
months old. A little later he served as private 
in the Fourth Independent Battalion, Ohio Vol- 
unteer Cavalry, and at the expiration of his 
period of enlistment joined the Second Ohio 
Cavalry, being promoted corporal of his com- 
pany. Mr. Hamilton's military career covered 
five years of time, during which he saw much 
active service and took part in a number of 



94 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



campaigns, participating' in some of the blood- 
iest battles for which that great struggle is 
noted. When the war closed he enlisted in the 
Fourth U. S. Infantry, serving until 1870 and 
passing the greater part of the time in the 
western territories. He was discharged at Fort 
Laramie, Wyo., in 1870 and immediately began 
freighting and ranching. He followed this life 
for a number of years, meeting with many inter- 
esting and thrilling experiences but was always 
exempt from personal danger, as witness the 
Ute outbreak of 1879 * n which he lost his en- 
tire freighting outfit. In 1890 he engaged in 
sheepraising in Wyoming and continued the 
business until the fall of 1894, when he sold out 
and purchased the Natrona County Tribune, 
which he edited and published for one year, 
then, severing his connection with journalism, 
he engaged in mining at South Pass and he has 
devoted his energies to that business to the 
present time. Mr. Hamilton has led a very act- 
ive and strenuous life . Experiencing all the 
hardships, clangers and other vicissitudes of 
war, he discharged his every obligation with 
commendable fidelity, never shirked a responsi- 
bility however onerous or dangerous, and left 
the service cheered by the consciousness of duty 
bravely and uncomplainingly performed. His 
business career has also been varied and at 
times not as successful as he could have desired 
but in the main satisfactory from a financial 
point of view. He has realized a handsome in- 
come from his mining operations, having lo- 
cated and developed some valuable properties, 
besides owning others which promise large re- 
turns. Mr. Hamilton has taken an active part 
in the political affairs of Sweetwater county, 
being one of the prominent Republicans in this 
part of the state. Recently he was elected the 
superintendent of Water District No. 4, and at 
the present writing is a member of the state 
board of control. He also served as sergeant- 
at-arms of the House of Representatives of 
Wyoming, and in various other capacities has 
been brought to the public gaze. In 1876 he- 
was united in the bonds of wedlock with Miss 
Maggie Higley of Ohio, daughter of Austin 



and Eliza (Smith) Higley, the union resulting 
in the birth of four children : Clara, who died in 
1894 at the age of seventeen, Milton A., Lilia 
N. and Maggie. Mr. Hamilton has always had 
the welfare of the community at heart and as 
a public spirited man of affairs lends his sup- 
port and active cooperation to every measure 
for the general good. He has upheld worthily 
an honored ancestral name and has been faith- 
ful to every trust confided to him, loyal in his 
friendships and devoted to the best interests 
of his family, friends and country. He possesses 
broad humanitarian principles and is essentially 
a man of the people. As a citizen none stand 
higher and his relations with his fellow men 
are characterized by courtesy, suavity, culture 
and good breeding. His manners are kindly, 
and all who come within the range of his 
personal influence acknowdedge his fine social 
qualities and speak of him as a true type of 
the generous and free-hearted gentleman. 

ARCHIE D. HAMNER. 

One of the progressive and rising young 
men of Albany county, Wyoming, is the subject 
of this brief sketch, Archie D. Hamner, whose 
address is Spring Hill. A native of the state 
of New York, he was born in Hamilton county, 
August 19, 1866, the son of Charles and Hulda 
(Jordan) Hamner, both also natives of the Em- 
pire state. His father was a farmer in his na- 
tive state until 1883, when he disposed of his 
property and removed to Iowa, establishing his 
home in Butler county and there continued life 
as a farmer until 1886. when he went to the 
territory of Wyoming, settled in Horseshoe 
Creek Park, and there engaged in cattleraising. 
Here he continued up to the year 1894. when 
he disposed of his property in Wyoming to 
good advantage, and returned again to his early 
home at Long Lake, Hamilton county, N. Y., 
where he has since made his home. The mother 
passed away in November, 1899. and awaits the 
resurrection in the burial ground at Long Lake, 
New York. Archie D. Hamner grew to man- 
hood in his native slate and received his earlv 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



95 



education in the public schools of Long Lake. 
In 1883 he came to Iowa with his parents and 
there remained until 1886, assisting his father 
in the work and management of the farm. In 
the latter year he followed his father to Wyo- 
ming and took up the home ranch which he 
occupies on Horseshoe Creek, in Albany 
county, about twenty-eight miles west of Glen- 
do, 'engaged in the cattle business and there re- 
mained until 1892, when he removed to Dead- 
wood, South Dakota, for about four months, 
but not meeting with the success there he had 
anticipated, he returned to his ranch on Horse- 
shoe Creek and continued in his former business 
of cattleraising until the spring of 1894, when, 
selling his cattle, he purchased a large band of 
horses which he drove overland to Iowa and 
then shipped them to New York. Owing to the 
low price of horses this business venture did 
not prove to be successful and he returned to 
his ranch and again engaged in the cattle busi- 
ness. By hard work, energy and determined 
perseverance he has retrieved his losses and built 
himself up, until he is now counted one of the 
prosperous business men of that section of the 
county. In the early part of 1900 he purchased 
one-half interest in a sawmill near his ranch, 
and was a partner in that business until June, 
1902, when he disposed of his interest in the 
mill to good advantage. Since then he has de- 
voted himself exclusively to the cattle business. 
In 1899 he visited his parents in New York 
and was there at the time of his mother's death. 
Mr. Hamner has a fine home ranch, consisting 
of 480 acres of land, well fenced and improved, 
having all the equipments for the successful car- 
rying on of the cattleraising business. Mr. 
Hamner has recently purchased a claim -in the 
mountains adjacent to the land there owned by 
him, which makes him the owner of 640 acres 
in the hills, where he has a summer range for 
1,000 head of stock, but as he could cut but 150 
tons of hay, and realizing that he must use 
much more than that quantity, he bought a 
ranch of 320. acres at the mouth of Horseshoe 
Creek, twenty miles below the hills, which can 
be made to produce 500 tons of alfalfa hay, 



and with this property he obtained 900 acres 
of leased land. There is a weed that grows in 
the hills which is so poisonous that it frequently 
kills the cattle that eat it during the six weeks 
of the spring season that it is attractive for 
food, so Mr. Hamner, by having a ranch in the 
valley where he can keep his stock during this 
period, can avoid the loss he has heretofore suf- 
fered from this cause. He has just completed a 
fine modern residence of nine rooms, where he 
and his attractive wife generously entertain 
their numerous friends. On April 24, 1889, at 
Douglas, Wyo., Mr. Hamner was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary E. Newell, a native 
of Iowa and the daughter of George and Adelia 
Newell, prominent citizens of Black Hawk 
county, Iowa, of which state they were pioneers 
and later, in 1886, they removed their residence 
from that state to the territory of Wyoming, 
where they established their home on Horse- 
shoe Creek, where the father was a stockman 
up to the time of his demise, the mother still 
residing at the home ranch. Mr. Hamner has 
made a study of the important subject of ir- 
rigation, and is one of the best informed men 
on that subject, which is of such vast import- 
ance to the western country. Fraternally, he is 
affiliated with the order of Woodmen of the 
World, as a member of the lodge at Douglas, 
Wyoming. In politics he is identified with the 
Republican party, and is taking an active and 
prominent part in the party in the section where 
he resides, being held in high esteem by all 
who know him. 

CHRISTIAN HAUF. 

One of the leading stockmen of Laramie 
county, who has recently engaged in the busi- 
ness, having formerly been a prosperous busi- 
ness man of Chicago, 111., is Christian Hauf, 
whose residence is at Glendo, Wyoming. A 
native of Germany, he was born on May 8, 
1856, the son of George and Maragratte (Rof ) 
Hauf, both natives of the Fatherland, where 
his father was the proprietor of a distillery, 
who removed his residence to America in 1866, 



96 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



establishing his new home in the city of Chi- 
cago, 111., where he engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits and as a manufacturer of matches, in 
which he remained active up to 1883, when he 
removed to the territory of Dakota and entered 
into the occupation of farming, remaining here 
for about eight years and in 1891 disposing of 
his farm and property in South Dakota and re- 
turned to Chicago. Here he remained for about 
one year and then came to Wyoming to take 
charge of the large cattle interests which his 
son Christian had acquired in that section. He 
continued in this occupation until 1902, the year 
of his decease, which occurred on the 16th day 
of March, and he lies buried in the cemetery 
situated near his former home at Glendo. The 
mother departed this life on October 28, 1899, 
and she is buried by the side of her husband. 
Christian Hauf passed his early childhood in 
the Fatherland and received his early education 
there. Coming to this country with his parents 
at the age of ten years, he completed his edu- 
cation in the public schools of Chicago, leaving 
school in 1873 an d becoming an apprentice to 
the butchering business. Subsequently he had 
employment with various large meat markets of 
the city, was there during the great fire and saw 
the practical destruction of that city and he has 
also been a witness to its marvelous rebuild- 
ing and to its marvelous growth and develop- 
ment. In 1883 he came to the territory of 
Dakota and located at the town of Blunt, as a 
farmer, continuing in that occupation for about 
five years, when he disposed of his farm and 
other property interests in Dakota, and took 
a trip of combined business and pleasure to the 
Pacific coast. Returning in the spring of 1888, 
he established himself in Chicago in the whole- 
sale and retail meat business on Commercial 
avenue. In this enterprise he met with remark- 
able success, and added to his operations from 
year to year until he became the owner of three 
large markets situated in different portions of 
the city. He was also the owner of a fine resi- 
dence, valuable real estate and other property. 
In T901 he became interested in the cattle busi- 
ness on the ranges of the western countrv and 



came to Wyoming to acquire an interest in that 
class of property. The ranch and property 
which he now owns and occupies was at that 
time for sale and he purchased it from its former 
owner. It is situated on Horseshoe Creek, about 
thirty-five miles southeast of Douglas, Wyo., and 
was formerly known as the Bob Walker ranch, 
having been located in the early days of the terri- 
tory, being one of the first ranches taken up in 
that section of the country and it is one of the 
historic places of Wyoming. After acquiring 
this property, he returned to Chicago and dur- 
ing the following year his father came to Wyo- 
ming to take charge of its management and they 
engaged extensively in cattleraising. Chris- 
tian Hauf still retained his large business 
interests, in Chicago, Illinois, but came to Wyo- 
ming twice each year to assist his father 
in the handling of their cattle interests. In 
1900 he closed out his business in Chicago and 
removed his family to Wyoming, establishing 
his residence at the ranch on Horseshoe Creek, 
and he has since that time made that place his 
home. His cattle business has grown to enor- 
mous proportions, and he is now the owner of 
one of the finest ranch properties in Wyoming, 
having at his home ranch about 1,400 acres of 
land, well fenced and improved, with more than 
a thousand acres under irrigation. He has a 
large modern residence, with the improvements 
and comforts usually found in a well appointed 
modern city home, and large barns and build- 
ings for the handling of his immense herds of 
stock. He is exclusively engaged in the cattle 
business and devotes his attention chiefly to the 
Durham breed. He is one of the solid business 
men and property owners of Laramie county, 
and is well known as a successful cattle man 
throughout the entire state, being held in the 
'highest esteem by. all classes of his fellow 
citizens. On December 7, 1879, in Chicago, 111., 
Mr. Hauf was united in the holy bonds of wed- 
lock with Miss Susan Fries, a native of Indiana, 
and the daughter of Michael and Gertrude 
Fries, both natives of Germany. Her parents 
emigrated from the Fatherland to America in 
1854. and first located in Chicago where they 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



97 



remained for a short time, then removed to 
Indiana, where they settled in Lake county, 
and engaged in farming, in which pursuit they 
remained up to the time of their deaths, the 
father passing away on April 29, 1898, and the 
mother on March 26, 1902, and both are buried 
at Schererville, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Hauf 
have six children, namely, George, Elizabeth, 
Matilda, Charles J., William and Frederick C. 
All are living except George, who died in 1884 
at the age of five years and six months, being 
buried at Pierre, S. D., and Elizabeth, who 
died at the age of thirteen months and is buried 
at Blue Island, 111. The family home is one 
noted for its genial and generous hospitality, 
and the family are members of the Roman 
Catholic church and take a deep interest in all 
works of charity and religion. Fraternally Mr. 
Hauf is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, 
being a member of a Chicago lodge, and Mrs. 
Hauf is a member of U. C. O. F. A stanch ad- 
herent of the Republican party, Mr. Hauf is a 
loyal supporter of the principles of that politi- 
cal organization, although never seeking or de- 
siring public office. He is one of the foremost 
men of his section of Wyoming in developing 
its resources and building up its industries. 

ROBERT A. HARPER. 

Young, energetic, progressive and successful, 
Robert A. Harper, one of the prominent ranch- 
men of Weston county, who never shirked a 
duty or turned his back upon a foe, is a credit 
to the community in which he lives and one of 
its forceful and productive activities. In the 
province of Ontario, Canada, on April 20, 1857, 
he came into being, the son of Irish parents 
who had settled in the Dominion some years 
before. They were George and Ann J. (Spears) 
Harper, who left the hard and cramped condi- 
tions of the Emerald Isle for the ampler oppor- 
tunities of the New World, and after a life of 
usefulness as farmers were laid to rest beneath 
the soil of their adopted land, the mother in 
1886 and the father in 1893. Their son Robert 
remained at home until he was twenty-three, 
attending the public schools and assisting on 



the farm, thereafter in the spring of 1880 com- 
ing to Wyoming and locating at Cheyenne, he 
went to work for Sturgess & Goodell, who in 
the fall sent him to the Stockade Beaver Creek 
section in their interest, they having ranches 
and cattle .there. He remained with them, rid- 
ing the range and looking after their interests 
until 1886, then went to work for J. C. Spencer 
on his nearby ranch and was his capable fore- 
man until 1889. He then entered the employ 
of W. H. Fawcett, whose ranch adjoins the one 
now owned by himself, and had charge of his 
property until August, 1900. In 1897 he pur- 
chased the ranch on which he now resides on 
Stockade Beaver Creek, eight miles east of 
Newcastle, and gradually stocked it while in the 
service of Mr. Fawcett. In 1900 he settled on 
his own ranch and has since devoted his entire 
time to its development and cultivation and to 
his cattle interests. With steady progress he 
has added to the improvement of his property 
and the size and quality of his herd, making 
them more and more worthy of regard and 
more in keeping with his ideas of a comfortable 
homestead, his last addition being a good new 
residence, which was erected in the summer of 
1902. In politics Mr. Harper is a Democrat 
and, although earnestly interested in the suc- 
cess of his party, believing in its principles and 
the wisdom of its policies, he does not seek offi- 
cial preferment, being content to exercise his 
force as a citizen in advancing the general wel- 
fare of his community without regard to per- 
sonal honors. On November 11, 1899, at Phil- 
adelphia, Pa., he was united in marriage with 
Miss Sallie Swalm, a native of the Keystone 
state, where her parents, Joseph and Augeline 
Swalm, were also born and reared. Uutil his 
death in 1898 her father was a prosperous mer- 
chant in Philadelphia, Pa. Her mother is still 
living in Tioga, a suburb of that city. 

REINHOLD E. HECHT. 

A prosperous and successful ranchman and 
stockowner of Albany county, Wyoming, who 
is now residing at Centennial, in that county, is 
Reinhold E. Hecht, the subject of this sketch. 



9 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



A native of Pennsylvania, of German descent, 
he was born in 185 1, the son of William and 
Elizabeth Hecht. The father came to Penn- 
sylvania from the Fatherland during the early 
fifties and engaged in farming, subsequently re- 
moving to Ohio, where he continued in the 
same pursuit up to the time of his decease, 
which occurred in 1862. The mother emigrated 
from Germany in early life to Pennsylvania, 
where she resided until her marriage and re- 
moval to Ohio. She died in Ohio in 1878, aged 
seventy-eight years, being the mother of five 
children, two girls and three boys. Reinhold 
Hecht grew to manhood in Ohio, and received 
his early education in the schools of that state, 
principally at the city of Defiance. At the age 
of nineteen years he was compelled by the 
force of circumstances to leave school and make 
his own way in the world, and taking his de- 
parture from Ohio he came to Cheyenne, Wyo., 
and secured employment in the freighting busi- 
ness between that city and Deadwood, Dakota, 
continuing to be thus employed for about five 
years, meeting with varied experiences and with 
some success. At the end of that time he re- 
turned to his former home in Ohio for a short 
time, and then the desire to again return to Wyo- 
ming became so strong that he could no longer 
resist it and he soon found himself in the neigh- 
borhood of Laramie, where he located a home- 
stead and entered upon the business of raising 
horses and cattle, in which he has continued up 
to the present time. He has met with success, 
and by hard work, perseverance, industry and 
good judgment has built up a large and profit- 
able enterprise, which is being steadily in- 
creased from year to year. He is now the owner 
of a fine ranch of over 2,000 acres of land, well 
fenced and improved, with suitable buildings and 
appliances for the proper maintenance of a suc- 
cessful ranching and stockraising business. 
From small beginnnings his business has grown 
until he is now counted as one of the substantial 
property owners of his section of the county, 
and takes especial pride in producing and show- 
ing the best grades of Hereford cattle and well- 
bred heavy draught horses. In 1878 Mr. Hecht 



was united in wedlock with Miss Lena Sass, a 
native of Germany and the daughter of Henry 
and Frederica Sass, both natives of the Father- 
land. The father emigrated in early life and 
settled in Ohio, where he made his home in the 
city of Defiance, following merchant tailoring. 
He resided in Toledo, Ohio, at the time of his 
death, engaged in the same business. Four 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hecht, 
namely, William, Henry, Mabel and Myrtle, all 
now living. They have lost two children, Eliza- 
beth and Elma, who passed away in Defiance, 
O., where they were buried. The family are 
highly respected in the community where their 
home is located, and are among the most esti- 
mable citizens of Albany county. 

NEWELL BEEMAN. 

Newell Beeman, a prominent merchant and 
man of affairs of Evanston, Wyoming, was 
born at Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., in 1844, 
the son of Thomas and Elvira (Colwell) Bee- 
man. His father was born in Hackensack, 
N. J., on January 7, 1804, going to Phelps when 
a boy of ten years, where he lived on a farm 
till 1867, when he moved to Fenton, Mich., 
where he died in September, 1884. His poli- 
tics were Democratic until 1856 when he joined 
the new Republican party, and he was an active 
member of the Presbyterian church, as was his 
wife, who was born at Seneca Castle, N. Y., in 
1810 and died at Fenton, Mich., in 1893. She 
was a homeloving woman and the mother of 
five children, four of whom survive, one having 
died in infancy. Mr. Beeman's paternal grand- 
father, Josiah Beeman. a coppersmith by trade, 
was born in Connecticut but moved to New 
Jersey when young and later to Phelps, N. Y., 
where he died. His wife Sally (Crane) Beeman 
was a native of New Jersey. Going to Michi- 
gan from New York at the age of 92 years she 
died at Williamstown in that state, aged 94 
years. The parents .of Elmira Colwell Beeman, 
mother of Newell Beeman, were Daniel and 
Thankful (Payne) Colwell. natives of Rhode 
Island. Daniel moved to Seneca Castle. N. Y., 




" enr- /Toy !ar-J.~ Chic = 



.^i^^o*^-*^^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



99 



where he lived the life of a farmer until his 
death at the age of 75. Thankful Payne left 
Rhode Island with her parents, who settled at 
Seneca Castle, N. Y., where she was married 
with Mr. Beeman and lived to be 87 years old, 
being- a very charming- and refined old lady. 
Newell Beeman received his early education at 
the district school of Phelps, N. Y., and fol- 
lowing this he attended the Phelps Union 
Classical School and Bryant & Stratton's Com- 
mercial College, from which reputable school 
he was graduated in 1863. His first employ- 
ment was in a hardware store in Buffalo, N. Y., 
where he remained for a year and then was 
engaged in the store of the Russell & Erwin 
Manufacturing Co., in New York City. Here 
he remained three years and then went to 
Ouincy, 111., and worked for the hardware com- 
pany of Chas. E. Allen about four years, dur- 
ing which time he was quite an extensive 
traveler. His next change was to St. Louis 
where he kept books,, about a year and then re- 
turned to New York to work in the office of 
Clark, Wilson & Co., where he remained until 
1871, then came to Almy, Wyo., and worked 
for the Rocky Mountain Coal & Iron Co. for 
two years, following this employment he took 
a trip to Texas, staying about a year and re- 
turned to Almy to resume labor with the com- 
pany he had left, but this time as super- 
intendent, and so . he continued until 1886. 
Meanwhile he had engaged in mercantile ven- 
tures at Almy and was interested in a store at 
Evanston, now known as the Beeman & Cashin 
Mercantile Co. The company he represented 
as superintendent and manager closing its busi- 
ness in May, 1900, in 1892 Mr. Beeman moved 
with his family to Salt Lake City, which city has 
since been his home. He is a man of business 
and to business he gives close attention. In 
addition to the interests already noted he has 
a branch drygoods store at Rock Springs, Wyo., 
and is 'interested in the Commercial National 
Bank of Salt Lake City, having been a mem- 
ber of its board of directors for several years. 
Politically he is a Republican and has held 
county offices in Uinta county at various times. 



Mr. Beeman was first married in July, 1872, 
at Phelps, N. Y., with Miss Damaris Peck, a 
native of Phelps and a daughter of Hiram and 
Louisa (Wetmore) Peck, her father being a 
prominent Democrat, at one time sheriff of 
Ontario county, N. Y., where he passed his 
life and was buried, his death occurring in 1890. 
His wife was a native of Western New York, 
an active member of the Baptist church and a 
strong temperance worker who died in 1895 
and was buried at Phelps. Mrs. Beeman died 
in 1877 and is also buried at Phelps. She was 
a noted singer and an active worker in the cir- 
cles of her Baptist church, being survived by her 
husband and two daughters, Edna L., Mrs. 
W. H. Dayton of Salt Lake City, and Damaris 
A., who resides with her father. Mr. Beeman 
married his present wife in 1877 at Quincy, III., 
and she was formerly Miss Anna J. Harvey, 
born in Ouincy, a daughter of Samuel and 
Annie G. Harvey. Her father, born in England 
in 1805, came to the United States when a 
young man, settled near Ouincy, 111., and fol- 
lowed farming until his death in the eighties. 
His wife, Annie G., was born in Germany and 
came to this country when a child with her 
parents, who also settled at Quincy, 111., where 
she is still living. Mr. Beeman has one child 
by his present wife : Alice J. Beeman. 

AMBROSE A. HEMLER. 

From the hills and valleys of southern Penn- 
sylvania which teem with a thrifty, self-reliant 
and resourceful population, to the prairies and 
ranges of eastern Wyoming, as yet almost un- 
tenanted, which promise bountiful returns for 
the zeal of the husbandman and ample oppor- 
tunity for all, is a long step in longitude and 
conditions, but it is one that rewards those who 
make it, most repaying them for the loss 
in volume of associations, number and com- 
pleteness in educational and civic agencies, set- 
tledness and security in fiscal and government 
surroundings, with boundless scope for skill, 
limitless openings for enterprise, an uncramped 
field for personal dominion and unmeasured 



100 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



readiness and responsiveness of market for 
every ware they have to offer, whether it be of 
labor or its fruits. This step has been taken by 
Ambrose A. Hemler of Crook county, to his ad- 
vantage. He was born in Adams county, Pa., on 
September 16, 1852. There his parents, George 
and Catherine (Smith) Hemler lived and pros- 
pered, as their forefathers had done for genera- 
tions; and there in 1871, after a useful life which 
was ended before its energy was spent, the moth- 
er was laid to rest. The father is a plasterer by 
trade, and although advanced in years is still pur- 
suing his serviceable craft in the place of his na- 
tivity. Their son Ambrose was educated in the 
schools of his native county, and two terms in the 
Conowago Preparatory School in the same state. 
He then had to quit his studies on account of 
failing eyesight, and began his business career 
as a clerk and salesman in a store at Port Carbon 
in the same state. He followed his service in 
this capacity with two years of hard work as a 
fireman on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad 
and in 1879 started for the great West, reaching 
Kansas in the fall and halting there for the 
winter, the next spring going to Missouri where 
he worked on a farm for a year. The next year 
was passed in similar work in Illinois and the 
next still in Nebraska. In the spring of 1882 he 
came to South Dakota and during the following 
two years was employed on a farm near Spear- 
fish. He then passed two more years working 
in a sawmill in the Black Hills and in 1886 came 
to Wyoming and to Crook county. His first 
employment here was for eighteen months in the 
service of a large cattle company on Powder 
River. He then took up the ranch on which he 
now lives, ten miles north of Sundance, where he 
has remained and built up an expanding indus- 
try in ranching and cattleraising, adding to his 
land as. circumstances permitted or required, 
now having a considerable body by deed and 
and more by lease. He is one of the commanding 
and representative stockmen of the section, and 
has influence of weight in all the affairs of the 
county. No enterprise of moment for the im- 
provement of his portion of the state but feels 
the impulse of his quickening hand and has the 



benefit of his wise and active mind. As an evi- 
dence of his productive and developing tenden- 
cies, it should be stated that in 1883 he dared 
danger and exposure in helping to build the 
telephone line from Deadwood to Custer and 
Rapid City, S. D. On May 16, 1885, Mr. Hem- 
ler married with Miss Laura E. White of 
Spearfish, S. D., where the marriage took place. 
She was a daughter of Thomas O. and Mary F. 
(Jack) White, former residents of Missouri 
where she was born and where her mother died. 
Her father then removed to Spearfish and there 
passed the rest of his life. He was a veteran of 
the Mexican and Civil Wars and a highly 
esteemed citizen of two states. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hemler have six children, Francis, George, 
Charles, Chester, Bryan and Clara. His father 
was also a veteran of the Civil War, seeing active 
service in that contest as a member of the One 
Hundred and Fifty-second Pennsylvania In- 
fantry. 

O. RUDOLPH HENKE. 

The German element in our national life has 
been prominent in many lines of industrial ac- 
tivity, also making itself felt in the arts, sciences 
and not a few of the learned professions and 
America has not been slow in recognizing and 
appreciating its eminent influence. The gen- 
tleman whose name appears above is the son 
of a typical representative of the Teutonic char- 
acter and he embodies many of the sturdy phys- 
ical characteristics and mental attributes for 
which his ancestors were noted. Richard Henke, 
father of O. Rudolph Henke, is a native of the 
province of Posen, Prussia, born on August 3, 
1846. He was reared in the town of his birth, 
and after receiving a strict educational training 
in the public schools was apprenticed to the 
trade of machinist, in which he acquired much 
more than ordinary skill. After working for 
some years in various shops in his native coun- 
try he went to Scotland and from 1869 until 
the breaking out of the Franco-Prussian War 
he was similarly employed in Glasgow. When 
the great struggle between Germany and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



101 



France became unavoidable, Mr. Henke re- 
turned home and joined the German army, with 
which he served gallantly until Prussia defeated 
her hereditary enemy after one of the most no- 
table, and to France one of the most humiliat- 
ing wars of modern history. For bravery -dis- 
played in some of the bloodiest battles of the 
war Mr. Henke received two medals of honor 
and a bombadier's commission, and when the 
war closed he returned to his mechanical pur- 
suits in Glasgow, in which city he was married 
in 1872. with Miss Christina Appal, a native of 
the province of Hanover, Germany. After fol- 
lowing his chosen calling in Scotland until 1881 
Mr. Henke came to America, and for about 
three months worked at his trade in Grand 
Rapids, Mich., then came to Laramie, Wyo., 
and obtained a position in the Union Pacific 
shops, which he held until 1896, and in 1885 he 
bought a ranch on Sybylle Creek, which he 
stocked with cattle and placed in the charge of 
his sons while he continued his work in the 
shops at Laramie. In 1886 he disposed of his 
first ranch and in 1888 purchased the improve- 
ments and filed on his present ranch in the 
Sybylle district of Laramie county, twenty-four 
miles southwest of Wheatland, moving to the 
property eight years later. Since 1896 Mr. 
Henke has made his home on the ranch and in 
partnership with his son, who manages the es- 
tate, he has been engaged in cattleraising upon 
quite an extensive scale. His life has been 
active and busy, attended at times by thrilling 
episodes, especially during his military life, and 
from the beginning to the present time his ca- 
reer has been upright, straightforward and in 
every respect honorable and praiseworthy. He 
proposes to pass the remainder of his days in 
the health-inspiring, free outdoor life of the 
ranch and to enjoy here some of the fruits of his 
many years of honest industry. While retaining 
many tender recollections of the Fatherland 
and losing no jot of his loyalty to its govern- 
ment, Mr. Henke is a true American and mani- 
fests a most profound regard for the laws and 
institutions of his adopted country. He is an 
excellent citizen, true to his ideals of right, and 



his character and integrity are above reproach. 
He is well liked in the community where he 
lives and enjoys the unbounded confidence of 
all. Mr. and Mrs. Henke have had five children, 
Reinhold, Pauline, Rudolph, Richard and Rose. 
Rudolph Henke, who is his father's partner and 
business manager, was born in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, on May 29, 1876, and was about five years 
old at the time of the family emigration, con- 
sequently the most of his life has been, spent in 
the west, under conditions favorable to sturdy 
physical and mental development. His educa- 
tional discipline embraces a knowledge of the 
branches constituting the public school course, 
but his training in the rugged school of experi- 
ence has been of a wider range and much more 
practical nature, eminently fitting him for the 
duties of a very active and successful business 
life. Since moving to the ranch in 1886 he has 
been associated with his father in cattleraising 
and has earned the reputation of a very careful 
and far-seeing business man. The place which 
the two jointly own contains 420 acres of valua- 
ble grazing land, much of which is susceptible 
of tillage, though but a small portion is devoted 
to agriculture. Rudolph Henke is one of the 
intelligent progressive young men of Laramie 
county, and has a prosperous business career 
before him. He is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America, belonging to the local 
organization at Wheatland. 

GEORGE P. HERSEY. 

George P. Hersey, a prominent and success- 
ful stockgrower of Johnson county, came to 
Wyoming in 1881 and has since resided within 
her borders. He was then without capital except 
his determined and resourceful spirit and his ex- 
cellent health and experience he has gained in 
hard knocks in various parts of this country, 
but he is now one of the substantial and wealthy 
men of his county. Whatever he has now in 
worldly possessions he has accumulated in 
Wyoming and he may therefore be truly 
called a production of the state as well as 
a developer of her industries and natural re- 



102 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sources. He was born in far away New Hamp- 
shire, the son of Stephen and Caroline (Thomp- 
son) Hersey, natives of Massachusetts. He 
grew to manhood and was educated in his native 
state, living on the old homestead and assisting 
in its health-giving but unremunerative toil, until 
he was twenty years old. In 1879 he came to 
Colorado and went to work in a mill and after 
two years of this occupation removed to Johnson 
county, Wyo., settling on the Brace ranch. He 
also took up land in company with Fred Han- 
chett. In 1886 he sold out to the 4 H Ranch 
Company and then bought an interest in the en- 
terprise. He was interested with this outfit ten 
years when it sold out and in 1887 Mr. Hersey 
bought a ranch on Rock Creek which he still 
owns, in 1887 settling on the ranch which is 
now his home, which consists of 2,200 acres of 
land under deed and 8,000 acres of leased prem- 
ises. On this wide expanse of territory he has 
large herds of fine cattle, the most of his output 
being high-grade Herefords. In all matters of 
benefit and utility to the section in which he lives 
Mr. Hersey takes an earnest interest. He is 
treasurer and one of the leading stockholders of 
the Clouds Peak Reservoir Co., and has given 
much time and energy to its development and 
the proper application of its benefits. In 1891, 
at Butler, Mo., he was married with Miss 
Georgia Basma, a native of Michigan. They 
have one child, their daughter Myrtle. Their 
home is one of the pleasant resorts of the 
neighborhood, where their friends always find 
a hearty welcome and a generous hospitality and 
where the stranger can confidently enter an open 
cloor and find pleasant entertainment. 

HON. WM. A. HOCKER, M. D. 

It is indeed a truism 'that "He serves God 
best who best serves his fellow men", and there 
is no branch of human endeavor or profession 
existence wherein its truth is so fully demon- 
strated as in the medical profession. The 
highest type of man is the successful physician, 
who through love of humanity gives freely of 
his time and talents to the relief of tbe afflicted. 



Among this high class Doctor Hocker stands 
out prominently, for he is one of the ablest re- 
presentatives of this noble profession in the state, 
having for a series of years been identified with 
extensive medical practice in various portions 
of Wyoming and also having been worthily 
intrusted with public office and responsibilities 
of a grave and momentous character. He is now 
an honored citizen of Kemmerer, where he is 
established in the practice of both medicine and 
surgery. He was born in Lincoln county, Ky., 
a son of Tillman and Sarah (Morrison) Hocker, 
natives of Kentucky but of Virginia ancestry. 
His father was a farmer and stockman and his 
mother traces her lineage in a direct line to 
William Tell, the hero of Switzerland. To the 
early educational training of Doctor Hocker at 
the schools of Hustonville, Ky., a literary course 
was added at the Christian College and thereafter 
he gave his definite attention to the technical and 
scientific studies necessary to obtain a thorough 
medical education at the celebrated Bellevue Med- 
ical College of New York City, from which su- 
perior institution he graduated in 1868. Engaging 
in practice for his initial location at Harrison- 
ville, Mo., he soon demonstrated that he was well 
and ably equipped for his high profession, five 
years thereafter changing his location to Evans- 
ton, Wyo., and here there was but a brief pas- 
sage of time before popular recognition of his 
talents and professional worth was accorded and 
his reputation as one of the representative med- 
ical men of the state stands in evidence of his 
just deserts. He soon became the physician and 
surgeon of the Union Pacific at Evanston and 
acquired a large patronage from the best citi- 
zens of the community. After twenty-five years 
of residence in Evanston he removed to Kem- 
merer, where he is now actively engaged in 
medical duties. In addition to a large and in- 
creasing list of private patrons he is the phy- 
sician and surgeon of the Kemmerer Coal Co., 
and of the Oregon Short Line Railroad. A pro- 
nounced and outspoken Democrat, he had not 
been long in the state before recognition of his 
ability as a wise counsellor was shown, and he 
was elected as a countv commissioner and his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



103 



two years' service in this office was followed by 
his election to the lower house of the State Legis- 
lature, and he was there distinctively honored in 
his election to fill the dignified office of president 
of the council. Thinking that his services to his 
constituents and state would be of more advan- 
tage if given on the floor of the house he declined 
the high honor and did faithful labor for two 
successive years as a, working member in the 
house. The results he obtained were so marked 
that the people of his district elected him in due 
season to the Senate where he displayed the 
same statesmanship and legislative qualities as 
in the house, winning high commendations both 
as a speaker and as a far-seeing, conservative, yet 
public-spirited legislator. His earnest efforts in 
helping to organize and secure the establishment 
of the State Insane Asylum will long stand to 
his credit with the people of Wyoming and its 
organization was very largely due to his earnest 
efforts. Upon its creation he became its super- 
intendent for two years, doing excellent service 
in this formative period of its history by plac- 
ing its administration on broad and scientific 
foundations. He personally attended to the re- 
moval of the state's insane wards from Jackson- 
ville, 111., to Evanston, and although there were 
two full carloads of patients there was not an 
accident nor a death while in transit. His party 
associates in Wyoming have held him in high 
honor, for during his incumbency of the chair- 
manship of the Democratic County Committee 
the party won every campaign, and he has been 
a delegate to every state convention since be- 
coming a citizen of the state, being also a dele- 
gate from Wyoming to the Democratic National 
Convention at Cincinnati where General Hancock 
received the presidential nomination. He also 
held the appointment of register of the U. S. 
land office at Evanston for four years during 
the administration of President Cleveland. 
Fraternally Doctor Hocker is identified with the 
Knights of Pythias at Diamondville, is a char- 
ter member of the lodge at Evanston and a past 
chancellor commander of the order. He is also 
a member of the Eagles, the United Workmen 
and of the Home Forum. Dr. Hocker wedded 



with Miss Alice Reynolds at Evanston on March 
13, 1873. She is a daughter of John and Alice 
Reynolds and was born at Galveston, Tex., where 
her parents died of yellow fever when she was an 
infant. She was thereafter reared to womanhood 
in the cultured home of her maternal uncle, Col. 
R. C. Wood, a prominent Confederate officer. 
Their family embraces these children ; Robert, 
a popular dentist of Kemmerer; Woody, wife 
of Frank Manley, chief engineer of the U. P. 
Coal Co., at Rock Springs ; Edith, wife of 
Frank Lander of Evanston ; Effie, wife of Thom- 
as Davis, the master mechanic of the U.P. mines 
at Cumberland; Jennie, a student of the state 
university in the class of 1901 and 1902 and 
Florence and Reynolds, who are attending the 
Evanston high school. Doctor and Mrs. Hocker 
are acknowledged leaders in those social circles 
where refinement and culture are in evidence 
and the entire family enjoy a marked popu- 
larity. In the midst of the multitudinous de- 
mands placed upon him by the practice work of 
his profession and the high official trusts he has 
held, the Doctor has never failed in thoroughly 
reading the best literature of his profession, 
keeping fully abreast of the wonderful advances 
in the sciences of medicine and surg'ery, and per- 
sonally contributing to such advances through 
his experiences in clinical work and his original 
thought and investigation, though his innate 
modesty and unpretentious attitude are such 
that he is signally free from self-adulation. 

A. D. HOSKINS. 

This gentleman, who at the present writing 
is conducting a prosperous mercantile business 
at Granger, Wyoming, where he is also the pop- 
ular and efficient postmaster, has experienced 
the varying conditions of life in the Mississippi 
Valley, of a range rider in Nebraska and of a 
successful and prosperous business man in 
Wyoming. Through all the devious windings 
of these various states of existence Mr. Hoskins 
has kept steadily one object in view, to attain 
a station of high financial standing and probity, 
and, like all things steadily and persistingly fol- 



104 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



lowed, this result has been attained, Mr. Hos- 
kins being one of the prominent and representa- 
tive business men of a wide extent of country. 
In the attainment of his purpose he has how- 
ever never sacrificed the amenities of life to 
gain, but has been generous and public-spirited 
and has acquired and kept a large circle of 
friends, who value him for his intrinsic worth. 
He was born on February 17, 1861, in Marshall 
county, 111., where his father for years con- 
ducted agricultural operations, but now main- 
tains his home near Fairfield, Neb. He was the 
son of Leonard and Lottie (Taylor) Hoskins, 
both being natives of Ohio. His paternal 
grandfather, John Hoskins, a son of Silas Hos- 
kins, a Virginian, a saddler by trade and a sol- 
dier of the War of 1812, was a native and a long 
time resident of Ohio, where he married Eliza 
Bonham, and was a farmer. He showed the 
patriotic and military spirit that apparently has 
been the heritage of the family for many past 
generations, and gave loyal service to his country 
under Generals Scott and Taylor in the hotly 
contested battles of the Mexican War. A. D. 
Hoskins was the third of eight children com- 
posing his father's family and three others are 
now living, Florence A., now Mrs. Charles L. 
Lewis of Fairfield, Neb. ; Fairy R., Mrs. Charles 
Rau of Fairfield, Neb.; Elizabeth T., Mrs. 
Charles Randall of Lincoln, Neb. After his . 
education was acquired in the Illinois schools 
Mr. Hoskins identified himself with western life 
in Nebraska by becoming a range rider, con- 
tinuing to be thus employed from 1879 to 1890, 
acquiring skill in this employment of hardihood 
and giving honest and satisfactory returns for 
his wages. His advent in Wyoming was in 
1880, his Nebraska life being of short duration. 
From this- time onward he was engaged in vari- 
ous occupations at Evanston and elsewhere, 
which under his manipulation gave satisfactory 
financial results. He gave initiation to his mer- 
cantile life at Hilliard, where for five years he 
was engaged in trade, in the fall of 1897 he lo- 
cated at Granger, and he has here conducted a 
business which is rapidly assuming proportions 
of great scope and importance. In 1899 he 



opened his present store and in October was 
commissioned postmaster, still retaining its in- 
cumbency. A full line of general merchandise, 
selected for and well suited to the demands of 
his large range of patrons is here displayed, and 
also a comprehensive stock of groceries, dry- 
goods, light hardware, etc., etc. The success of 
the undertaking indicates that the future will 
be fraught with decidedly advantageous com- 
mercial operations. He has also business inter- 
ests of importance at Kemmerer. He is fra- 
ternally connected with the Odd Fellows as a 
member of the Evanston lodge, and holds mem- 
bership with the Benevolent Protective Order 
of Elks at Salt Lake City. On February 5, 1899, 
in Ogden, Utah, Mr. Hoskins was united in 
marriage with Miss Rose Davidson, a daughter 
of Thomas and Nancy A. (McBride) Davidson, 
natives of Indiana and now residents of Eldo- 
rado, Kan. In all the relations of life Mr. Hos- 
kins holds an exalted position, winning and re- 
taining the friendship of the community, while 
his home is a center of gracious hospitality. In 
political relations he is an active and assiduous 
member of the Republican party. 

HARRY BURT JENNINGS. 

The gentleman whose name opens this bi- 
ography, although young in years, has attained 
considerable prominence in Carbon county, 
Wyoming, where he is now serving as county 
clerk, having been elected in 1901 on the Re- 
publican ticket. He was born in 1872 at Ris- 
ing Sun, Polk county, Iowa, and is a son of 
James B. and Mary L. (Raybuck) Jennings. 
James B. Jennings was born in Green county. 
Pa., in 1840, and served an apprenticeship at 
blacksmithing, and worked at that trade until the 
breaking out of the Civil War, when he en- 
listed in the Fifth Pennsylvania Cavalry, in 
which he was appointed first sergeant. He 
served with undisputed bravery and commend- 
able devotion to duty until captured by the en- 
emy and confined in Libby Prison at Richmond, 
Va., until released in 1863. He was mustered out 
in 1865 with the rank of brevet-lieutenant, in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



105 



recognition of valiant conduct on the field. 
After the close of his war services Mr. Jen- 
nings came to Wyoming as quartermaster for 
the Indians at Bryan's Station, where he re- 
mained until 1 88 1 ; then he went to Rock 
Springs, Sweetwater county, for a short time 
and in 1882 came to Rawlins. He is now en- 
gaged in active mining operations at Grand En- 
campment, which he is prosecuting with his 
usual energy, untiring vigor and satisfactory 
results. He is a strong Republican in politics, 
has served his party one term (1895) in the 
Wyoming legislature and is very popular 
throughout Carbon county. Mrs. Mary L. 
(Raybuck) Jennings, the mother of Harry Burt 
Jennings, was born in Washington county, Pa., 
in 1840, and is a daughter of John P. and Mary 
L. (Harmon) Raybuck. She was reared, edu- 
cated and married in her native state and in 
early womanhood was a prominent teacher. 
After coming to Wyoming she served several 
years as school superintendent for Carbon 
county when it comprised all the territory ex- 
tending from Colorado to Montana, and was 
probably one of the most intellectual women of 
the far West. Harry Burt Jennings was gradu- 
ated from the Lincoln Business College in June, 
1888, and almost immediately afterwards en- 
tered the office of the Union Pacific Railroad at 
Rawlins as messenger, and from this humble 
position was promoted regularly to ticket 
agent, his promotions being earned through at- 
tention to duty and personal merit. So satisfac- 
tory were his services that he was retained in 
the employ of the company for ten years, and 
he left only to enter upon the field of politics 
and public life, which his growing popularity 
had made peculiarly alluring and tempting. The 
first public position held by him was that of 
doorkeeper of the Wyoming senate. This posi- 
tion he relinquished to become secretary for 
J. W. Hugus & Co. at Rawlins, which he sat- 
isfactorily filled for six years. He next served 
for two years, to the eminent satisfaction of 
all concerned, as city clerk of Rawlins and in 
1 90 1 he was elected on the Republican ticket 
county clerk of Carbon county — the position he 



still so ably fills. H. B. Jennings was most hap- 
pily united in marriage on June 21, 1894, with 
Miss Ethel Maxfield, the accomplished daugh- 
ter of C. W. Maxfield, the present county com- 
missioner of Carbon county. To this felicitious 
union have been born two children, Richard and 
Estella. Mr. Jennings has been very fortunate 
since coming to Carbon county, but this is 
chiefly owing to his personal merits and close 
attention to the interests of those by whom he 
has been employed, and to the able manner in 
which he has performed the duties pertaining 
to the various positions he has filled, backed by 
unswerving integrity. 

GUSTAVE AND CLEMENT E. JENSEN. 

Among the successful young business men of 
Wyoming who are doing so much to develop 
the resources of the young commonwealth and 
to lay here the firm foundations of one of the 
great states of the Union, none stand higher 
than the subjects of this brief review, the 
brothers Gustave and Clement E. Jensen of 
Saratoga. They are natives of the old historic 
city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and are the sons 
of Clement E. and Jennie A. (Blickfeldt) Jen- 
sen, the former a native of Christiana, Norway, 
and the latter of the city of Bergen, in the same 
country. Gustave Jensen was born on April 
15, i860, and Clement E. on August 2, 1870. 
The father, who was engaged in commercial 
pursuits in his native land of Norway, disposed 
of his interests there and emigrated to America 
during the fifties. He first located in the city, 
of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada, soon, 
however, removing to Buffalo, N. Y., where he 
was in business for a number of years, thence 
removing to Green Bay, Wis. Here he estab- 
lished himself in business and was for many 
years the representative of the well-known 
house of A. Booth & Co., being their purchas- 
ing agent for Wisconsin and Michigan, and car- 
ried on a large and extensive business in that 
line. Subsequently he engaged in business for 
himself, and in all his enterprises met with 
marked success, being one of the leading busi- 



io6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ness men of that section of the country. Gus- 
tave Jensen, the older of the two brothers, grew 
to man's estate in his native city of Green Bay, 
and received his elementary education in the 
public schools of that place. When he had at- 
tained to the age of seventeen years the desire 
to make his own way in the world induced him 
to leave school and to seek his fortune in the 
far West. He therefore left the home and 
scenes of his childhood and early manhood and 
removed to Nebraska, where he remained for 
about five years engaged in ranching and stock- 
raising with an uncle who was a resident of that 
state. In 1883 he disposed of his interests in 
Nebraska to accept a government position in 
the then territory of Dakota. He remained in 
this occupation for four years, and then re- 
moved to the western portion of Nebraska, 
where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. 
Owing to the dry seasons which there prevailed 
for some years, his business was not as profit- 
able as it otherwise would have been, and in 
1891 he sold to good advantage and removed 
to Wyoming. Here he established himself at 
Saratoga, where he has since remained, becom- 
ing one of the most successful and progressive 
business men of that section of the state. His 
firm does an extensive business, and its opera- 
tions extend throughout the state. Clement E. 
Jensen, the junior member of the firm of Gus- 
tave Jensen & Bro., passed his early days at 
Green Bay, Wis., and he there attended school 
until he was prepared to enter upon his career 
in the mercantile world. After completing his 
education he accepted a position in a hardware 
store in Green Bay and for a number of years 
was there engaged in that occupation. In 
1891 he came to Wyoming and entered 
into business with his brother for about 
two years, when he returned to Wisconsin and 
became manager of a company controlling 
three mercantile establishments, with head- 
■ quarters at Iron Mountain, Mich. In February, 
1898, he resigned this position and again joined 
his brother at Saratoga, Wyo. They then 
formed the well-known firm of Gustave Jensen 
.. & Bro., which has since been engaged in busi- 



ness at that place, and has been uniformly suc- 
cessful in all its operations. They handle hard- 
ware, furniture, farm implements and mining 
supplies, and also conduct an undertaking de- 
partment. In the latter branch they are the 
pioneer business men of Saratoga. They oc- 
cupy and own a large two-story brick block' in 
the business center of the city, having large 
show windows and a great amount of room for 
the accommodation of their extensive stock. In 
addition to their other property holdings, the 
older brother is the owner and proprietor of 
the Jensen opera house at Saratoga, and he is 
serving his second term in the responsible posi- 
tion of postmaster. The younger brother was 
a member of the first city government of Sara- 
toga and in all matters calculated to promote 
the public welfare, the brothers always take a 
foremost place. In January, 1896, Gustave Jensen 
was united in marriage at Cheyenne, Wyo., with 
Miss Mary Stoy, the daughter of the Rev. W. 
H. Stoy, an Episcopal clergyman, who is now 
residing at Marysville, Calif. To their union 
have been born two children, Anna and Regena, 
both of whom are living, and the family home 
in Saratoga is noted for the generous and re- 
fined hospitality which they take pleasure in 
dispensing to their large circle of friends and 
acquaintances. On March 8, 1899, Clement E. 
Jensen was married at Eaton Rapids, Mich., 
with Miss Mary P. Leisenring, the daughter of 
John W. Leisenring, a well-known and highly 
respected citizen of Michigan, who is engaged 
in contracting and building. The two Jensen 
brothers are numbered among the ablest and most 
enterprising business men of their section and 
enjoy the confidence of all classes. Progres- 
sive, courteous in their relations with their pa- 
trons, and unfailing in the discharge of every 
business obligation, they have built up a large 
and steadilv increasing business and are among 
the most valued citizens of their county. They 
have mining as well as commercial interests, 
and Gustave Jensen is the president of the 
Badger State Mining and Milling Co.. which 
owns valuable mining property which it has 
been operating with considerable success. By 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



107 



their enterprise and public spirit they have done 
much to build up the city of Saratoga and to 
settle up the surrounding country. Fraternally 
the brothers are affiliated with the Masonic fra- 
ternity and take an active interest in all char- 
itable and fraternal matters. Politically they 
are stanch members of the Republican party, 
conscientious and able advocates of the prin- 
ciples of that political organization. Their suc- 
cess demonstrates what is possible of accom- 
plishment in this country by men of ability, un- 
failing integrity and determined purpose. 

JOHN JOHNSON. 

One of the extensive cattleraisers and rep- 
resentative business men of Laramie county, 
is John Johnson, an American by adoption, 
his birth occurring on June 23, 1857, in far away 
Sweden, being the son of Olaf and Mary 
(Olson) Johnson, both natives of Sweden, and 
the father a farmer. The early life of Mr. John- 
son was passed at and near the place of his 
birth and he grew to maturity familiar with the 
varied duties of farm life, and on attaining his 
majority began life for himself as a tiller of the 
soil, remaining in his native land until 1882. 
when he came to the United States and for a 
limited period stoppped in Cheyenne, Wyo., 
thence going to Horseshoe Creek, where he 
took up land and engaged in raising a fine breed 
of cattle. During the ensuing seven years he 
devoted his attention closely to this business 
and realized liberal returns, accumulating a 
fortune of no small magnitude. In the fall of 
1888 he added to his- possessions by taking up 
land on Mule Creek, one mile from his present 
ranch, and brought his cattle to the place in 
the spring of 1889. After two years in that lo- 
cality in 1 89 1 he took charge of the Jones ranch 
of the Swan Land and Cattle Co. and has man- 
aged the business affairs of that corporation 
ever since, looking after his own large stock in- 
terests at the same time. Mr. Johnson is a 
man of acknowledged business ability, and as 
foreman of the above ranch has demonstrated 
his aptitude and capacity for large undertak- 



ings. While managing the company's affairs 
with consummate skill, he does little active 
work, the condition of his health being such 
as to prevent him from doing anything except 
to direct the labor of others. In consequence 
of his invalid condition much of the responsibil- 
ity of his own and the company's business has 
fallen upon his son Victor, a young man of ex- 
cellent judgment and superior business qualifi- 
cations. Mr. Johnson has also in his wife an 
able assistant and willing coadjutor, she being 
a lady of much more than ordinary mental en- 
dowment and possessing abilities of a high or- 
der, she has borne her full share of responsibil- 
ity in carrying out her husband's plans, and 
much of the success with which his efforts have 
been crowned is directly attributable to her 
wise counsel and cooperation. Mr. Johnson 
and family own a large amount of valuable 
grazing land, 720 acres of which lies on Mule 
Creek in the immediate vicinity of the home- 
stead. Their cattle interests are extensive and 
yield them a large income in addition to the 
liberal remuneration received for managing the 
500-acre ranch of the Swan Co. The latter 
ranch is also heavily stocked and no little abil- 
ity and energy are required to conduct the busi- 
ness successfully. The Johnson family is widely 
and favorably known throughout the county of 
Laramie and enjoys more than local reputation 
in business and social circles, standing high in 
the esteem of all who know them, the sons and 
daughters by their courteous conduct winning 
also an abiding place in the affections of their 
numerous friends. Mrs. Johnson's maiden 
name was also Johnson, her parents being John 
and Anna Johnson, both of Scandinavian birth, 
and her birth occurring in Sweden, where she 
was married with her husband on November' 14, 
1877. Her children are as follows: Anna B., 
Victor J., Minnie H., died September 28, 1898: 
Oscar J. and Mary J., twins. The family are 
members of the Lutheran church and noted for 
their piety and zeal, while Mr. Johnson is also 
identified with the Woodmen of the World, the 
son, Victor, belonging to the Modern Woodmen 
of America. 



io8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



OSGOOD JOHNSON. 

A progressive ranch and cattleman of Lar- 
amie county, Wyoming, is Osgood Johnson, 
whose address is Uva. A native of Maryland, 
he was born in Baltimore, on January 6, 1862, 
the son of James H. and Sarah E. (Jones) 
Johnson, the former a native of Massachuetts 
and the latter of Maryland. The father was en- 
gaged in business as a commission merchant in 
the city of Baltimore, Md., in which he was oc- 
cupied up to the time of his decease, which oc- 
curred in 1884, and his remains lie buried in 
Baltimore, where all his active life was passed. 
The mother passed away in 1871, and is buried 
by the side of her husband. Osgood Johnson 
grew to man's estate in his native city of Balti- 
more and received there his early educational 
training, subsequently attending the academy 
situated at Kennett Square, Pa., where he pur- 
sued a thorough course of study for three years, 
when he returned to his Baltimore home and com- 
pleted his education. He then engaged in business 
with his father for two years, when desiring to 
make his own way in the world he came to the 
then territory of Wyoming, arriving in Cheyenne 
in the spring of 1882, soon after securing a po- 
sition with the National Cattle Co., for the pur- 
pose of acquiring a practical knowledge of the 
business. Later, when this company was merged 
in the Swan Land and Cattle Co., he continued in 
the employ of the latter company until 1886. He 
then purchased a ranch on Fish Creek about 
twenty miles west of Uva, Laramie county and 
entered upon the business of raising cattle, in 
which he remained, having a marked success 
and making this place his home until 1895, 
when he purchased the ranch on the Laramie 
River about two and one-half miles west of Uva 
where he now resides, and thither removed his 
residence although still remaining the owner of 
both places. Here he has very successfully contin- 
ued in the business of raising cattle and is now 
the owner of 640 acres of land, well fenced and 
improved, with a large herd of cattle, and is con- 
sidered as one of the substantial property owners 
and one of the most enterprising cattle men of 



that section of the state. On September 23, 
1896, at Cheyenne, Wyo., Mr. Johnson was 
united in marriage with Miss Minnie L. Gape, 
a native of Ohio and the daughter of Joseph 
and Sarah Gape, both natives of England, who 
emigrated from their native country in early life 
and settled in Ohio, in 1878 removing their resi- 
dence to the territory of Wyoming, where they 
established their home in Cheyenne where they 
are still residing, highly respected citizens of 
their adopted state. The family are members of 
the Protestant Episcopal church, and are sin- 
cerely interested in all works of religion and 
charity in the community where they reside. Mr. 
Johnson is affiliated with the Masonic order, be- 
ing a member of the lodge at Wheatland, Wyo., 
and politically he is a stanch member of the 
Republican party, and a loyal supporter of the 
principles of that organization. He has never 
either sought or desired public position, pre- 
ferring to give his entire time and attention to 
the care and management of his extensive busi- 
ness interests. He is held in high esteem by all 
-classes of his fellow citizens. 

AUGUSTINE KENDALL. 

In the life of Augustine Keadall whose 
honorable course as a business man and citizen 
has conferred dignity upon himself and added to 
the good name of the city in which he resides, 
the reader will find a practical exemplification of 
those deep underlying principles of sterling man- 
hood that seldom fail to win success. Of 
strong mentality and invincible integrity, he has 
so entered into the business life of this section 
as to make his presence felt as a director of 
thought and molder of opinion in all matters 
coming within his special province. Honored 
by being placed at the head of one of the impor- 
tant monetary institutes of the state, he has now 
much more than local repute as an enterpris- 
ing man of affairs and is widely known among 
the leading financiers of Wyoming - . His birth 
occurred on July 26, 1863, in Ontario. Can., but 
his father, Daniel S. Kendall, was born in Bos- 
ton, Mass., in 1814, the son of a former mayor of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



109 



that city who owned a large and very valuable 
estate there and in the immediate vicinity. D. 
S. Kendall was the owner of a line of ships and 
in the spice trade he acquired a large fortune. 
At the breaking out of the Civil War he sold his 
vessels and moved to Ontario, where he lived in 
retirement until his death in 1877. His wife, 
Margaret (Greggan) Kendall, was born in 
Ireland, and departed this life in 1897 at the age 
of sixty-two and now lies by her husband in the 
beautiful cemetery at Boston. Augustine Ken- 
dall passed the years of his childhood and youth 
in Ontario with the best educational advantages 
his native place afforded. At the age of eigh- 
teen he went to Laramie, Wyo., and accepted a 
clerical position in the Wyoming National Bank, 
the duties of which he discharged for about one 
year. He then entered the First National Bank of 
Laramie and after remaining with that institu- 
tion for four years came to Rock Springs as 
cashier of the Sweetwater County Bank since 
then merged into the First National Bank. Mr. 
Kendall continued in the capacity of cashier un- 
til the death of the president, when at the earnest 
solicitation of the directorate he was elected to 
the vacancy and has since been the executive head 
of the bank. He is familiar with every detail 
of the banking business and possesses soundness 
of judgement, keenness of discrimination and a 
comprehensive knowledge of the principles of 
finance. He is active and vigilant in his care 
for the interests of stockholders and depositors. 
Though prudent and at all times conservative in 
the management of his important trusts, he has 
carried financial success with all his enterprises, 
and by 'judicious investments and skillful over- 
sight has acquired an ample fortune. Aside 
from banking he is largely interested in the 
sheep industry, which returns him a liberal in- 
come, and is connected with other business en- 
terprises. In a marked degree he possesses those 
sound and practical qualities which secure and 
retain the confidence of the people, and his per- 
sonal and social habits win public esteem. His 
well balanced mind has been developed and 
strengthened by liberal culture and reading, and 
all who come within the range of his personality 



pronounce him a true type of the courteous and 
dignified gentleman. His friendships are deep 
and strong, his disposition cheerful and genial, 
and his character open and frank. These admir- 
able qualities combined with a strong sense of 
honor, an earnestness of purpose that hesitates 
at no difficulties, may be classified among the 
more prominent characteristics in the make up 
of this man, whose life, measured by the true 
standard of excellence, has been and is destined 
to be a potential power for good in the business 
and social world. Although well informed con- 
cerning the great issues of the day and having 
earnest convictions upon the public questions 
now before the American people, Mr. Kendall 
has no political aspirations; preferring his busi- 
ness and the domain of private citizenship to any 
official honors within the gift of the people. He 
is deservingly popular with the citizens of his 
town and county and in a quiet and unobtrusive 
way has done many kind acts of charity of which 
the world knows nothing. Fraternally he is a 
Freemason, being one of the brightest members 
of the lodge meeting in Rock Springs. ' 

FOSTER KEARNS. 

One of the progressive citizens of Carbon 
county, Wyoming, whose enterprise has con- 
tributed much to the development of that sec- 
tion of the state, is Foster Kearns, whose ad- 
dress is Collins, Wyo. A native of Clearfield 
county, Pa., he was born on January 1, 1861, 
the son of Foster and Eliza (Dillon) Kearns, 
the former a native of Ireland and the latter of 
the Keystone state. The father came from his 
native country in early life and established his 
home near Phillipsburg, Pa., and engaged in 
coal mining. He lost his life from an accident 
in a mine shortly after the birth of his son 
Foster, who after the unfortunate death of his 
father availed himself to the best advantage of 
his limited opportunities for obtaining an edu- 
cation. He was compelled to leave school in 
early life and find employment to aid in the 
support of his mother and the family. Securing 
a position in a lumber yard for a time he 



no 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



learned the trade of millwright, an occupation 
for which he had a natural aptitude. When he 
was sixteen years of age he was run over by a 
logging team and so seriously injured as to 
necessitate the amputation of his left leg. He 
was confined for some time in the hospital and 
later returned to the lumbering business, in 
which he continued until he was twenty-one 
years old. He then left Pennsylvania and re- 
moved to Kansas for one summer, then going 
on to the then territory of Wyoming, arriving 
there in the fall of 1882. Establishing his head- 
quarters at Laramie City, he engaged in 
freighting from that place to the mines of the 
Encampment district, and continued in this pur- 
suit with considerable success for about two 
years, when he removed to Beaver Creek in 
Carbon county, located a ranch and engaged in 
ranching and kindred pursuits. Subsequently 
he disposed of this property and located an- 
other place on Encampment Creek, later taking 
up a second place on the same creek. These 
ranches he improved and developed, subse- 
quently sold for a good figure and again re- 
moved to Beaver Creek, where he remained es- 
tablished in the stock business until 1901. Dur- 
ing this time he became quite extensively inter- 
ested in both cattle and horses, and carried on 
a successful business. In 1901 he disposed of 
his interests and devoted his time largely to 
mining. From 1888 to 1898 he was engaged in 
developing a claim he had in the copper belt 
at the head of Little Beaver Creek. In the lat- 
ter year he organized the Kearns Consolidated 
Copper Mining Co., to operate this property more 
extensively. He is its president, and the com- 
pany controls 240 acres of mining ground, 160 
acres platted as a town site and a large amount 
of development work has been projected. The. 
town is named Dowington, in honor of the 
Dowington Bros, of Denver, who are largely 
interested in the company. In addition to his 
other important holdings Mr. Kearns is the 
owner of several other valuable claims in the 
vicinity, which promise to make him one of the 
wealthy men of that section. In August, 1901, 
lie erected a store building at Dowington and 



engaged in general merchandising. This ven- 
ture has proved to be a success, and his busi- 
ness is steadily increasing from the rapid set- 
tlement of the adjacent mining country. On 
April 19, 1885, Mr. Kearns was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Celestia Piatt, a native of 
Iowa, and the daughter of Henry Piatt, a na- 
tive of Washington county, Pa. Her paternal 
grandfather was also a Pennsylvania!!, who re- 
moved to Ohio, where he established his resi- 
dence in Guernsey county and engaged in farm- 
ing, in which he continued up to the time of 
his death. Her father then removed to Rich- 
land county, Ohio, where he remained for a 
number of years, and then resided in Iowa until 
1885, when he removed to the then territory 
of Wyoming. He is still residing in this state, 
in the enjoyment of good health, although he 
has reached the advanced age of eighty-three 
years. Mr. Kearns is a director in the Copper 
State Bank of Encampment, one of the heav- 
iest stockholders in that institution. He is a 
successful man of business, whose energy and 
ability have been very instrumental in drawing 
the attention of capital to the great resources 
of this section of Wyoming, and in settling up 
the country and building up its industries. It 
is such men as he that build up prosperous com- 
munities throughout the western country and 
bring civilization out of barbarism and sav- 
agery. His activity and business success, in 
spite of the physical misfortune which he sus- 
tained in early life, have been remarkable, and 
lie is held in high esteem. 

WILLIAM L. KEYES. 

A successful breeder of fine stock giving 
special attention to the Shorthorn breeds, is 
the subject of this sketch, William L. Keyes, a 
leading citizen of Albany county. Wyoming, 
whose residence is in the vicinity of Tie Siding", 
about twenty-five miles south of the city of 
Laramie. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1845, 
the son of William and Sarah Jane (Logan) 
Keyes, both natives of the same country. The 
father was born in the vear 181 8 and followed 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in 



farming in his native country until 1884, when 
he retired from business life and made his home 
with his daughter, Mrs. W. R. Williams, in the 
vicinity of Tie Siding, Wyo., where he passed 
the evening of his long and useful life in the 
ease and comfort to which his years of indus- 
try and unremitting effort had so justly entitled 
him, dying in November, 1894. He was the son of 
James and Ann (Whittier) Keyes, also natives 
of Nova Scotia, the mother being born in 1814, 
the daughter of William and Sarah (Ellis) Lo- 
gan, both natives of Nova Scotia. The father's 
life business was civil engineering, but he was 
also a successful teacher for a portion of his 
life. He passed away in 1862, at the age of 
seventy years, and was buried in his native 
country. William L. Keyes grew to manhood 
in Nova Scotia, receiving his early education 
in the public schools of that province. Upon 
arriving at the age of twenty-one years he left 
the home of his childhood and began life for 
himself, engaging in farming in the vicnity of 
his former home for a short time. Believing 
that he could improve his condition and find 
better business opportunities in the United States, 
in 1865 he came to Massachusetts and in the 
county of Middlesex engaged in farming for 
two years. He moved from Massachusetts to 
Minnesota, where he engaged in lumbering with 
varying success for about five years. He then 
returned to his old home in Nova Scotia, where 
he remained for about three years engaged in 
farming. During this time he married in 1876 
with Miss Nancy Carroll, a daughter of John 
and Jane (Greno) Carroll, her parents as well 
as herself being Nova Scotians, the birth of her 
father taking place in 1810 and his death in 
1879. Mr. Keyes removed with his family from 
Nova Scotia to the territory of Wyoming in 
1879. I n the vicinity of his present residence in 
Albany county he located a ranch and began 
the business of raising cattle, also purchasing 
a hotel property at Tie Siding and conducting it 
in connection with his ranching operations 
about eight years, then purchased the ranch 
which he now occupies, where he has since been 
engaged in cattleraising, being now the owner 



of a fine, well improved ranch and having a 
good herd of Shorthorn stock. Mr. and Mrs. 
Keyes have five children, Carrie, Harry, Amy, 
Willis and an infant (deceased), the family be- 
ing one of the most respected in the commu- 
nity where they reside. 

JAMES KIRKPATRICK. 

For the voyager who has been true to his 
course, however storm-tossed and weary, there 
is even on this side of the grave a haven where 
wind and wave disturb not, or are felt but as 
gentle undulations of the unrippled and mir- 
roring- waters. This haven is a serene and hale 
old age. The tired traveler has abandoned the 
jostling and crowded highways of life. The 
din of traffic and of worldly strife have no 
longer magic for his ear. He has run his race 
of toil, or trade, or ambition. His day's work 
is accomplished and he has come home to en- 
joy, tranquil and unharassed, the splendor of 
the sunset, the milder glories of late evening. 
Such as this is the condition of James Kirkpat- 
rick of near Banner in Sheridan county, who 
being now near the age of fourscore is enjoy- 
ing the few remaining years of a useful life in 
peace after many trials, having comfort after 
much of hazard and privation. He was born in 
Ohio on October 12, 1826, the son of Abraham 
and Mary (Marrett) Kirkpatrick, who emi- 
grated from their native state of Pennsylvania 
to Ohio in the early days of its history, and 
were pioneers there, as their son has been in 
two states since their day. He was reared on 
the* farm and educated at the little country 
schoolhouse near his home. When he reached 
the age of twenty-one he engaged in farming 
near his father's place, but in 1854, moved by 
the frontier spirit he had inherited from his 
parents and their ancestors, he moved into Il- 
linois, then a newly opened country in the far 
West, and locating in Adams county not far from 
the great Father of Waters, he there passed near- 
ly thirty years as a successful farmer, beholding 
that country come forth at the persuasive voice 
of systematic cultivation to fruitfulness and 



112 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



comeliness and contributing his due portion of 
the labor and care necessary to bring about 
that result. He enlisted at Quincy, 111., in the 
Union army in September, 1861, served three 
years, was in several battles and in one was 
badly wounded by a gunshot and still carries 
the ball. Another ball passed through his body 
from above the right hip, coming out above the 
left hip, his horse being killed under him at the 
same time. He was mustered out at Little 
Rock, Ark., in August, 1864, being in the Third 
Missouri Cavalry. In 1883 he came to Wyom- 
ing and settled in Sheridan county, where he 
took up a homestead and engaged in farming 
and stockgrowing until he retired a few years 
ago from active pursuits. He has a fine farm 
and is well-to-do and safely established in the 
affectionate regard and esteem of his fellows 
among whom he has lived and labored. For 
thirty-five years he has been a member of the 
Masonic order, always taking great interest in 
its progress and the meetings of his lodge, at- 
tending when he could and keeping alive in his 
memory and his life its exalted teachings. In 
1847 ne was married in Ohio with Miss Eliza- 
beth Hoskins, a native of that state, who for 
fifty-three years walked life's troubled way with 
him and then, in 1900, passed over to those ac- 
tivities that know no weariness, leaving six 
children surviving her, William, a resident of 
Durango, Colo.; Albert; James W., a prosper- 
ous stockgrower of this county ; Lillie M., mar- 
ried to Charles B. Holmes, county clerk of 
Sheridan county ; J. F., a farmer and stock- 
grower of this county, with whom Mr. Kirk- 
patrick now makes his home; Ella E., the w,ife 
of Oscar Mull of Quincy, 111. Another daugh- 
ter, Mary, is deceased. 

GEORGE KUNTZMAN. 

One of the leading young business men of the 
important mining town of Encampment, one who 
has done much to build up that place and to draw 
the attention of capital to the resources of this 
section of the state, is George Kuntzman, the sub- 
ject of this sketch. He is a native of Dubuque, 



Iowa, born on April 9, 1867, the son of George 
and Margaret (Schmidt) Kuntzman, both na- 
tives of Germany. The father came to America 
from the Fatherland in early life and located for 
some time in the city of New York and then re- 
moved to Iowa, where he established his home in 
Dubuque, and engaged in a successful boot and 
shoe business, and continued in trade until his 
death in 1882. His son George giew to manhood 
in his native city, acquired his elementary edu- 
cation in the public schools and then entered the 
Bayless Business College and pursued a thorough 
course of study and training for a business ca- 
reer. Here he was distinguished for his pro- 
ficiency in his studies, especially so for his 
superior penmanship, being one of the finest pen- 
men ever graduated from that institution. His 
skill in this respect was so marked as to be the 
subject of frequent comment by his instructors 
as well as by his business associates and friends, 
and even now he has few if any superiors in that 
accomplishment. Upon completing his course 
at the business college, he entered the employ of 
Peter Kiene & Sons, the leading real-estate firm 
of Dubuque, and remained with that house for 
about four years. His superiority as a business 
man and accountant was . so marked, that he 
was offered and accepted a position as accountant 
for the Reliance Mutual Insurance Co., which 
had been organized by some of the leading busi- 
ness men and capitalists of the city, resigning 
that position after five years service to accept a 
position with the Iowa Mutual Building and 
Loan Association and was practically the busi- 
ness manager of that company for six years. 
His close attention to business was such that 
his health failed, and he was compelled to re- 
sign his position and remove to Colorado Springs, 
Colo. Here he remained for some time, and his 
health improving, he removed to the new town 
of Grand Encampment, Wyo.. in 1897. among 
the earliest settlers of that place, where he 
opened a real-estate office, handling both real- 
estate and mining property in the vicinity. In 
partnership with Hon. C. P. Clemmons. now 
mayor of Saratoga, he organized the first min- 
ing company of Grand Encampment, and has 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



"3 



teen very "successful in his operations in both 
mines and real-estate. He was the promoter and 
one of the chief owners of the Moon Anchor Cop- 
per Mining Co., which owns one of the most 
promising copper mines in that section of the 
state, of which he is the vice-president and fiscal 
agent. He also organized the Sun Anchor Copper 
Mining Co., which controls valuable copper prop- 
erty in the Encampment district. Besides his 
other property interests in this section of Wyo- 
ming, he is the owner of a large number of town 
lots in Grand Encampment and has property ad- 
joining the townsite, which is rapidly increas- 
ing in value, being one of the large property own- 
ers of the county. On September 1, 1893, Mr. 
Kuntzman was united in marriage at Dubuque, 
Iowa, with Miss Annie Driscoll, the daughter 
of Daniel and Marie Driscoll. The parents of 
Mrs. Kuntzman passed away while she was an 
infant, and she attained womanhood in the fam- 
ily of elder sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Kuntzman are 
the parents of a son, George, Jr., born August 
7, 1902. Fraternally Mr. Kuntzman is affiliated 
with the Masonic order, being a member of 
Cheyenne Consistory No. 1, and the secretary 
of the lodge at Encampment. He is also a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and the Knights of Pythias, and has "passed the 
chairs" of the latter order. He is a man of abil- 
ity, progressive and 'enterprising in business, 
and foremost in every movement for the ad- 
vantage of his section of the state. He is one 
of the pioneers of the community where he 
maintains his home, and is held in the highest 
esteem by his fellow citizens. 

KENNETH McDONALD. 

How many times the student of Scottish his- 
tory has read with bated breath of the gallant 
and romantic exploits of the McDonalds, as for 
generation after generation they have had no 
small part in forming and deciding great af- 
fairs of s'tate by their valor, their statesmanship, 
and even by their misfortunes. The name has 
<wer stood sponsor for the good qualities of 
Scotch character and its brilliancy, endurance 



and law-abiding loyalty, are displayed in the 
present century as strongly as in any of the by- 
gone days. One of the leaders in Wyoming's 
immense cattle industry, now making the head- 
quarters of his almost imperial operations on 
Willow Creek, sixty miles northwest of Casper, 
where, he owns and controls several thousand 
acres of land, also owning the water rights from- 
Willow Creek to and including the "Hole in the 
Wall" country, a distance of nine miles, is the 
well-known Kenneth McDonald. It would be 
a great omission indeed in any work purporting 
to speak of the progressive men of Wyoming, 
to leave this man and his works unspoken of. 
Rosshire, Scotland, has been the home of his 
ancestors for many generations, and here the 
subject of this review was born on October 9, 
1848, the son of Alexander and Mary (Tulloch) 
McDonald, and to him was given the name of 
his paternal grandfather, Kenneth McDonald. 
In 1852 Alexander McDonald emigrated, tak- 
ing his .family to Australia, where he engaged in 
contracting and later in an extensive sheep busi- 
ness for the nineteen years of his residence in 
that far southern land, where Kenneth became 
pioficient in the best methods there employed in 
the raising and care of sheep. In 1871 the father 
returned to Scotland, dying there in 1874, Ken- 
neth being his only son and his sole surviving 
child. From Australia Kenneth went to New 
Zealand and on the west coast was connected 
with mining and later with stockraising, con- 
tinuing there for four years. California was 
his next objective point and residence and from 
1875 to 1887 Mr. McDonald was identified with 
sheepraising, which his valuable Australian ex- 
perience enabled him to conduct in a very suc- 
cessful manner in various western states and 
territories. In 1887 he went to Scotland, in 
1888 returned to America and at once laid the 
foundations of his present enormous operations, 
making his location on the site of his present 
home, paying attention entirely to sheep, of which 
he now owns thirty thousand. From that time 
to the present writing his progress has been 
steadily onward, his improvements, his herds and 
his labors have increased as vear after vear has 



U4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



come and gone, prosperity and wealth coming 
to him in a satisfactory measure, while he has 
so comported himself as to be not only a rep- 
resentative sheepman, but an honored citizen, 
enjoying the friendship and confidence of the 
best people of the section and the esteem of his 
a'ssociates, being a highly popular member of 
the stockraising circles of the state, his untiring 
industry and shrewd business ability ever in- 
dicating his Scotch ancestry. His political affil- 
iations are strongly with the Republican party, 
but although laboring zealously for the success 
of its principles and candidates, he has absolutely 
no desire for political preferment, positively re- 
fusing any nomination for public position. In 
Freemasonry, Mr. McDonald has attained the 
Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. On 
July 25, 1893, he was married, the bride being 
Miss Lillian Startzwell, a native of Pennsylvania. 

CAPT. H. G. NICKERSON. 

One of the leading citizens of Wyoming, and 
one of the most prominent public men of the 
state, is the subject of this brief sketch, Capt. 
H. G. Nickerson, the agent in charge of the 
Shoshone Indian Reservation. He has a long 
and varied career in the west, and for many 
years has taken an active and leading part in 
the development and settlement of. Western 
Wyoming.* Born on May 4, 1841, Captain 
Nickerson is a native of Medina county, Ohio, 
and is the son of Erastus and Harriet (Clifford) 
Nickerson, both natives of the state of Ohio. 
His father was engaged in the business of 
manufacturing shoes, and was an active and 
successful business man of that state. He was 
the son of Jesse and Anna Nickerson, both 
natives of the state of New York. The family 
were prominent during Colonial days, and were 
of English descent, first settling in Long Island 
upon their arrival in this country. His father 
passed away in the state of Ohio, in the year 
1892, at the age of 73 years. The subject of 
this sketch grew to manhood in the state of 
his nativity, and received his early education 
in the public schools of Litcbfield, Medina 



county. L T pon the breaking out of the great 
Civil War he responded to the call of patriot- 
ism, and in 1861, enlisted as a member of 
Co. D, of the Twenty-third Regiment of Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry. The late President Wil- 
liam McKinley was the second lieutenant of 
this company, and Rutherford B. Hayes was 
the colonel of the regiment. Going to the front 
in the service of his country, under the com- 
mand of such officers, he participated actively 
in many engagements, and was under fire at 
the battles of Bull Run, South Mountain and 
Antietam. At the battle of South Mountain he 
was captured by the enemy, and for a period 
of three months was confined as a prisoner of 
war at Libby prison. At the end of that time 
he was paroled and returned to the North. He 
was then promoted to a captaincy of the One 
Hundred and Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer In- 
fantry, for gallantrv in action, and joined the 
army of General Sherman in its expedition into. 
Georgia. Here he was detailed to repair the 
lines of railroad, and also in the pursuit of his 
duty assisted in the capture of the rebel Gen- 
eral Morgan. At this time he was under the 
command of General Crook. At the end of the 
war he returned to Ohio, and entered upon 
the study of the law at Elyria. but owing to ill 
health, he was obliged to give up his studies, 
and in the year 1866, started overland with ox 
teams for the newly discovered gold fields of 
Montana. On this expedition he had many 
thrilling experiences. On the Powder River, in 
Montana, his partner was killed by the Indians, 
and he only escaped the massacre at Fort Phil 
Kearney by a few days. Upon his arrival in 
Montana, he engaged in the mining business, 
in which he continued up to the year 1868. Not 
meeting with as great success as he had an- 
ticipated, he then came to South Pass, Wyo., 
where he followed mining with varying success 
for a period of eighteen years. During this 
time he had many experiences with .the In- 
dians, who were often on the warpath, and 
was a member of the party which effected the 
capture of a large number of the hostile 
Arapahoe tribe, among whom was the Indian 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING: 



"5 



bov who afterward became the Reverend Sher- 
man Coolidge. Captain Nickerson was in 
command of this expedition. In the year 1868 
he located land in the vicinity of Lander for 
the purpose of engaging in stock and agricul- 
tural pursuits, but was driven out by the hostile 
Indians. From the time of his first coming to 
Wyoming, he has taken an active and promi- 
nent part in public affairs, and was a candidate 
on the Republican ticket in 1869 for member 
of the first territorial legislature, but was not 
elected. In the year 1871 he was elected as a 
member of the legislature and served with dis- 
tinction as a member of that body. He was 
also elected to the office of county treasurer. 
In the year 1884 he was a member of the con- 
stitutional convention, and from 1884 to 1887 
he was probate judge of Fremont county. Dur- 
ing the legislative session of 1884 he was a 
member, and it was through his efforts in that 
body that the count)' of Fremont was created 
out of Sweetwater county. In the year of 1892 
he was appointed to the position of receiver of 
the United States land-office at Lander, Wyo., 
and it was his duty to first open that office to 
the public. He continued to hold this position 
up to the time of his appointment as Indian 
agent in the year 1893. During his active 
public career he served as the first county su- 
perintendent of schools of Sweetwater county, 
and was the first chairman of the board of 
county commissioners of Fremont county. He 
also served as justice of the peace at Lander, 
and held that position for a number of years 
during the exciting times in South Pass, Wyo. 
In the year 1896 he was a delegate to the Re- 
publican national convention at St. Louis, 
which nominated McKinley and Hobart, and 
was also a member of the committee appointed 
to notify the late President of his nomination. 
In addition to his other business interests, Cap- 
tain Nickerson is interested in farming, and 
is the owner of 160 acres of fine land imme- 
diately adjoining Lander, a valuable piece of 
property. On March 4th, .1876, at Elyria, 
Ohio, Captain Nickerson was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Harriet J. Kelsey, a native of the 
7 



state of Ohio, and the daughter of Lorenzo C. 
and Harriet (Avery) Kelsey, both natives of 
that state. ' To their union have been born four 
children, namely, Ora K., who is now a drug- 
gist at Lander; Alta M., Edith A., and Nellie. 
Their home is noted for its refinement and gen- 
erous hospitality. Fraternally Captain Nicker- 
son is affiliated with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and is past grand master of that 
order in the state of Wyoming. He is also a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
and is past post commander and present quar- 
termaster of Thomas A. McCoy Post of that 
great order. He takes an active and prominent 
part in the social and fraternal life of the com- 
munity in which he resides, and is looked up to 
in all movements of a public nature, or which 
are calculated to work to the benefit of that 
section of the state. Patriotic, public spirited, 
and devoted to the general welfare of the com- 
munity, Captain Nickerson has done much to 
develop the resources, and to promote the set- 
tlement and advancement of Western Wyo- 
ming. He is now in the prime of his mature 
life, and may look forward to many years of 
usefulness and achievement, an honored pub- 
lic servant, and held in affectionate esteem by 
all classes of his fellow citizens. He resigned 
as Indian agent on May 1, 1902, and was ap- 
pointed U. S. allotting agent, allotting- lands to 
Indians. 

HON. W. L. KUYKENDALL. 

A man of inflexible integrity, keen business 
ability, of broad and liberal views, possessing 
a distinct individuality, Mr. Kuykendall has 
been eminently successful in temporal affairs 
through his practical ability and he has served 
in positions of trust and official stations with 
unbended rectitude and conceded wisdom, ever 
■commanding the confidence and esteem of the 
people, his personal character being the basis 
of his success in every field of public or private 
activity. In his ancestry the same characteris- 
tics run back through generations, his great- 
grandfather, the emigrant, belonging to a fam- 



n6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ily of high distinction in Holland, a near rela- 
tive being an admiral of distinguished fame. 
Locating with capital in South Carolina very 
early in its history, he there developed a fine 
estate and was one of the mountaineers en- 
gaged on October 7, 1780, in the historic battle 
of King's Mountain under Colonel Campbell, 
where he was killed, of which great victory over 
the British Thomas Jefferson said : "It was 
the joyful enunciation of that time in the tide of 
success that terminated the Revolutionary War 
with the seal of our independence." After the 
battle his residence was burned by Tories, all 
the family records being destroyed. The be- 
witching region of Kentucky was calling many 
pioneers then to its land of milk and honejr, and 
thither emigrated Richmond Kuykendall, the 
paternal grandfather of our subject. In this 
fair land he developed a fine plantation in Bar- 
ren county, on which he passed the remainder 
of his life, exercising a potent influence in the 
affairs of the new land as a citizen of strong 
mental powers and patriotic impulses. His son, 
James Kuykendall, passed his early life in his 
native state, then married Miss Celia Thomp- 
son, a native of Garrard county, and after living 
in Kentucky until his family consisted of three 
children migrated to Clay county, Mo., residing 
there until 1839, then becoming a resident of the 
new county of Platte, where was thereafter his 
home with the exception of six years passed in 
Kansas. At first an agriculturist, he fitted him- 
self for and engaged in the practice of law and 
became the first county judge of Platte county, 
then in succession sheriff, county treasurer and 
judge of probate, in the election of this last 
office defeating the prominent J. W. Denver, 
who gave name to the Colorado metropolis. He 
was one of the most honored and respected citi- 
zens of the state and 'died deeply mourned. 
Hon. William L. Kuykendall, son of James and 
Celia (Thompson) Kuykendall, was born in. 
Clay county, Mo., on December 13, 1835. Re- 
maining with his parents until he was seventeen 
years old and diligently attending the best 
schools of the county, he then commenced his 
long career of official life by accepting the ap- 



pointment of deputy clerk of the circuit court 
of Platte county, performing his duties to such 
public satisfaction that he was elected the first 
county clerk of Jackson county, Kas., and later 
held the office of deputy clerk of the district 
court of the First Judicial District of that state. 
Again removing to Missouri, in the great strug- 
gle of the Civil War he was true to his teachings 
and environment, enlisting as a private in the 
Fourth Regiment of the Fifth Division of the 
Confederate army, commanded by General 
Price, holding a captain's commission on de- 
tached service as a recruiting officer a portion 
of the time. The war left him impoverished and 
he sought a new field of endeavor in the allur- 
ing regions of the West, removing to Denver, 
Colo. A few months later he was engaged in 
the building of forts for the U. S. government 
in the wild region now known as Wyoming, 
passing the years of 1866 and 1867 in this em- 
ployment, on one occasion securing a contract 
to deliver 2,000 cords of wood by a bid of one 
cent less than his closest competitor. Mr. Kuy- 
kendall and his associated partners made the 
site of Cheyenne their headquarters, being its 
earliest settlers and having timber on the 
ground to build houses before the land was 
surveyed. When Laramie county was organ- 
ized Mr. Kuykendall was first appointed and later 
elected judge of probate and county treasurer 
and he was an ex-ofHcio justice of the peace 
and made his home in Cheyenne, holding office 
until 1874. These offices do not constitute all 
the public positions occupied with credit by our 
subject, as during the above period he was a 
member of the legislature, continuing in this 
body until his removal to the Black Hills in 
1876. He held a seat in the legislature of the 
Dakotas during the four and one-half years 
he resided there, and on his return to Cheyenne 
served as city clerk for three years, his service 
terminating by his removal to Saratoga in the 
spring of 1891, and from 1888 to 1896 he was a 
member of the Democratic national committee 
from Wyoming. He is now residing on his 
ranch estate of 1,200 acres, less than four miles 
south of Saratoga postoffice, his land being all 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



117 



under irrigation, he also owing and conducting 
the Pick ranch of 2,400 acres, seven miles north 
of Saratoga, also well irrigated and both sup- 
porting large herds of stock of superior grade. 
The matrimonial relations of Mr. Kuykendall 
have been most felicitous, his marriage with 
Miss Eliza A. Montgomery, a native of Ken- 
tucky, being solemnized on July 14, 1857. She 
is the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Craig) 
Montgomery, long time residents of Rockcastle 
county, Ky., and later classed among the prom- 
inent families of Buchanan county, Mo. Her 
ancestry in the paternal line stretches through 
several American generations to the proud 
English family of that name that came to En- 
gland in 1066 with William the Conquerer. The 
children of this union are James, died in in- 
fancy ; John M., now residing in Denver; Harry 
L., see individual sketch elsewhere in this vol- 
ume : William Arthur, who was killed in Chey- 
enne on July 31, 1878, by his horse running 
away. Mr. Kuykendall maintains high prestige 
in Odd Fellow, Masonic and Knights of Pyth- 
ias circles, holding the exalted rank of grand 
representative in Wyoming to the Sover- 
eign Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows, being at 
this writing the oldest member in continuous 
service in that distinguished body, having been 
for the past sixteen years the grand secretary of 
the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of the state 
of Wyoming, and also being a past chancellor 
in the Pythian brotherhood. 

FRANK S. LUSK. 

One of the leading citizens of Wyoming, 
after whom was named the thriving city of Lusk 
in Converse county, is the subject of this re- 
view. He is a native of the state of New York, 
born in the city of Buffalo, on April 27, 1857, 
the son of James W. and Cornelia Marion 
(Stillman) Lusk, the former a native of New 
York and the latter of Ohio. His father, when 
a young man, removed from his native state to 
Ohio, where he established his residence, and 
where he became a member of the well-known 
firm of Bryant, Lusk & Stratton. He was an 



unusually fine penman, and during the latter 
years of his life was connected with the pub- 
lishing house of Ivison & Phinney, of New York 
city. During a visit to Cleveland, Ohio, in 
1863, he was taken suddenly ill, and passed away 
from earth. Two children survived him. The 
maternal grandparents of Mr. Lusk were John 
and Sarah M. (Doty) Stillman, the former a 
native of Connecticut, and the latter of New 
York. The latter is still living at over ninety 
years of age, and in the enjoyment of perfect 
health. After the death of his father, the moth- 
er of Mr. Lusk removed with her family to 
Cleveland, Ohio, where his education was ob- 
tained in the public schools. Upon leaving 
school he entered the employ of the firm of Han- 
na & Co., where he continued until 1876, when 
he resigned this position, and in the company of 
a friend came to the new state of Colorado. In 
the spring of 1877 he embarked in the business 
of raising cattle, and in 1880 he removed his op- 
erations to the territory of Wyoming. Here he 
became the manager of the Western Live Stock 
Co., which carried on an extensive and success 
ful cattle business with its headquarters at the 
present site of the city of Lusk. In 1886, the 
Wyoming Central Railroad, a branch of the 
Chicago and Northwestern Railway, was ex- 
tended to this locality and a townsite was laid 
out, and in honor of the subject of this memoir, 
the city was given the name of Lusk. In 1887 
Mr. Lusk was here, joined by his mother, who 
has since made her home with him, and is the 
owner of extensive property interests in her own 
name. Mr. Lusk continued in the cattle busi- 
ness up to the later nineties, when he disposed 
of the greater portion of his holdings, although 
he is still largely interested in real estate. Dur- 
ing recent years, in partnership with Mr. D. D. 
Streeter, he has engag'ed extensively in railroad 
contracting in various sections of the West, and 
has met with great success. In 1894 he was 
united in marriage to Miss Louise B. Findley, a 
native of San Francisco, California, and the 
daughter of Thomas Findley, a prominent cit- 
izen and former treasurer of that state, and their 
home is one of the finest in the city of Lusk. Mr. 



n8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Lusk is one of the foremost men of his section 
of the West, and his business energy and enter- 
prise have contributed much to the development 
and upbuilding, not only of Wyoming, but of 
the adjoining states. 

HON. DONALD McALLISTER. 

A distinguished citizen of Wyoming and the 
present county clerk of Uinta county, Hon. 
Donald McAllister is a native of Scotland and 
a descendant of a long line of sterling ances- 
tors. His father, Duncan McAllister was born 
on May 3, 1834, in Islay, Argyleshire, and be- 
came a well-to-do farmer, marrying in 1858, 
Mrs. Margaret (McDonald) McDougal and fol- 
lowing agricultural pursuits in his native coun- 
try until 1883, when he came to the United 
States, settling in Uinta county, Wyo., where 
he is now living a retired life in the home of 
his son. Duncan McAllister is the son of Don- 
ald and. Mary (Currie) McAllister, both of 
whom lived and died amid the romantic scenes 
of their native land, and the father of Donald 
was Hector McAllister, who married Catherine 
McPhie, and to Murdock McAllister, the father 
of' Hector is about as far back as the paternal 
lineage can be traced with accuracy. The Mc- 
Donalds from whom the subject's mother is 
descended were also an old and highly respected 
Scotch family, the name occurring frequently 
in the early annals of various parts of the high- 
lands. She bore her second husband two sons, 
Donald and John McAllister. Donald Mc- 
Allister was born in Islay, Argyleshire, Scot- 
land, on October 16, 1859. Reared amid brac- 
ing airs and active duties he early developed the 
strength of body and independence of spirit 
characteristic of the sturdy Scottish youth and 
was early imbued with the understanding that 
man should work out his destiny by honest toil 
and honorable endeavor. Completing the pub- 
lic school course he engaged in teaching and 
after following that profession for three years 
and being employed seven years in a commis- 
sion broker's office at Glasgow, he came to the 
United States in 1882, locating in Uinta county, 



Wyo., where during the ensuing four years he 
was engaged in cattleraising, at the expiration 
of that period disposing of his stock and be- 
coming associated with the mercantile firm of 
Blythe & Pixley at Evanston. After remaining 
four years with that house he entered the em- 
ployment of Beckwith, Quinn & Co., of the 
same place with which firm he was connected 
about the same length of time. Mr. McAllister 
next engaged with Beeman & Co. as a sales- 
man. Remaining two years in that capacity 
and becoming familiar with the details of com- 
mercial life, he then engaged with the Diamond 
Coal and Coke Co. as manager of their large 
store at Oakley and superintended it with credit 
to himself and satisfaction to his employers until 
January, 1903. In 1900 he was appointed post- 
master at Diamondville, which office he held 
until January, 1903, discharging its duties in 
connection with his regular business and prov- 
ing a most capable and popular official. Mr. 
McAllister has been a factor in local and state 
politics for years and enjoys distinctive prestige 
as one of the Republican leaders in his part of 
the state. In 1898 he was elected to represent 
Uinta county in the lower house of the General 
Assembly, serving in that capacity two years 
and his record as a legislator fully met the ex- 
pectation of his constituents and he retired from 
the office with the hearty good will of the peo- 
ple of the county, irrespective of party ties. In 
the fall of 1902 he was the candidate of his 
party for the office of county clerk and after a 
close and hotly contested campaign defeated his 
opponent, who had held the office several term? 
and was considered one of the most popular 
men in the county. In local affairs he has ever 
manifested a lively interest, aiding to the full 
extent of his ability all enterprises and meas- 
ures for the public welfare. Especially inter- 
ested in the cause of education, he has done 
much to promote the efficiency of the schools of 
Diamondville. serving several years as treasurer 
of the school board. He has also been much inter- 
ested in military affairs and for three years was 
a member of Co. H, of the state militia. Mr. 
McAllister is a prominent Odd Fellow, at the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF, WYOMING. 



119 



present writing holding the position of deputy 
grand master for the western district of Wyo- 
ming. He is equally active in the councils of 
the Woodmen of the World at Diamondville 
and has been instrumental in greatly strengthen- 
ing that order in his own town and elsewhere. 
On Tuly 2, 1890, Mr. McAllister was joined in 
marriage with Miss Mary Hotchkiss, a daugh- 
ter of Richard and Agnes Hotchkiss of Scot- 
land, a union blessed with seven children : Dun- 
can, Agnes, deceased, Donald, Richard, Wil- 
liam, Margaret and one that died in infancy. 
Mr. and Mrs. McAllister have long been faith- 
ful and devoted members of the Presbyterian 
church. As a business man Mr. McAllister is in 
the front rank of his companions and as a 
citizen he has won by his courteous manner 
and equitable dealing the respect and esteem of 
his fellowmen. His intercourse .with his fam- 
ilv and friends is kind and considerate, secur- 
ing for himself their love and admiration. He 
is a man of intelligence, who has strong con- 
victions of right, and in civil and official life he 
has adorned every position in which his talents 
have been exercised. He has a great antipathy 
for ostentation or offensive display of knowl- 
edge and in every relation of life his conduct 
has been utterly without pretense. He is one 
of the representative men of Wyoming and a 
kind and courteous gentleman. 

CHARLES E. LAVELL. 

Charles E. Lavell is one of the progressive 
young ranch and stockmen of Laramie county, 
Wyoming, and his address is Glendo in that 
county. He was born on April 15, 1868, in 
St. Louis, Mo., the son of William and Emily 
(Horine) Lavell, the former a native of Ken- 
tucky, and the latter of Missouri. The father 
was long engaged in farming near St. Louis, 
and in 1869 removed his residence from that 
localty to the territory of Colorado, there es- 
tablishing his home in the county of Elbert, 
where he engaged in ranching and stockrais- 
ing until 1885, when he disposed of his ranch 
and property and removed to the territory of 
Wyoming, where he continued the same occu- 



pation. Charles E. Lavell grew to man's .es- 
tate in the county of Elbert, Colo., and received 
his early education in the public schools of the 
vicinity. In 1886 he left Colorado with his 
mother and came to Wyoming, where they lo- 
cated a ranch on the Platte River about three 
miles east of Glendo, and there engaged in 
ranching and cattleraising until 1894, when Mr. 
Lavell located a homestead at his present ranch, 
situated on the Platte River about five miles 
northeast of Glendo, where they have since con- 
tinued in the same business. Including the 
land located by his brother, who is jointly in- 
terested in the property, the family now has a 
fine ranch of about 840 acres of land, well fenced 
and improved, with modern buildings and ap- 
pliances for the purpose of carrying on a suc- 
cessful ranching and stockgrowing business, 
having two hundred acres under irrigation, 
and they are constantly adding to and improv- 
ing their property and are raising both cattle 
and horses and have met with great success. 
Charles Lavell has two sisters and one brother. 
One sister, Sarah Lavell Hoffman, is married 
and resides in the southeastern portion of Mon- 
tana, and the other sister, Mary, and brother, 
William, reside at the home place with Charles 
and their mother, Charles E. Lavell being 
the manager of the entire property. By hard 
work, perseverance and careful attention to 
business, he is rapidly building it up and is 
destined to have one of the best equipped stock 
ranches in that section of the county. His suc- 
cess is a demonstration of what can be . ac- . 
complished by indomitable resolution, unspar- 
ing effort and correct business methods in the 
stockgrowing industry in Wyoming. The 
family are held in the highest esteem in the 
community where they maintain their home. 
Politically Mr. Lavell is a stanch member of 
the Republican party and a loyal advocate and 
supporter of its principles and policies. While , 
interested in public affairs he has never sought 
of desired to hold public office, preferring to 
devote his entire time and attention to the care 
and management of his private business. He 
is one of the rising young business men of 
Laramie county. 



120 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



HANS LARSEN. 

The Scandinavian race is fairly well repre- 
sented in Wyoming, and wherever they have 
settled within the limits of the state they have 
been recognized as honest, hard-working, in- 
telligent -and thrifty citizens. Of this class is 
Hans Larsen,. the popular dealer in lumber and 
paints at Rawlins, who was born in Denmark 
in 1867, where his father died in 1902 at the age 
of eighty-seven years, surviving the mother 
who died in 1884 when fifty-four years old. 
Hans Larsen was educated in his native land, 
and there also learned the carpenter's trade. At 
the age of twenty years he came across the broad 
Atlantic to America, coming directly west to 
Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he resided two 
years. He then, to acquire a better knowledge 
of the English language, attended school for 
some time in Howard county, Neb., thereafter 
coming to Rawlins, Wyo., where through fair 
dealing and a desire to please, he has built up 
a large trade in lumber and paint, being the lead- 
ing dealer in these articles in the town. Mr. 
Larsen was united in marriage about 1893 with 
Miss Mary Smith, daughter of Lawrence P. 
and Anna Smith, five children having been born 
to them in the following order : Lewis, Cath- 
erine, Lawrence, Henry and John. Mr. Lar- 
sen has always manifested much interest in the 
progress of Rawlins, and has made himself very 
useful in its affairs. As a Democrat he has 
served as mayor one year, and has also served 
three years as a member of the city council. 
While advocating a liberal expenditure of 
funds for necessary improvements, he has been 
careful to advise against extravagance and friv- 
olous experimental schemes, believing that what 
has been tested and found to be good is cheap- 
est. Of a genial and affable disposition he is 
always socially inclined, and finds great pleasure 
in his association with his fellow-members of 
the fraternal orders of Odd Fellows, the Elks, 
the Woodmen of the World and the Danish 
Brotherhood. He and his family stand high in 
the social circles of Scandinavian society in Raw- 
lins and are equally well esteemed by all the 



other nationalities composing the population of 
this growing city. Many towns of the west owe 
their rapid development to just such men as 
Mr. Larsen, and this gentleman seems to intend 
to keep pace with the best of them, and the com- 
munity may well congratulate itself on having so 
progressive a gentleman in its midst. 

JOHN J. McILQUHAM. 

A native of the province of Ontario and 
Dominion of Canada, having been born there 
on September 1, 1861, John J. Mcllquham is 
the son of James and Mary (Spaulding) Mc- 
llquham, the former a native of Scotland and 
the latter of Canada. James Mcllquham came 
to America from Scotland with his parents as 
early as 1822 and when but two years of age. 
The family settled in Ontario and followed 
farming, in which they had been engaged in 
the old country. Here James' father grew to 
manhood, married, and continued in agricul- 
tural pursuits until his death in 1897, and the 
mother also passed away at the same place in 
1896, and both are buried near the family home 
in Ontario. The old farm is still held in the 
family, an older brother of John J. now having 
charge of the property. In this quiet country 
home John J. Mcllquham attained manhood, 
learning his first lessons of life among the 
wholesome surroundings of the country and 
early being taught by his sturdy Scotch ances- 
tors the virtues of sobriety and industry. He 
received his early education in the public 
schools and later entered as a student the agri- 
cultural college of Guelph, Ontario. Here he 
remained for nearly two years, completed his 
education and returned to his home, where he 
assisted in the work and management of the 
farm until 1887, when, having an ambition to 
engage in the stock business, he sought a larger 
field for his enterprise, and coming to Wyoming, 
he was pleased with the territory and establish- 
ed himself at what is known as Goshen Hole. 
Here he took up land and stocking it with cat- 
tle, he conducted a prosperous business until 
1890, when he purchased his present home 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



121 



ranch on Sprager Creek, about thirty-two miles 
northeast of Cheyenne, and has since been en- 
gaged at this place in the cattle business with 
great success. He is an active and progressive 
man, industrious, conservative and honest, and 
has the habits of thrift and perseverance which 
characterize the Scottish race, and to these 
sterling qualities his success is due. A self- 
made man, beginning without assistance from 
others and with small means, he has by careful 
attention to his business and by shrewd 
methods, economy and good judgment, built up 
a fine and prosperous industry, which is steadily 
assuming larger proportions from year to year. 
On April 29, 1896, Mr. Mcllquham was united 
in marriage, in the Province of Ontario, Do- 
minion of Canada, with Miss Mary A. Bennett, 
a native of Canada and the daughter of David 
and Mary A. (Cunningham) Bennett, the former 
a native of Ireland, and the latter of Canada. 
Mrs. Mcllquham's father was a farmer for 
many years in Ontario and resided there until 
his death in 1898, the mother dying in Ontario 
during the year 1894. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Mcllquham, namely Ruth 
A., aged five years, and Mary E., aged two years. 
Since his residence in Wyoming, Mr. Mcllqu- 
ham has made two visits of combined business 
and pleasure to the old Ontario home and has 
continued to maintain close relationship with 
the members of the family and friends residing 
there. The family are members of the Presby- 
terian church, taking a deep interest in all the 
charitable work of their place of residence, as 
well as in all measures for the advantage of their 
section of the state, being most excellent citi- 
zens and enjoying great personal popularity. 

HUGH M. McPHEE. 

A native son of Wyoming and one of the 
rising and progressive young stockmen of Lara- 
mie county, Hugh M. McPhee, whose address 
is Sherman, Wyoming, was born on Chugwater 
Creek, in the then territory of Wyoming, on 
December 27, 1880, the son of Hugh and Agnes 
(Teasdale) McPhee, the former a native of 



Scotland, and the latter of Iowa. The parents 
removed their residence from Chugwater Creek 
to North Pole Creek, when Hugh was only three 
years of age and he grew to manhood in the 
latter place, receiving his early education in the 
public schools of the vicinity of his boyhood's 
home. When he was nine years of age he had 
the misfortune to lose his father, but the mother 
remained upon the home ranch and carried on 
the business of ranching and cattleraising after 
the death of her husband along the same lines 
followed by him during his life, and succeeded 
in the business, and when Hugh had completed 
his education, he was taken into partnership by 
his mother, and had charge of the management 
of the property until 1898, when they disposed 
of their ranch and cattle, and the mother re- 
moved to Cheyenne, where she now makes her 
home at No. 721 East Twentieth street. Hugh 
then accepted a position on the ranch of F. O. 
Harrison on Rock Creek, where he remained for 
about one month, and then entered the employ 
of the Iron Mountain Ranch Co., on the Chug- 
water. Here he had been engaged but four days 
when he met with a serious accident, so break- 
ing his arm as to incapacitate him for work for 
five months, but after he had recovered from 
his injuries, he continued with the Iron Moun- 
tain Ranch Co., until the fall of 1899, when he 
accepted a. position with the Swan Land and 
Cattle Co., one of the largest concerns of 
Wyoming, remaining with them for about eight 
months and until January, 1901, when he was 
transferred to the "L. D." ranch, one of the prop- 
erties of the company, and remained there until 
May, when he purchased the ranch property 
which he now occupies on Duck Creek, about 
twenty-four miles west of the city of Cheyenne. 
Since that time he has been busily engaged in 
steadily improving this place, building fences and 
erecting a comfortable residence for his family, 
with suitable barns and other necessary buildings 
for the purpose of carrying on his business of 
cattleraising. On June 12, 1901, Mr. McPhee 
was united in marriage at Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
with Miss Catherine E. McLaughlin, daughter 
of James and Sarah (Daly) McLaughlin, highly 



122 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OP WYOMLXG. 



respected citizens of Wyoming, where she was 
born. They have one child, Hugh M., Jr., born 
May 7, 1902. The family are devout, members 
of the Roman Catholic church, and are interested 
in all works of charity and religion in the com- 
munity where they reside. Politically, Mr. Mc- 
Phee is a stanch member of the Republican 
party, taking an active part in the councils of that 
political organization in Laramie county. He 
commands the respect and friendship of a wide 
circle of friends in his section of the state, and 
is one of the rising and enterprising men upon 
whom the future of Wyoming must largely 
depend. . 

C. H. McWHINNIE. 

Man's worth in the world is determined by 
his success and his usefulness and these are 
much advanced when by the means of a liberal 
education, the culture of schools and the ad- 
vantages of foreign travel he. has'been brought 
into contact with all sorts and conditions of 
men, yet the determinate result of his life and 
the estimate of his character will even then 
proceed from what he has accomplished by the 
persistent force of his own individuality and 
the service he has rendered unto others. In 
analyzing the life of Mr. McWhinnie we find 
that his is a well-rounded, symmetrical char- 
acter, his intelligence and scholastic acquire- 
ments being of the first order, while his upright 
manner of life entitles him to esteem, and as his 
course in business relations has been marked 
by conformity to the highest ethics of commer- 
cial integrity his success is the symmetrical re- 
sult of his wise efforts. C. H. McWhinnie was 
born near London, England, on September 7, 
1861, the son of John and Mary (King) Mc- 
Whinnie, the father being a native of Ayrshire, 
Scotland, while the mother was born in Buck- 
inghamshire, England. His paternal grand- 
father, William J. McWhinnie, always dwelt in 
Ayrshire where he was for years engaged in 
merchandising. The father, John McWhinnie, 
after studying medicine and receiving his pro- 
fessional decree held for a number of years' a 



commission as fleet surgeon in the British Navy, 
after his retirement making his home in a villa 
near London, later removing to Bournemouth, 
where he is still a resident, enjoying excellent 
health for a gentleman of 86 vears. C. H. 
McWhinnie, his fourth child, was sent to a board- 
ing school in Germany at the age of six years, 
there passing four years, thence going to Lu- 
cerne, Switzerland, after two years departing 
thence to an educational institution in Florence, 
Italy, where two years more of study ensued 
and thereafter, before his return to England he 
was a pupil for twelve months in a preparatory 
school at Zurich, Germany. In England again, 
he became a student at a military academv, but 
his knowledge of the English language was so 
meager through neglect that at the end of a 
three years course he failed to pass the examina- 
tions. He then commenced the study of medi- 
cine, but failing to acquire interest in it he 
threw aside his medical volumes and enlisted as 
a sailor in the merchant marine sendee, visit- 
ing in the four years he gave to this life. Aus- 
tralia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, China ■ 
and many other countries. In 1886 he came 
to Wyoming, first locating at Sherman. In 
1892 he purchased a ranch on the La Bonte 
River and is now possessed of a fine estate of 
nearly 1000 acres, of which a large proportion 
is under effective irrigation. On this fertile es- 
tate he is raising stock in quite an extensive 
manner, having some valuable specimens of 
Hereford cattle of superior breed and raising 
large annual crops of excellent hay. His resi- 
dence is one of the attractive homes of a wide 
extent of country, and here Mr. McWhinnie and 
his estimable wife, to whom he was married 
on December 16, 1896, and whose maiden name 
was Carrie Pollard, unite in dispensing a hospi- 
tality as generous and as courteous as was ever 
bestowed by royalty, the democratic character 
of the host allowing him to know no distinction 
between honest men of honest character. In- 
telligent, popular and public spirited, every pub- 
lic improvement of local or general character 
finds in him an enthusiastic supporter, while in 
recognition of his fitness for office he was nomi- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF. WYOMING. 



123 



nated by the Democratic party in 1898 for mem- 
ber of the State Legislature, receiving a com- 
plimentary vote, but not securing an election. 
Fraternally he is an active and valued member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. 
McWhinnie's oldest brother, William McWhin- 
nie, is a major in the British army, being con- 
nected with the Eighty-sixth Royal Irish Rifles, 
which wrought such deeds of valor in the Egyp- 
tian and Boer wars. In the former the gallant 
major led a regiment of native troops and 
fought with them in a number of hotly con- 
tested battles, such being his daring that he 
was honored by the Egyptian government, 
which conferred upon him the title of Mijidiea 
of the fourth class, a distinction awarded only 
to the bravest of men. 

CHARLES A. POLLARD. 

The pioneer settler of the La Bonte section 
of the country, where he made the first location 
on the creek, a valiant soldier of the Civil War, 
a representative citizen of high ability, holding 
public trust of important connection to the en- 
tire satisfaction of a very critical constituency, 
Charles A. Pollard was a man most certainly 
deserving mention in this volume devoted to 
progressive men of Wyoming, being of good 
New England origin, and having his birth in the 
classical city of Boston, Mass.,-' on April 18, 
1848. Coming to the West as a young man 
he resided at Alton, 111., for a time, he then 
became a pioneer on the site of the present city 
of Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1878, and fol- 
lowing the pioneering proclivities that had 
brought him so far to the westward, he came 
to Cheyenne the next year, locating twelve miles 
above Fort Laramie, on the Laramie River, 
where he engaged in stockraising, his operations' 
during the five years of his residence here bring- 
ing fine results. Selling out, in 1885 he made 
the first filing for land made on the LaBonte 
Creek, thus securing a very fine property and 
the first water right on the creek on which he 
commenced valuable improvements, which since 
his death, in August, 1895, have been extensively 



continued by his daughter and son-in-law, C. 
H. McWhinnie, and he here conducted a large 
business in the raising of stock, devoting his 
attention to both horses and cattle, of which on 
the unlimited range he ran large herds of each. 
He was an active and useful citizen, doing most 
excellent service on the board of county com- 
missioners and in other positions of public trust 
as a Republican. His marriage to Miss Eliza- 
beth Jones, a native of Brockville, Ontario, 
who was born in 1843 an d died on October 30, 
1893, at La Bonte, Wyoming, occurred in 1868, 
and their four children were :' Mary '"B., who 
died in infancy; Harry P., now residing at La 
Bonte, Wyo. ; Carrie J. (Pollard) McWhinnie, 
living on the old homestead at La Bonte Creek ; 
Percy E., now living near Ludlow, South Da- 
kota. During the latter part of the Civil War, 
Mr. Pollard enlisted in the Union army, serving 
with distinction until the war was ended, when 
he was honorably discharged. Mr. McWhinnie 
has shown a truly progressive spirit and prac- 
tical judgment in continuing the improvements 
inaugurated on this truly beautiful property, 
two large irrigating ditches furnishing an ample 
supply of water for all desired purposes. 

JAMES H. MAGOON. 

One of the progressive and public spirited 
citizens of Converse county, Wyoming, Mr. J. H. 
Magoon enjoys the distinction of being the 
first person to locate a homestead in the county 
where he resides. He was born at Lancaster, 
in the province of Ontario, Canada, on April 
14, 1857, the son of Williard and Elizabeth 
(Prentiss) Magoon, the former a native of Ver- 
mont and the latter of Canada. The father re- 
moved in early life from his native state to 
Canada, where he followed the occupation of 
farming until 1867, when he removed to Har- 
risonville, Lewis county, N. Y., where he en- 
gaged in farming and lumbering, and resided 
until his death. He had a family of nine chil- 
dren, James being the eldest son. He grew to 
man's estate in New York, received there his 
early education', being a graduate from the 



124 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



high school of Harrisonville. After having com- 
pleted his education, he engaged in teaching for 
two terms in the schools of Lewis county, and 
then sought his fortune in the West, coming to 
Nebraska, where he engaged in teaching for a 
short time in Hamilton county, then accepted 
a clerkship in a store, where he remained until 
1880. He then came to Cheyenne, Wyo., and 
was employed for a short time as a clerk, but 
soon engaged in business for himself. He soon 
disposed of his mercantile interests, and re- 
moved to Converse county, where he located 
on his present ranch on Young Woman's Creek, 
about twelve miles northwest of Lusk, and en- 
tered upon the business of stockraising. He 
has continued since that time to make this place 
his headquarters, is now the owner of about 
1000 acres of fairly improved land and is gradu- 
ally building up a fine ranch property. For 
eight years he was engaged in cattleraising 
but then changed his stock to horses, rais- 
ing Hambletonian and Gold Dust stock, as 
well as other grades of trotting animals. In 
July, 1882, Mr. Magoon married Miss Etta M. 
Watt, the daughter of Wm. Watt, a highly re- 
spected citizen of Ohio, where she was born. 
Upon the breaking out of war between the 
United States and Spain in 1898, Mr. Magoon 
offered his services to his country and enlisted 
as a member of Troop E, Second U. S. Volun- 
teer Cavalry, Colonel Torry's Rough Riders. 
After being mustered into service in May, 1898, 
the regiment was ordered to Florida, where 
they were held in camp until September, when 
the war being over they were honorably dis- 
charged. During this time he was in charge 
of the culinary department of the troop and 
discharged his responsible duties in a highly 
satisfactory manner. In 1901 he accepted a po- 
sition with the Barron Mercantile Co., of Lusk, 
Wyo., in its mercantile department, and con- 
tinued that occupation until September 21, 1902, 
when the store was sold to H. C. Snyder. Mr. 
Magoon is affiliated with the Woodmen of the 
World and for nine years he has served the 
community in which he resides as a school trus- 
tee, and takes an active interest in all measures 



calculated to improve the condition and pro- 
mote the welfare of the city, county and state 
of his residence, being highly respected by all 
classes of his fellow citizens. 

SAMUEL MARTIN. 

In compiling a work devoted to the repre- 
sentative men of a young and growing state, 
the life records of the early pioneers cannot be 
ignored, for they are the real founders of the 
state, and their names will be ever associated 
with its history. As an instance of the suc- 
cess possible to well directed efforts governed by 
a definite purpose in life, attention is specifically 
called to the career of Samuel Martin. Reach- 
ing the far West when it was a wilderness, in 
man)' ways he has contributed to its development 
and to-day he is well and favorably known 
throughout a wide extent of its territory. He 
was born in Manchester, England, on December 
7, 1839, the son of Ellis and Elizabeth (Parting- 
ton) Martin, descendants of old Welsh families. 
The father was a slater and worked at his trade 
in Wales and England, dying in 1843. and leav- 
ing a widow and seven children, of 'whom Sam- 
uel was next to the youngest. Being thrown 
on his own resources early in life he had scant 
opportunity for the education of schools, but 
by diligent use of what chance he had he made 
rapid progress 'in studies, at the age of seven- 
teen deciding to seek his fortune amid the larger 
opportunities and greater freedom of the United 
States, and in 1856, after a voyage of six weeks 
in a sailing vessel, he reached this country and 
for a_ number of years thereafter was engaged in 
farming in Wisconsin. When the Civil War 
threatened the integrity of the Union he promptly 
enlisted in Co. D, First Wisconsin Cavalry, and 
loyally followed the flag until disability incurred 
in the service caused his discharge in December. 
1863. In the spring of 1864 he sold out in Wis- 
consin and removed to Denver, Colorado, and 
near that city witnessed the first Indian outbreak 
of that year, being on Sand Creek when the 
first whites were massacred and narrowly es- 
caped the fate that overtook so many unfor- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



125 



tu nates. From Denver he went to Central City 
and was there employed by the New York Gun- 
nell Mining Co., at seven dollars and a half per 
day, and worked seventeen months in the mines 
near that place, frequently making by working 
over time a record of fifteen days a week, and 
then entered the employ of Whitney & Whiting 
as a prospector. In this capacity he traversed a 
wide area and located a number of properties 
which proved to be very valuable. On December 
6, 1865, at Burlington, Iowa, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Mary Campbell, of Eng- 
land, who, according to a previous engagement 
between them, came from her native land to 
meet him in the prairie section of the great 
West. During the next two years they lived in 
Denver, Mr. Martin being engaged in contract- 
ing and realizing from his undertakings from 
twenty-five to thirty-five dollars a day. They 
then removed to a point on the Arkansas river 
in Colorado, but owing to the hostility of the 
Indians soon changed to a safer place of res- 
idence in El Paso county in that state, where he 
purchased a ranch, which he operated until 1S71, 
then selling out and removing to Wyoming, but 
not finding the school facilities satisfactory he 
went to Argenta, Montana, and there opened a 
hotel, an unfortunate move which resulted in 
almost total financial ruin in one year. He then 
took up his residence at Cottonwood, Utah, and 
found employment as a teamster at remunerative 
wages. A year and a half later his faithful and 
devoted wife died at the early age of thirty-three 
years, leaving two children, three others having 
previously passed away. The living children 
are Mary A. and Margaret E. ; the others being 
Hattie, Samuel and Ellis B. In 1874 Mr. Mar- 
tin went to Nevada but returned to Utah the 
same autumn, and with his two children removed 
to Montana and there followed freighting until 
the latter part of 1877. He then went to Wash- 
ington and took up a claim in Klickitat county, 
being the first settler to turn the sod in that part 
of the country. While living there, on April 6, 
1883, his daughter, Margaret, died and there, too, 
one month earlier, his other daughter, Mary, was 
united in marriage to Ralph Cousins, of Can- 



ada, who, with his parents, natives of England, 
settled there soon after Mr. Martin. In 1885 
Mr. Martin disposed of his interests in Wash- 
ington and in 1886 returned to Montana and 
passed the winter with a sister living at Arling- 
ton. In 1887 he again came to Wyoming and 
took up a preemption claim of 160 acres on Slate 
Creek, seventeen by six miles east of Opal, in 
Uinta county, where he has since been profitably 
engaged in farming and stockraising. Later he 
took up a homestead of 160 acres and in addition 
to his agricultural pursuits opened a roadhouse 
for the accommodation of the traveling public. 
Recently he sold his stock that he might give 
his- whole attention to farming, in which his suc- 
cess has been very gratifying. He is now con- 
ducting operations in this line of industry on a 
scale of magnitude duly proportioned to his abil- 
ities ; and with his life seasoned by the lessons 
of adversity and the deeper impressions left by 
repeated bereavements, he gives to his fellows 
an example of good citizenship and philosophical 
resignation. 

AUGUSTUS H. MASON. 

Belonging to that public spirited class of men 
identified with the live stock industry, Augustus 
H. Mason, of this review, is entitled to more than 
a passing notice in the list of Laramie county's 
enterprising and representative citizens. His life 
forms an unbroken chain, linking the present 
with the past history of the West, as his career 
has been confined entirely to the two states of 
Wyoming and Colorado. His parents, Augustus 
and Lottie (Beebe) Mason, were natives of Mon- 
treal, Canada, and of New York. For a number 
of years the father was employed on the Erie 
Canal, but in 1866 moved to Colorado and pur- 
chasing land one mile from Fort Collins eng-aged 
in farming, making his home in that part of the 
country until 1892, when he came to Wyoming, 
locating on a ranch in the Platte Valley which 
he had previously entered, and about 1866 he 
had begun dealing in cattle, carrying on the 
business in different places until 1894, when he 
moved to Nebraska, where he lived until the 



126 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



death of his wife in 1896, thereafter coming to 
Wyoming, and until his death on April 8, 1901, 
he lived with his son, Augustus. Augustus H. 
Mason was born on January 26, 1873, at Fort 
Collins, Colo., and until his seventeenth year 
lived on the parental farm, attending the schools 
of Fort Collins winters, during the rest of the 
year assisting his father, growing strong and 
rugged and early developing the spirit of inde- 
pendence and self-reliance by which his subse- 
quent life has been characterized. The habit of 
relying on himself was strikingly displayed in 
his seventeenth year, when he left home and 
started out in quest of his own fortune, going 
to Running Water, Wyoming, where he rpde the 
range for one summer. Returning to Fort Col- 
lins in the fall he spent the winter at home help- 
ing his father, but in the spring he again took 
to the ■ range, devoting the greater part of the 
next year to cattle driving in Colorado. In 1891 
he came to Laramie county, Wyo., and settled 
on a place his father had previously taken up, 
and for two years thereafter was engaged in 
cattleraising upon his own responsibility. In 
July, 1893, Mr. Mason bought a stage line with 
headquarters at Alliance, Neb., and for nearly a 
year thereafter gave his exclusive attention to 
its operation. In the spring of 1894 he pur- 
chased a livery barn in the town of Gering, 
Neb., and carried on a livery business in con- 
nection with staging until early in 1896 when 
he disposed of his Nebraska interests and, re- 
turning to Wyoming, took up the ranch in Lar- 
amie countv, two miles east of Torrington, which 
he lias since owned and operated. Meanwhile 
he lived on a ranch a short distance west of Tor- 
rington, which he also owns, continuing to re- 
side there until the fall of 1900 when he changed 
his residence to the former place which he still 
makes his home. This fine estate consists of 
560 acres of fine grazing land, lies in a beautiful 
valley and by a successful system of irrigation the 
fertility of the soil has been greatly enhanced 
and its productiveness increased. He devoted 
considerable attention to hay, from the sale of 
which ho small part of his income is derived, but 
his principal business is raising horses, in which 



he has met with most gratifying success. He is 
also engaged in the cattle industry, but not upon 
an extensive scale, although he has some fine 
herds to which additions are being made from 
time to time. Mr. Mason is up-to-date in all 
that he undertakes, conducting his affairs upon 
strictly business principles, and by close appli- 
cation and good management he has accumulated 
a handsome competence. He has made his home 
beautiful and attractive, has provided liberally 
for his family and spared no reasonable ex- 
pense in surrounding those dependent upon him 
with the comforts and luxuries of life. Like 
most western men he takes broad views of 
things and there is nothing little or narrow in 
his make-up. A self-made man in the true sense 
of the term, he appreciates the difficulties and 
trials which beset the beginner, and is ever ready 
to encourage such with his advice, and in a more 
substantial way should necessity require it. Lib- 
eral in his ideas and generous with his means for 
the encouragement of laudable enterprises, he 
has won an enviable position in the community, 
and his personal popularity is only circumscribed 
by the bounds beyond which his name is not 
known. Mr. Mason is a married man and has an 
interesting family of three children, namely: Eva 
I., Edith I. and Florence B. The mother of these 
children before her marriage at Alliance. Neb., 
on January 5, 1897, was a Miss Gertrude A. 
Walsh, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of 
Thomas and Kate Walsh, both of whom were 
born in Ireland, and are now living on a farm in 
Scott's Bluff countv, Neb. Fraternally. Mr. 
Mason is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen 
of America, belonging to the camp at Gering, 
Neb. It is a fact worthy of mention that his 
mother was die second white woman to locate 
within the present boundaries of Laramie county, 
Colo., the family moving there before the coun- 
try had been explored or surveyed, the only in- 
habitants being Indians and a few scattering 
miners. His father was the first man to drive 
a team from Fort Collins to Cheyenne. He was 
obliged to find his way over a wild country which 
few white men had previously seen to haul lum- 
ber for the construction of Fort Russell. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



127 



JAMES M. MAY. 

A pioneer ranchman and one of the leading- 
stockmen of his section of Albany county, is 
the subject of this sketch, James M. May, whose 
address is Hatton, Wyoming. He was born 
in Virginia in 1852, and is the son of Valentine 
and Elizabeth (Earbeck) May, natives of Ger- 
many. His father emigrated from the Father- 
land during his early life and settled in Virginia, 
where he followed farming and continued in 
that pursuit in Virginia and Iowa up to the 
time of his decease, which occurred in 1878. 
The mother was a woman of remarkable 
strength of character, and the mother of eleven 
children. She passed away in 1893. James 
M. May grew to man's estate in Iowa and re- 
ceived his early education in the public schools. 
When he arrived at the age of twenty-one years 
he determined to seek his fortune in the new 
country of the far West, and leaving Iowa he 
came to Laramie City, Wyo., and secured em- 
ployment as a rider on the range, that he might 
acquire a practical knowledge of the cattle busi- 
ness, in which he intended to engage as soon 
as circumstances would permit. He remained 
in this employment for a period of about three 
years, and then purchased a ranch on Little 
Laramie River, Wyo., and entered upon the 
business which he had had in mind since first 
coming to the territory. For twenty-five years 
he has continued in ranching and cattleraising 
at his original place on Little Laramie River, 
and has met with conspicuous success in his 
undertakings. Starting in a small way, with 
little land and a few head of stock cattle, he 
is now the owner of a fine ranch, comprising 
over 3,500 acres of land, well fenced and im- 
proved, with the necessary buildings and appli- 
ances for the carrying on of a large stockgrowing 
industry. He is also the owner of a large band 
of cattle, and is counted as one of the solid 
business men and substantial property owners 
of his section of the state. His success is due 
to his own efforts and to his industry, per- 
severance and excellent judgment. In 1879 Mr. 
May was united in marriage with Miss Fannie 



Marble, a native of Wisconsin, the daughter 
of John and Elvira (King) Marble, highly re- 
spected citizens of her native state. Her father 
was a native of New York who removed from 
that state in early life to Wisconsin, where he 
remained for a number of years and then re- 
moved to Iowa. In a short time thereafter he 
disposed of his Iowa property and came td 
Wyoming, where he established his home on 
the Little Laramie River, and entered upon 
the business of ranching and stockraising and 
is still residing there at an advanced age, hav- 
ing been born in 1829. Her mother is also a 
native of the Empire State, her birth occurring 
in 1837, and she is still living. Four children 
have come to bless the home life of Mr. and 
Mrs. May : Maud, Claude, Ralph and Lloyd, all 
of whom are living. The family is held in high 
esteem by all who know them and the home 
is noted for its genial and gracious hospitality. 

ALBERT R. MELLOY. 

Among the enterprising men who have 
taken up their residence in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, and exerted influence on the com- 
munity, especially in connection with the live- 
stock industry, is Albert R. Melloy, whose in- 
dividuality of character, strong physical and 
mental powers and progressive ideas have made 
his name familiar in his section of the state. 
Few men have had a more active career and 
perhaps no one in this part of the country has 
traveled more extensively or profited as much 
by his observations as did Mr. Melloy before 
his settlement on the place he now occupies. 
He was born in Perry county, Ohio, on Feb- 
ruary 29, i860. His father was Richard Melloy, 
a native of Ireland who a number of years ago 
came to Perry county where he married Martha 
Dolan, a native of Ohio. Later he migrated to 
Illinois where he followed agricultural pursuits 
for some years, moving thence to Lincoln, 
Neb., near which city he also engaged in farm- 
ing. His wife died at Kickapoo, 111., in 1865 
and. he departed this life in 1894 at his home 
in Nebraska. Albert R. Melloy was young 



128 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



when his parents left Ohio and his early youth 
was passed in Marshall county, 111. The public 
school contributed to his educational discipline 
and until twenty years of age he lived at home 
as his father's capable and faithful assistant on 
the farm. About 1880 he left the parental roof 
and began working for himself at Lincoln, 
Neb., as hod carrier, but did not remain long 
at that place or this employment, leaving the 
city after a few months to take a position on 
a railroad. After spending several months in 
this occupation on a road in eastern Nebraska, 
he was in the employ of the Missouri River 
Railroad for about four months when he re- 
turned to Nebraska and engaged for about two 
years in farming near the state capital, thence 
removing to Grand Island where he spent the 
following summer variously employed. Dur- 
ing the two ensuing years he farmed in Fillmore 
county, Neb., in 1885 returning to Lincoln, 
where he remained until the spring of 1886 
when he went to western Nebraska and entered 
the employ of a ranchman near the town of 
Tabor, where he remained until the spring of 
1887, from that place coming to Wyoming and 
for some months worked on an irrigating ditch. 
After this labor he engaged with the P. F. Cat- 
tle Co. to work as a ranch hand on the Platte, 
in which capacity he continued until the fall of 
the above year when he resigned his position 
and returned to Nebraska, spending the ensuing 
winter at Tabor. The next spring he resumed 
his relations with the P. F. Co. from which time 
until the fall of 1888 he was employed on several 
ranches and became thoroughly experienced in 
the details of the livestock business. The win- 
ter of 1888 and 1889 ne spent in visiting rela- 
tives and friends in Lincoln and Fillmore 
counties, Neb., in the spring returning to Wyo- 
ming and subsequently changing his location 
to Colorado where for two years he was en- 
gaged in mining. From Colorado Mr. Melloy 
in 1891 went to Big Creek, Idaho, but that 
place he soon left and made his way to Butte, 
Mont., where he followed mining for a limited 
period, thence going to Salt Lake City, Utah, 
and from there, in a very short time, going to 



Eureka, Utah, where he followed mining with 
fair results until the fall of 1892 when he re- 
turned to Wyoming and took up his present 
ranch on the Platte River, twelve miles east 
of Fort Laramie. Mr. Melloy did not at once 
move to his place but shortly after locating it 
again entered the employ of the P. F. Co. for 
the greater part of 1893 and 1894, in the mean- 
while devoting his leisure to the improve- 
ment of his ranch. In the fall of 1895 
he went to Southern Utah and there resumed 
mining, but one year later he fully abandoned 
that business to devote all of his time and ener- 
gies exclusively to his ranch. Since then 
he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits 
and cattleraising, giving special attention to 
hay, for which his place is peculiarly adapted, 
but conducting general farming quite exten- 
sively, having 240 acres under successful culti- 
vation, the returns giving a handsome income. 
From the sale of hay he also realizes large re- 
turns while his live stock interests have grown 
in magnitude until he is now classed with the 
leading cattle men of his district. Mr. Melloy 
is -certainly a man of enterprise as the splendid 
condition of his ranch attests after the short 
time he has spent on its improvement. It is 
one of the most beautiful, as well as one of the 
most valuable places of its area in the county 
of Laramie, no pains having been spared to 
make it attractive and profitable. The life of 
Mr. Melloy has been full of activity, crowded 
with interesting experiences, and he has always 
borne himself in a manly way, and doing all 
within his power to promote his own interests, 
but never conflicting with those of others. In 
his community no man is held in higher per- 
sonal esteem, and by his upright and manly 
course of conduct he has shown himself worthy 
the respect with which he is regarded. He is 
decidedly western in his tastes and inclinations 
and a notable example of the intelligent and 
progressive class to which he belongs. At 
Boulder, Colo., on June 21, 1890, Mr. Melloy 
and Alice, daughter of William and Mary 
(Case) Gillispie. were joined in marriage. Mrs. 
Mellov was born in Iowa, her father and mother 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



129 



being natives of Virginia and Ohio. She has 
presented her husband with two children, 
Martha and Jessie. Mr. and Mrs. Melloy sub- 
scribe to the Catholic creed and were born and 
reared in the mother church. 

JAMES R. MOORE. 

A successful business man and property own- 
er of the city of Laramie, Wyoming, and a 
progressive and popular citizen, is James R. 
Moore, the subject of this review. He was born 
in 1845, ni Indiana, the son of James P. and 
Sarah (Worthington) ' Moore, the former a na- 
tive of Ohio, and the latter of England. The 
father followed the occupation of farming in 
Morgan county, Ohio, where he was born in 
1822, and removed to White county, Indiana, in 
1843, continuing to be a farmer until his death 
in 1888. He was the son of James P. and Mary 
Ann (Brown) Moore, and was a steadfast and 
loyal Whig", and afterward a pioneer of the Re- 
publican party. His father, the grandsire of J. 
R. Moore, was a native of Massachusetts, who 
emigrated in early days to Ohio, and there fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming up to the time 
of his death in 1862. The grandmother, Mary 
Ann (Brown) Moore, was a native of Ireland 
and came from her native country to Massa- 
chusetts when a small child with her parents. 
Subsequently she made her home in Ohio, where 
she married and passed the remainder of her 
life, passing away in 1873 at tne a S e °^ seventy- 
three years. The mother of Mr. Moore was a 
daughter of Richard and Mary (Cook) Worth- 
ington, both natives of England. She came from 
her native country with her parents when she 
was one year old and they established their home 
in White county, Indiana. Here she was mar- 
ried to James T. Moore in 1844. H er father, 
Richard Worthington, passed away in Indiana, 
in 1866, at the age of seventy-five years, and 
her mother in 1867 at the age of sixty- three. 
James R. Moore grew to manhood in Indiana, 
and received his early education in the public 
schools of White county. In 1863 he' left school 
and enlisted as a private soldier in Co. F, One 



Hundred and Twenty-eighth Indiana regiment, 
and served during the remainder of the war, be- 
ing mustered out in 1866 as a non-commissioned 
officer. During his term of military service he 
participated in not less than sixteen battles, but 
was fortunate enough to escape without serious 
injury. At the end of the war he engaged in 
farming in Indiana, where he remained until 
1881, when he disposed of his property in that 
state and removed his residence to Kansas, where 
he resided conducting the same occupation for 
five years, in 1886 removing to Nebraska. He 
continued here in the same business until 1892, 
when he disposed of his farm and with his fam- 
ily came to Laramie. Here he engaged in ranch- 
ing and stockraising, and also in burning lime, 
operating large kilns situated about one and 
one-half miles east of the city. He is still suc- 
cessfully engaged in these various lines of in- 
dustry and has established himself as one of the 
prosperous and progressive business men of that 
section of the state. By his industry, enterprise, 
and good business management he has built up 
a large and profitable business in the different 
lines which have occupied his attention and he 
is now counted as one of the substantial prop- 
erty owners of that vicinity. In 1872 he was 
united in marriage in his native state of Indiana, 
with Miss Mary E. Holdstock, a native, of that 
state and a daughter of Ephraim and Ann (Fish- 
beck) Holdstock, well-known and respected res- 
idents of Indiana. Mrs. Moore's father was 
born in Elmira, N. Y., in 1825. He was a me- 
chanic and removed from New York in early 
life to Michigan and subsequently established 
his home in Fulton county, Indiana, where he 
passed away in 1851. He was the son of James 
P. and Margaret (Meadest) Holdstock, natives 
of England, who had emigrated to the United 
States in 1824, later removing to Indiana, where 
he died in 1859, at tne a §* e °* sixty-nine years. 
Margaret (Meadest) Holdstock died in 1866 in 
Indiana, both her parents are buried in the 
family cemetery in the old homestead. James 
P. Holdstock was the son of John P. and Sarah 
(Saxton) Holdstock, natives of England. The 
mother of Mrs. Moore, whose maiden name was 



13° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Ann Fishbeck, was a native of Huron county, 
Ohio, where she was born in 1821. Removing 
in early life to Fulton county, Indiana, she was 
there married in 1844 to Ephraim Holdstock, 
being the daughter of Freeman and Mary (Jack- 
son) Fishbeck, respected oldtime residents of 
Indiana, and she is now living at the advanced 
age of eighty-one years. Freeman Fishbeck was 
the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Freeman) Fish- 
beck, the former of German and the latter of 
English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have two 
children, William E. and Mary E. The latter 
is a young woman of charming traits of char- 
acter and is justly popular in the refined social 
circles of Laramie City. The family are among 
the most highly respected in the city of their res- 
idence. The son, William E., is a stockgrower 
and ranchman, owning and operating a ranch on 
the Pioneer ditch. He is a young man of excel- 
lent character and principle and is respected 
by all. 

HON. WESLEY P. CARROLL. 

With the martial spirit of his Irish ances- 
try burning high in his veins, with unquailing 
courage and unyielding force of character, with 
a power of logic and forensic utterance that car- 
ries all -before it, and with literary and poetic 
graces of speech that enable him to twine the 
club of Hercules with the flowers of rhetoric, 
Hon. Wesley P. Carroll of Cheyenne is a very 
accomplished and has been a very useful man. 
From his early youth he has been deeply and in- 
telligently interested. in the welfare of his coun- 
try and, wherever he has cast his lot in its broad 
expanse, he has labored to promote that wel- 
fare and stimulate to more intense and produc- 
tive activity all its educational, moral, literary 
and civic forces. He is a native of Vermont, 
born near West Burke in that sturdy old state. 
When he was six months old his parents moved 
to Lynn, Mass., and after a residence of seven 
years in that city returned to their Vermont 
home. Mr. Carroll was an invalid in childhood 
and boyhood and was therefore able to get but 
little education at the schools ; but his mind was 



insatiable and by diligence and good judgment 
in reading he made up the deficiency, and so 
completely that at the age of twelve his knowledge 
of history enabled him to talk politics intelli- 
gently with any man in his count)-. When he 
was but eleven years old his mother died, and 
circumstances soon after compelled him to go 
out into the world and fight the battle of life 
for himself. His ancestry is said to include close 
kinship with Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the 
last surviving signer of the Declaration of In- 
dependence, but the Judge has never investigated 
this claim, being firmly convinced that a man 
should be valued for his own merit rather than 
for that of his relations. In July, 1861, when but 
fourteen years of age, he joined the Third Ver- 
mont Infantry and served with this regiment two 
years and was then honorably discharged on ac- 
count of disabilities incurred in the service. As 
soon as he recovered his health in some measure 
he enlisted a second time, becoming color-bearer 
of the Third Vermont Battery of Light Artillery, 
and with this battery he served to the end of the 
war. His command was a part of the Army of 
the Potomac, and he was conspicuous and active 
in all the campaigns of that great fighting organ- 
ization from the time he entered the field to the 
final triumph at Appomattox. He took part in 
thirty-two hard-fought battles and. including 
sieges, was under fire 343 days during the war. 
While in the infantry after his first enlistment, 
he was one of the 200 men who made the des- 
perate charge across the Warwick River at the 
siege of Yorktown. Of this gallant band only 
forty-five came out of the charge, of which com- 
petent military critics asserted that it was the 
nearest approach to Thermopylae that occurred 
in the Civil War. At the battle of Reams Station 
be ordered the countermarch of thirty pieces of 
light artillery on his own responsibility, getting 
them oft* the field just in time to save them from 
capture by the Confederates, there being no in- 
fantry available to support the guns. At the 
second battle of Peeble's Farm he was the first 
to discover the approach of a dense mass of 
Confederates charging down on the Union lines 
without any previous alarm having been given. 






A^i^r 



<~^f_ 



132 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



silions in his city besides being a leading worker 
in the Wesleyan Methodist church. After at- 
taining a comfortable competency, from 1848 he 
lived a life of honorable retirement, being an 
earnest Christian and a zealous advocate of tem- 
perance, living closely to his ideals of manhood. 
It is said that he never used tobacco in any form 
and never tasted intoxicating liquor from early 
boyhood having been free from all habits tending 
to pollute the body or dull the intellect. John 
Mellor, the father of Robert, was a designer and 
blockcutter, and in addition to his regular vo- 
cation he was identified with the commercial in- 
terests of his town as a grocer and was success- 
ful in the sense in which the term is usually un- 
derstood. The Mellors have long been known as 
deeply religious people, the ancestors for many 
generations having been noted for their piety. 
John Mellor was one of the leading Non-con- 
formists of his native city and for twenty-five 
years he was the superintendent of the Sunday- 
school of the Wesleyan church to which 
he ever belonged. Possessing many virtues he 
lived to a ripe old age, accomplishing nearly 
ninety-three years of life. Mary Higginson, 
wife of Robert C. Mellor, was born in the city 
of St. Helens, Lancashire, and bore her husband 
six children, William H. being the eldest. She 
was the daughter of William Higginson, a pros- 
perous dealer in books, stationery and gro- 
ceries, and died in 1862, honored and respected 
by all. William H. Mellor received his early ed- 
ucational training in Paradise iVcademy, Black- 
burn, Lancashire, England, and when a youth 
accepted a clerkship in the office of an attorney 
in his native town. Later he was similarly em- 
ployed in the office of the Blackburn Cotton Man- 
ufacturing Co., where he continued until his 
twenty-fourth year, meanwhile remaining under 
the parental roof. In 1856 he came to the 
United States landing on November 1 in the 
city of New York, where he worked in a gro- 
cery house until April, 1857, when he gave up 
his position to learn the trade of boilermaking. 
Entering a shop in Paterson, N. J., he devoted 
liis energies unreservedly to the end in view, and 
became a skillful workman. Some years later 



he left Paterson and went to Kewanee, 111., 
where he found employment in a sash-and-door 
factory, but after a short time engaged in coal 
mining. After remaining in Kewanee until 1862 
he changed his abode to Macon county, Mo., in 
the same year returning to Illinois to resume 
work in the mines for the winter, thereafter re- 
visiting his friends in Missouri, thence in 1864 
making a trip to his native country, where he 
remained until the spring of 1865. After revis- 
iting the scenes of his youth and renewing old 
•acquaintances, he came back to the Lmited States, 
landing in New York two days after the asssas- 
sination of President Lincoln. During the en- 
suing three years he lived in Macon, Mo., then 
locating at Point of Rocks, as an employe of the 
Wyoming Coal and Mining Co., and was in 
charge of the company's store at the above place 
until January, 1870, when he came to the site 
of Rock Springs and erected the first building 
in what is now one of the most thriving and pros- 
perous of Wyoming's mining cities. The Wyo- 
ming Coal and Mining Co. having large interests 
here, the management opened a general store 
and supply house of which Mr. Mellor took 
charge, in addition to the superintendency of the 
recently opened mines. He soon was compelled 
to devote his entire time and attention to the 
mining interests, which grew in magnitude and 
importance with each occurring year. Mean- 
while the town grew apace and the influx of 
population became such that the term city could 
be very appropriately applied, and it is now one 
of the leading mining centers of the state, and 
one of the most beautiful and thriving, as well 
as romantically situated cities to be found in all 
of the Rocky Mountain region. Mr. Mellor was 
the superintendent for fifteen years, during which 
time he did more than any other man in this 
section to develop the rich mineral resources of 
the county. He ably and successfully managed 
the mines of the company, and demonstrated 
abilities which placed him among the leading- 
mining experts of the West. Resigning the su- 
perintendency in 1886 he went into a lucrative 
cattle business until 1894. when he retired from 
active life. On June 21. i$?y, in Xew York City, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



133 



Mr. Mellor and Miss Elizabeth Scott were joined 
in holy wedlock. Mrs. Mellor is a native of 
Cumberland count}', England, the daughter 
of George and Mary (Hall) Scott, the father 
for many years being the head of a large shoe 
business. Six children have been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Mellor, Frederick, who died in Jan- 
uary, 1862, aged two years; Ann E. ; Edward; 
Charles ; Lula ; Elizabeth. Mr. Mellor is a stanch 
supporter of the Republican party and has been 
elected to official positions involving responsibil- 
ity and trust. In 1896 he was made justice of 
the peace and three years later the office of as- 
sessor was thrust upon him by his fellow citizens. 
He discharged the duties of both position^ in an 
able and satisfactory manner, proving him- 
self worthy of the confidence with which 
he was honored. In 1900 he was also made 
an active member of the board of U. S. cen- 
sus-takers, and then won the praise of those 
under whom he acted. Fraternally he holds 
membership with the Pythian Lodge of Rock- 
Springs and has labored earnestly and con- 
scientiously for its upbuilding. No one who 
knows Mr. Mellor will question his unsullied in- 
tegrity, his devotion to principle or his loyalty 
to the interest of his fellow men. As a citizen 
he has performed a good part and to-day en- 
joys the well-earned fruits of many years of 
honorable efforts in various lines of activity. He 
has seen grow up around his first humble dom- 
icile amid the mountain fastness, a city of no mean 
proportions, with every interest of which he has 
been identified. To the growth and development 
of this thriving city he has contributed with, a 
free hand and clear brain, and much of its pres- 
ent prosperity is directly attributable to his pains- 
taking efforts. All who come within the range 
of his influence speak in the highest terms of 
his many estimable traits of character, being al- 
ways foremost in advocating moral reforms and 
public improvements, making all personal and 
private interests subordinate to the public good. 
In a very important sense he is the father of 
Rock Springs, as well as one of its most worthy 
citizens. No person in the state stands higher 
in the esteem of the people. 



STEPHEN A. MILLS. 

A somewhat unusual circumstance in the 
nativity of an American citizen occurred at the 
birth of Stephen A. Mills, the well-known mer- 
chant of Diamondville, Wyoming, who, al- 
though of American parentage, was born in 
the city of Paris, France, on December 17, 
1859, a son °f Stephen T. and Mary (Gamier) 
Mills, the latter being a member of one of the 
most prominent families of that gay capital. 
Wickham Mills, the paternal grandfather of 
Stephen A. Mills, was a conspicuous citizen of 
New York and in an early day he was identified 
with the steamboat navigation of the Hudson 
River in conjunction with Commodore Cor- 
nelius Yanderbilt, the founder of the great 
Vanderbilt railroad system. Wickham Mills, a 
native of New York, was a descendant of the 
renowned Hudson family of Colonial days, 
which descended from Hendrick Hudson, the 
famous discoverer of the Hudson River. Many 
members of this family were conspicuous patri- 
ots of the war for American independence. The 
Wickham Mills above alluded to was accidently 
killed on a steamboat of which Commodore 
Yanderbilt was the pilot, his remains being in- 
terred on Staten Island. Stephen T. Mills, the 
father of Stephen A. Mills, was a native of- 
Staten Island, N. Y., and as an inventor was 
associated with the renowned Goodyear in his 
successful experiments in connection with rub- 
ber and being also quite noted as a public man, 
especially as an U. S. consul in France, where 
he was living when his son, Stephen A. Mills, 
was born. In 1861 he returned to the United 
States, and from that time was in rapidly fail- 
ing health until his death in 1864 at the age 
of thirty-six years, his remains also being in- 
terred on Staten Island. Mrs. Mary A. (Gar- 
nier) Mills survives her husband, resides in 
New York and enjoys an enviable reputation, 
being dearly beloved by her children and by 
all her acquaintances. She is the mother of 
three surviving and two deceased children, all 
of whom were reared in the faith of the Episco- 
pal church. Stephen A. Mills, the eldest of 



134 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



these children, was educated in the public 
schools of New York, began business life as 
a machinist and at the age of nineteen years 
he had traveled nearly all over the United States 
and Canada, later passing two years in Omaha, 
Neb., and coming to Wyoming in 1898. Pre- 
viously, however he had lived in Bear Lake 
county, Idaho, where he held several public of- 
fices and enjoyed the confidence of his consti- 
tuents, whom he served as an assessor and col- 
lector, etc., for four years, having been a busi- 
ness man and merchant since 1878, in 1880 be- 
coming a farmer and entering 320 acres of land 
close to Cokeville, Wyo., which he still owns. 
Mr. Mills is a Democrat in politics and in 1890 
was nominated by his party as its candidate for 
state senator but was defeated by a trifling ma- 
jority. In Masonic circles he is known as a 
Knight Templar, a Scottish Rite Mason and a 
noble of the Mystic Shrine. He also holds fra- 
ternal relations with the Knights of Pythias at 
Montpelier, Idaho. Mr. Mills has been engaged 
in conducting a general store in Diamondville for 
years and has won an enviable reputation as an 
upright and honorable merchant. His happy mar- 
riage was celebrated in Evanston, Wyo., on 
December 15, 1878, when Miss Annie Bisbing 
became his wife. She is a daughter of Emanuel 
S. and Mary E. (Wackerly) Bisbing, natives of 
Philadelphia, Pa., and of Colonial stock who 
came to Evanston when the Wyoming territory 
was first settled. They have one child, Stephen 
Claude, who is studying electricity at a col- 
lege in California. 

CHARLES A. MORRISON. 

The attraction of ranch life in Wyoming 
over professional pursuits has a striking illus- 
tration in Dr. Charles A. Morrison, now one 
of the successful stockmen of Wheatland. Edu- 
cated as a physician and engaging in medical 
practice for several years with a success that 
gave promise of a brilliant future, he turned 
aside from a professional life for the freer ex- 
istence offered to him in the fascinating busi- 
ness of ranching and stockgrowing. In these 



industries he has met with satisfactory success 
and is one of the most progressive and enter- 
prising of the younger business men of the 
state. A native of Morgan county, Ohio, he 
was born on September 5, 1865, a son of Alex- 
ander and Sarah (Brokaw) Morrison, the for- 
mer a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and the lat- 
ter of Pennsylvania. His father was an Ohio 
farmer, settling in Morgan county in the early 
sixties. In the latter days of his life his health 
became seriously impaired, and retiring from 
active business, he removed to Eastern Ten- 
nessee, hoping that the climate of that moun- 
tain region might be beneficial to him. In this 
however he was disappointed, and he died near 
Knoxville, Tenn., in 1878, and was buried in 
that city. His wife, the mother of Dr. Morri- 
son, survived her husband until February 26, 
1900, when she, too, passed from earth and 
awaits the resurrection at Mount Pleasant, 
Iowa. Dr. Charles H. Morrison passed his 
childhood in Ohio, receiving his early educa- 
tion in the schools of Morgan county. In 1878, 
after the death of his father, he made his home 
with an uncle, George Brokaw, who was a resi- 
dent of Iowa. In 1879 he went to reside with 
Dr. Scofield, at Washington, Iowa, and pursued 
the study of medicine and surgery under his di- 
rection for four years, in 1884 matriculating 
at the Iowa State Medical College of Iowa City 
and studying there for one year. In 1885, desir- 
ing to put to practical use the medical education 
and training - he had received, he accepted a po- 
sition in the Iowa State Hospital, located at 
Mount Pleasant, and was one of the attending 
physicians of that institution for three years, 
when he resigned his position to accept a more 
advantageous one in the Nebraska State Hospi- 
tal, at Lincoln. He remained at that institu- 
tion for two years, meeting with marked suc- 
cess in his professional duties. In August, 
1890, he became connected with the Wyoming 
State Hospital, at Evanston. Here for about 
two and one-half years he filled the position of 
steward, making a highly creditable record. In 
the spring of 1893 he returned to Lincoln, 
Neb., and again became a member of the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



135 



medical staff of the state hospital, continuing 
to be connected therewith for about three years, 
discharging the duties of general night super- 
visor during the greater portion of that time. 
In the spring of 1896 he resigned this position, 
and going to the city of Chicago, he entered as 
a student at the Independent Medical College, 
remaining there until the spring of 1898, when, 
after his graduation from that creditable school, 
he returned to Wyoming' and established him- 
self as a physician and surgeon at Wheatland, 
there following' his profession for about two 
years with marked success. He soon became 
interested in the livestock business, and became 
the owner of a fine ranch on the Laramie River, 
the same property he now occupies, and en- 
gaged in raising cattle and horses. This ven- 
ture proved a very remunerative one and the 
independent nature of the occupation became 
so attractive as to induce the Doctor to prac- 
tically retire from his profession and give his 
time and attention to the management of his 
ranch and stock interests. On May 24, 1900, 
Dr. Morrison wedded Miss Mary E. Nolan, a 
native of North Dakota and the daughter of 
James and Mary E. (Openshaw) Nolan, the for- 
mer a native of Ireland, and the latter of Eng- 
land. They emigrated from Great Britain to 
Pennsylvania many years ago, and from that 
state removed to the then territory of Dakota 
in 1874, remaining there until 1882, when they 
removed to. the frontier territory of Wyoming, 
where they established a home at their present 
residence on Rawhide Creek, about twelve miles 
from the Platte River, where they have since 
been successfully engaged in stockraising. Dr. 
Morrison is affiliated with the order of Woodmen 
of the World, being a member of the lodge at 
Wheatland, and he takes an active interest in 
all matters connected with the worthy and char- 
itable work of that order. The genial doctor 
is identified with the Republican political party, 
and is earnest and loyal in his support of the 
principles and candidates of that organization, 
but he neither seeks nor desires political prefer- 
ment, his time and attention being taken up 
with the . management of his business affairs. 



He is one of the rising men of his state, is 
rapidly building up a fortune and enjoys the 
regard and ■ esteem of all who have been as- 
sociated with him, either in professional or 
business relations. 

JUDGE JUDD MOTT. 

Among the prominent men of Sweetwater 
county whose achievements have done much to 
bring this part of the state to the front, the name 
of Judge Judd Mott is worthy of notice. The 
lives of some men shine as grand examples of 
prosperity and success achieved through various 
channels of industry ; others rise to prominence 
by reason of research in the realms of science ; 
while many find in the domain of politics and 
official position the sure and certain pathway to 
success. In reviewing the life of Judge Mott it 
seems peculiarly appropriate to number him with 
the latter class, for his career since locating in 
the West has been an active one, yet he is not 
a man who seeks to blazon his deeds for personal 
gratifications or from motives of ambition to per- 
form some act that would mark him as a central 
figure. On the contrary he has devoted his time 
and talents largely to the public good, and seems 
to lose sight of self in his efforts to promote the 
general welfare of the city and county of which 
he is an honored resident. He is a splendid ex- 
ample of New England manhood. Born and 
reared in the grand old Green Mountain state 
he grew to maturity under the fostering care 
of sturdy God-fearing parents, and appears to 
have inherited many of the sterling qualities of 
bead and heart for which the people of that sec- 
tion of New England have long been noted. 
Edward Mott, the father of the Judge, was born 
in Vermont in 1838 and became a man of prom- 
inence in his state. He was a leading politician 
and represented Grand Isle county two terms in 
the general assembly of the state. He was also 
sheriff of the county and continued a forceful 
factor in local and state affairs until 1873, when 
he moved to Missouri where he now. lives. By 
occupation he is a farmer and as such has ac- 
quired an ample competence. In his youth he 



136 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



enjoyed exceptional educational advantages, and 
became scholarly and erudite. He possesses vig- 
orous mentality and extensive culture, being 
equally conversant with the English. French and 
German languages. A natural leader of men 
he has made his presence felt among all classes 
and conditions of people with whom he has 
mingled. Judge Mott's paternal grandfather was 
Joseph Mott, a native of Vermont and the son 
of a German emigrant, who came to the United 
States in an early day and purchased a large 
tract of land on the shore of Lake Champlain. 
Joseph Mott became one of the wealthy farmers 
of that part of the state, and one of its leading 
men of affairs. He was an active Whig pol- 
itician, and always took a livery interest in po- 
litical and public questions. Mrs. Mary (But- 
ler) Mott, the wife of Edward Mott and mother 
of the Judge, was also a native of Vermont, born 
in 1841, a daughter of Doctor Butler, a most 
distinguished physician who skillfully prac- 
ticed his profession for many years in the town 
of Bedford. The Doctor's family consisted of 
two daughters and eleven sons, and it is a mat- 
ter worthy of note that the latter all grew to 
manhood and became noted lawyers, a fact per- 
haps unparalleled in the history of this country. 
Mrs. Mott is a lady of education and culture, 
and before her marriage was a successful and 
popular teacher in her native state. She is a de- 
voted member of the Episcopal church, her hus- 
band being a Catholic. Judge Mott was born 
in 1863, and attained manhood on his father's 
farm, with the rugged duties of which he early 
became familiar. When about ten years old he 
accompanied his parents to northern Missouri, 
and after completing the common school course 
entered the State Normal School at Kirksville, 
where he prosecuted the higher branches of 
learning for several years, receiving an excellent 
education. Leaving school he went to Logan 
county, Colo., and engaged in shecpraising, which 
he continued until 1890 when he disposed of his 
stock and came to Wyoming, locating at Chev- 
enne. Three years later he went to Laramie 
for one year, then changed his abode to Rock 
Springs, with the interests of which place he 



has since been identified. In 1898 Mr. Mott 
was elected to the office of police judge, a po 
sition he has filled to the present time, discharg- 
ing its duties in an able manner, creditable to 
himself and satisfactory to the people. In pol- 
itics he indorses the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party and to a considerable extent has been 
one of its leaders in Sweetwater count}'. He 
now gives his time exclusively to his office, and 
in meting out justice to offenders he has been 
impartial, but fearless, proving a judicious con- 
servator of good order and a power for good in 
holding in check the lawless element. Fidelity 
is one of his chief characteristics, manifested in 
his devotion to family and friends and in the 
faithful discharge of every known duty, and this 
has won for him the warm regard and high es- 
teem of his fellowmen. Mr. Mott was united 
in marriage on November 23, 1898, with Miss 
Mary Bellew, of Louisiana, a daughter of James 
Bellew, a native of West Virginia. 

CHARLES A. MOYER. 

Having just reached the noon of life, with 
all his faculties in full vigor, his hopes still 
aspiring, his worldly state well established and 
his place in the regard and confidence of his 
fellowmen secure, Charles A. Mover of Crook 
county, not far from Gillette, may confidently 
look forward to many years of usefulness and 
prosperity in the state of his adoption, in which 
he has passed a third of his useful life. His 
native heath is Mercer county. Pa., where he 
was born on September 3, 1852, and where his 
parents, Levi and Elvina (Diefenderfer) Mover, 
lived and prospered, as farmers do in that fa- 
vored section, grew old and died in the fullness 
of years, the mother in 1897 and the father in 
1 901. Charles A. Mover was educated in the 
schools of his native county and remained at 
home until he was twenty-one years of age, 
giving a portion of his spare time to the dili- 
gent study of telegraphy, and afterwards prac- 
ticed the art in Pennsylvania for two or three 
years, in 1876 going to Long Island where he 
was a telegraphic operator for a railroad com- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



137 



pany until 1879 when he secured a similar .posi- 
tion on one of the elevated roads in New York 
city, and remaining in this employment until 1884 
then resigning - his position on account of ill 
health and making a visit to his parents at his 
old home. The next summer he yielded to a 
longing for the free and open life of the western 
plains and came to Wyoming, settling in Crook 
county, where he took up land seven miles 
northeast of Gillette and started an industry in 
raising horses which he conducted until 1900, 
changing then from horses to cattle and he 
has since continued in that line. His ranch 
consists of 800 acres of good land, eligibly lo- 
cated at the head of Little Powder River, which 
has its rise on his land. He has also a large 
body of leased land, and is provided with good 
buildings and other appurtenances for his busi- 
ness. His herd is large and of superior qual- 
ity, his business methods are practical, pro- 
gressive and satisfactory, and his name is a 
household word throughout his portion of the 
state. On December 5, 1900, he was united in 
marriage at Gillette, Wyo., with Miss Luella 
Hadley, a native of Tipton county, Indiana. 
They have one child, named Leslie F. Mr. 
Moyer is a Democrat in political faith and while 
a firm believer in the principles and policies of 
his party and deeply interested in its success, 
he is not partisan where the welfare of the com- 
munity is at stake and never gives up to party 
the energies which were meant for the general 
weal and the good of humanity. 

SAMUEL R. NEEL 

One of the progressive and successful busi- 
ness men of the younger generation of Wyo- 
ming is Samuel R. Neel, of Encampment, Car- 
bon county, who is a native of Helena, Mon- 
tana, where he was born on December 26, 1874, 
the son of Col. Samuel and Lavina (Baker) 
Neel, both natives of Virginia. His paternal 
grandfather was also a native of Virginia, 
whither his ancestors came in early Colonial 
days, and bore a prominent part in the early 
events of the history of the United States. The 



father of Mr. Neel came from his native state 
to Montana during the frontier days of the ter- 
ritory, and was one of its earliest pioneers. 
He was engaged in the wholesale and retail 
grocer)' trade in Helena during the placer min- 
ing days of Last Chance Gulch (where Helena 
now stands), and was associated with Hon. 
John T. Murphy, as Murphy, Neel & Co. This 
was the pioneer grocery firm of Helena, and 
carried on an extensive business for many 
years throughout the entire territory of Mon- 
tana. Mr. Murphy is still a resident of Helena, 
being one of the leading cattle men, bankers 
and capitalists of Montana. Mr. Neel as the 
active manager of the business became well 
known as one of the most successful and able 
young business men of the western country, 
and built up the largest mercantile business in 
the Rocky Mountain region. His untimely 
death at the early age of thirty-six years was 
a severe loss not only to Helena, but to the 
territory, and he was deeply mourned by a 
wide circle of friends and business associates. 
He left a family of five children and after his 
death the family removed to Oakland, Calif., 
where the subject of this sketch received his 
elementary education. After his graduation 
from the high school at Oakland, the family 
visited the World's Columbian Exposition at 
Chicago, in 1893, and while in that city he was 
offered a position in the Merchants' National 
Bank, one of the leading and most conservative 
banking institutions of Chicago where, be- 
ginning as a messenger, his advancement was 
rapid and steady, until at the age of twenty 
years he occupied the responsible position of 
receiving teller. He continued with this bank 
until 1898, when he was made the cashier of 
the stock and bond house of Chapin & Gaylord, 
one of the leading houses in that line in the 
west, with whom he remained for two years. 
He was then offered and accepted the position 
of cashier of the new Copper State Bank, at 
Encampment, Wyoming. . He superintended the 
opening of this institution and has had full 
charge of its management since that time and 
under his direction the business has increased 



138 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



rapidly, and is steadily gaining from month 
to month, having grown to such an extent that 
the directors are constructing a new brick bank 
building for the better accommodation of the 
patrons of the institution, which is the leading 
banking house of that section of the state." On 
April 24, 1901, Mr. Neel was united in marriage 
with Miss Fannie S. Stubbs, a native of Balti- 
more, and the daughter. of S. S. Stubbs, a 
large commission merchant of that city. Their 
home in Encampment is the center of a gra- 
cious and refined hospitality and they are 
prominent in the social life of the community. 
Fraternally Mr. Neel is affiliated with the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and takes active 
interest in all work of charity and fraternity. 
He is a pioneer of this part of Wyoming, and 
has done his full share in developing its re- 
sources and building ttp its industries. He has 
been the means of attracting the attention of 
capitalists to the great possibilities of Carbon 
county, and foremost in all matters calculated 
to build up the city of his residence and the 
state of his adoption and is destined to become 
a prominent factor in the future business and 
public life of this section of the state. 

ROBERT NEILSON. 

The true western spirit of progress is exem- 
plified in the career of Robert Neilson, who since 
1889 has been actively identified with the live- 
stock interests of Wyoming. He is a younger 
brother of Andrew Neilson, whose biography 
appears elsewhere in these pages, and a son of 
Andrew and Elizabeth (Grant) Neilson, who, 
like himself, was born in Scotland. For a num- 
ber of years Andrew Neilson, Sr., ran a station- 
ary engine in his native country, but in 1879 
brought his family to the United States, settling 
in Pittston, Pa., where he was engineer for a 
manufacturing establishment for about ten years, 
thence coming to Wyoming, where he has since 
lived, has present residence being on Sybyllc 
Creek in Laramie county. Robert Neilson was 
born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on July 11, 1869, 
and at the early age of ten years accompanied 



his parents to America. He was reared and ed- 
ucated at Pittston, Pa., and in his sixteenth year 
entered upon an apprenticeship to learn cigar- 
making, which trade he followed at that place 
until 1889, in the fall of that year coming with 
his parents to Wyoming, whither his brother An- 
drew had preceded them, and soon after his ar- 
rival the two 'became associated in the livestock 
industry on Sybylle Creek, where the latter was 
then and is now living. This partnership as- 
sociation continued until 1898 and was charac- 
terized by a series of continued successes, which 
in due time won for the brothers a conspicuous 
place among the leading cattleraisers of Lara- 
mie county. By mutual consent the business re- 
lationship was dissolved in 1898, Robert assum- 
ing family relations and removing to a ranch on 
Slate Creek, which he had taken up about three 
years- previously. He at once began a series of 
improvements on the land, erecting a neat and 
comfortable residence and other necessary build- 
ings, and lived there four years. He then sold 
out and moved to the old "Three Link" ranch, 
located in Carbon county, which was formerly his 
wife's father's property, upon which she had 
passed her girlhood days. The ranch is large, 
and very valuable, and especially well adapted 
to Mr. Neilson's business, and occupies its place 
in Wyoming history as well, being an old stage 
and telegraph station, and a safe refuge from 
Indians in their hostile days of the early time. 
From 1898 to the present time his attention has 
been centered in his large and cumulative stock 
interests. He has built up a business of large 
proportions, especially in the raising of blooded 
stock in which he takes acknowledged precedenci.- 
in this section of the state.' For a still further 
improvement of his c-attle Mr. Neilson reccinly 
purchased from the celebrated C. A. Stannard 
"Sunny Slope Stock Farm,'' near Emporia, Kan- 
sas, a fine lot of Herefords, among the number 
being a valuable bull, "Sunny Slope Tom 5th." 
sired by "Wild Tom,'' a noted animal that for a 
number of years easily won every prize for which 
he was entered. The fourteen cows which Mr. 
Neilson bought in this lot are superb specimens 
of (he Hereford breed, and with other splendi 1 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



139 



animals in his herd represent a value of many 
thousand dollars. He proposes to devote his 
attention exclusively to blooded cattle, and thus 
benefit not only himself, but also be the means 
of introducing a much better grade of live stock 
into the country than that now raised. Mr. Neil- 
son is a shrewd and a far-seeing business man, 
his enterprises having resulted in large financial 
returns, and he ranks to-day with the successful 
and well-to-do stockraisers of the state. He is 
also a men of strong mentality, a great reader, 
a vocalist of considerable talent and a student of 
many subjects. His acquaintanceship with the 
world's best literature is both general and ex- 
tensive, and he finds his most agreeable and 
profitable recreation in the company of the choice 
books with which his library is plentifully sup- 
plied. Like the majority of western men he has 
progressive ideas and stands for enterprise and 
advancement in all the terms imply. Broad and 
liberal in his views, and having no use for what 
is narrow in selfish in humanity, he is a worthy 
representatve of the sturdy nationality to which 
he belongs, and his influence has done much to 
promote the intellectual, moral and business in- 
terests of the community in which he lives. Mr. 
Neilson was married on Sybylle Creek, Laramie 
county, on September 12, 1898, with Miss Nina 
M. Dixon, of Nebraska, her father being a native 
of Maine and the mother of Virginia. Mr. Dix- 
on was a popular teacher for a number of years 
in Nebraska in which state he settled about 1874, 
and later he engaged in the grocery business at 
Denver, Colo., and after residing in that city for 
ten years moved to Carbon county, Wyo., where 
he followed cattleraising until his death on 
August 8, 1894; his widow is now residing in 
the city of Laramie, Wyoming. The home of 
Mr. and Mrs. Neilson has been brightened by 
the presence of three interesting children, whose 
names are A. Ernest, Anna E. and Nina. Mr. 
Neilson's political affiliations are with the Re- 
publican party, but in no sense is he a partisan 
aspirant for official honors. He keeps himself 
well informed upon the great questions and issues 
before the people, especially those bearing on 
state and national legislation, and is in close 



touch with the trend of modern thought relating 
to other subjects of interest to the reading public. 

AUGUST F. NEUBER. 

The gentleman whose name initiates this 
review is a typical representative of the intelli- 
gent, industrious and enterprising German ele- 
ment that has been such a forcible factor in 
American industrial, commercial and profes- 
sional life. Mr. Neuber was born in Germany 
on January 18, 1858, the seventh in a family of 
eleven children whose parents were Frederick 
and Bertha (Siebentritt) Neuber. The father, 
a native of Prussia, was a skillful mechanic and 
during the greater part of his life was engaged 
in the manufacture of wagons and carriages in 
the city of Schlodien. He was a fine workman, 
prospered in his business, and was noted for 
his equable temper and kindness of disposition, 
dying in 1868 at the age of fifty years, being- 
survived by his wife, who died about 1886. 
August F. Neuber was educated in the public 
schools of his native country and when a young 
man took up commercial office work which he 
continued for three years, coming to the United 
States in 1876, and locating near Junction City, 
Kan., where during the ensuing four or five 
years he worked on a farm, meanwhile attend- 
ing school in the winters. He made substantial 
progress in his studies, especially in those 
branches which he could use in business life 
and about 1883 secured a clerkship in a com- 
mercial house in Junction City, continuing as 
a salesman for ten years, then resigning his 
position and with others engaging in the mer- 
cantile business at Nevada Mission, under the 
firm name of Bishop, Neuber & Co. This part- 
nership lasted three years, when Mr. Neuber 
disposed of his interests and came to Wyo- 
ming, locating at Evanston where he entered 
the employ of the Beckwith Commercial Co. 
as salesman. He was soon promoted to be 
manager of the business and continued in that 
capacity until about 1892 when he severed his 
connections with the firm and came to Rock 
Springs as a member of the company and the 



140 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



manager of the Beeman & Neuber Mercantile 
Co. From that time Mr. Neuber has rapidly 
built up a fine trade, increasing the stock in 
proportion to the demands of the public and 
by carefully consulting the wishes and tastes 
of his customers has become one of the most 
popular, as well as one of the most successful 
merchants in the city. He keeps in close touch 
with all matters relating to commercial life, 
gives personal attention to all details of the 
firm and as a business man has few equals. 
Financially his success has been most encour- 
aging and to-day he holds distinct prestige 
among the well-to-do men and substantial citizens 
of his part of the state. Mr. Neuber is a self- 
made man in the true sense of the term. He 
came to this country with no capital, and his 
present high standing is the result of his own 
well directed endeavors, successful management 
and wisely planned business policy. He has 
accumulated an ample competence and is well 
situated to enjoy the fruits of his many years 
of honorable endeavor. 

EDWIN NEWCOMER. 

The Northwest of the United States al- 
though a child in years is a giant in strength, 
even if as yet scarcely scratched with the hoe 
of systematic cultivation she has filled the 
mightiest granaries of earth with her golden 
harvests in every line of production. And yet, 
despite her youth, a generation of men has 
been born and reared on her soil 'who are in 
every sense her own product. One of these 
is Edwin Newcomer of near Kearney in Sheri- 
dan county, a prominent and enterprising ranch- 
man and stockgrower, who was born in Colo- 
rado on October 2, 1877, the son of Frederick 
and Mary Newcomer, natives of Maryland who 
came west years ago and to Sheridan county 
when their son Edwin was six years old. From 
1883 he has been a resident of the county, in 
its public schools he received his education, 
from its institutions he learned the lessons of 
exemplary citizenship, and among its people he 
has worked for and won the public esteem 



which is the desired meed of thrift, diligence 
and uprightness everywhere. When he was 
ready for the duties of life he purchased the 
farm on which he has since resided and has 
since conducted it with gratifying success and 
cumulative profits. It is a thoroughly improved 
estate of 160 acres, with good buildings and 
fences, under a high state of cultivation and 
being, valley land is especially adapted to the 
stock industry which Mr. Newcomer carries on 
in a flourishing manner, having a fine herd of 
healthy, vigorous and well-kept cattle, rapidly 
increasing in numbers and rising in standard. 
On March 4, 1900, Mr. Newcomer was married 
at Sheridan with Miss Eva Riggle, a native of 
Iowa and a daughter of one of the pioneers of 
Taylor county in that state and there after a 
long career of usefulness he died. Her mother 
is now living in Idaho. Mrs. Newcomer is 
therefore no stranger to frontier life, but has 
experienced its wild pleasures, suffered its hard- 
ships and dared its dangers. They have one 
child, their daughter Irene. Mr. Newcomer's 
parents are living at Sheridan and of them 
more specific mention is made on another page 
of this work, tracing their course from the val- 
ley of the Potomac in the far-away Maryland 
home of their childhood to their active useful- 
ness in this part of the country, whither they 
came as pioneers early in their married life. 

ROBERT LESLIE NEWMAN. 

The gentleman to whose useful career the 
reader's attention is herewith directed, is one of 
the accomplished and enterprising business men 
of Rock Springs, and by honorable and progress- 
ive methods he has contributed in no small de- 
gree to a commercial and professional advance- 
ment of the city. He has been very successful 
in the business enterprise with which he is now 
connected and, as a citizen with the best interests 
of the community at heart, is well worthy of 
mention in any biographical compendium of 
Wyoming's representative men. Robert Leslie 
Newman was born in Chambers county, Ala- 
bama, on November 18, 1873, the son of John L. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



141 



and Arabella (Redman) Newman, both natives 
of Alabama. The Newman family is among the 
old and aristocratic families of the South, the 
ancestors coming from England prior to the War 
of the Revolution, settling in the Carolinas. 
About 1780, representatives of the family came 
to what is now Chambers county, Ala., where 
their descendants still reside. The parents of 
our subject make their home in Columbus, Ga. 
For many years his father was a prosperous 
Alabama planter and was also a soldier during 
the Civil War. The paternal and maternal 
grandfathers of Mr. Newman also served in the 
Civil War and gave their lives to the cause of 
Confederacy. Robert Leslie Newman passed his 
childhood and youth in his native county and 
state and received his literary education in the 
public schools. Having decided to devote his 
life to pharmacy he began preparing himself for 
the profession by entering the Alabama Poly- 
technic Institute at Auburn, Alabama, where he 
prosecuted his studies with great assiduity until 
the completion of the prescribed course, graduat- 
ing with an honorable record in 1897. Being 
now well prepared for practical work, he en- 
gaged with Collier & Co., the leading drug house 
of Tuscaloosa, Ala., with which he remained for 
eighteen months, then resigning his position to 
still further prosecute his pharmaceutical studies 
With this laudable obect in view he entered the 
employ of the J. N. Hegeman Drug Co., of New 
York City, the largest and most complete estab- 
lishment of the kind in the United States, and 
during the ensuing two years spared neither 
time nor pains to familiarize himself with every 
detail of pharmacy so as to become a master of 
the profession. The advantages Mr. Newman 
enjoyed with the above firm were inestimable. 
He pursued his studies and researches under the 
direction of some of the ablest and most schol- 
arly pharmacists of the city and on severing his 
connection with the house was the possessor of 
a store of valuable scientific knowledge. On 
leaving the Hegeman Company Mr. Newman re- 
turned to Columbus, Ga., and for some months 
was the manager of one of the Thomas Drug 
Co.'s stores at that place. Resigning this position 



he went to Leadville, Colo., and entered a drug- 
house as clerk, but from his thorough knowledge 
of the business, was soon made the manager, in 
which capacity he continued until his purchase 
of the establishment a few months later. After 
a year passed as head of this house he sold his 
interests and took the road as salesman for E. H. 
Sprague & Co., after a year and a half relinquish- 
ing the road coming to Rock Springs as mana- 
ger of the large drug store which he subsequently 
purchased and now owns. It is not to much to 
say for Mr. Newman that he is the leading phar- 
macist of the city and one of its most enterpris- 
ing and progressive business men. He has car- 
ried financial success into all his operations and 
by close and diligent attention to his profession 
has succeeded in building up a large and lu- 
crative trade. Not many men in the same time 
have accomplished as much and none have sur- 
passed him in fidelity to duty. He has always 
been actuated by a laudable ambition to excel 
in what he undertook and that he has succeeded 
is attested by the advancement he has made in 
his chosen calling and the prominent position he 
has attained in the business and social world. 
He is a man of positive convictions, but withal 
amiable in demeanor and a most agreeable com- 
panion and courteous gentleman. His private 
life and character are unassailable and his many 
exemplary qualities have made him popular with 
the people of his adopted city, among whom he 
has friends, numerous and loyal. Fraternally 
he is identified with the Masonic, the Pythian, 
and the Elks fraternities of Rock Springs and 
subscribes to the creed of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. In a quiet and unostentatious way 
he assists the various charitable and benevolent 
organizations in their labors to alleviate the suf- 
ferings of the poor and unfortunate. He is a 
man of fine literary attainments and occasion- 
ally contributes well written articles to. the 
leading pharmaceutical journals of the country. 
In February, 1903, the Wyoming Pharmaceutical 
Association was organized at Rawlins, Mr. 
Newman being one of the chief spirits in secur- 
ing its formation and he was elected as the first 
president of the organization. In politics he is 



142 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



a stanch supporter of the Democrat party, but 
by no means an active partisan, much less an 
aspirant for public or official distinction. In ad- 
dition to his two drug establishments in Rock 
Springs, he is interested in oil lands, having met 
with encouraging returns from the latter enter- 
prise. 

MELVIN NICHOLS. 

With a creditable military record on the 
Union side in the Civil War, a successful busi- 
ness career since that great contest closed, 
years of excellent service to his fellowmen in 
official stations of prominence and responsibil- 
ity, influence and activity in the councils of his 
church, having a social position among the 
leading elements of the community, and high 
standing in the affairs of his political party, 
Melvin Nichols has exhibited in a marked and 
gratifying degree the readiness of the Ameri- 
can citizen for every public and private duty, 
his unswerving devotion to the welfare of his 
country and the manly qualities which dis- 
tinguish him in every relation of life. His an- 
cestry runs back in unbroken lines on both sides 
of his house through a long succession of mili- 
tary heroes and civil potentates in New Eng- 
land, the first of his father's family to be known 
in the annals of the section being Solomon 
Nichols, who came with his parents from Scot- 
land to Vermont in very early Colonial days. 
In Vermont the family grew and flourished, 
bearing its share of the burdens of citizenship, 
demonstrating its loyalty to the institutions of 
our country in every war and in every peaceful 
forum, following the fortunes of our great com- 
mander in the Revolution with distinguished 
bravery and endurance, .and aiding in essential 
ways in establishing the infant republic on a 
firm and fruitful foundation. His parents were 
John Nichols of Burlington, Vt, and Mary 
(Chase) Nichols of Worcester, Mass., the 
mother being also the descendant of Revolu- 
tionary sires and a member of a family whose 
record runs like a thread of gold through the 
history of New England. Both the Chase and 



the Nichols representatives were farmers for 
generations; and in 1837 John and Mary 
(Chase) Nichols gathered their household 
goods about them and sought new domestic 
altars in what was then the far West, locating 
three miles west of the site of the present Au- 
rora, 111., where they preempted land and be- 
gan its cultivation ; and there, on November 9, 
1844, their son Melvin was born, the seventh 
of eleven children. He received a limited edu- 
cation in the primitive schools and then attended 
Clark Seminary at Aurora until March 12. 1862, 
when he enlisted in Co. H, Sixty-fifth Illinois 
Infantry under Colonel Cameron. The com- 
mand was soon ordered to Harper's Ferry, and 
from that time was in active service in the re- 
gion of the Potomac until its capture in Septem- 
ber. After his parole and a few months' rest 
at home Mr. Nichols rejoined his comrades in 
the field in Kentucky, where they had lively 
times in pursuit of the great Confederate raider 
Morgan. They were then transferred to Burn- 
side's command and engaged in the siege of 
Knoxville during the winter, and in the spring 
of 1864, hi s term of service having expired, Mr. 
Nichols reenlisted, joining Sherman in his At- 
lanta campaign and subsequent proceedings. 
aiding in the interception and destruction of 
Hood's army in the two days' terrible fighting 
at Columbia, Franklin and Nashville. Follow- 
ing the remnant of Hood's army as far as 
Clifton, Tenn., the}- there took boats to Cincin- 
nati and from there were transferred to Fort 
Fisher, N. C, and on February 22, 1865, took 
part in the capture of Wilmington. They then 
fought their way through a determined resist- 
ance to join Sherman at Goldsborough, were 
present at the surrender of Johnston near Ra- 
leigh a little later, and the regiment was mus- 
tered out at Greensborough. X. C. on July 26, 
1865. After the war Mr. Nichols began the 
study of medicine, reading with one of his two 
brothers, who were physicians, one of whom, 
with two other brothers, also served in the 
Civil War. but after two years of study he aban- 
doned medicine for the law. which he found 
more congenial to his taste, and under the care- 



PROGRESSIVE' MEN OF WYOMING. 



143 



ful direction of Hon. J. Koder of Iowa he 
fnllv prepared himself for practice and he was 
admitted to the bar in 1877 at Monroe in that 
state. Soon after he removed to Audubon, 
Iowa, and there practiced law for ten years, 
meanwhile serving two years as mayor of Mon- 
roe, Iowa, and for a term or two as cfrv clerk 
of other towns, always taking an active part in 
politics and local public affairs. In January, 1887, 
he settled at Douglas, Wyo., where he re- 
mained until August, 1889, then took up his 
residence in Crook county and there his prog- 
ress in professional, social and political lines 
has been rapid, steady and substantial. Begin- 
ning in 1890 he served two terms as prosecuting 
attorney, in 1896 he was elected to the lower 
house of the legislature and in 1900 was chosen 
state senator for his county. He is an ardent 
Republican and a hard worker in his party's in- 
terest. He has also been connected for years 
with the local school government and has 
shown zeal and fidelity in the useful work of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. On October 7, 
1868, he was married with Miss Almeda R. 
Cooper, a daughter of William and Mary 
Cooper of Cleveland, Ohio. They have four 
children, Horace W., manager of the M. W. 
ranch of Weston county, Wyo. ; Alvin M., man- 
ager and principal owner of the Nichols Supply 
Co. of Newcastle ; Eva E., now Mrs. Eichelber- 
ger of Boise, Idaho; Bertha E., now Mrs. Lytle 
of Sundance, Wyo. Mr. Nichols is a Thirty- 
second degree Freemason, and a noble of the 
Mystic Shrine. He has held high offices in the 
various branches of the order and is at present 
worshipful master of his lodge and king of his 
Royal Arch Chapter. 

FRANK L. NIHART. 

On a well-improved and highly cultivated 
farm of 320 acres in the midst of that Goshen 
of America, Canyon Springs Prairie, twenty- 
two miles northeast of Newcastle in Weston 
county, Frank L. Nihart resides and carries on 
his farming operations on a large scale and 
mingles with them a profitable stockraising. 



He was born in Owen county, Indiana, on May 
4, 1867, a son of Amos and Malinda (Johnson) 
Nihart, prosperous farmers in the Hoosier state 
where most of their lives were passed. He re- 
mained at home until he was ten years old, at- 
tending school as he had opportunity and being 
employed at work on farms near his home and 
in the adjoining county of Clay until he was 
seventeen. At that time he went over into 
Mercer county, 111., and there continued farm 
work for two years, in 1886 coming west to 
Colorado and being employed on the construc- 
tion of the Rock Island Railroad through that 
state and afterwards working on the Union Pa- 
cific in Kansas. In the autumn of 1888 he re- 
moved to Nebraska and purchasing a threshing 
outfit was kept busy threshing grain for the 
farmers in that state, mostly in Buffalo county. 
He remained there until the fall of 1890, when 
he came to Cambria, Wyo., and after working 
in the mines until 1893 he took up his present 
ranch on Canyon Springs Prairie, and has since 
resided there engaged in farming and stockrais- 
ing, conducting a much appreciated conve- 
nience to the neighborhood in the form of a 
sawmill, which turns out large quantities of 
lumber eight miles south of the ranch. Mr. 
Nihart's farming operations are conducted with 
skill and enterprise, and are rewarded by crops 
of unusual volume and high quality. At this 
.writing (1902) he has the finest looking and 
most promising field of wheat on the prairie. 
His stockraising also, although only a secon- 
dary consideration with him, is governed by 
true business principles and no reasonable out- 
lay is withheld that seems necessary to secure 
the best results, while the sawmill is an up-to- 
date equipment, run with every consideration 
for the welfare of its patrons as well as the 
profits of its owner. On June 2J, 1891, Mr. Ni- 
hart was united in marriage with Miss Minnie 
DeVall, a native of Nebraska and daughter of 
William DeVall. The marriage was solemnized 
at Newcastle. They have one child, Hallie Ni- 
hart. In politics Mr. Nihart affiliates with the 
Democratic party and while active in its serv- 
ice and firm in his faith in its principles he 



144 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



seeks neither its honors nor its emoluments, 
being content with his private estate in life and 
fully occupied with its duties. 

CAPT. JOHN D. O'BRIEN. 

The story of the bravery and sufferings of 
the gallant soldiers who on tented field and plain 
and under tropical suns have fought nobly in the 
cause of the country and the perpetuity of the 
republic cannot be told too often. It is a duty 
that we owe to coming generations to trans- 
mit to them something of the personality of 
those who often placed their lives in peril that the 
blessings of peace might descend unto them. 
Among the brave defenders of his country's 
honor no one in Converse county is more entitled 
to representation in a work of this character than 
is the worthy Captain O'Brien, who, after years 
of danger, privation, and gallant army service is 
passing his declining years on his pleasant and 
beautifully located ranch on the La Prele Creek, 
which is eight miles west of Douglas, Wyo. Capt. 
John D. O'Brien was born in Kildare, Ireland, 
on May 8, 1838, the son of David and Mary 
(Dunn) O'Brien, both natives of Kildare, the 
father, a marine engineer, passing nearly all of 
his life at sea, and most of the time on the R. M. 
S. S. Hindustan, and dying off the Cape of Good 
Hope in 1841, leaving nine children, John D. 
being the youngest. The mother thereafter re-, 
moved to Liverpool and in 1847 came to Amer- 
ica and resided in New York City until her death. 
In 1852 Mr. O'Brien enlisted in the U. S. army 
as a musician and was assigned to the Fourth 
Artillery, with this organization serving in Texas 
against the Comanches and other hostile Indians, 
also in Florida against the Seminoles under Gen- 
eral Harney and being discharged at the expira- 
tion of his enlistment. Thereafter he was em- 
ployed in the U. S. custom house in New York 
City until January 9, 1863, when his patriotism 
caused him to place himself in the ranks of the 
Union army as a soldier of the Fourth U. S. 
Infantry, serving with that gallant organization 
in its fighting career in the Army of the Potomac 
until the close of the war and participating in 



those bloody battles which astonished the ablest 
generals of the world by their immensity and 
fatality. After peace was declared his regiment 
came west and established Fort Fetterman in 
1867, the fort taking name from the valiant 
Colonel Fetterman who met his death in the grue- 
some Indian massacre at Fort Phil Kearney, the 
Captain continuing in service until 1877. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1876 he was the orderly ser- 
geant of Co. F. upon the Big Horn and Yellow- 
stone expedition, and during the six months the 
troops were thus occupied the company marched 
over 2,800 miles, a portion of the time being so 
scarce of rations as to kill and eat the flesh of 
condemned army horses, during this period hav- 
ing a number of battles and many engagements 
and skirmishes with hostile Indians. In May 1877 
the Captain was discharged from service with 
honorary mention and located his present home 
ranch, six miles south of Fort Fetterman and en- 
gaged in stockraising. But his military life was 
not terminated. In April 1898, when was issued 
the President's call for volunteers to serve in the 
Spanish- American War, his military spirit once 
again brought him to the front and, enlisting, he 
was commissioned as captain of Co. F, First 
Wyoming Infantry on April 2y, 1898, the regi- 
ment going to San Francisco and there embark- 
ing for the Philippines, where they arrived on 
July 31, disembarking on August 6, and engag- 
ing in skirmishing duty until the thirteenth day 
of the battle of Manila, where they were active- 
1\ in service, being one of the first, if not the 
very first regiment to enter the city, and on that 
night the Captain did his first guard duty in that 
country on the wall separating the old city and 
the new. After the occupation of the city the 
regiment was assigned to guard duty at the 73d 
Spanish barracks until January 2, 1899, thence 
removing to Cavite and guarding the navy yard 
until February 3, thence returning to Manila on 
the fourth, there aiding in repelling the insur- 
rectionists ; on Sunday, February 5, taking Sant 
Anne and San Pedro Mecati. being continually 
in battle during the day, Co. F. making many 
brave charges and doing valiant service. At 
9:30 p. m. the company was ordered to surround 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



145 



the old church of Guadaloupe and hold their pos- 
ition until dawn. Two companies of Filipinos 
were supposed to be in the church, but it was 
later found that during the day fully 1,500 had 
occupied it, many escaping by bamboo ladders 
in the darkness. The gallant Co. F. marched by 
twos up the narrow lane led by its brave com- 
mander, and not only surrounded the church, but 
.charging with fixed bayonets tore down the door 
and entered and captured it. The Captain held 
his capture for two days, and was relieved by 
four companies of the First California, then oc- 
cupying the church of St. Juan del Monte and 
doing guard duty at the water-works to prevent 
the insurgents blowing them up. On February 
22, they had a fierce engagment and on March 7 
the Captain was wounded, being shot in the right 
wrist which was fearfully mutilated, although 
the ball passed through the wrist he remained 
with his company, leading them in the numerous 
engagements in which the company gallantly dis- 
tinguished itself, the Captain receiving honor- 
able mention in frequent dispatches, until July 6, 
when orders came to embark for their homeward 
voyage, and four days later they were on the 
transport "Grant" sailing toward their home. 
Landing in San Francisco on August 29, they 
were there mustered out at the presideo on Sep- 
tember 23, 1899, and returned to their Wyoming 
homes. The Captain has since rested in peaceful 
quiet on his pleasant ranch where he has a mod- 
ern residence, and an excellent array of barns 
and the other necessary buildings for his ranch- 
ing operations. He has very creditably served 
as justice of the peace, notary public and 
U. S. commissioner for many years and is a 
prominent member of the G. A. R. and a repre- 
sentative citizen of the highest order. On May 
6, i860, he married with Miss Anastatia Shea, 
of Kilkenny, Ireland. Their children are : Mol- 
lie, deceased ; David, deceased ; John, now fore- 
man on the V. R. ranch at Uva, Wyo. ; William, 
a grocery man at Glenrock ; Maggie, Mrs. Ed- 
ward Schloss ;■ James and Thomas, twins, James 
keeping a butcher shop at Glenrock, and Thom- 
as at the oil wells at Douglas ; Annie, Mrs. W. 
E. Sherwin, of Glenrock; Mary E., Mrs. T. J. 



Curry of Douglas ; Edward, in South Dakota ; 
Theresa, deceased ; Nellie, at Glenrock ; Nora, 
Ada and Lizzie, who are all at home. No one 
in the community stands higher in the public 
favor than this battle-scarred veteran of many 
wars and he is also honored and venerated as an 
early pioneer. 

CHARLES E. PARTRIDGE. 

A representative and highly respected siti- 
zen is Charles E. Partridge of Hat Creek, Con- 
verse county, Wyoming, who is a native of 
Dane county, Wis., where he was born on 
October 15, 1850, the son of Joseph A. and 
Ruth (Scott) Partridge, both natives of Nova 
Scotia. The father came to the United States 
when a young man and settled in Wisconsin 
as one of the pioneers of the territory, and con- 
ducted farming and stockraising operations 
until his death. Of a family of ten children, 
Charles E. was the sixth, growing to manhood 
in his native state and receiving his early educa- 
tion in the public schools of the vicinity of his 
"boyhood's home. He remained at home with 
his parents assisting his father in the care and 
management of his farm and stock business 
up to 1873, when he came to Minnesota, where 
he remained for about two years, and then re- 
turned to his former home in Wisconsin. Here 
he pursued a course of study in a business col- 
lege at Madison, and after completing his stud- 
ies accepted a position at Jamestown, N. Y., 
as a teacher in a business college of that city. 
He remained here for about one year and came 
to the city of Cheyenne, then in the territory of 
Wyoming. Arriving here in 1877 he was em- 
ployed in the office of the quartermaster in the 
U. S. army at Camp Carlin for about two years. 
He then resigned to go on a prospecting ex- 
pedition to Colorado. The following two years 
were occupied mostly in prospecting and mining, 
and he was one of the stampeders to the newly 
discovered mining camp of Leadville. Subse- 
quently he returned to Cheyenne and followed 
the occupation of mining in the Silver Crown 
district west of that city, without meeting the 



146 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



success his hopes had pictured. Temporarily 
abandoning this pursuit he came to Hat Creek, 
Wyo., and accepted a position as telegraph 
operator on the Cheyenne & Black Hills Tele- 
graph Co. and .continued in that occupation 
until the line was abandoned. He then located 
the ranch property which he now occupies, and 
engaged in general ranching and stockraising, in 
which he has been successfully engaged to 
the present time, being the owner of a well im- 
proved ranch, with large herds of Hereford and 
Shorthorn cattle, and also a considerable num- 
ber of the best grades of draft and road horses. 
By industry, perseverance and careful attention 
to the details of his operations he has rapidly 
built up a profitable business, and is looked upon 
as one of the representative and well-to-do stock- 
men of the county. In December, 1881, he was 
married with Miss Vinnie Logue, a native of 
Illinois, and to their union a winsome daughter 
has been born, Alta Bernice, and in their home 
is evidenced refinement and comfort. The 
family are held in high esteem by a large cir- 
cle of friends and acquaintances. 

PHILIP MASS. 

The movements and struggles, the unrest 
and the labors, the pleasures, the deprivations, 
failures and successes of the founders of civil- 
ization in the Great West will have for all com- 
ing ages a wonderful interest as giving the life 
stories of a class that has passed away, never 
more to be in existence. Philip Mass, the pio- 
neer settler on Henry's Fork, Wyoming, is one 
of this honored number, and in his active and 
useful life he has passed through every phase 
of existence incident to life on the frontier, has 
endured the hardships attending the develop- 
ment of a new country, fought and traded with 
the Indians, known the rough life of a freighter, 
trailed cattle and rode the range and has 
wrested an ample fortune from an unpromising 
nature. He was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, 
on September t6, 1830, and came to the United 
States in 1852, and was then located in Jackson 
county, Mo., for nearly three years, breaking 



horses and doing general farm work. In the 
spring of 1855 he was retained as a driver by 
the Overland Stage Co., running a line of 
stages from Independence, Mo., to Salt Lake 
City, being on the first coach of the line that 
entered the latter place. He only remained 
with this company until May, 1855, however, 
for he was engaged by the U. S. government 
to accompany General Harney on his Indian 
expedition in the dual capacity of guide and 
scout, in that connection participating in sev- 
eral bloody engagements with savages, nota- 
bly those of Ice Hollow, just east of Laramie, 
where 280 Indians were killed, and the historic 
battle of Fort Kearney, and he remained with 
General Harney through the entire summer's 
campaign, then returning with the troops to 
Fort Leavenworth. Mr. Mass was in the L T . S. 
service until 1858, during this time accompany- 
ing Colonel Summers to Pike's Peak and on his 
return trip to Fort Leavenworth, and he was 
also with the first troops that came to Fort 
Bridger with General Johnston when he came 
to quiet the existing disturbances and to inves- 
tigate the Mountain Meadow massacre, the 
Mormons taking nearly all of their horses and 
destroying and burning their supplies, so that 
the rations of the troops were reduced for near- 
ly a month to only an ounce each of flour and 
bacon a day. Previously to this, however, in 
1859, Mr. Mass had made his headquarters on 
Henry's Fork and entered into the stock busi- 
ness on the range of this vicinity and also did 
quite extensive trading with the Indians. • His 
start was made by buying cattle from the emi- 
grant trains, and he also took contracts to fur- 
nish hay and wood to the U. S. troops and post. 
Three months of the summer of i860 he was a 
pony-express rider, traveling on horseback on 
this route 100 miles in ten hours' time. For the 
term of forty-four years Mr. Mass has here suc- 
cessively conducted an extensive stock industry 
and developed a beautiful home on Henry's 
Fork where neighbors were an unknown quan- 
tity, and here he is still residing in truly patri- 
archal style, a grand old man. held in the high- 
est honor by the citizens of the whole state, sur- 




PHILIP MASS. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



147 



rounded by loving children and grandchildren, 
who delight to do him reverence. His herds of 
cattle, including graded Herefords and Short- 
horns, still run in numbers on the range, add- 
ing yearly to the wealth his business sagacity 
and untiring industry had heretofore accumu- 
lated, and here the family extends a pioneer 
hospitality to all who come. Mr. Mass has 
ever taken positive grounds in matters of pub- 
lic interest, being long identified with the Dem- 
ocratic party, but in no sense has he been an 
office-seeker. He was married on July 15, 1862, 
to Miss Irene Beauxveaux, and their family 
circle has contained nine children, whose names 
are Margueritte ; Rosalie, wife of A. H. Har- 
vey ; James, died on March 1, 1891, aged 
twenty-three years ; Lucy, wife of F. A. Peter- 
son of Woodland, Utah ; Emma, wife of W. A. 
Perry of Vernal, Utah ; John ; Edward, a resi- 
dent of the Bighorn basin plains of Wyoming; 
Philip and Jessie. All of the children have re- 
ceived an excellent education at the parental 
borne, their father employing the best of tutors 
and instructors. 

JOHN PEARSON. 

For firmness of fiber, flexibility of function, 
mental and physical, self-reliance, readiness in 
resources and all around utility in every manly 
way, take the man who with a good constitu- 
tion and determined spirit was thrown on his 
own capabilities early in life and has had to 
depend on them for all he has achieved, with- 
out the aid of fortune's favors or adventitious 
circumstances. Such a man is John Pearson 
of Eothen, Crook county, Wyoming, a prom- 
inent and successful millman, rancher, stock- 
man and real-estate owner. His birth occurred 
on February 17, 1849, in Sweden, the home of 
the Norsemen and the prolific source of a thrifty, 
skillful, industrious and law-abiding class of 
emigrants to the United States. His parents 
were natives of Sweden, and there he grew to 
manhood and was educated. In 1869, when he 
was twenty years old, he came to the United 
States, arriving in Kansas City, Mo., in the 



summer and remaining there about a year. 
From that place he went to Colorado and ac- 
cepted employment for nearly a year on the 
Union Pacific Railroad. After that he entered 
the service of a sawmill company doing an ex- 
tensive business near Denver, thus forming his 
first acquaintance in this country with an 'in- 
dustry which he has successfully followed since 
then, with some' intermissions, and has raised 
almost to the dignity of an art. Thereafter he 
worked in stamp mills in the mining districts 
of Colorado, passed a few months in the south- 
eastern part of Kansas near Columbus, where 
he invested in land, passed a year in California 
and Oregon prospecting and mining. In 1878 
he located in the Black Hills and worked in a 
stamp mill and sawmills near Deadwood until 
1882, gradually acquiring first an interest in 
them then complete ownership, and in the year 
last named moving them into Crook county, 
Wyo., planting a sawmill near the site he now 
occupies. In 1886 he sold the old mills and pur- 
chasing new and improved machinery of much 
greater capacity, he erected new mills on the 
south fork of Hay Creek, six miles from Alad- 
din, now a terminal of the Wyoming & Mis- 
souri River Railroad. His location is twenty-six 
miles north of Sundance in one of the most 
picturesque regions in this part of the state, 
bounded on three sides with hills heavily tim- 
bered with a valuable growth, on the east look- 
ing over and opening into the valley through 
which Hay Creek winds in graceful curves like 
a thread of silver in a warp of verdant tapestry. 
The business planted here has been watched, 
with care, developed with energy, conducted 
with skill and has grown great with steady and 
symmetrical progress, being now the most ex- 
tensive in this section of the country, and the 
mills at which it is carried on are the largest and 
best equipped in the northern part of the state. 
Mr. Pearson has also engaged in the stock 
business extensively, running a large number 
of cattle and some horses, and has invested 
heavily in ranch and timber land, owning at this 
writing (1902) about 5,000 acres. He has city 
property at Belle Fourche, S. D., and valuable 






148 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






holdings elsewhere. His career affords a fine 
illustration of what is possible to energy, in- 
telligence and thrift in this land of boundless 
opportunity. On April 14, 1884, at Spearfish, 
S. D., Mr. Pearson was married with Miss Au- 
gusta Johnson, also a Swede. They have five 
children, all living at home : Charles A., Frank 
O., Maggie E., Nelson and John. In politics 
the head of the house is a Republican, but has 
never sought office. He has, however, as a 
business convenience and for the benefit of the 
community consented to serve as postmaster 
at Eothen since 1887, being probably the oldest 
postmaster in the state. He has also been a 
justice of the peace. His married life, which 
began in 1884, ended with the death of his wife 
on December 10, 1898. She was buried in the 
family cemetery on the home ranch. 

O. A. PATZOLD. 

This enterprising young business man who 
occupies the responsible position of general 
agent of the Glenrock Coal Co., and is one of 
the representative young men who are rapidly 
forging to the front of the commercial and in- 
dustrial activities of Wyoming, was born in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 2, 1870, the son of 
Joseph and Sophia Patzold, natives of Ger- 
many, the father having been born in the north- 
ern part of that country and the mother in 
Wurtemberg. Joseph Patzold, in company 
with an older brother, sailed from Germany to 
Galveston, Tex., in the early forties of the 
nineteenth century, finally finding permanent 
residence in the then distinctively German city 
of Cincinnati, Ohio. Joseph Patzold was a 
skilled artisan in cabinet making, following that 
trade all of his active life, becoming a stock-hold- 
er in and for many years being the manager 
of the Cabinet Makers' Union, which did an 
extensive manufacturing business, and in which 
he was employed at the time of his death in 
1876. G. A. Patzold was the youngest of nine 
children, and supplemented the rudimental edu- 
cation of the public schools by attendance and 
graduation at the Cincinnati high school and 



a thorpugh course at an excellent commercial 
college, thereafter becoming associated as a 
bookkeeper for three years with the Campbell 
Creek Coal Co., then removing to Denver, he 
entered the employ of the Halleck & Howard 
Lumber Co., continuing there for seven years 
as accountant, after that being retained for 
several years by the receiver of the United Coal 
Co. In 1898 he came to Glenrock, Wyo., at the 
request of the Glenrock Coal Co., to become 
their general agent, in which position he has 
continued with great acceptability until the 
present writing. On June 27, 1893, the very 
felicitous marriage of Mr. Patzold and Miss 
Ida Burns of Denver was consummated. She 
is the daughter of the Hon. D. V. Burns, judge 
of the District Court of the Denver district of 
Colorado. Mr. Patzold is also the junior mem- 
ber of the flourishing Slaughter-Patzold Sheep 
Co., which is conducting stock operations of 
scope and importance, owing 640 acres of land 
on the Platte River below Glenrock and 960 
acres on Box Elder and Willow Creeks, and 
also controlling 3,000 acres of leased land, on 
which they are running about 10,000 sheep, con- 
ducting an enterprise of great cumulative im- 
portance. In everything connected with the ad- 
vancement of the community Mr. Patzold is 
never found a laggard, his energy and ability 
being forceful factors in the progress of all pub- 
lic matters of a local nature, while in politics 
he renders a faithful allegiance to the Republi- 
can party. It has been written of him, "Mr. 
Patzold is a young man of energy and ability, 
is highly respected, very progressive and pros- 
perous, enjoys a marked popularity and bids 
fair to be one of Wyoming's representative 
men, with much usefulness before him." 

EMMET PERDUE, M. D. 

The state of Wyoming has many men of 
promise and progressive spirit both in business 
and professional life who are fast making her 
great natural resources known to the world, and 
prominent among the younger men of this class 
in the county of Carbon is Dr. Emmet Perdue 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WY0MI1 



149 



of Encampment. A native of Orrick, Ray- 
county, Missouri, he was born on August 3, 
1873, the son of H. C. and Mary E. (Ballard) 
Perdue, both natives of Virginia. His paternal 
grandfather was also a native of the Old Domin- 
ion and his wife, whose maiden name was Vir- 
ginia E. Bell, was a cousin of Henry Clay and 
also related to the distinguished Langhorn fam- 
ily of Virginia. The grandfather moved from 
his native state in 1859 to Missouri, and resided 
there up to the time of his death. He sold his 
large Virginian plantation and turned over the 
entire proceeds to discharge an obligation he 
had incurred by indorsing for a friend during 
his younger days and left little property at his 
death. The father of Doctor Perdue remained 
loyal to the South during the Civil War and 
joined the Army of the Confederacy, being a 
member of Price's army and serving in Missouri. 
He was seriously wounded in the battle of Wil- 
son's Creek, and was long" incapacitated from 
service although he completely recovered from 
the injury and since the war has been continuous- 
ly engaged in the drug business at Orrick, Mo. 
For two terms he served the people of Ray coun- 
ty as sheriff, making a faithful, efficient and cour- 
ageous officer and discharging his important du- 
ties with entire satisfaction to the people of the 
county, earning an enviable reputation through- 
out the state and being one of the leading citizens 
of that section. Doctor Perdue received his ele- 
mentary education at Richmond, Mo., and after 
he was graduated from the high school he became 
associated with his father in the drug business 
for a short time. Having an ambition to become 
a physician, he matriculated at the Marion-Sims 
Medical College at St. Louis, and pursued a 
thorough scientific and technical course of study 
at that institution, being graduated with the 
class of '96, and taking a high standing in his 
professional studies, and out of a class Of seventy- 
six members, he was one of the six upon whom 
honors were conferred. After his graduation he 
entered upon the practice of his profession in 
Jackson county in his native state. He remained 
here for about three years and met with success, 
then returned to Orrick, where he continued in 



practice for about one year, and then removed 
to Wyoming, selecting Encampment as his place 
of residence, and entering at once upon the prac- 
tice of his chosen profession in which he has met 
with distinguished success and has the confidence 
of the entire community. His business has rapidly 
increased, and he has a large and lucrative prac- 
tice, being examining physician for the Mutual 
Life Insurance Co., of New York, the New 
York Life Insurance Co., the Mutual Reserve 
Fund Life Insurance Co., of New York. The 
Provident Insurance Co., The Bankers' Life 
Insurance Co., of Des Moines, Iowa, the 
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., 
and others. He is also physician and surgeon 
for the Mine and Smelter Supply Co., of Den- 
ver during the construction of the great tramway 
now building near Encampment, is the surgeon 
for the Carbon Timber Co. and owner of the 
Good Shepherd Hospital at Encampment, also 
health officer for the southern portion of Carbon 
county. He is progressive and well-read, keeping 
fully in touch with all modern methods of treat- 
ing disease, and is fast coming to be recognized 
as one of the leading professional men of the 
state. On September. 2, 1896, Doctor Perdue was 
united in marriage with Miss Ida May Tanner, 
a native of Ray county, Mo., and the daughter of 
Samuel Tanner, for many years one of the 
largest farmers of Ray county. To their unoin 
have been born three winsome children, namely, 
Helen, Theresa and Elwin Clay, (deceased), 
Their home life is a notably happy one and the 
family is held in high esteem. Doctor Perdue is 
affiliated in fraternal relations with the Modern 
Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors. 
He is the medical examiner for both lodges and 
takes a deep interest in the fraternal life of the 
city. The Doctor is also largely interested in 
mining property in the vicinity of Encampment, 
which give promise of a fortune in the near fu- 
ture, and is also one of the originators and large 
stockholders in the irrigating company which is 
now constructing a large canal near that city 
which will irrigate over 40,000 acres of land 
and be of vast benefit to this section of the 
state. 



i5° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ELMER E. PETERS. 

One of the most successful business men of 
Sweetwater county, Wyoming', is E. E. Peters 
of Green River, who was born in Arcadia, 
Ohio, on April 4, 1861, a son of Jacob and Jane 
(Taylor) Peters. The father was born in that 
part of Virginia now known as West Virginia, 
where his boyhood days were passed, and on 
reaching his majority he was taken into a part- 
nership association with his father, David 
Peters, at Arcadia, Ohio, where he followed a 
mercantile business five or six years, when 
Jacob Peters took charge, the father's death oc- 
curring about this time, and for eighteen years 
he successfully conducted the business, when he 
retired and lived in Arcadia until called from 
earth in 1872, at the age of forty-two years. 
Mr. Peters, a Republican in politics, was post- 
master of Arcadia for ten years and for a long 
time a justice of the peace. He was a Mason 
and an Odd Fellow, a member of the Methodist 
church, a prominent and successful business 
man, generous to a marked degree, charitable 
to the poor and especially noted for his kind- 
ness in family matters, being a devoted hus- 
band and affectionate father. Mrs. Jane (Tay- 
lor) Peters, a native of Ohio, was called from 
earth when her son, E. E. Peters, was but six 
years of age, being the mother of eight children, 
four of whom are living. E. E. Peters from 
the early age of eleven years labored on a 
farm until he was eighteen, when he entered 
the employ of the Nickel Plate Railroad for two 
years, then changing to the Michigan & Ohio 
Railroad for one year. He next worked in Ohio 
one year at logging and then was a mechanic 
in the Union Pacific Railroad shops at Omaha, 
Neb., for three years. In 1887 he came to 
Green River, Wyo., and held a position in the 
Union Pacific shops for two years. Becoming 
tired of mechanical labor he opened a restau- 
rant, and, being a genial, good-natured gentle- 
man, made a financial success of the enterprise, 
which he conducted for six years, then sold out 
and went into the lumber trade, in which he 
was equally prosperous, later adding to this 



trade the handling of hay, grain and coal, sup- 
plemented by contracting. In politics Mr. 
Peters is a Republican, and so popular is he 
with the people that he has been elected to the 
city council of Green River for eight consecu- 
tive years. In his society relations Mr. Peters 
is a Freemason and is a member of the lodge 
at Green River. Mr. Peters was happily mar- 
ried in 1893 in Green River, with Miss Sarah 
Plutton, a native of Ireland and a daughter of 
Andrew and Agnes (Purdy) Hutton. To this 
union have been born two children, Ernest and 
Eclith. Socially the family is held in the high- 
est esteem. 

GEORGE W. PINGREE. 

One of the oldest and most respected citizens 
of Laramie, Wyoming, is George W. Pingree, 
a native of Maine, son of Samuel and Phoebe 
(Briggs) Pingree, both natives of Scotland. He 
was born in 1827 at the town of Orono, Maine, 
to which state his father emigrated from Scot- 
land in early life, and during his early man- 
hood there acquired distinction as a Presbyte- 
rian clergyman. When George had attained 
to the age of eleven years a spirit of adventure 
led him to go to sea, and he was a sea-faring 
man about seven years. He then engaged in 
lumbering in his native state, continuing that 
occupation until 1856, when he started from 
his native state to Missouri and Minnesota. 
In 1858 he came to Colorado, attracted thither 
by reports of the discoveries of gold in that 
section. Colorado was then on the extreme 
western frontier and the journey was attended 
by many dangers and hardships. Arriving in 
Colorado he engaged in mining and ranthing 
with varying success for a number of years. In 
t86t he enlisted in Co. B, First Colorado Regi- 
ment, for service in the Civil War, and for a 
time he was employed as a scout and courier 
during the troubles with the Indians, and at the 
Sand Creek massacre, where he was severely 
wonnded by an arrow. He was in many other 
engagements with the Indians and was mus- 
tered out of the service at Fort Leavenworth 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



151 



in 1865. He then engaged again in ranching 
and mining - in Colorado for a number of years 
and in 1889 came to Wyoming, where he pur- 
chased a ranch about thirty miles west of 
Laramie and at once entered upon the business 
of raising cattle and horses. He has been con- 
tinuously and prosperously engaged in the 
same occupation at the same place since that 
time. In 1892 Mr. Pingree was united in wed- 
lock with Mrs. Elizabeth (Steward) Adams, a 
native of Ireland, and the daughter of John and 
Rebecca Steward. Her mother passed away 
from earth in Ireland in 1851, at the age of 
fifty-one years and was buried in her native 
country. Upon the death of his wife the father 
emigrated from Ireland to America, where he 
first settled in Illinois. Here he followed the 
occupation of farming, in which he continued 
until his death in 1868 at the age of sixty-eight 
years. During his residence in Ireland he had 
been connected with official life, holding a po- 
sition under the government. The former hus- 
band of Mrs. Pingree was Nathan L. Adams, a 
native of Illinois and a member of a family 
winch traced its ancestry back to the time of 
the Revolutionary War. During the Civil War 
Mr. Adams enlisted in an Illinois regiment and 
served for five years as an orderly sergeant. 
After the war he engaged in merchandising in 
Illinois ; subsequently disposing of his interests 
in that state he removed to Idaho, where he 
remained for about one year, then moved to 
Wyoming and settled on a ranch near Laramie 
City, where he engaged in the stock business,' 
in which he continued up to the time of his 
tragical death, which occurred on October 10, 
1890, being murdered by a highwayman in an 
attempted robbery. He left four children, 
George S., Stephen L., William S. and Ida M. 
These have all been adopted by Mr. Pingree 
and are now members of his family. Frater- 
nally Mr. Pingree is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic and is enthusiastic in all 
matters connected with the welfare of that 
great organization and politically he is identi- 
fied with the Republican party, active in the 
work of that party. 



GEORGE N. POLLOCK. 

One of the younger progressive ranch and 
stockmen of Orin, Converse county, Wyoming, 
is the subject of this review, who is a native of 
Texas, born in Limestone county, on September 
19, i860, the son of Edward and Martha 
(Rogers) Pollock, both natives of Mississippi, 
but coming to Texas in early life, where the 
father followed the combined occupations of mer- 
chant and stockraiser until his death occurred in 
1866. The mother now makes her home near 
the city of Abilene, Tex. George N. Pollock 
came to man's estate in Limestone county, Tex., 
and received his early schooling in the public in- 
stitutions of learning in the vicinity of his boy- 
hood's home. After completing his education he 
remained at home assisting in the management 
of the paternal estate until he had arrived at the 
age of twenty-one years. He then determined 
to seek his fortune in the country lying farther 
to the north, and in June, 1881, he came to the 
then territory of Wyoming, where in the neigh- 
borhood of Hartville he secured employment in 
a store for a short time, and afterwards went to 
work as a range rider for the purpose of acquir- 
ing a practical knowledge of the cattle business, 
in which he intended to engage, continuing in 
this employment until 1887, when he took up his 
present ranch on the Platte River, situated about 
two and one-half miles southeast of Orin Junc- 
tion. Here he made a beginning in the cattle 
business and has since steadily added to his 
holding of both lands and cattle, being now the 
owner of a fine ranch of about 400 acres, well 
fenced and improved, and with a modern resi- 
dence and other improvements necessary in con- 
veniently carrying on his business. He is en- 
gaged in the successful handling of both cattle 
and horses, and by energy, industry, hard work 
and perseverance is rapidly building himself up 
as a substantial business man, being one of the 
self-made men of Wyoming, whose success is due 
entirely to their own efforts and who have done 
so much to settle the state and develop its natural 
resources, Mr. Pollock is a stanch adherent of 
the Democrat party, a loyal and earnest cham- 






152 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



pion of its principles and policies, although never 
seeking or desiring to hold political office. 
Energetic in business, ever progressive in his 
methods and always loyal to every true interest 
of his county and state, he is held in universal 
esteem. 

JOHN PURDY. 

Devoting his time and energies to the ancient 
and honorable vocation of husbandry and en- 
joying prestige as an enterprising citizen and 
public spirited man of affairs, an enumeration 
of the representative men of Laramie county 
would be incomplete were there failure to men- 
tion the name of John Purdy, who was born on 
May 31, i860, in the town of Newburgh, Or- 
ange county, New York, the son of John and 
Loretta (Rhodes) Purdy, a wheelwright and 
wagonmaker by trade, who passed all of his 
life in Orange county and finished his earthly 
career there in 1863 ; his wife died in 1884 and 
with her husband sleeps in the quiet shades of 
the old cemetery at Newburgh. John Purdy 
was reared in his native county until the age 
of sixteen and received a practical knowledge 
of the fundamental branches of study in the 
Newburgh public schools. By reason of his 
father's death he was thrown upon his own re- 
sources at an age when a lad most needs a 
father's wise admonition and faithful guidance. 
In his sixteenth year he went to Kansas and 
for four years worked at farm labor in the 
southern part of that state, meanwhile formulat- 
ing plans to proceed further west. In July, 
1881, Mr. Purdy left the Sunflower state, and 
came to Fort Laramie, Wyo., near which place 
he found employment on a ranch. After 
wdrking for some time in that capacity he 
turned his attention to other kinds of labor and 
for five years was variously employed, husband- 
ing his earnings meanwhile with the intention 
of early engaging in business for himself. In 
1886 he took up his present ranch, located three 
and one-half miles east of Fort Laramie, and 
began farming operations, giving especial at- 
tention to the raising of hay, from the sale of 



which he soon realized a very liberal income. 
He has continued agricultural pursuits to the 
present time, meeting with a large measure of 
success, for there is always a much greater de- 
mand for his products than he can supply. His 
place, embracing 320 acres of land, is well sit- 
uated for agricultural purposes, particularly for 
the raising of hay, as the natural grasses are 
luxuriant and contain great nutritious proper- 
ties. He cultivates the soil according to the 
most improved modern methods, keeps a fine 
quality of stock and is favorably situated to 
enjoy the free, independent life he is now lead- 
ing. Beginning life as a poor boy, without help 
from any one, Mr. Purdy has toiled onward 
and upward, enduring hardships and overcom- 
ing difficulties until to-day he is numbered 
among the substantial and well-to-do men of 
the county. He has not been a passive specta- 
tor of current local events, but an active par- 
ticipant in directing and controlling them. 
Ever since settling in Laramie he has been a 
potent factor in public and political affairs as 
one of the leading Republican politicians of his 
community and making his influence felt 
throughout the county. He is a leading party- 
worker, attends the conventions and takes an 
active part in their deliberations. In 1892 he 
was elected a justice of the peace and dis- 
charged the duties of that office in such a man- 
ner as to bring much important litigation to his 
court. Possessing an excellent judgment, an 
intelligent knowledge of the law and a compre- 
hensive conception of the principles of equity 
and the ethics of business life, few if any of his 
decisions have suffered reversal at the hands of 
higher tribunals. Mr. Purdy has never taken 
upon himself the responsibilities of family ties, 
being unmarried, but he is popular with the 
people and his admirable social qualities cause 
his society to be much sought. Of a genial 
nature he makes and retains friends and upon 
no one are confidences more honorably be- 
stowed than upon him. Enterprising and pro- 
gressive, a good farmer, neighbor and citizen, 
he is eminently worthy the esteem in which he 
is held. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



153 



GEORGE POWELL. 

Commanding universal respect and esteem, 
there is no man in Converse county, Wyoming, 
who occupies a more enviable position in the 
industrial and social circles than George Pow- 
ell, not alone on account of the exceptional suc- 
cess he has achieved, but from the honorable, 
straightforward business policy he has ever fol- 
lowed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick 
of perception, forms plans quickly and is de- 
termined and prompt in their execution so 
that has marked success in industrial proposi- 
tions of scope and importance may be consid- 
ered as a natural result ; but beyond these are 
the integrity of character and fidelity of pur- 
pose which have gained to him the respect of 
the many people he has met in the long years 
of his residence in the West and in Wyoming, 
of which state he may be justly designated as a 
pioneer. Mr. Powell is a native of Fairfield, 
Jefferson county, Iowa, born on Washington's 
birthday in 1847, the son of Enos and Catherine 
(Harper) Powell, the father being a native of 
Kentucky and the mother of Indiana. The 
father came to Indiana from Kentucky when a 
young man, there met and married the estima- 
able lady who for so many years was his faithful 
helpmeet eventually thereafter removing to Iowa, 
being numbered among the early pioneers of 
the state and there by their united labors they 
developed a fine farm on which they resided 
until their deaths. George Powell was their 
third child and he remained on the Iowa home- 
stead until 1865, receiving the educational ad- 
vantages of the primitive district schools, then 
taking the long trail across the plains to Den- 
ver, Colo., very soon after his arrival being en- 
gaged in freighting, which he followed for two 
years, then for two more years being employed 
in logging operations in the mountains sixty- 
five miles west of Denver, thereafter coming 
to Wyoming, where he was employed by the 
government in its civilian service for a year at 
Fort Laramie, then for a few months he was 
lumbering in the Elk Mountains, then taking 
charge of a "bull" freighting outfit eight years, 



having almost daily trouble with the Indians, 
during one year when the savages were pecu- 
liarly troublesome having skirmishes and ex- 
changing shots with them at frequent intervals, 
a number of both whites and Indians losing 
their lives in these encounters. Mr. Powell 
then engaged in freighting on his own account, 
continuing to be thus occupied until 1877, hav- 
ing varying success in his endeavors and la- 
boring diligently and persistently. He located 
on his present home ranch in 1877 an d a t once 
commenced to develop it, in 1879, however, 
purchasing another freighting outfit for two 
more years he again followed this arduous vo- 
cation. From that time until the present writ- 
ing his personal attention has been given to his 
ranch and his stock interests. He has over 
1,000 acres of deeded land under effective irri- 
gation and well ditched, raises immense crops 
of wheat, oats, alfalfa and other farm crops and 
runs large bands of cattle and sheep. He has 
comfortable buildings, barns, sheds, etc., and all 
the accessories necessary to properly carry on 
his extensive. farming operations, being consid- 
ered one of the progressive and representative 
men of the county, and he has a host of friends. 
On March 27, 1878, was celebrated the mar- 
riage union of Mr. Powell and Miss Maggie 
Scogille, a native of Iowa, they having met and 
formed an acquaintanceship while she was vis- 
iting a married sister in Wyoming. Their chil- 
dren are Maud, now Mrs. T. P. Hitchinson, and 
Gertrude. Mr. Powell takes great interest in 
public affairs, and is an earnest supporter and 
active adherent of the Republican political 
party and is a genial gentleman, who exhibits 
in his home the best character of pioneer hos- 
pitality. 

JOHN PRATLEY. 

The able county treasurer of Carbon county, 
Wyoming, was born in Richmond, Ind., on 
March 9, 1859, and is now just in the prime of 
life. His father, Thomas Pratley, was a native 
of London, England, and came to the United 
States when a young man and first located in 



154 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Philadelphia, but removed to Kansas in 1870, 
and here he passed the remainder of his life, 
dying in 1873, his remains being interred at 
McLouth, Jefferson county. The mother of 
John Pratley was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and 
bore the maiden name of Delia Smith, she was 
reared and married in her native city, and is now 
living in McLouth county at the age of sixty- 
three years. John Pratley was but a lad when his 
parents removed to the West. The limited educa- 
tional advantages of Jefferson county, Kan., 
a new country, was his only means of acquiring 
learning. When about twenty years of age he 
undertook the management of his own affairs, 
and came as far west as Colorado and Wyoming. 
He was employed chiefly as clerk for various 
business firms, until 1900 and being a good math- 
ematician and an accountant of superior merit, 
as well as a stalwart Republican, he attracted the 
attention of his party who elected him county 
treasurer of Carbon county, and this is a choice 
no one has ever had cause to regret. Mr. Pratley 
united in marriage about 1887 with Miss Cora 
R. Batsell, a native of Kansas and a daughter of 
Dr. J. C. Batsell, an eminent physician of 
Effingham, Kan., but notwithstanding this lady's 
congenial disposition and happy married felicity, 
she has as yet borne to her husband no children. 
The energy, ability and practical knowledge of 
affairs that Mr. Pratley has exhibited since he 
has resided in Wyoming are a guarantee that the 
time is not very far distant when his influence 
will be felt for good throughout not only the im- 
mediate community in which he has his being but 
in remoter parts of the county and state, and the 
general public will appreciate even more forcibly 
than at present the value of his services. 

DANIEL B. RATHBUN. 

Although a native of the state of New York 
Daniel B. Rathbun has been engaged in stock- 
raising in Wyoming since 1873, and it may well 
be supposed that he is acquainted with the de- 
tails of the business, which, however has been 
in charge of his sons since 1891, as in that year 
the father retired to Evanston which is still his 



home. Daniel B. Rathbun was born in Cincin- 
natus, Cortland county, N. Y. on October 17, 
1839, a son °f Green and Sarah (Lyon) Rath- 
bun, the former of whom was of English de- 
scent and a gallant soldier in the American army 
of 1812, having enlisted in his native state of 
Connecticut. Mrs. Sarah (Lyon) Rathbun, a 
daughter of Ira Lyon, was born in Massachu- 
setts and had a maternal uncle who held a com- 
mission in the American army and was killed in 
the War of 1812 at Little York, Can. Green 
Rathbun passed his life as a farmer in the state 
of New York, where his death occurred when he 
was sixty-three years of age, his remains being 
interred at Cincinnatus and the death of his 
widow occurred when she was about seventy 
years old, her remains being laid to rest beside 
those of her husband. Both these parents were 
lifelong members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and passed their earthly life in full ac- 
cordance with its teachings. They had nine 
children of whom Daniel B. was next to the 
youngest and of whom four survive. Daniel B. 
Rathbun was primarily educated in the district 
schools of Cincinnatus, N. Y. This was supple- 
mented by further instruction at the Cincin- 
natus Academy, in which he was fully prepared 
for the active duties of life as far as could 
be done from the study of books. In 1859 Darnel 
B. Rathbun came west and engaged in mining in 
Eldorado county, Calif., until 1863, when he went 
to Virginia City, Nev., where he resided about 
one year and then removed to Lander county. 
Nev., and there continued at mining and also 
conducted a rancii for four years, then returning 
to California, where he was employed in various 
occupations for another period of four years, 
after he passed a year and a half engaged in no 
particular occupation. In 1873 he came to Uinta 
county, Wyo., and took up a ranch of about 400 
acres of government land on Fontenelle Creek, 
where he was engaged in the prevailing occu- 
pation of stockraising until 1891, when he re- 
tired to Evanston, leaving the ranch to the charge 
of his sons, who have proved to lie worthy suc- 
cessors of their capable father and devote their 
time chiefly to the raising of sheep, cattle being 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



155 



a secondary consideration. Mr. Rathbun has a 
modern dwelling on Lombard street, Evanston, 
where is displayed a genial hospitality. He takes 
an active interest in promoting the growth of the 
town and is serving his second term as chairman 
of the board of county commissioners, having 
been elected as a member of the board in the fall 
of 1902 for a term of four years. Mr. Rathbun 
was joined in marriage at Salt Lake City, Utah, 
in October, 1874, with Miss Hattie C. Fuller, a 
daughter of Jeduthan Fuller, a native of Ohio, 
and to this union have been born six children : 
Daniel E., now engaged in mining in Alaska; 
Hattie C, wife of Fred Wertel, deputy county 
treasurer of Uinta county, Wyo. ; Mark E. ; 
Henry F. ; George L. ; Donald B. Mrs. Rath- 
bun was born in Stephenson county, 111., and 
died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 16, 
1892, but her remains were interred at Evans- 
ton, Wyo. She was graduated from the 
Mount Carroll, 111. Ladies Seminary, and before 
her marriage was a popular and successful 
teacher at Green River, Wyo., being an estim- 
able lady, a loving wife and mother and a de- 
vout member of the Presbyterian church. 

CHARLES RICE. 

Descending from thrifty, sturdy and enter- 
prising German ancestry, domiciled, however, in 
America for several generations, whose sterling 
qualities have come down to him in no un- 
stinted measure, Mr. Charles Rice is now one 
of the independent and prosperous ranchmen 
of Converse county, Wyoming, where his finely 
located and well sheltered ranch of 600 acres 
is situated on Beaver Creek, ■ twenty miles 
southwest of Douglas and in close proximity 
to the postoffice at Beaver, having a fine resi- 
dence, a model of beauty and good taste, with 
a complete equipment and every consideration 
for the comfort of its inmates, his is surely a lot 
to be envied. He was born in the heart of the 
Western Reserve of Ohio, in Trumbull county, 
on April 27, 1855, a son of Lorenzo D. and 
Sarah (Wilson) Rice, who, born in Connecticut, 
formed a portion of that Connecticut colony 



that peopled the beautiful northeastern section 
of Ohio and gave a distinctively New England 
color to its civilization. The paternal grand- 
father was one of the earliest of these immi- 
grants, bringing his family thither and carving 
out a pleasant home from the virgin forests, 
continuing to be a farmer thereon until his 
death. Lorenzo D. Rice removed to Mitchell 
county, Iowa, in 1858, a pioneer settler, and he 
followed the example of his father in reclaiming 
an estate from the fertile virgin soil in that 
county on which he made his home, rearing a 
large family and attaining the venerable age of 
eighty-four years, dying on September 6, 1900. 
Charles Rice remained on the parental home- 
stead until he arrived at his majority, then dis- 
played the pioneer proclivities of his race by 
taking a westward course to Plymouth county, 
Iowa, two years later, in 1879, coming to 
Wyoming, where his initial employment was 
that of a carpenter in the government service 
at Fort Fetterman. In 1881 he located his pres- 
ent ranch and has since given his energies to 
the raising of cattle of a superior quality, con- 
ducting a prosperous business of rapidly in- 
creasing proportions, making Hereford cattle 
his favorite breed and running a superior and 
a valuable herd. The businesslike methods he 
is pursuing and the care and careful attention 
he is displaying in his labors can have no other 
result than a continual success. He is consid- 
ered one of the representative stockmen of a 
region noted for the strong character of its 
stock operators, and has an extensive and val- 
uable acquaintance with the leading men of the 
county, and is successful because he deserves 
success. In political relations he is in active 
accord with the Republican party, but does not 
use his efforts for personal advantage or offi- 
cial place and is a valued member of the fra- 
ternal order of the Woodmen of the World. On 
February 27, 1879, was celebrated the mar- 
riage of Mr. Rice and Miss Almina Howard, 
the daughter of James and Anna (Young) How- 
ard, a native of Wisconsin, but reared in Iowa, 
where her fatber was engaged in farming for 
many years. Their children are Anna, now 



156 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the wife of B. F. Sanford, who is ranching on 
Beaver Creek above Mr. Rice ; Myrtle, Olive 
and Mabel. 

JAMES B. RICHARDSON. 

A pioneer in three states, James B. Richard- 
son has dwelt on the frontier all of his life, be- 
ing in the very van of civilization and always 
fast on the heels of the flying buffalo. His ex- 
perience has taught him that no conditions of 
wildness or barbarism can withstand the spirit 
of American conquest, and also that our mother, 
earth is generous to her children in this favored 
land, yielding readily to the persuasive hand of 
the husbandman, spreading his table with 
plenty and his pathway with flowers, for he has 
seen the wilderness redeemed to culture and 
made fragrant with the bloom of civilization 
wherever he has halted in his progress through 
the great West. He was born on January 8. 
1 85 1, in Johnson county, Indiana, the son of 
Edward and Mary (Moorehead) Richardson, 
natives of Virginia, who came to Indiana soon 
after their marriage and, after some years of 
experimental farming in that then new country, 
removed in 1856 to Iowa, from there a year 
later to Harrison county, Mo., where they took 
up government land and were engaged in farm- 
ing for nearly a quarter of a century. Their an- 
cestors came to the New World among the Cav- 
aliers in the wake of the gallant Raleigh and in 
the history of the Old Dominion bravely bore 
an honorable part in peace and war. The Mis- 
souri home of the family was one of the finest 
and best improved in its part of the state and 
rewarded the skillful labor put upon it with 
abundant returns. Still, a spirit of discovery 
and adventure was in the blood, and in 1880 
the "old folks" sold out in that state and 
joined their children in Harlan county, Neb., 
where they had homesteaded and were farming 
successfully, but in the case of the father "the 
plow was nearing the end of the furrow," and 
within a year after his arrival in his new home 
he passed away and was buried in its soil, on 
which the mother now makes her home with 



her daughter. James B. Richardson grew to 
manhood and was educated in Harrison county, 
Mo., remaining at home until he was twenty- 
one years old. In 1872 he removed to Harlan 
county, Neb., and began farming among the 
first settlers there. The county is now well de- 
veloped and rather thickly populated, but when 
he "stuck his stake" there it was a wild, un- 
cultivated region, in which the buffalo roamed 
at will and Indians contested the right of the 
white man to dwell. Mr. Richardson became 
a skillful hunter as well as a farmer, chased the 
buffalo all over the county and had many inter- 
esting and thrilling experiences with both 
wild beasts and savage men. More than ten 
years were passed in this section and in the 
spring of 1883 he and his brother George came 
to northern Wyoming and located on the ranch 
which he now occupies in Crook county, nine 
miles north of Sundance, which section was 
also at that time a new country with but few 
settlers. With characteristic energy he at once 
began to improve his place and build up an in- 
dustry in cattleraising to which he has given 
his strength to good purpose, his ranch being 
in excellent condition and well provided with 
all the necessary appliances for its purposes, 
and he is contemplating other improvements, 
which will make it one of the most desirable 
homes in his portion of the county. On No- 
vember 3, 1878, he married with Miss Belle 
Watson of Harlan county, Neb., where the mar- 
riage was consummated. She is a native of 
New York of Scotch ancestry, her parents, 
James and Agnes (Morrison) Watson, coming 
to America from their native Scotland soon 
after their marriage, leaving the records and 
traditions of old and useful families behind 
them to build their domestic altar in a new 
world of hope and promise. After a short stay 
in New York City, they came west to Harlan 
county, Neb., and, settling on a homestead, be- 
gan farming and continued in this occupation 
until the death of the father in i8go. and his 
widow still lives at the old home. Five chil- 
dren have blessed the hearths! one of Mr. Rich- 
ardson : John W.. who d**^ on August 19, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



i57 



1S98, aged seventeen years ; Cleo P., Ina B., 
Vera F. and York B. He is a Republican in 
politics, but not an active partisan. 

WILLIAM H. RALSTON. 

This well-known cattleraiser and dealer is 
proprietor of probably the best improved ranch 
on the Laramie River within the bounds of Lar- 
amie county, Wyo. He was born on May 30, 
1862, in Ayr, Scotland, a son of Andrew W. 
and Joanna Ralston, farming people of Ayrshire, 
where the mother died in 1864, her remains be- 
ing interred in Maybole. The father came to the 
United States in 1879 m the interests of the 
London Insurance Co., and resided in New York 
until death called him away in August 1901, 
when his mortal part was buried in Brooklyn, 
Mr. William H. Ralston was educated at Dol- 
lar, Scotland, where he lived until 1879, when he 
went to New Zealand and engaged in farming 
until 1883, then coming to Wyoming by way of 
South America, the Atlantic ocean and New 
York, and entering the employ of the Tesche- 
macher & DeBillier Cattle Co., and first was 
given charge of the ranches but later was ap- 
pointed range-manager, having under his su- 
pervision all of the stock interests, his service ex- 
tending from the spring of 1884 until that of 
1892, when the firm closed out their interests in 
this country and Mr. Ralston purchased their 
home ranch, where he now lives at Uva, the 
ranch lying along the Laramie River. He owns 
about 900 acres and leases other tracts. Mr. 
Ralston was united in marriage on November 
21, 1892, at Cheyenne with Miss Mary E. 
Macfarlane, a native of Montreal, Canada, and 
a daughter of William S. and Mary E. (Ferrier) 
Macfarlane, whose ancestors early came from 
Scotland to America and became very promi- 
nent in the Dominion of Canada ; the grandfather 
becoming chairman of the board of directors of 
the Grand Trunk Railway and president of the 
Montreal and Lachine Railway Co., and a life 
senator of Canada. The mother of Mrs. Ralston 
died in 1874, and the father in 1885. The union 
of Mr. and Mrs. Ralston has been blessed with 
one child, Marion. 



ARTHUR ROBINSON. 

The hardy, energetic sons of the Emerald 
Isle have been most important factors in the 
building of the United States and especially so 
in the development of the states of the Rocky 
Mountain region, where every branch of its pro- 
gressive activity has been prominently advanced 
by the brains and physical energy of Irishmen. 
It is now our pleasant task to give a brief synop- 
sis of the life incidents of Arthur Robinson, who 
was born in Belfast, Ireland, on January 1, 1840, 
and after long years of useful activity is now 
quietly living in Kemmerer, Wyoming, sur- 
rounded by a large number of devoted friends 
and with children and grandchildren to do him 
honor and reverence. His paternal grandfather 
was also Arthur Robinson and the father was 
Benjamin Robinson. He was a skillful boiler- 
maker and in that connection removed to Eng- 
land, where he died in 1859 at the a £ e °f fifty- 
five years. His widow Mary (Arden) Robinson, 
after the death of her husband came to Arkansas 
and made her home with her oldest daughter, 
Mrs. Jane Harsden, passing a quiet and useful 
life until her death in 1882 at the age of seventy- 
three years. Arthur Robinson had the educa- 
tional advantages of the superior schools of Lan- 
cashire, Eng., but early began his long connec- 
tion with the important industry of mining, com- 
mencing to work in the coal mines when only 
eleven years of age. Upon attaining his ma- 
jority in 1 86 1, he took the very important step 
of crossing the Atlantic to avail himself of the 
wonderful opportunities the United States of- 
fered to honest toil and diligent endeavor, engag- 
ing at once upon his arrival in the coal mines of 
Pennsylvania as a skilled miner, thereafter being 
identified with this labor in Maryland, Indiana, 
Illinois, Iowa, Colorado and Wyoming, coming 
to this state in 1881. He has possessed the re- 
quisite qualifications for success in life and has 
acquired a valuable property, taking an active 
and a profitable interest in mining and in the 
development of the state's great oil industry. He 
was married at Paris, 111., on April 6, 1869, to 
Miss Amelia Snyder, a most estimable woman 
and a devoted member of the Methodist church. 



i58 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



whose greatly lamented death occurred on July 
12, 1890, at the age of thirty-eight years, her 
remains now quietly reposing at Twin Creek, 
Wyo. She was a daughter of Paden and Nancy 
Snyder, natives of Ohio, and her children were 
Anna, Emma, Elsie, Daisy, Benjamin, Mary and 
Nancy. 

WILLIAM ROGERS. 

The present popular county treasurer of 
Sweetwater county, William Rogers, was born 
in South Wales in 1862, and is a son of Thomas 
and Mary (Jones) Rogers, the former of whom 
was also born in Wales in 1839, was a miner 
by calling and came to the United States with 
a portion of his family in 1869, settled in Be- 
vier, Macon county, Missouri, and there lost 
his life by accident in 1878 while working in the 
mines, he being then but thirty-nine years of 
age. He was a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and was highly esteemed by 
his brethren as well as by his fellow workmen, 
and his loss was deeply deplored by them. Mrs. 
Mary (Jones) Rogers was born, reared and 
married in Wales, and is still living in Bevier, 
Mo. William Rogers came to America in 1871 
and located in Macon county, Mo., where he en- 
gaged in mining and merchandising until 1890, 
when he came to Rock Springs, Wyo., and 
worked at mining until 1902, when he was ap- 
pointed to fill a vacancy in the county treasur- 
ership of Sweetwater county, and from that 
time he has filled the office with ability and to 
the acceptation of all. In politics he is a Re- 
publican, and in his fraternal relations an Odd 
Fellow. Mr. Rogers was united in matrimony 
in 1887 in Bevier, Mo., with Miss Bella Pierce, 
also a native of Wales and a daughter of Sam- 
uel C. and Sarah (Wright) Pierce, and this 
marriage has been blessed with three children, 
Eva, Thomas and Sarah. For five years Mr. 
Rogers was a member of the public school 
board of trustees in Rock Springs, and during 
the whole of this period was the clerk of the 
board. He is a very quiet, frank and pleasant 
gentleman, who finds friends wherever he may 



happen to live. He possesses an immense 
amount of energy and has done his full share 
in the development of Wyoming, having com- 
menced his labors in this respect when the pres- 
ent state had but a territorial existence, and has 
witnessed its development into one of the 
strong and important members of the National 
Union in the West. In this development he has 
been an important factor, and it may be stated 
that to such men as he is due the growth of the 
nation. To his personal abilities alone is due 
his success in life, and it may be added that the 
West was largely conducive to his success, in- 
asmuch as his energy met here with keener ap- 
preciation, for men of his caliber are less ob- 
structed here in their business careers than in 
the over-crowded regions of the East, but it 
must also be said that a man of his intelligence 
and accomplishments would reach prominence 
in any country or place where Providence saw 
fit to locate him. He is a valuable acquisition to 
any community in which he lives. 

ALEXANDER RUTHERFORD. 

This successful stockman and representative 
citizen of Laramie county, Wyoming, was born 
in the county of Sangamon, 111., on January 7, 
1834, his father, John Rutherford, being a na- 
tive 'of Vermont and his mother, whose maiden 
name was Esther Constant, was born in Ken- 
tuckv, where her marriage took place. As 
early as 1824 they moved to Sangamon county, 
111., where the father carried on agricultural 
pursuits until his death about ten years later; 
Mrs. Rutherford departed this life in August. 
1866, and in dreamless sleep rests by the side 
of her husband in the old cemetery in Sanga- 
mon countv. Alexander Rutherford was but an 
infant when his father died and his early training 
fell to the lot of his mother, who spared no 
pains in bringing him up in the way he should 
go. He attended school winters until arriving 
at young manhood*s estate and from the time 
he proved of practical service until his twen- 
tieth year he remained with his mother and 
looked carefully after her interests. On Octo- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



159 



ber 20, 1852, he was united in marriage at 
Springfield, 111., with Miss Sarah A. Kent, 
daughter of John and Marietta (Myers) Kent 
of Ohio, and for three years thereafter he cul- 
tivated the home farm in Sangamon county, 
then moving to Iowa where he followed agri- 
culture for three years and then returned to 
Illinois and again took charge of the old home- 
stead. Two years later he purchased a farm 
near his mother's place, but in an adjoining 
county, on which he lived and prospered for six 
years, then selling out and moving to Cham- 
paign county where he continued cultivating 
the soil until 1879, when he disposed of his in- 
terests in Illinois and moved to Costilla county, 
Colo., and engaged in cattleraising until 1886, 
when he changed his location to Boulder, con- 
tinuing at the latter place until 1891, at which 
time he sought a new field in Laramie county, 
Wyo., taking up his present ranch on the 
Platte River, two miles east of Fort Laramie. 
The career of Mr. Rutherford appears to belie 
the old adage that "a rolling stone gathers no 
moss," for most of his changes have been de- 
cidedly for the better. He now owns a finely 
situated ranch of over 800 acres, having an 
abundance of water and herbage sufficient to 
maintain much more stock than the place can 
accommodate. His success since moving to 
his present location has been most gratifying, 
and he ranks with the leading, enterprising and 
progressive stockmen o'f the district, also stand- 
ing well as a citizen, enjoying in a pronounced 
degree the confidence and esteem of the pub- 
lic. To see Mr. Rutherford at his best it is 
necessary to meet him in the quiet of the fam- 
ily circle, for his domestic relations are almost 
ideal and few are so fortunately situated. His 
five surviving children have been provided with 
the best educational and social advantages ob- 
tainable. They are young ladies of refinement 
and culture, popular with the best element of 
society and having a large number of friends 
and acquaintances in society circles of Laramie 
county. Their names are Hester, Lydia, Jen- 
nie, Nettie and Sarah. Harriet, the oldest of 
the family, and Ellen, the fourth in order of 



birth of the children, are dead. Nettie, the 
next to the youngest daughter, is the post- 
master of Fort Laramie, and has proven a most 
efficient and popular official, being a talented 
and accomplished young lady, well fitted by 
natural endowment and educational discipline 
for the position. Mrs. Rutherford has dis- 
charged well her duties of wifehood and moth- 
erhood, and by her pure life, sterling virtues 
and exemplary character has won an abiding 
place in the affections of the people. 

THOMAS J. RUTLEDGE. 

Among the men of sterling worth residing in 
Laramie county, Wyoming, who have earned 
success by their own efforts and raised them- 
selves to positions of prominence must be num- 
bered Thomas J. Rutledge, one of the representa- 
tive men of Pine Bluffs. He is a native of the 
Province of Ontario, Can., and the son of John 
W. • and Mary E. (Pullman) Rutledge, the 
former a native of Ireland and the latter of Eng- 
land. The parents emigrated from Great 
Britain in childhood to Ontario and there at- 
tained maturity, the father early acquiring the 
trade of harness making, which he followed in 
Ontario until his decease in 1863. He is buried 
in Mitchell, Canada, but the mother survives 
and is making her home with her children in 
Wyoming. _ Thomas J. Rutledge was born on 
September 17, 1857, attained man's estate in 
Ontario and received his early education in the 
public schools of that province. The loss of 
his father when the son was only six years old 
made it imperative for him to early contribute 
to the support of his mother and the family. 
Pursuing the study of telegraphy while still a 
mere youth, he soon perfected himself in that art 
and at the age of fifteen years was employed by 
the Montreal Telegraph Co. as their telegrapher 
at Mitchell, Ont. remaining in this employment 
five years. In 1879, believing that he could ad- 
vance more rapidly in his chosen occupation in 
the United States than in Canada, he left Mit- 
chell, and after being employed at various places 
in the eastern portions of the country, lie came to 



i6o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Nebraska in 1880. There he was employed by 
the Union Pacific Railroad as a telegrapher at 
McPherson, Neb., for a short time and then he 
was transferred to Egbert, Wyo., as the tele- 
graphic operator and also the station agent and 
here he remained on duty until 1884, when he re- 
signed his position for the sole purpose of engag- 
ing in business for himself. Locating his 
present ranch property, about three miles south- 
west of Pirie Bluffs, he entered with energy into 
ranching and cattleraising in which occupations 
he has since been continuously employed and he 
has met with grand success, being the owner 
of one of the very finest ranches in that sec- 
tion of the state, being well fenced and im- 
proved with modern buildings and with appli- 
ances for carrying on a successful stockraising 
business. He deals largely in both cattle and 
horses, and is counted as one of the substantial 
business men and most progressive citizens of the 
county. On October 23, 1884, at Egbert, Wyo., 
Mr. Rutledge was united in marriage with Miss 
Minerva Thomas, a native of Ohio, a daughter 
of. Daniel and Margaret (Guyer) Thomas, both 
natives of Pennsylvania. To the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Rutledge, six children have come to 
bless their life, Frederick, Bessie, Frank, Thom- 
as, Richard and John, all of whom are living. 
The home of this worthy couple is noted for its 
many comforts and evidences of refinement as 
well as for the generous and gracious hospitality 
there dispensed. Mr. Rutledge is a stanch mem- 
ber of the Republican party and for many years 
has taken an active and prominent part in- pub- 
lic affairs. While never seeking office or posi- 
tion for himself, he has ever been earnest and 
enthusiastic in his support of the principles and 
the candidates of his political party. Public spir- 
ited and progressive, successful in business and 
charitable to all, he is one of the most respected 
citizens of his section of the state. 

PHILIP W. SHAFER. 

The son of one of the royal gamekeepers in 
tin- forests of Bavaria, where he lived until he 
was sixteen years old and having passed almost 



all of his subsequent life in the wild West of 
America, Philip W. Shafer of Boyd, Weston 
county, one of the enterprising farmers who 
have transferred Canyon Springs Prairie from 
an untrodden wilderness into a highly culti- 
vated garden, has had ample opportunity for 
communion with nature in her various moods 
and manifestations and has well learned the 
lessons she is ever ready to pour into the re- 
ceptive mind. He is a native of the Father- 
land, born on December 18, 1865, the son of 
John and Mary (Dunn) Shafer, also natives of 
Germany, where their families had lived and 
prospered for generations. His father is now 
and has been for more than forty years a game- 
keeper for the king of Bavaria, and Philip grew 
to the age of sixteen, living amid the scenes of 
his father's duties and attending school, being 
early apprenticed to the trade of a railroad en- 
gineer in accordance with an excellent German 
custom, which entails some useful handicraft 
on ever)' son of the empire, but instead of work- 
ing at his trade in his native land, in 1881 he 
came to America, and after passing two years 
in New York City, came west to Tower, Minn., 
soon going from there to the northern shore 
of Lake Superior and doing contract work on 
the construction of the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
road then building. He continued this occupa- 
tion until the spring of 1885 and was then sent 
to the western part of the Dominion as a gov- 
ernment scout on account of the hostility of 
the Indians. From 1886 to 1889 he was in 
North Dakota engaged in farming and raising 
stock, while the next year was passed at Su- 
perior, Minn., and the next in North Dakota 
as an agent of the Champion Reaper Co. in 
selling and placing machines. In 1891 he came 
to Wyoming and after working for the Cam- 
bria Mining Co., railroading and mining at 
Deadwood for nearly three years in April, 1893, 
he settled on his present ranch, twenty-five 
miles northeast of Newcastle, and for seven 
years passed his summers in the improvement 
of his ranch and his winters in mining in the 
Black Hills. Since 1900, however, he has given 
his entire time and attention to his farming 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



161 



operations and has made substantial progress 
in developing and beautifying one of the best 
tracts of land on the famous prairie of Canyon 
Springs. His success with farm products and 
cattle has emboldened him to start a new en- 
terprise, hograising, which he expects to carry 
on extensively and energetically. On January 
21, 1894, Mr. Shafter was married with Miss 
Bertha W. Spencer, a native of Kansas and 
daughter of George W. and Hattie (Allen) 
Spencer, whose life story is told at some 
length at another place in these pages. The 
Shafers have had four children, Ora C, Hattie 
M., deceased, P. Morley and Martha L. Fra- 
ternally Mr. Shafer is connected with the 
Knights of Pythias and the Western Federation 
of Miners, holding membership in lodges of 
these orders at Terry, S. D., and in politics he 
gives allegiance to the Republican party, but is 
not an active partisan. 

WILLIAM L. SILL. 

One of the foremost mining attorneys of 
Wyoming, and one who has done much to de- 
velop the mining resources of the mining dis- 
trict adjacent to Encampment, is William L. 
Sill, who was born on May 18, 1870, in Wis- 
consin, the son of William and Elizabeth 
(Stowe) Sill, the former a native of the state of 
New York and the latter of Vermont. The 
father when a young man removed from New 
York to Wisconsin in the early fifties and es- 
tablished his home in the city of Neenah, where 
he followed the occupation of millwright and 
erected a number of mills in different portions 
of Wisconsin, of which he was a pioneer. He 
is still living, retired from active business, and 
enjoying the ease and comfort earned by him 
during his long and useful life in the state of 
his adoption. The paternal grandfather, Ed- 
ward Sill, was a native of Connecticut, while 
the maternal grandfather, Absalom Stowe, was 
a native of Vermont. William L. Sill grew to 
man's estate in his native state and received his 
early education in its public schools. After 
completing his elementary studies, he pursued 



a business course at Valparaiso, Ind., and then 
accepted a position in the office of a lumber 
company at Merrill, Wis., where he remained 
for about three years. During this time he 
saved his earnings to enable him to continue 
his studies with a view to being admitted to the 
bar, and at the end of three years with the 
lumber company he resigned his position and 
entered the law school at Valparaiso, Ind., 
where he pursued a thorough course of legal 
study, and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He 
then returned to Wisconsin, and engaged in 
legal practice at Neenah and also at Merrill, 
continuing in practice here until 1898, when he 
removed his residence to the state of Wyoming 
and established his home at Encampment, 
where he opened a law-office and has since been 
successfully engaged in legal practice. In con- 
nection with the practice of law he has been 
engaged in mining, and is now largely inter- 
ested in several properties which have every in- 
dication of developing into handsome dividend- 
paying propositions. He organized the Cascade 
Copper Mining Co., one of the largest prop- 
er -'es in the district, which is already operating 
very successfully. The Continental Copper 
Mining Co. and the Gibraltar Copper Mining 
Co. are also corporations in which he is inter- 
ested. He has made a specialty of mining law, 
and has met with great success in his profes- 
sion, as well as in the placing of mining prop- 
erties. He is looked upon as one of the rising 
young men of his section of the state, destined to 
take a prominent part in its future business and 
professional life. Fraternally he is affiliated with 
the Masonic fraternity, Modern Woodmen of 
America, and the Equitable Fraternal Union 
and takes an active interest in the fraternal 
life of the community in which he maintains 
his home. He has been largely instrumental 
in attracting the attention of capital to this dis- 
trict of Wyoming, and has done much by his 
enterprise and public spirit to develop the re- 
sources of his county. Always active in pro- 
moting the public welfare, and in the advocacy 
of measures calculated to advance the interests 
of the city of his residence, he has earned the 



1 62 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



respect of all who know him, and is held in 
high esteem by all classes of his fellow citizens. 
On September 16, 1902, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Sill with Miss Louise Neel, of Chicago, 
111., a native of Helena, Mont., and daughter of 
Samuel and Lavinia (Baker) Neel a more ex- 
tended mention of whom will be found on an- 
other page of this work. 

JUDGE CHARLES W. BRAMEL. 

One of the leading citizens of the state of 
Wyoming and one who has done much in lay- 
ing firm the foundations of that commonwealth, 
Hon. Charles W. Bramel, the present judge of 
the Second Judicial District of Wyoming, is 
a native of the state of Virginia, having been 
born there on August 11, 1840. In 1844, his 
father disposed of his property in the Old Do- 
minion and removed his residence to Missouri, 
where he established his home in the city of 
St. Joseph. There his son Charles W. grew to 
manhood and received his early education in 
the public schools of that place. At the age 
of sixteen years, he entered the Bloomington 
College of Missouri, and was graduated from 
that institution of learning as a member of the 
class of '58. After the completion of his college 
course he returned to St. Joseph, and entered 
the law-office of William C. Toole, one of the 
eminent lawyers of the state and pursued the 
study of the law under his competent direction. 
After having been admitted to the bar, he prac- 
ticed his chosen profession in Missouri for a 
number of years with considerable success, and 
in 1867 he determined to seek his fortune in 
the new country farther to the west, and re- 
moved with his family to the then territory of 
Colorado. Upon his arrival he located in the 
promising town of Georgetown, then one of the 
important commercial centers of the western 
country, and entered upon the practice of law. 
In 1868 he was elected to the office of probate 
judge of Clear Creek county and served one 
term in that position. In the month of De- 
cember, 1869, he changed his abode to Laramie, 
W T yo., and continued in the practice of the law 



at that place with success, in 1872 being nomi- 
nated and elected as the prosecuting attorney 
for Albany county, and at the end of his first 
term he was renominated and reelected. At 
the expiration of his second term he was nomi- 
nated and elected as a member of the territorial 
council of Wyoming, and served during the 
sessions of 1874 and 1876. He was a faithful 
and conscientious legislator and many meas- 
ures, laws and enactments beneficial to the 
people and calculated to promote the welfare 
of the future commonwealth owe their origin 
to his patriotism and statesmanship. In 1877 
and 1878 he was the secretary of the territorial 
council, and by reason of his former service as 
a member of that body, was a most valuable 
and efficient officer. Subsequently he was 
elected as a member of the city council of 
Laramie and also to the position of city attor- 
ney, while during the administration of Gov- 
ernor Osborne he was appointed as judge ad- 
vocate on the governor's staff, with the rank 
of colonel. In 1895 he was again elected prose- 
cuting attornev of Albany county and still later 
was elected district judge of the Second Judi- 
cial District of Wyoming, which comprises the 
counties of Albany, Natrona and Fremont. As 
a judicial officer, his decisions have been char- 
acterized by firmness and ability, dispensing 
even and exact justice with a spirit of fairness 
and broad charity that have given him a wide 
reputation throughout the state. His course 
upon the bench has won him the approval of the 
bar and the favor of litigants, and has soundly 
established his name in the permanent history 
of the state as one of its representative jurists. 
During his residence in Laramie he has at 
various times been interested in daily and week- 
ly newspapers published at Laramie and also at 
the city of Cheyenne. His Laramie home is 
the center of a gracious and generous hospital- 
ity and he is held in high esteem by all classes 
of his fellow citizens. Unwavering in the en- 
forcement of the laws of the state, progressive 
in his views on all public questions and en- 
terprising as a private citizen, he is one of 
the foremost men of Wyoming, and his long 




/&>^ch^Uj /jf^M?-*^^^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



163 



career has furnished a high example of civic 
virtue, alike creditable to himself and honorable 
to his state. 

PATTEN A. SHEPARD. 

Conspicious among the representative agricul- 
turists of Laramie county and enjoying marked 
prestige as a citizen is the well-known and popu- 
lar gentleman, a review of whose life is presented 
in the following paragraphs. Patten A. Shepard 
in a native of Ralls county, Missouri, where his 
birth occurred on February 9, 1869. His parents 
William B. and Nancy (Wilson) Shepard, were 
natives of Indiana but moved to Missouri at 
the close of the Civil War settling in Ralls county 
where they lived until their removal to the county 
of Audrain about 1880. William B. Shepard 
was a farmer and stockraiser and wherever he 
lived earned the reputation of being a good man 
and useful citizen. He followed agriculture in 
Missouri until 1894 when he came to Laramie 
county, Wyo., purchasing a farm about two miles 
north of Wheatland where he lived until his re- 
tirement from active life a few years ago. His 
home is now in the town of Wheatland, where in 
rest and quietude he is enjoying the fruits of his 
many years of activity. Mrs. Shepard departed 
this life in Missouri and was buried near her 
former home. Patten A. Shepard was reared in 
Missouri on the home farm and enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of a common school education. He as- 
sisted his father with the manifold duties neces- 
sary to the successful prosecution of agricultural 
labor and in 1894 accompanied the family to 
Wyoming since which time he has been busily 
engaged cultivating the farm on which they set- 
tled. When his father retired from active life 
he took possession of the place which he now 
owns. He has brought it to a successful state 
of cultivation, made many valuable improvements 
and by industry and good management has be- 
come one of the successful agriculturists and re- 
presentative men of his county. On .June 14, 
1900 was solemnized the marriage ceremony 
of Mr. Shepard and Miss Hulda Akerblade, a 
native of Nebraska and a daughter of Isaac and 

10 



Matilda (Anderson) Akerblade, both parents 
having been born in Sweden. Mr. Akerblade and 
wife came to the United States in 1869 and for 
some time thereafter lived in Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Later they moved to Polk county, Neb., settling 
at Osceola, whereMr. Akerblade worked at his 
trade of tailoring. Some years ago he changed 
his abode to Laramie county, Wyo., where he is 
still living, his wife dying at Wheatland, on De- 
cember 29, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Shepard have 
one bright and winsome daughter, Vesta May. 
Mr. Shepard is an earnest supporter of the Re- 
publican party, but has no aspirations for official 
honors or public distinction. Fraternally he is 
identified with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, belonging to Wheatland Camp, No. 449. 
The family is associated with the best society 
circles of the community, and he is an up-to- 
date farmer with the true western spirit of en- 
terprise, and discharging the duties of citizenship 
as becomes an intelligent and loyal American. 

ANEN SIMMONS. 

Among the early pioneers of Wyoming, 
whose endeavors and sacrifices in behalf of 
good government did so much in building up 
the institutions of the state, and who have 
passed away from the scenes of their activity, 
no one left behind him a name held in higher 
esteem than did Anen Simmons, the subject of 
this review. ■ He was a type of the best citizen- 
ship of foreign birth, for coming to this country 
at the early age of ten years, he brought with 
him from his native country of Norway, the 
habits of thrift, loyalty to principle and fidelity 
to established institutions which characterize 
that hardy race, and which enabled him to carve 
out for himself in this country of his adoption 
a career which should furnish a model for his 
children and his children's children for many 
generations. He was born on September 13, 
1848, and emigrated from Norway to this coun- 
try with his parents in 1858, they first settling in 
Minnesota, near Duluth. Here the father en- 
gaged in farming for some time, and then re- 
moved to Iowa, where he settled upon a farm 



164 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



near Cedar Rapids. The son Anen attended 
the public schools of Minnesota and Iowa, and 
received such early education as the limited op- 
portunities of that time permitted. But the 
most of his studying was done at his home, 
where his habits of industry enabled him to ac- 
quire a good practical education, and he was 
noted in after life for the breadth and accuracy 
of his information. In 1866, when but eighteen 
years of age, filled with an ambition to make 
his own way in the world, and to carve out for 
himself a fortune in the new country of the 
West, he left his Iowa home and came to the 
frontier territory of Nebraska. After remain- 
ing there a short time he continued his journey 
into Wyoming, being the first man to arrive 
at Camp Carlin, at the time the Union Pacific 
Railroad was in construction through that coun- 
try. Here he secured employment as a cook 
for the army officers stationed at that camp, at 
which employment he continued for some time, 
and then removed to Cheyenne, Wyo., and in 
1869 opened the Eagle Hotel in that city. This 
was one of the first hotels of Cheyenne, and he 
conducted it successfully and prosperously for 
five years until his hotel building was destroyed 
by fire in 1874. Not discouraged by his loss, 
the following year he erected a larger and bet- 
ter building on the same site, and continued to 
conduct a popular hotel business. His hotel 
was located on Seventeenth street and was one 
of the leading hostelries of Cheyenne. In 1886 
he disposed of his hotel property at a handsome 
figure, and purchased the fine ranch now owned 
and conducted by his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Lawrence Simmons, and their son, William A. 
Simmons, on the Middle Crow Creek, about 
twenty-one miles west of Cheyenne, and here 
he continued to be engaged successfully in cat- 
tleraising until his lamented death, which oc- 
curred on June 19, 1899, and he was buried in 
the city of Cheyenne, the capital of the state 
which was the scene of the activities of his busy 
and useful life. On September 13, 1871, at the 
city of Cheyenne, Mr. Simmons was united in 
marriage with Miss Elizabeth Lawrence, and the 
daughter of John and Mary (Pierce) Lawrence, 



both natives of England where she was born. 
The father was a mechanic for long years in his 
native country. He emigrated to America in 
1857 and settled first at De Soto, Wis., as a 
mechanic. In 1868 he removed his residence 
to Nebraska and established himself in business 
at Columbus. Here he remained until 1885, 
when he went on a visit to his old home in Eng- 
land and while there was taken with sudden ill- 
ness and died, leaving considerable property at 
his home in Columbus, Neb. The mother is 
still living and makes her residence in Cheyenne. 
Two children were born to bless the union of 
Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, Alena, who died at the 
age of eight years and is buried at Cheyenne, 
and William A., who resides on the home ranch 
and admirably carries on the business estab- 
lished by his father. Anen Simmons was a 
stanch adherent of the Republican party, ever 
loyal to its principles and its candidates. Dur- 
ing his residence in Cheyenne he took an active 
and leading part in public affairs, and his sup- 
port was eagerly sought by those ambitious to 
be elected to public office. He never sought 
or desired any political position for himself, 
preferring to devote his time and ability to the 
management of his private affairs. He was a 
whole-souled, deserving and successful man, 
whose judgment was seldom in error and whose 
friendship was valued by all. He was true to 
his friends, faithful to his obligations and un- 
failing in his support of every measure calcu- 
lated to benefit the community or promote the 
public welfare. His industry and ability accu- 
mulated a handsome fortune for the loved ones 
whom he left behind. His widow, compelled 
bv delicate health to remove from Wyoming 
after the death of her husband, now resides in 
the beautiful city of San Jose, California, where 
she has a pleasant home and is surrounded by 
all the comforts that wealth and the devotion 
of her children can supply, being a devout mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church and deeply in- 
terested in its works of charity and religion. 
The son, William A. Simmons, under whose 
management the Wyoming business is now con- 
ducted, and who resides at the old home at 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



165 



Hecla, is one of the prominent young business 
men of the state and a worthy successor of his 
father. Since the death of the latter the son 
has had entire charge of the business, and has 
carried it on along the lines mapped out by the 
father with marked ability and success. He 
has steadily added to the value of the property 
and is destined to become one of the. wealthy 
men of Wyoming. On April 3, 1901, he 
wedded with Miss Marie H. Laubli, a native of 
Switzerland, the ceremony taking place in 
Cheyenne. Their home is one noted for its 
many comforts and evidences of refinement, 
and they find pleasure in here dispensing a 
generous and gracious hospitality. Mr. Sim- 
mons is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen 
of America, and with the Woodmen of the 
World, holding membership at Cheyenne. Po- 
litically, like his father, he is a stanch member 
of the Republican party and a loyal supporter 
of its principles. 

ALFRED SMITH. 

While Wyoming is more generally known 
by reason of its great mineral productions, un- 
developed mines and natural resources, it also 
enjoys a high reputation for extensive ranches 
devoted to the production of high grade cattle, 
horses and sheep, an industry that has engaged 
the attention of capitalists from abroad and 
been the means of placing the thrifty settler in 
the front rank of prosperity. Agriculture has 
also come rapidly to the front as one of the 
chief sources of wealth and in connection with 
the stock business it has 'served as the founda- 
tion of general prosperity and not infrequently 
of fortune to those engaged in it. Among the 
successful agriculturists and stockmen of 
Laramie county, who have won recognition and 
added luster to the localities in which they re- 
side, Alfred Smith of Banks is a conspicuous 
example. He comes of an old eastern family 
and traces his genealogy in this country to an 
early period in tbe history of New Jersey. His 
parents, Peter and Mary (Daly) Smith, both 
natives of that state, soon after their marriage 



went to New York, and in 1832 to Champaign 
county, Ohio, where the father engaged in farm- 
ing and there and in Logan county he lived and 
flourished until 1850, when he sold his inter- 
ests and removed to Mahaska county, la., 
where he followed farming until his death on 
June 26, 1 891, his wife surviving him until 1895, 
when she, too, was laid to rest in the cemetery 
at Oskaloosa. Their son Alfred passed his 
childhood and youth on the family homestead 
in Iowa, whe-re he was born on March 1, 1853, 
enjoying such educational privileges as the pub- 
lic schools afforded and remaining at home 
until nearly eighteen years old, assisting his 
father with the varied labors on the farm. In 
1 871 he went to Marshalltown and found em- 
ployment as a farm hand and continued work- 
ing in that capacity until 1875, when after 
spending the winter in Missouri, he returned 
home and again assisted his father on the farm. 
From the fall of 1876 until 1883 he resided in 
Illinois, when he once more took up his abode 
in his native county as a farmer. This business 
he conducted there with success until some 
years later he located in Scott's Bluff county, 
Neb., where he took up land and devoted his at- 
tention to farming until April, 1893, when he 
came to Wyoming, there entering the employ 
of the Swan Land & Cattle Co., as foreman of 
Rock ranch on the Platte River and holding 
this important position until December 3, 1901, 
when he resigned and took up his residence on 
an adjoining ranch which had come into his 
possession in 1897. Previous to locating on 
his own place he erected thereon a fine two- 
story stone dwelling, fitted with modern con- 
veniences, it being the first and by far the 
largest and most complete structure of the kind 
on the Platte River. He also built substantial 
barns and other outbuildings, and made other 
essential improvements so as to properly equip 
the place for properly carrying on farm- 
ing and stockraising on an extensive scale. In 
addition to his home place, which consists of 300 
acres of rich tillable land twenty-three miles east 
of Fort Laramie, he owns 390 acres in Scott's 
Bluff county, Neb. He is deeply and earnestly in- 



1 66 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



terested in breeding and rearing fine grades of 
live stock and has large herds in excellent con- 
dition. He has spared no pains or expense in 
beautifying and adding to the attractiveness of 
his elegant home, and having one of the finest 
landed estates in the county, he is well situated 
to enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor 
and success. In numerous ways Mr. Smith has 
exhibited a public spirit and that desire for the 
general good which marks him as a man of 
broad and enlightened ideas, one that intuitively 
sees the needs of the community and suggests 
the means of providing for them speedily and 
effectively. He has been a stimulating force 
to his people and through his influence the ma- 
terial interests of his section have been largely 
enhanced and its social conditions correspond- 
ingly benefited. He is 'widely known and highly 
esteemed and his dealings with his fellowmen 
have been characterized by the integrity and 
sense of honor always to be found in the true 
gentleman and the really enterprising and wise 
man of affairs. He was married at Toulon, 111., 
on December 24, 1881, with Miss Mattie Mc- 
Compsey, daughter of Charles and Mary C. 
(Godfrey) McCompsey, natives of Illinois but 
now residents of Scott's Bluff county, Neb. The 
Smiths have an interesting family of five chil- 
dren, Eunice, Benjamin F., Ada, Ettie and 
Hazel. 

JOSEPH R. SLAUGHTER. 

Among the successful and industrious ranch- 
men of his section of the state, Mr. Joseph R. 
Slaughter is one of the most popular. For 
over twenty years he has maintained his home 
in Wyoming and is a true pioneer, for he has 
been during all these years connected with stock- 
growing, and knows full well all that life can 
present in that field of endeavor, in which he has 
attained prosperity and the good opinion of his 
associates. He was born in Athens count}", 
Ohio, on February 5, i860, the son of John and 
Mary (Durant) Slaughter, the father being a 
native of the same state and the mother of 
Pennsylvania. The family came to Denver when 



Joseph was but a few months old, so that prac- 
tically all his life has been passed in the West, 
his father dying within a short time after mak- 
ing Colorado his home, after which the mother 
with an older daughter and her young son made 
her residence in Denver, there remaining and 
being the mother of two sons by a second mar- 
riage, and all of them retain their home in Col- 
orado. The early youth of Mr. Slaughter was 
passed in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado, and 
in 1878, he went to the eastern portion of the 
state, where he remained until the fall of 1880, 
and then came to Wyoming, in which state he 
has since resided, and was employed on a ranch 
situated northeast of Cheyenne for a year, then 
coming to Converse county, he was in the em- 
ploy of the H Company for nearly ten years as 
a range rider, he being well fitted for and enjoy- 
ing that strenuous life. Having by this time ac- 
quired a thorough and practical knowledge of the 
range and its possibilities in the way of stock- 
raising, he engaged in business for himself, de- 
voting his attention largely to the sheep industry, 
but also having a bunch of cattle, taking up a 
homestead on Deer Creek, where he continued to 
make his headquarters until 1900, then selling 
this property, he in association with O. A. Pat- 
zold purchased 960 acres of land on Box Elder 
and Willow creeks and they have since con- 
ducted the sheep business there with success and 
a rapidly increasing prosperity, usually running 
10,000 head. Mr. Slaughter thoroughly under- 
stands his business and is in constant touch with 
all the improvements of the day in relation to 
Wyoming's great agricultural resources, being 
a member of the executive committee of the 
Glenrock Wool Growers' Association. In fra- 
ternal relations he is a master mason and a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of America, 
and the Woodmen of the World. His sympa- 
thies are actively in favor of the Republican po- 
litical party, was elected a member of the lower 
house of the seventh state legislature from Con- 



verse county in November 
progressive man and 



1902. 



leinsr a 



a good citizen 



he 



has many friends. Mr. Slaughter has been 
twice married, first on Tune 21, 1886, to Mrs. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



167 



Ella Slaymaker, a sister of Mrs. Chas. Rice of 
La Prele, (see sketch). She died on February 
19, 1899, an d ° n J u ly 10, 1901, he married with 
Miss Emma Kimball, a daughter of E. H. and 
Elizabeth M. (Smith) Kimball, of whom ex- 
tended mention is made on other pages of this 
book 
home in Glenrock 



Mr. and Mrs. Slaughter maintain their 



IRVIN N. SMITH. 

The prolific grain and hay region of Wyo- 
ming, known as Canyon Creek Prairie, yields 
abundant harvests to the toil and hopes of the 
husbandman. Nature there is generously prov- 
ident, asking only that her reasonable require- 
ments in the way of care in planting and judg- 
ment in cultivation be met, and she responds 
with the fullness of plenty to all proper efforts. 
The needs of the section in this respect are 
well supplied by the energetic, progressive and 
diligent population whom favoring fortune 
has led to its fertile acres ; and among them, 
conspicuous for skillful farming and judicious 
activity in stockraising, is Irvin N. Smith, who 
has come to his present estate through efforts 
in many lines of work and several promising lo- 
calities. He was born at Carlinville, Macoupin 
county, HI., on January 30, 1865, the son of John 
and Louisa (Clark) Smith, also natives of Illi- 
nois. The father was a prosperous farmer in 
Macoupin county until 1882 when he removed 
with his family to Hamilton county, Neb., and 
there took up land on which he lived and farmed 
until his death in August, 1898, and the mother 
is still living there. Mr. Smith received his 
education in the public schools of his native 
county, and in 1882, when he was seventeen, 
he accompanied his parents to their new home 
in Nebraska, remaining with them until he was 
of age and working on the farm. In 1887 he 
began his advance toward his present home, 
passing two years in Colorado, working in 
different parts of the state, generally on 
ranches. He then came to Wyoming and after 
working one season in a hotel at Buffalo, lo- 
cated at Cambria, attracted bv its coal mines 



in which he worked for eight years. In 1897 he 
homesteaded a part of his present ranch on Can- 
yon Springs Prairie, nineteen miles northeast 
of Newcastle, and from that time he has de- 
voted his energies to ranching and cattleraising, 
building- up a profitable industry and adding to 
his estate until he now has 480 acres, a large 
portion being under cultivation and yielding ex- 
cellent crops of grain, hay, potatoes and other 
farm products, the residue providing a desir- 
able range for his cattle. Mr. Smith is looked 
upon as a leading man in his lines and his aid 
and advice in matters of public local interest 
are' much sought and valued, while in politics 
he is an active Democrat and gives his party 
good service. On February 29, 1887, at Hamp- 
ton, Neb., he was married with Miss Nannie 
Zook, a native of Illinois and daughter of David 
and Lydia (Shick) Zook. Her father was a 
farmer in Ohio and afterwards in Nebraska. 
For a number of years he was also engaged 
in business in Hampton as a dealer in agricul- 
tural implements. For some years now he has 
been living retired from active pursuits, en- 
joying the rest he has richly earned, surrounded 
by a large body of admiring friends and fellow 
citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two chil- 
dren, S. Elgin and L. Ariel. Their home is a 
center of generous hospitality and they have 
a host of friends throughout the surrounding 
country. Just in the prime of life, with all his 
faculties in full vigor and secure in the esteem 
of his fellowmen, Mr. Smith has a promising fu- 
ture of credit and usefulness before him. 

JOHN R. SMITH. 

A pioneer of Wyoming, settling within her 
wild and unbroken domain in 1866 when the 
adventurous foot of the white man was first 
invading it, John R. Smith, one of the leading 
stockmen and farmers and an influential and 
productive force in public local affairs in John- 
son county, has seen the beginning of the 
state's history, has watched her progress, has 
aided in the development of her civil, industrial 
and commercial institutions and has helped ma- 



1 68 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



terially to form and build her political and edu- 
cational institutions. He was born in Belmont 
county, Ohio, on April 25, 1844, the son of 
George and Elizabeth (Shoup) Smith, the for- 
mer a native of Maryland and the latter of 
Germany. When he was eleven years old he 
removed with his parents to Indiana and there 
lived until 1861, attending school and assisting 
on the farm. When the great cloud of the Civil 
War darkened our land he promptly enlisted in 
defense of the Union in Co. H, (Morton Rifles) 
Thirty-fourth Indiana Regiment, and served 
four years and seven months, participating in 
many hard fought battles, even to the very 
latest struggle, in which he bore a creditable 
part. He was the color-bearer of his regiment, 
and always in the thick of the fight. He also 
saw arduous and very trying service against 
the Indians, and bears upon his body the scars 
from wounds received on the field. After the 
close of the war he came to Wyoming, es- 
tablishing headquarters where the town of 
Buffalo now stands and conducted a freight- 
ing business between Fort Phil Kearney and 
Fort Smith for a time and later between Sedg- 
wick in Kansas and Denver and Golden in 
Colorado, thereafter returning to Wyoming and 
locating at Horseshoe near Fairmount, there 
engaging in farming and raising stock until 
the Indians burnt him out, when lie went to the 
mining districts and mined for a short period, 
then entered the service of the U. S. govern- 
ment carrying despatches from Camp Stamba 
to Fort Washakie. In this vocation he had 
many thrilling adventures with the Indians and 
constantly carried his life in his hands. The 
savages were hostile, alert and determined ; he 
was vigilant, courageous and resourceful. He 
triumphed over all their arts, demonstrating the 
superiority of the trained intellect over natural 
cunning. In 1876 he joined General Crook's 
expedition against the savages, coming with 
this great commander to Wyoming as a scout. 
He also conducted a sutler's store in this cam- 
paign and later had a contract to furnish beef 
for Crook's army. In 1887 he settled where he 
now lives, locating on the first government land 



taken up in the neighborhood and digging the 
first irrigating ditch in this part of the coun- 
try. From the first he has been actively en- 
gaged in raising cattle and horses and improv- 
ing his land. He now owns 720 acres, admir- 
ably adapted to ranching, and here breeds fine 
Percheron horses, conducting the business with 
vigor and success. In politics Mr. Smith is an 
ardent and zealous Democrat, but in local af- 
fairs is more of a patriot than a partisan. He 
was one of the first board of commissioners for 
Johnson county and helped to organize the 
new county and his war experience and the as- 
sociations and recollections belonging to it 
have made him a loyal and enthusiastic mem- 
ber of the G. A. R. In November, 1870, he 
married with Miss x\gnes D. Delaney, a native 
of Ireland. They have four children, Alfred M., 
a prominent stockman of Johnson county ; 
Mary E., Wyoming and George E. All are 
natives of Wyoming and residents of the state, 
contributing to its advancement and adorning 
its citizenship. 

OLIVER C. SMITH. 

A typical representative of the best element 
of New England life, Oliver C. Smith is a 
scion of one of the oldest Colonial families of 
Massachusetts. His ancestors were among the 
early English emigrants of that grand old com- 
monwealth and their names figure prominently 
in the early annals of New England. Oliver 
Smith, his great-grandfather, held a captain's 
commission in the American army of the Revo- 
lution and was one of four brothers that took 
part in that struggle. He was born in the 
Massachusetts Colony, where his father settled 
in 1 O36. Among the children of Captain Smith 
was a son, also named Oliver, whose birth oc- 
curred in Walpole, Mass., in 1762. He joined 
the Colonial army at the age of sixteen and 
distinguished himself for brave and gallant 
service in the Revolutionary army until inde- 
pendence was secured. When a young man 
he married Hannah Fails and turned his atten- 
tion to agricultural pursuits which he followed 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



169 



until his death. David Smith, son of Oliver 
and Hannah Smith, was born in Walpole on 
February 26, 1798, and also' following farming 
as a vocation. He married Miss Maria Cook, 
whose birth occurred at Wrentham, Mass., in 
1799, and died when his son, of whom we now 
write, was about eight years old. Mrs. Smith 
was the daughter of Reuben Cook, born in 
1768, the son of Daniel Cook, both natives of 
the Old Bay State. Reuben was also a tiller of 
the soil and passed most of his life near the 
place of his birth and died at Belchertown in 
1849, Mrs. Smith dying in 1877. She was a 
woman of strong mentality, beautiful Christian 
character and actuated by a laudable ambition 
to succeed in the world and to have her children 
win useful stations in life. David Smith is re- 
membered as a kind-hearted, good-natured 
man, whose aim in life was to provide well for 
his family and do the right as he saw and under- 
stood the right. He was industrious, honor- 
able and upright, and a most excellent and ex- 
emplary citizen. Oliver C. Smith, the direct 
subject of this review, was born in Pelham, 
Mass., on April 19, 1825. Early deprived of 
a father's care he was reared by his mother, 
who spared no pains in looking after his edu- 
cation and instilling into his young mind those 
principles of moral rectitude by which his life 
has been so largely controlled. He was reared 
to share the labors and pleasures incident to 
farm life and after acquiring a preliminary 
training in the common schools, continued his 
education in Amherst Academy, an institution 
noted for the high order of its instruction. On 
quitting school Mr. Smith taught for two years 
in Orange county, N. Y., and then took up 
the carpenter's trade which he followed for six 
years in his native state, then engaging in rail- 
road construction, taking contracts in various 
parts of the United States and continuing the 
work until about 1874, when he came to Rock 
Springs, Wyo., and entered the mercantile busi- 
ness. He was one of -the pioneer merchants 
of Rock Springs and did a large and lucrative 
business, by diligent application and successful 
management, amassing a competence of suf- 



ficient magnitude to enable him to pass the 
remainder of his life in honorable retirement, 
retiring at the close of the nineteenth century. 
His life has been a notable example of those 
sound and correct business principles which 
secure success and retain public confidence and 
esteem, and no man in Rock Springs enjoys 
in greater measure the high regard of all 
classes of people or has shown himself more 
worthy of this regard. Mr. Smith has been 
twice married, the first time in 1845, a ^ Enfield, 
Mass., with Miss Jane Rass, a daughter of Rev. 
Robinson C. and Mary Ann (Pickum) Rass. 
The father being a native of Smithfield, R. I., 
and for many years an able minister of the 
Baptist church, passing nearly all his active life 
in Massachusetts and dying in 1850, at the age 
of fifty, his wife living to be eighty-six years 
old. Mrs. Smith departed this life in 1862, 
leaving five children, Mrs. Henrietta Thayer, 
Eugene, Mrs. Fannie Gable, Gilbert and Oliver. 
Mr. Smith's second marriage was solemnized 
in 1868 with Lucy Wellman, who bore him one 
daughter, Fredda. In 1901 the angel of death 
again invaded the household and took there- 
from this devoted and faithful wife, leaving him 
desolate indeed. Cheered by an abiding faith 
in Him who doeth all things well and believing 
that the afflictions and bereavements of this 
life are a part of God's wisely ordained plans, 
he bows submissively beneath the rod, looking 
forward to a joyful reunion under happier con- 
ditions than the poor earth-life can afford. Mrs. 
Smith was a devoted Christian lady, whose life, 
consecrated to the service of the Master, was 
influential for great good in the home, the 
church and the community. Mr. Smith is a 
man of strong religious convictions and abid- 
ing faith. He helped to organize the first 
church established in Rock Springs and has 
been an active member to the present time. He 
has also been quite prominent in public and 
political affairs and for eleven years faithfully 
served as postmaster of his city. He possesses 
a cultivated mind, enriched by study and in- 
telligent observation, and has long been a leader 
in local intellectual circles. In private life he 



I/O 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



is genial, urbane and a courteous gentleman 
of the old school. His attractive home is the 
center of a free and genuine hospitality ; here, 
surrounded by friends endeared to him by 
years of kind deeds and agreeable association, 
he finds that solace and repose in the inter- 
change of neighborly offices without which life 
would be divested of much of its charm. 

WILLIAM FARRALL SMITH. 

Prominent among the progressive ranch- 
men and cattlemen in, the Redwater section of 
Crook county, where he conducts farming and 
a stock ranch, where he is raising cattle and 
horses, leading the pleasant life of a country 
gentleman, William F. Smith has been one of 
the developing and inspiring forces of mental, 
moral and commercial advancement for his 
county and one of the political agencies which 
have given its public policy proper trend and 
healthy growth. He is a native of Wallasey, 
Cheshire, England, where he was born on June 
26, 1845, a son of Samuel and Mary (Farrall) 
Smith, also natives of that interesting region. 
His father was an intelligent and influential 
farmer who came with his family to the United 
States in 1850, landing at New Orleans and 
proceeding from there to Warren county, 
Ohio, where he again engaged in farming for 
five years, in 1855 removing to Audubon county, 
Iowa, then on the far frontier, where he took 
up government land and followed his customary 
vocation until his death in 1869, his devoted 
wife preceding -him to the spirit world in 1857. 
Their son William F. Smith was educated in 
the schools of Audubon county and Des 
Moines, Iowa. In 1861 he enlisted in Co. L, 
Fourth Iowa Cavalry, and followed the flag of 
his adopted country through the awful experi- 
ences of the Civil War, being honorably dis- 
charged on September 2, 1865. Most of his 
service was in the department of the Mississippi 
under General Grant, and in the battles fought 
by that great commander he bore himself with 
conspicuous bravery, especially at Vicksburg, 
where as a sharpshooter he was exposed to con- 



stant danger of death and in 1864 he was pro- 
moted to company bugler. At the close of the 
war Mr. Smith's restless energy required suitable 
occupation amid the fruitful pursuits of peace, 
for his four years service in the field, which be- 
gan when he was sixteen and brought him to 
face a brave and determined foe in more than 
twenty battles and a large number of skirmishes, 
and gave him every form of military experience 
where hardship, privation or hazard was at 
hand, had for a time at least, unfitted him for 
a humdrum life. He engaged in commercial 
business but soon finding this too monotonous, 
sold out his interest and drove an ox team 
across the plains to Denver, finding in the trip 
the very spice of danger that his spirit required. 
In Colorado he went to work on a ranch at 
$52 a month and his board and from that time 
until the summer of 1884, when he located on 
the homestead near Spearfish which he now oc- 
cupies, he was oscillating between the West 
and the East, now living at his old home in 
Exira, Iowa, and again at Cheyenne, where he 
found the population too tough for his enjoy- 
ment, then he was at the end of the Union 
Pacific tracks at Medicine Bow River and next 
at Iron Mountain, whither he went with Her- 
man Haas for a load of iron ore to be sent 
east for analysis, braving the dangers of hostile 
Indians who were then on the warpath, elud- 
ing their vigilance by traveling at night, secur- 
ing his load of ore and returning safely with 
it to Cheyenne, in Colorado, working on 
the same ranch that had previously 'had his 
services, at Greeley, at Bentonville. Ark., back 
in Iowa, where he was married on January 1. 
1873, with Miss C. A. Hamlin of Exira, return- 
ing- with his bride to Greeley and remaining un- 
til May, 1879, when he again took up his resi- 
dence in Iowa and for two years farmed his 
father-in-law's farm. In 1S81 his health failed 
and he applied for a pension for disabilities in- 
curred in service. He received this in 1882, the 
arrears amounting to $1,317. and. buying a 
team with necessary equipment, he started in 
December, T883. for the Black Hills of Wyo- 
ming, wintering near Chamberlain, S. D.. ami 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



171 



arriving at Spearfish early in the following 
spring. Near there he took up a preemption 
claim of 160 acres, bought twenty-one head of 
cattle and went to work as a farmer ; later tak- 
ing up a homestead claim of 160 acres adjoining 
his preemption, and he is still living on the land, 
conducting a farming and stock business of 
expanding value and importance, improving his 
land and its appurtenances and keeping its ap- 
pliances up-to-date in every particular. Not- 
withstanding his busy and adventurous life, 
Mr. Smith has never lost interest in public af- 
fairs, contributing freely of his time and energy 
to the welfare of every enterprise for the ad- 
vancement of the community. He is an ardent 
Republican in politics, and has done yeoman 
service in the cause of his party in many hotly 
contested campaigns. He has served his peo- 
ple as road supervisor, is now school trustee, 
and in November, 1900, was elected to the state 
legislature by a majority of 196 votes, this being 
twenty-five or thirty more than his party's 
strength. Mr. Smith has high standards of 
conduct and is a gentleman of character and 
standing. He is a total abstainer from intoxi- 
cants, never gambles or sports in any way and, 
like his father and all other members of his 
family, has never been arrested or had a law- 
suit. His family consists of himself, his wife, 
three sons and one daughter. The daughter, 
Irene J., is a popular teacher, and he has one 
adopted daughter, Lillie, aged 15 years. The 
eldest son, William Edwin, was born in Colo- 
rado in 1874; Ralph Farrall in 1878; Charles 
Farrall in Crook county, Wyo., in 1884. Two 
of the brothers of Mr. Smith were also soldiers 
for the Union in the Civil War, each serving 
four years, and another could not go because 
too young. The postoffice of Farrall, which 
Mr. Smith had established and which bears 
his mother's maiden name, was conducted by 
him for four years and a half. His home has 
been a center of generous but unostentatious 
hospitality, giving cheerfully to the guest and 
stranger alike the best of its entertainment, 
and from it have emanated influences of great 
benefit to the community in fostering schools. 



churches and other moral agencies, healthful 
commercial enterprises and every element of 
safe and substantial progress. A candid, out- 
spoken man, of positive convictions and fearless 
courage in asserting them, Mr. Smith is free 
from the despotism of opinion, both from 
others over him and from him over others. 

CHARLES F. SODERGREEN. 

A successful stockman of Albany county, 
Wyoming, and one who is prominent in the 
Grand Army circles of the state as well as in 
the councils of the Republican party, Charles 
F. Sodergreen is one of the leading citizens of 
Woods Landing, Wyo. Born in 1842 he is 
a native of Sweden, and the son of Charles and 
Susanna (Johnson) Sodergreen, both natives of 
the same country. His father was born in 1817 
and followed the occupation of farming in his 
native country until 1852, when he came to 
America. Here he first established his home 
near the city of Jamestown, N. Y., and there 
engaged in farming for about one year ( when 
he removed his residence to Warren county, 
Pa., there continuing agricultural pursuits and 
residing .until his death in 1901. The mother 
was born in 1818 and was the parent of four 
children, two boys and two girls, and passed 
away in Warren county, Pa., in 1861, her 
maiden name being Johnson. The subject of 
this sketch received his early education in the 
public schools of Warren county, Pa., availing 
himself of such -limited educational opportuni- 
ties as were at his command. In 1861 he re- 
sponded to the call of President Lincoln for 
troops to defend the integrity of the Union, 
and enlisted in Co. D, One Hundred and 
Eleventh Pa. Regiment, for service in the 
Civil War. He served for over one year and 
then was seriously wounded at the battle of An- 
tietam and taken to the army hospital at Smoke- 
town, Md., where he remained for some time re- 
covering from the effects of his injuries, and in 
1863 he was mustered out of the service on ac- 
count of his wounds and returned to his Warren 
county home. Here he resided as a farmer until 



172 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



1868, when believing that he could improve his 
condition and possibly make his fortune in 
the new country then being opened to settle- 
ment west of the Missouri River, he came to 
the city of Cheyenne, Wyo., and for about two 
months he was endeavoring to secure the best 
information as to a place for location and then 
came to the city of Laramie. He resided here 
about one year and then accepted a position 
in the construction department of the Union 
Pacific Railroad in western Wyoming, and was 
engaged in that employment about one year. 
In 1870 he removed to Colorado and remaining 
there for one year he returned to Wyoming and 
to Laramie, once more entering the employ of 
the Union Pacific. He continued in this labor 
until 1874, making his headquarters at Laramie. 
In 1874 he purchased a ranch and engaged in 
raising horses and cattle, and this profitable 
line of endeavor he has continued to the pres- 
ent time, and has met with marked success, 
being the owner of a fine ranch of over 1,400 
acres of land, well improved, fenced and pro- 
vided with the buildings and appliances for suc- 
cessful stockraising. He owns a large herd of 
cattle of the finest graded quality and takes 
especial pride in his stock of three-fourths Here- 
ford and one-fourth Durham, finding that cross 
to produce animals of the best grade, and his 
herd is a noted one in that section of Wyoming. 
In 1872 Mr. Sodergreen was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Johana M. Headmall, a native of 
Sweden and the daughter of Johnson Headmall, 
a respected citizen of that country. To their 
union was born one child, William, who is still 
living. She passed away in 1891, and is buried 
at Laramie. In 1893 ne was again married, 
his present wife having been Miss Tillie Ander- 
son, also a native of Sweden. They have one 
son, Axel L. Mr. Sodergreen is an active mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, deeply 
interested in all matters affecting the welfare 
of that great organization. Politically, he is 
a stanch adherent of the Republican party, 
prominent in the councils of that party in 
Albany county. He is one of the most highly 
respected citizens of his section of the state. 



WILLIAM H. SOLLIDAY. 

It requires the highest natural ability and a 
constructive energy of unusual force to produce 
a self-made man even in these days of Amer- 
ica's wonderful opportunities, and when we find 
a man of that character it becomes at once a 
matter of public interest to know how and by 
what means he has climbed the ladder of suc- 
cess and attained a marked prominence in busi- 
ness and social circles. The career of William 
H. Solliday of Opal, Wyoming, offers us ample 
material for such a story. He was born in Mont- 
gomery county, Pa., nine miles from Philadel- 
phia, on June 25, 1852, the son of Sylvester and 
Sarah (Krier) Solliday, the father being a na- 
tive of Berlin, Germany, and the mother of Irish 
extraction. Sylvester Solliday was a well-ed- 
ucated man and a cabinetmaker of more than 
ordinary skill. With strong mental powers and 
force, he had many original ideas and did not 
care whether his thoughts and expressions found 
favor with others or not. He was a veteran of 
the Confederate army, was placed under arrest 
as a confederate in the plot of assassinating Pres- 
ident Lincoln, and died soon after the close of 
the Civil War, his widow surviving him until 
September, 1877, when she closed her eyes to 
earthly scenes in the old Pennsylvania home. 
They had thirteen children, of whom William 
H. was the sixth, and five are now living. The 
devastations of the Civil War made an early im- 
pression on the life of the subject of this review. 
His parental home was in the state of Delaware, 
exactly in the line of the advance of the northern 
troops, who freed the negroes and destroyed all 
the destructible property on the home estate and 
forced the family from their home as fugitives. 
Mr. Solliday was then a lad of but ten years, 
and with a maturity far beyond his years he 
commenced the struggle for existence for him- 
self by making his way to Texas where he was 
engaged on a cattle ranch until 1873, in the free 
life of the range developing those powers of 
endurance and hardihood that have been pow- 
erful aids to his success. In 1873 he went to 
Nebraska, continuing range riding there until 



PROGRESSIVE MEN 'OF WYOMING. 



173 



1878,. then coming to Wyoming he followed the 
same vocation until 1896, acting also as a messen- 
ger or carrier for Beckwith, Quinn & Co., from 
1881 to 1885. Daring, resolute and courageous, he 
possessed the necessary elements of character to 
render his services most valuable as a supporter 
of law and of order and for four years of his 
messenger life was a most capable deputy sheriff 
under Sheriff Joseph Kane. The education of 
schools and its advantages were denied to Mr. 
Solliday, yet in the school of actual experience 
and through observation and his own efforts he' 
has received a better education for his purposes 
than that obtained solely from books. In 1896 
he engaged in the livery, feed and stage busi- 
ness at Opal and forthwith found his services 
and teams in great demand in the transportation 
of tourists to the National Park. He has been 
prosperous and acquired enough of this world's 
goods to be counted among the leading and solid 
men of his section of the state. He is now the 
owner of the livery and of the saloon, both well 
paying properties, has quite a large interest in 
the Hydro-Carbon Co., owning and controlling 
20,000 acres of the most valuable oil, gas and 
coal lands, located near the fossil oil fields of 
Uinta county, and other properties of value. 
He is one of the country's progressive citizens 
and his influence as an oldtimer is far reaching, 
and as he has always taken a conspicuous part 
in public matters, he has been able to accomplish 
much good. Socially he has a large number of 
friends and fraternally he is connected with the 
Knights of Pythias as a member of Manila Lodge 
at Diamondville, Wyoming. In political relations 
he is strongly in accord with the Republican 
party, whose principles and policies he has done 
much to advance. The family relations of Mr. 
Solliday are extremely pleasant, he having been 
united in matrimony with the capable and intel- 
ligent Mrs. Lourinda (Cole) Lancaster at Salt 
Lake City, on June 5, 1899. She is a daughter 
of Charles Cole, a pioneer settler of Ord, Neb., 
and her first husband was William Lancaster, a 
native of Indiana and a skilled cabinetmaker. 
The family circle of this felicitous union con- 
tains five children, Margaret, Mrs. C Harden- 



burg of Opal, Wyo. ; Merrill, now of Ogden, 
Utah; Lula; Earl; Fern; the last three residing 
with Mr. and Mrs. Solliday. Mrs. Solliday has 
many valuable qualities of estimable value in 
this new section and, like her husband, enjoys 
the esteem of the community. 

GEORGE WHISTLER SPENCER. 

Born in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., on 
March 8, 1854, the childhood and youth of 
George W. Spencer, one of the representative 
and progressive ranchmen of Canyon Springs 
Prairie in Weston county, Wyo., were darkened 
by the dense shadow of the Civil War, which de- 
prived him of both parents and left him to the 
care of strangers when he was ten years old. 
His parents were George and Mary A. (Bene- 
dict) Whistler, also Pennsylvanians by nativity. 
The father was a bricklayer by trade and his 
peaceful industry was broken up by the call for 
volunteers to defend the integrity of the Union 
and he enlisted in 1861 as a member of Co. K, 
Ninety-first Pa. Infantry, serving in the field 
until he was sent home on account of injuries 
received in the South, and on March 1, 1864, 
he died from those injuries in a military hospi- 
tal in Philadelphia. Twelve days later, on 
March 13, 1864, his widow followed him to the 
spirit land, leaving her son George, then ten 
years old, to the care of his uncle, Stephen 
Spencer, of Indianapolis, Ind., who adopted 
him and gave him his name. There the sorrow- 
ing orphan found a comfortable home and at- 
tended school until 1868 when his uncle re- 
moved to Newark, N. J., and he continued his 
education in the schools of that city. At an 
early age he left school and went to work in 
a hat factory in New York City. In 1870 he 
came to Cheyenne, Wyo., and engaged in a 
commission business, hauling his goods, which 
consisted mainly of garden vegetables, from 
Colorado with his own teams. His business was 
extensive and profitable and in its exacting re- 
quirements he found pleasant occupation and 
the basis of his present financial independence. 
From 1878 to 1880 he was at Omaha, Neb., 



i?4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING: 



dealing in hogs for the packing houses of that 
busy emporium. In the autumn of 1880, after 
working a few months in New Mexico for the 
Rio Grande Railroad, he located on a home- 
stead in Rooks county, Kan., and farmed it 
until June, 1891, when he came to> Wyoming, 
intending to locate on Canyon Springs Prairie, 
but was unable to homestead there because of 
his preliminary proceedings of the same char- 
acter in Kansas. But as soon as he was able 
to establish the fact that he had not proved up 
on his Kansas claim he took up his present 
ranch twenty-five miles north of Newcastle, 
which has since been his home and the re- 
cipient of his energetic labors. It consists of 
200 acres of superior farming and grazing land 
and yields abundant harvests of cereals and 
hay and supports a fine herd of cattle, besides 
being a center of comfortable hospitality for all 
who come that way. Mr. Spencer was married 
in Cheyenne on December 20, 1876, with Miss 
Hattie Allen, a native of Iowa and a daughter 
of William and Charlotte (Sams) Allen, a sister 
of Mrs. Josiah E. Strong of this county, more- 
extended mention of her parents being made in 
the sketch of Mr. Strong on another page of 
this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have three 
children, Bertha W., now Mrs. P. W. Shaffer, 
Martha W. and Lizzie W., now Mrs. H. G. 
Ackley. In politics Mr. Spencer is a Republi- 
can, but no partisan zeal narrows his vision in 
matters which affect the welfare of the com- 
munity, for he is eminently broadminded, pro- 
gressive and enterprising. 

JOSEPH C. SPENCER. 

Orphaned in childhood by the cruel hand of 
death which removed his mother when he was 
three years old and his father when he was 
twelve, and reaching manhood thereafter with 
but little aid from fortune's favors or adventi- 
tious circumstances, Joseph C. Spencer, of Wes- 
ton county, Wvoming, one of the most extensive 
stockbreeders of this section of the country, is 
essentially a self-made man, his career being the 
product of his own thrift and enterprise, business 



acumen and clearness of vision. He is a native 
of Syracuse, N. Y., where he was born on April 
14, 1845, tne son OI Joseph C. and Lucy A. 
Spencer, both New Englanders by nativity, the 
former from Massachusetts and the latter from 
New Hampshire. In 1847 tne mother died and 
nine years later, in 1856, the father, who had 
been a prosperous merchant in Syracuse, fol- 
lowed her to the other world. After his death 
Joseph C. Spencer went to live with a sister at 
Middleport, 111., there attended the public schools 
for a short time in the winter months and later 
going to the college of Ypsilanti, Mich., as a 
student for two years, leaving college to take 
a course of special business training at the Bry- 
an & Stratton Business College in Chicago, after 
completing that course accepting a position as 
messenger in the First National Bank of Chicago. 
He was employed in this bank seven years 
and rose to the post of paying teller. He longed 
however, for a freer life and larger individual 
opportunities, and turned his back upon the 
drudgery of financiering for others and began 
operations leading to business of magnitude for 
himself, in 1879 coming west to Deadwood, S. 
D., where he engaged in mining and prospect- 
ing for two years, thence coming to Wyoming 
in 1 88 1 and after spending a year in the oil in- 
dustry in the vicinity in which he now lives he 
turned his attention to cattleraising, taking up 
a portion of his present ranch, six miles from 
Newcastle, on what is known to old-timers as 
Stockade Beaver Creek. In the twenty years 
which have elapsed since he settled here he has 
gi-eatly improved his ranch until it has become 
one of the finest in the Northwest, has enlarged 
it to an extent of 4,000 acres, of which 700 are 
under skillful cultivation, has equipped it with 
desirable appliances for its proper utility and 
fruitfulness, made it comfortable with a sub- 
stantial residence, excellent barns, sheds, etc.. 
adorned it with trees, shrubbery and with verdant 
lawns, and devoted it to the production of su- 
perior herds of Hereford cattle. In addition to 
the interests here involved, Mr. Spencer has ex- 
tensive oil holdings in the fields of the Eagle 
Oil Co.. and valuable mining properties at Dead- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



175 



wood. He was married at Hot Springs, S. D., 
on December 12, 1900, with Miss Abbie Jennings, 
a native of that state and daughter of R. D. and 
Mattie Jennings. Heir father makes his home 
at the Hot Springs, being one of the directors 
of the compaity that has control of that resort. 
He is a pioneer of that section of the country 
as Mr. Spencer is of his. The Spencers have 
one child, their winsome daughter, Marjorie, and 
they are members of the Episcopal church. Mr. 
Spencer is a Republican in politics, a gentleman 
of breadth of view, progressive spirit and com- 
manding influence in local affairs, earnestly de- 
voted to the welfare of the community and deeply 
interested in the good of his fellow men, among 
whom he is highly esteemed and generally re- 
spected. He is the largest individual stockman 
in this part of the state. 

WILLIAM SPENCE. 

William Spence, one of the worthy citizens 
of Evanston, Wyoming, in whose suburbs he 
resides on his ranch of fifty-four acres, is a na- 
tive of Bedfordshire, England, having first seen 
the light there in the year 1847. He was reared 
in the great city of London, whence in 1864 
he emigrated to' America and coming to Salt 
Lake City, he engaged in farming and con- 
tinued in it for six years, afterwards taking 
employment on the Union Pacific Railroad, 
with which company he has continued ever 
since, leaving out some twelve or fourteen years 
devoted at intervals to other affairs. By his 
steady devotion to the right and careful industry, 
Mr. Spence has prospered in his own af- 
fairs and endeared himself to all that knew him. 
He is the son of Benjamin and Hannah (Day) 
Spence and was married in 1874 with Mrs. 
Elizabeth (Dudley) Sommers, widow of Steven 
Sommers, by whom she had four children : 
George F., Fannie E., Emma and Steven D. 
Sommers. She has borne three children to Mr. 
Spence : Hannah E., died on December 6, 1901 ; 
John T., died in 1882; Charles W.,,died in 1880. 
Mrs. Spence is a native of Leicestershire, Eng- 
land, born in 1839, the daughter of Thomas and 



Elizabeth (Bowley) Dudley, of Sheepshead, 
England, where the father was born on May 
5, 1806, and died on April 14, 1875. He was 
the son of John Dudley, born in 1770, died in 
1854, and Sarah (Fullylove) Dudley. His wife, 
Mrs. Spence's mother, Mrs. Elizabeth (Bowley) 
Dudley, was born on September 3, 1809, and 
died January 19, 1856. She is buried at Sheeps- 
head, England. 

KARL SPINNER. 

By reference to another page of this volume 
the reader will find a record of the life of B. 
Spinner, an elder brother of Karl Spinner, 
whose biography is here presented, and where 
further allusion is made to Amand and Cresia 
(Schmer) Spinner, the parents, and to which 
biography the reader's attention is respectfully 
called. Karl Spinner was born in Germany in 
1850, and at the age of twenty-three years came 
to the United States, and at once, in 1873, came 
to Green River, Wyo., and engaged in the 
butchering business with his brother, B. Spin- 
ner, which he followed until the spring of T876; 
thence he went to Wind River, where he follow- 
ed the cattle trade for a year and returned to 
Green River, and entered into the brewing busi- 
ness, in which he held an interest until 1892. 
He then engaged in sheepraising, in which bu- 
colic enterprise he has ever since been engaged 
with unvarying success, being also the pro- 
prietor of the Green River opera house, a 
source of no inconsiderable income. In poli- 
tics Mr. Spinner is an out-and-out Republican, 
and in 1890 was appointed county commission- 
er, and so faithfully and ably did he perform the 
duties of the office that he was elected to fill 
the same office 'for the full term of two years. 
In 1893 he served as a member of the state 
legislature, and from 1890 until 1899 filled the 
office of town treasurer. In the interval in 
1897 he was appointed postmaster of Green 
River, a position he filled most satisfactorily 
until August, 1902, when he resigned. Mr. 
Spinner has had military experience, serving 
in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 in Co. 



176 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Eleven, One Hundred and Fourteenth Prussian 
Infantry, his entire military life lasting three 
years. Fraternally Mr. Spinner is a member 
of the A. F. & A. M. and the A. O. U. W., and 
he was joined in matrimony on November 6, 
1896, with Miss Margaret Roenfeld, a daughter 
of Andrew and Anna (Mute) Roenfeld. Her 
father was an officer in the Prussian army, but 
after seven years of service retired, came to 
America and followed farming near Harrisburg, 
Pa., dying in 1891 at the age of eighty-seven 
years. He was a grand and noble man and 
was honored wherever known. Her mother was 
born in Southern Germany of noble descent, 
and she passed away in 1895 at tne a ? e of 
eighty-two years, both herself and her husband 
being devoted members of the Lutheran church, 
and their remains lie at rest side by side near 
Hamburg. The Spinner and the Roenfeld fam- 
ilies for many generations have maintained a 
high position in the esteem of the people, and 
the Spinners of Green River may be mentioned 
especially as among the most useful and re- 
spected residents of their section of the country. 

JOSIAH E. STRONG. 

Orphaned at the age of four years by the 
death of his mother, and reared thereafter until 
he was nineteen under the careful supervision 
of his father, Josiah E. Strong, of Boyd, Weston 
county, Wyoming, has displayed in his creditable 
career the sterling qualities of manliness and 
self-reliance for which his father and his familv 
were distinguished. He was born on June 2, 
1853, in Delaware county, N. Y., the son of 
L. and Rachel A. (Bradley) Strong, natives of 
New York, where the father prospered as a 
butcher in Otsego county until his death in Sep- 
tember, 1874, the mother having passed away 
in 1857. He attended the schools of Otsego 
county, N. Y., and aided his father in his busi- 
ness until he was nineteen years old, then in the 
autumn of 1872 he joined the march of empire 
westward, coming to Nebraska and near Ne- 
braska City engaged in farming for four years, 
from there going to Kansas and taking up land 



in Rooks county, where he remained nine years, 
struggling against adverse circumstances, dry 
seasons and other discouragements to make his 
venture successful, but sold his place in the fall 
of 1888 and the next April was led by a favoring 
fortune to Canyon Springs Prairie in what is 
now Weston county, Wyo., and in that fertile 
region, when as yet but few had knowledge of 
its possibilities and it was almost unoccupied, he 
took up his present ranch about twenty miles 
northeast of the site of the present town of New- 
castle, for which at that time not a stake had 
been driven. Here bountiful harvests have re- 
warded his skillful labor and his farm of 320 
acres is now one of the best on the prairie, well 
improved and equipped with the necessary ap- 
pliances for its cultivation and the proper care 
of the superior stock which finds a home on its 
verdant expanse. Mr. Strong is one of the suc- 
cessful farmers of the state, his care, skill, in- 
dustry and progressive ideas entitling him to the 
good results he achieves in his work, while his 
public spirit and enterprise in every element of 
improvement in the community secure for him a 
high regard in the estimation of his fellow cit- 
izens. On December 6, 1885, he was married 
with Miss Nancy Jane Allen, a native of Iowa, 
and a daughter of William and Charlotte (Sams) 
Allen, the marriage being consummated in Rooks 
county, Kan. Mrs. Strong's parents settled in 
Iowa when they were young and were married 
there, the father becoming a prosperous millman 
and a citizen of influence. In 187 1 they removed 
to Rooks county, Kan., and engaged in farming 
and now live at Montrose, Colo. The Strongs 
have six children, Sarah E., William E., Char- 
lotte M., Russell F., R. Maria and Claud F. In 
politics Mr. Strong gives his allegiance to the 
Republican party. 

EDWARD SUTTON. 

One of the distinctively young, but decidedly 
progressive ranchers of Uinta county, Wyo- 
ming, must here be mentioned, Mr. Edward 
Sutton, who. although associated in the exten- 
sive cattle industry of his father. William Sut- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



177 



ton, for many years, has only conducted in- 
dividual operations since 1899. William Sutton 
is well-known throughout Wyoming as a rep- 
resentative stockman and a valuable citizen. 
He was born in England, as was also his wife, 
whose maiden name was Ann Moe. About 1870 
occurred their emigration from England and 
the establishment of a new home in the country 
of their adoption, where the years have passed 
lightly over them, and they are now residing 
on their productive ranch on Green River, where 
his cattle business is assuming large scope and 
importance. He has been prospered in his un- 
dertakings and is counted one of Uinta county's 
highly respected citizens. Edward Sutton was 
born at Carbon, Wyo., on June 28, 1878, and 
he has acquired a most valuable practical educa- 
tion on the range and in the free life of the 
open plains, gaining strength of body and men- 
tal activity in the outdoor life. In 1901 he en- 
tered into matrimonial relations with Miss 
Mary Ann Morris, a daughter of Luke and 
Mary A. (Lamb) Morris, natives of England, 
but now residents of Kemmerer. In 1899 Mr. 
Sutton initiated a successful stock business on 
one of his father's ranches, located eight miles 
north of Kemmerer, and here his close and con- 
secutive attention to business and his discrimi- 
nating care and attention to his stock is bring- 
ing a prosperity which is sure to be cumulative 
in increase of values as years pass by. Mr. Sut- 
ton is, however, by no means fully absorbed in 
moneymaking, but takes great interest in all 
public matters of a local nature, and is popular 
with all classes of a somewhat wide acquaint- 
anceship and fully merits his prosperity. 

DWIGHT M. THAYER. 

Dwight M. Thayer, the gentleman whose 
name furnishes the caption of this review, is 
a creditable representative of New England 
manhood, combining in his intellectual and 
moral makeup many of the sturdy virtues and 
sterling characteristics of his Puritan ancestry. 
He was born in Massachusetts in the year 1847, 
the son of Rufus and Lucretia (Pettingill) 



Thayer, both parents natives of the Old Bay 
State. The father was a son of Reuben Thayer, 
also of Massachusetts birth and a descendant 
of an old and highly esteemed New England 
family of Braintree, the history of which dates 
from an early period in the annals of the com- 
monwealth. When Dwight M. Thayer was a 
youth of fourteen he suffered an almost irrepa- 
rable loss in the death of his father and after 
that sad event became an inmate of his 
brother's household, continuing with the latter 
a number of years, devoting his time and ener- 
gies to farming. At intervals during his mi- 
nority he attended the public schools and ac- 
quired a good knowledge of the English 
branches and also obtained a fund of valuable 
practical knowledge by coming in contact with 
the world. He continued agricultural pursuits 
in Massachusetts until 1877 when he came to 
Rock Springs, Wyo., and entered the employ 
of the Beckwith Commercial Co., with which he 
remained for fourteen and a half years. His 
long tenure with the firm attests his efficiency 
and faithfulness, and it was with great reluct- 
ance that his resignation was accepted when 
he became a bookkeeper for Gottsche & Co. 
After continuing in the latter capacity three 
years he engaged in the manufacture of flour, 
operating a mill with success and financial profit 
until July, 1901, when he was commissioned 
postmaster of Rock Springs. Mr. Thayer is 
a skillful accountant, possessing a soundness of 
judgment and a comprehensive clerical knowl- 
edge which mark him as an able, wise and dis- 
creet business man. Familiar with the under- 
lying principles of commercial and financial 
law and possessing a practical knowledge of 
finance, he plans well and his judgment is sel- 
dom at fault. He is a notable example of those 
correct principles which invariably secure suc- 
cess, while his genial traits of character are 
such as to win and retain the confidence of his 
employers and the public. As a public official 
Mr. Thayer discharges the duties of his posi- 
tion in an able and' praiseworthy manner and 
though but recently appointed to his position 
he has won an excellent reputation for ef- 






i 7 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ficiency. Financially he has been successful in 
that he has provided well for his family, secured 
a pleasant and attractive home and accumulated 
a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in 
independent circumstances. The marriage of 
Mr. Thayer with Miss Henrietta Smith, daugh- 
ter of O. C. and Jane (Ross) Smith, natives of 
Massachusetts and early pioneers of Rock 
Springs, was solemnized in the year 1867. Mrs. 
Thayer was also born in Massachusetts and has 
presented her husband with three children, Mrs. 
Mary Morris, Oliver P. and Hazel, deceased. 
Few men in Sweetwater county are better 
known and none stand higher than Dwight 
Thayer in public esteem. He has borne his 
share in advancing the county's material pros- 
perity and has been ready and willing at all 
times to lend his influence and support to meas- 
ures calculated to promote the people's inter- 
ests. He is well informed relative to state and 
national politics, has pronounced views on the 
leading questions of the day and is generally 
found on the right side of every moral issue, 
and he is broad minded, liberal and tolerant 
towards others, and his family has a large num- 
ber of warm friends in the best society circles 
of the city and county. 

OTTO LEIFER. 

Now a prominent and respected business 
man and citizen of Salt Lake City, Utah, Otto 
Leifer has also a good record to his credit as 
a pioneer and civilizer in Wyoming, having been 
one of the very first settlers on Big Piney Creek 
in Uinta county, there aiding in transforming 
the wilderness into an abode fit for civilized 
man and making it an element in the progress 
and growth of our country. He was born in 
Germany and lost his mother by death in his 
infancy and when he was but four years old 
his father left his desolated home and came to 
the United States, locating first in Baltimore, 
Md., from there removing to Frederick county, 
Ya., and four years later he left his orphan boy 
in that county and returned to the Fatherland. 
The son grew almost to manhood in his now 

1 



home, receiving his education in its public 
schools. In 1861 he made his way to Iowa 
and after attending school at Fremont for a 
year, he joined an expedition going across the 
plains with ox teams and reached Auburn, Ore., 
in the fall of 1861 after having been three 
months on the road and experienced consider- 
able trouble at the hands of hostile Indians, and 
near Rock Creek, Utah, while trying to rescue ' 
some horses that had been stolen, the expedi- 
tion had eight men killed and sixteen wounded. 
After his arrival at Auburn Mr. Leifer drove 
a government team from Walla Walla to Fort. 
Boise during the summer of 1863 and then went 
to Montana and engaged in mining at Virginia 
City until 1865, when he moved to the Bitter 
Root valley and started a stockgrowing in- 
dustry, owning and using the celebrated ranch 
which was later the magnificent estate of the 
late Marcus Daly. In 1878 Mr. Leiffer came 
to Wyoming with Edward Swan and settling on 
the Big Piney, he there took up land and began 
raising cattle. He and Mr. Swan were the first 
settlers in this part of the state and for years 
they were obliged to freight every article for 
their use from Green River, 100 miles distant, 
and also to get their mail there, it being the 
nearest postoffice until one was established at 
Bis: Piney, after which thev had a weekly mail. 
In this locality Mr. Leifer lived and prospered, 
enjoying the free life and the growth and de- 
velopment of the country until 1896. when on 
account of his wife's failing health he removed 
to Salt Lake City, where he is carrying on a 
laree real-estate and mining business and win- 
ning golden opinions as an enterprising and 
public spirited citizen. In MaVch, 1887, Mr. 
Leifer was married with Miss Delia M. Sollers, 
a native of Winchester. Ya., and a daughter of 
William R. and Anna Sollers. also natives of 
Virginia. Mrs. Leifer died at Salt Lake City 
on July 7, 1902. aged forty-eight and one-half 
years and her remains were laid to rest beside 
those of her parents at Schuyler. Neb. She 
was universally esteemed as a lady of refine- 
ment and tender sensibilities, very affable in dis- 
position and courteous in manner. Mr. Leifer 



II 




( 





PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



179 



owned a fine farm of 368 acres near Schuyler 
which he sold in 1902, receiving a cash price of 
$20,350. In Salt Lake City he occupies his ele- 
gant home at 122 N street. The story of his 
life is very incomplete without the statement 
that he fought valiantly and was wounded in the 
great battle with the Nez Perces Indians in 
1877, at Big Hole, Mont., a fact greatly to his 
credit, which he modestly withholds from pub- 
lic notice. 

LLOYD PALLISER THOMAS. 

Lloyd P. Thomas, the gentleman whose 
brief biography is herewith presented, belongs 
to the younger generation of the Great West 
and for some years he has been actively identi- 
fied with the commercial interests of Sweet- 
water county. He is an Englishman but was 
born in a country remote from the land of his 
ancestors, although included in the wide do- 
main of the British Empire, his birth occurring 
on December 21, 1861, at Seal Cote in the 
northwestern provinces of Hindustan, where 
his father, John Nelson Thomas, then a colonel in 
the East India military service, was at that time 
stationed. John Nelson Thomas was a native 
of Wales and after serving in the army for a 
number of years he was made superintendent 
of woods and forests in India in which capacity 
he continued until he died. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Caroline Judd, was born 
in Yorkshire, England, and is still living, having 
reached the age of seventy-two years and at 
the present time she makes her home in 
Brighton, Sussex, England's most favorite 
watering place and summer resort. Lloyd P. 
Thomas received his early educational train- 
ing in Normandy, France, and at the -Royal 
Military College, Sandhurst, England, and he re- 
mained in England until 1881, when he came 
to the United States and located temporarily in 
New York, subsequently leaving that city for 
the west, with Wyoming as his objective point. 
For some years he lived at Green River, but in 
January, .1902, changed his residence to Rock 
Springs, where he opened a news agency in 



connection with a general book and stationery 
store ; handling in addition to a full stock of 
those articles, a complete line of tobacco, cigars 
and sundries of various kinds. He ranks with 
the most intelligent and progressive business 
men of the city of his residence and in every 
relation of life he has earned a reputation for 
probity and correct conduct that has won for 
him the esteem of his fellow citizens. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican and as such was elected 
clerk of the county, an office he filled with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to the people 
for four years. He was married in 1901 with 
Miss Margaret E. Sutton, a daughter of Thomas 
and Tabitha (Betts) Sutton, all being natives of 
Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have 
three children whose names are Lilian, Irene 
and Caroline Letitia. It is here proper to state 
that Mr. Thomas possesses great force of char- 
acter and a pleasing personality, which com- 
bined with fine social qualities make him not 
only a useful man in the community but a popu- 
lar one in all classes and conditions of people. 
In private life he is sociable but unobtrusive in 
demeanor and within the precincts of his home, 
surrounded by friends and loved ones, he is 
the soul of hospitality and genial companion- 
ship. He numbers his friends by the score and 
the position he has reached in the business and 
public world is indicative of the still greater 
and more influential career which awaits him in 
the future. 

HON. CHARLES SWANSON. 

A leading and representative citizen of Rock 
Springs, Wyoming, Hon. Charles Swanson, was 
born on October 7, i860, in Tjellmo Ostergotlan, 
Sweden, the son of August Targuy Swanson, a 
leading citizen of that country, who was an en- 
terprising and prosperous stonemason. The pa- 
ternal grandfather was a soldier of the Swedish 
army, passing all of his mature life as a member 
of the military family of Sweden. Mr. Swanson 
'himself was one of a family of six children, and 
grew to man's estate in his native country, re- 
ceiving his early education in the public schools 



i8o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of his boyhood home. When he had attained to 
the age of eighteen years, he resolved to seek his 
fortune in the New World, and he came to Amer- 
ica. His first location in this country was in 
Wisconsin, where he established his home ana 
engaged in lumbering, subsequently removing to 
the Lake Superior region, where he was inter- 
ested in mining for about two years, when he 
removed to Colorado, where he located at Tellu- 
ride, San Miguel county, and engaged in min- 
ing. In 1883 he went to Boulder county, where 
he remained until 1885. He then came to the 
territory of Wyoming, settling at Atlantic, where, 
for a time he followed contracting, subsequently 
removing to South Pass, Wyoming, where he 
engaged in the retail liquor business, and re- 
mained until 1887. He then removed to the new 
mining camp of Blairtown, and continued in the 
same pursuit. He met with success in his busi- 
ness enterprises and in 1889 he erected his pres- 
ent brick building in the business center of Rock 
Springs, and here he has continued in trade to 
the present time. He is one of the successful and 
representative men of his section of the state, 
enterprising, public spirited and progressive. In 
January, 1898, Mr. Swanson was united in mar- 
riage with Mrs. Kate Anthony, a native of St 
Louis, Mo., where her parents were well-known 
and highly respected residents. The father of 
Mrs. Swanson was a native of Ireland, coming 
from his native country in early life, and estab- 
lishing his permanent home in St. Louis. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Swanson have been born two children, 
Carl Clark Otto, and Frank Mondell Swanson, 
the last named being now deceased. The home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Swanson is noted for its genial 
and generous hospitality, which they find pleas- 
ure in dispensing to their large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. Fraternally Mr. Swanson is 
affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Or- 
der of Elks, the' Fraternal Order of Eagles and 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, arid 
takes an active and prominent part in the fra- 
ternal and charitable life of the community. 
Politically he is a stanch member of the Repub- 
lican party, one of its trusted and able leaders 
in Sweetwater countv. For two terms he has 



been a member of the city council of Rock 
Springs, and foremost in all matters calculated 
to promote the welfare of the community or to 
develop the resources of the country. In 1896 
he was elected as a member of the Legislative 
Assembly of the state, serving with ability and 
fidelity. At the end of hi-s first term of office his 
record was such that he was renominated and 
reelected. He was faithful in the discharge 
of every duty as a member of the legislature, and 
many measures of great importance to the peo- 
ple owe their origin to his ability and conscien- 
tious discharge of public duty. He stands de- 
servedly high among the public men of Wyo- 
ming, and is respected for his many sterling 
traits-Jsf character. He is a fine type of the 
Swedish-American citizen, true to his friends 
and loyal to the institutions of his adopted 
country. 

JOHN F. WILCOX. 

This gentleman is one of the leading stock- 
men of southern Wyoming, a pioneer of that 
section, and one who has seen the state grow 
through all the stages of frontier experience up 
to its present condition, and is now residing 
at the brisk young city of Encampment. He 
is a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, his birth 
occurring in June, 1854, and he is the son of 
Hiram and Adaline (Clark) Wilcox, both na- 
tives of New York, from which state the father 
removed in early life to Wisconsin, where he 
married and established his home. Subse- 
quently he removed to Iowa, where he engaged 
in successful stockraising, and was also inter- 
ested in the manufacturing of boots and shoes. 
He had a family of four sons and one daughter. 
John F. Wilcox attained manhood in Iowa, and 
received his early education in the city of Coun- 
cil Bluffs. When he 'had reached the age of 
fifteen years, he left his home to make his own 
way in the world, going to northeastern Mis- 
souri, where he remained about one year and 
then removed to the then territory of Colorado, 
where^ he located at Fort Collins and secured 
employment as a cowboy, for the purpose of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



181 



acquiring a practical knowledge of the cattle 
business, intending to engage in that occupa- 
tion as soon as his circumstances would permit. 
He remained in Colorado until 1874, when he 
came to Wyoming and was one of the first 
range riders in this territory, and for many 
years he had nurnerous exciting experiences 
with the Indians, having not a few narrow es- 
capes where his life was seriously imperilled. 
He was for a time in the employ of Abner 
Loomis, a large cattleman of the frontier days, 
now engaged in banking - at Fort Collins, Colo. 
He subsequently held a responsible position 
with the Swan Land & Cattle Co., and con- 
tinued in his chosen employment up to the year 
1890, having the reputation of being one of 
the most capable and efficient cattlemen in 
Wyoming. In 1890 he concluded to go into 
business for himself, and took up a ranch on 
Cow Creek for that purpose. Here he met 
with immediate and gratifying success until 
1901, when he disposed of his ranch property 
to advantage. At that time he was the owner 
of a fine ranch of over 500 acres of land, well 
fenced and improved, and entirely under irriga- 
tion. He made a specialty of the best grades of 
Shorthorn and Hereford cattle, and thoroughbred 
Norman-Percheron horses. At one time he 
was the owner of some of the most valuable ani- 
mals in the state, and he is still the owner of 
a large band of cattle, and is counted as one 
of the substantial business men and' property 
owners of the state. In January, 1883, Mr. 
Wilcox was united in marriage with Miss Emma 
Baggett, a native of England and the daughter 
of Amos Baggett, a large and successful stock- 
man formerly residing on Cow Creek, Wyo., 
but now making his home in the city of Sara- 
toga. Five children have come to bless their 
home life, namely, Belle, Adna, Amos, Frank 
and Mabel, all of whom are living. They have 
just completed a fine modern residence in En- 
campment and their home is noted for the gen- 
erous and gracious hospitality which they take 
pleasure in dispensing to their large circle of 
friends and acquaintances. Mr. Wilcox has 
done much to assist in the development of this 



section of Wyoming. His great success in busi- 
ness has been due to his energy, ability, and 
unerring judgment in all matters affecting his 
interests and the growth of this portion of the 
state. 

EDWARD THOMSON. 

Among the enterprising and progressive men 
who have settled in the favored valley of the 
Stockade Beaver Creek, and there tickling the 
responsive land with the hoe, have seen it laugh 
with the harvest, none is better known or more 
generally esteemed than Edward Thomson, a na- 
tive of the Dominion of Canada, in whose his- 
toric province of Quebec he was born on No- 
vember 2, 1855, the son of Thomas and Mary A. 
(Murray)' Thomson, the former born in Scot- 
land and the latter born in Ireland. They were 
brought to the New World in childhood and in 
Quebec province were reared, educated, married 
and employed in successful farming until the 
close of their useful lives, the mother surren- 
dering her trust at the behest of the Great Dis- 
poser in 1 89 1, and the father in 1899. Both rest 
under the sod of a beautiful little cemetery at 
Magog in the land of their adoption and their 
serviceable labors. Edward Thomson remained 
with his parents attending school and working 
on the farm until he was eighteen, then learned 
the manufacturing of cheese, afterwards conduct- 
ing a cheese factory for about two years. He 
then passed two years more with his parents, and 
in 1878, accepting our government's generous 
offer of a farm to every enterprising worker, 
came t© Fargo, N. D., and homesteaded a quar- 
ter section of good land in that vicinity, on 
which he lived for eight years, farming the land 
and raising some cattle. He and his brother also 
conducted a water route in Fargo from 1879 
to 1885. In 1886 he sold out his interests in 
Dakota and in August arrived in Wyoming, soon 
after taking up the ranch on which he now lives 
on Stockade Beaver Creek, thirteen miles north- 
east of Newcastle. Here he has lived and flour- 
ished from that time, engaged in ranching and 
cattleraising, aiding in developing the country, 



1 82 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



directing its moral and commercial agencies 
along the lines of healthful progress and hold- 
ing its political activities unto symmetrical and 
shapely growth. The winter of 1881-2 he passed 
in visiting his parents in his old Canadian home. 
The rest of the time has been devoted to his 
ranch, which consists of 480 acres of deeded 
land, containing a wide expanse of excellent hay 
meadow. On January 26, 1884, at Fargo, N. D., 
Mr. Thomson was united in marriage with Miss 
Joanna Cavanaugh, also a native of Canada and 
daughter of Edward and Margaret (Kirwin) 
Cavanaugh, emigrants from Ireland to the Do- 
minion early in their married life. Seven chil- 
dren have joined the Thomson household, Mary 
A., Thomas E., Sarah A., Daniel R., James, 
William and Loretto. The family are Cath- 
olics in religious faith and Mr. Thomson is a 
Republican in politics. 

ALEXANDER WAGSTAFF. 

Far from the scenes, the inspirations, the 
friendship and the old traditions of his native 
county, which he left at the age of eleven years 
for a new home far across the sea and almost 
as far across the land, making the entire trip 
of several thousand miles without an associate 
he had ever seen before he started, Alexander 
Wagstaff of Crook county, Wyoming, is es- 
sentially a product of the American frontier, 
of American institutions, of American oppor- 
tunities and lines of thought and action. He 
was born in "Merrie England" on June 13, 1866, 
on the banks of one of her romantic rivers, 
the son of Alfred and Emily (Price) Wagstaff, 
the father English and the mother being Scotch- 
Welch by nativity. His father is a prosperous 
farmer in England, as he is in the United States, 
with the substantial difference that the former's 
unit of measure in land is a foot while the lat- 
ter's is an acre or a mile, so different are the 
conditions and the chances in agricultural pur- 
suits in the two countries. In 1877, when he 
was but eleven years of age, Alexander dared 
the heaving ocean and the long trip across the 
American continent to Iowa where he had 



friends, and locating at the thriving little town 
of Indianola in Warren county, went to work 
on a farm, attending school in the winter 
months and here remaining six years, finishing 
his education with such facilities as were con- 
veniently available and preparing for a wider 
sweep of vision and a larger business activity. 
In 1883 he came farther west to North Dakota 
and worked two years on a stock ranch near 
Jamestown and run the ranch for three years 
more. At the end of this period he removed 
to Montana and for four years was on a ranch 
near Deer Lodge, foreman for nearly all that 
time, then for a number of years rode the range 
in that state, still being a foreman. He then 
began traveling through Idaho. Utah. Nevada, 
California and other states, keeping up his 
wanderings until 1892 when he settled in Wyo- 
ming, and after a few months' work on a ranch 
on Powder River, of which he had partial 
charge, he took up the ranch on which he now 
lives in Crook county nine miles south of Sun- 
dance. He has steadily improved and develop- 
ed this ranch, reducing it to fertility and pro- 
ductiveness and building up on it an increasing 
stock industry, which is now one of the most 
desirable in his section of the county. In 1898 
he enlisted in the state militia for the Spanish- 
American war, but his regiment was not called 
out. He, however, served his three years' term, 
in the meantime as he had opportunity pushing 
his ranch and stock business and he now owns 
640 acres of excellent and well located land and 
is a successful and prosperous stockman. On 
July 4, 1895, ni hi s home county, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Julia Waite, a native of 
Iowa and daughter of James and Emily Waite 
who removed to Crook county. Wyo., from 
Iowa and are now prominent farmers. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wagstaff had four children. Edgar, 
Robert, Ethel and Daisy. On October 18, 
1901, the faithful wife and mother died and was 
buried at Sundance. In politics Mr. Wagstaff 
is a zealous Republican, not an active worker in 
the party ranks, finding more congenial occu- 
pation in his home and its interests, preferring 
the general good of the community to any par- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



183 



ticular party advantage. He is highly esteemed 
as a leading- and influential citizen whose voice 
and aid are on the side of every good enter- 
prise and whose helpful friendship is available 
to all who seek it in the proper spirit. 

CHARLES ZUMMACH. 

A well-known and successful stockman, a 
representative citizen, a stimulating and pro- 
ductive commercial force and a conservative 
social inspiration, Charles Zummach of the 
Middle Fork of the Hay Creek section of Wyom- 
ing, with a beautiful ranch pleasantly located 
near Eothen, seven miles west of Aladdin and 
twenty-eight north of Sundance, has diligently 
improved his opportunities for advancement in 
the New World and exemplified in an impres- 
sive way the sterling qualities of head, heart and 
physical energy for which his ancestry was 
noted. He is a native of Germany, where he 
was born on December 6, 1844, the son of 
William Zummach. His father was a distiller 
in the Fatherland and came to the United States 
with his family in 1855, locating in Milwaukee, 
where his son got a little education by attend- 
ing school for a short time, but was thrown on 
his own resources very early in life, becoming 
self-supporting at the age of fourteen. He 
worked at different occupations in Milwaukee 
until 1862, having a willing, a capable and a 
skillful hand at almost any kind of a job he was 
never without one. In 1862 he went to Chicago 
and to St. Louis, where he secured employment 
on Mississippi River steamers for two years, 
then coming to Montana, making the trip up 
the Missouri by boat to Fort Benton, 3,500 
miles, and from there going to Alder Gulch, 
near what is now Virginia City, then a newly 
discovered Eldorado for the treasure-seeker, 
and worked in the mines. While going from 
Fort Benton to Alder Gulch in 1864, on June 
20, Mr. Zummach was one of a party of four 
who sunk the first prospect hole sunk on the 
site of Helena, getting three cents to the pan. 
After twelve years of toil in this rich field, 
with fluctuating success, he returned to Milwau- 



kee, making a nine months' visit to his old 
home and friends. From there in his second 
Argonautic expedition, he landed at the Black 
Hills in South Dakota, and after a year of al- 
most fruitless search for wealth in the mines 
started a roadhouse between Deadwood and 
Spearfish, which he conducted until 1884, then 
sold out and came to Crook county. Here see- 
ing in the vocation of the old patriarchs a good 
promise of fruitful returns, he located on the 
ranch he has since occupied on the Middle 
Fork of Hay Creek, and began an industry in 
farming and cattleraising, which has grown 
with the flight of time to gratifying proportions 
and most welcome returns. He has 880 acres 
of land, with plenty of meadow for hay, upland 
for grain and hills for range, and by studious 
industry he has brought his possessions to a 
high degree of productiveness and adaptability 
to their proper purposes, has improved them 
with commodious and comfortable buildings 
and adorned them with tastefully arranged 
grounds and shrubbery. Mr. Zummach is es- 
sentially what we have called him, a representa- 
tive citizen. He is a Republican in politics and 
while never seeking office, is identified in a 
leading way with every movement for the good 
of the county and state. He was married on 
December 23, 1885, at Deadwood, S. D., with 
Mrs. Louisa Hohlfeld, a native of Michigan. 
They have one child, a winsome daughter, 
Erma C. In fraternal relations Mr. Zummach 
affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, belonging to a lodge in Milwaukee. 

HENRY WENDT. 

Numbered among the leading and most pro- 
gressive citizens of Sweetwater count}', Wyo- 
ming, is the one to whom this brief review is 
dedicated. Prof. Henry Wendt, the popular ed- 
ucator and capable principal of the schools of 
Green River. He was born at Petersburg, Ger- 
many, on December 15, 1868, a son to the mar- 
riage union of Hans and Anna (Kortum) Wendt, 
descendants of families that for centuries had 
been residents of the Fatherland. The father, 



184 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



born in Halisteen in 1831, in 1856 married Alma 
Kootum, a young lady of twenty years of age, 
and engaged in agricultural pursuits in Germany 
until the emigration of the family in 1874. Their 
first American location was at Clinton, Iowa, 
they thereafter making a permanent residence at 
Walnut, in the same state, the father there en- 
gaging in the same quiet vocation he had fol- 
lowed in his native land. They were people of 
that peace-loving, unassuming type oi character 
with which Germany has so often enriched this 
country, earnest Lutherans in their religious be- 
lief, while the father was equally as earnest a 
Democrat in politics, never having sought pub- 
licity nor official place or emoluments, the mother 
possessing strong domestic tastes, and finding in 
the activities around her fireside and in the care 
of her children her highest enjoyment. They are 
still living in their pleasant Iowa location, se- 
cure in the esteem of all the people. Henry 
AVendt was a lad of but six years of age when 
he accompanied his parents across the Atlantic 
to their new home in Iowa, and his youth was 
the same as that of hundreds of farmers's sons 
until he was eighteen years old, aiding in con- 
ducting the farm work and attending as circum- 
stances admitted the country schools of the com- 
munity. He was a natural student however, and 
his leisure moments were passed in study and 
in reading, his progress in educational lines be- 
ing so pronounced that when he was eighteen 
he was employed as a teacher in western Iowa, 
continuing this vocation with marked success for 
four years, and securing popular approval for 
both his work and methods. For a year after 
this experience he was employed in a clerical 
capacity in a real-estate office in Nebraska, and 
having a desire to more fully supply the de- 
mands of his. nature for an education, he then 
became a student in the college at Fremont, Neb., 
where he diligently pursued his studies, and was 
graduated from the scientific department in 1896 
and from the classical course in 1898. Being 
thus thoroughly equipped to take solid ground 
in pedagogic work, he was for one year the as- 
sistant principal of the schools of Lander, Wyo., 
thence coming to Green River to take charge of 



the schools of that progressive town, and here 
he has since been busily employed, doing most 
excellent work and receiving the commendations 
of educators throughout all of this section, ed- 
ucational interest being increased under his ad- 
ministration both among pupils and parents, 
while the community at large acknowledges the 
high standards here maintained and the steady 
progress of the students and the schools. A 
clear-headed, logical Democrat in politics, Mr. 
Wendt holds strong convictions, which, however, 
he never obtrudes on others, and at one time he 
gave most efficient service as a deputy county 
clerk of Shelby county, Iowa. Fraternally he 
is a valued member of the Masonic fraternity, 
the Knights of Pythias and he is also a Modern 
Woodman. On July 24, 1902, Professor Wendt 
wedded with Miss Rose McMahan, a native of 
Pennsylvania and a daughter of J. P. and Cath- 
erine (Condon) McMahan, who were residents 
of Pennsylvania from about 1840 where the fa- 
ther was a carpenter. He died in 1876 and his 
cherished wife is now a resident of Denver. 

HERBERT H. WILLIAMS. 

One of the leading citizens of Bighorn, Sher- 
idan county, and one who has won his place in 
the regard and confidence of his fellows by merit, 
is Herbert H. Williams, a prominent and suc- 
cessful stockgrower and business man. He was 
born in Ohio, on February 20, i860, the son of 
Daniel and Mary J. (Burns) Williams, the for- 
mer a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of 
Ohio, who were early settlers in Iowa, but when 
their son Herbert was five years old they moA r ed 
to Decatur county, Iowa, where they remained 
three years, in 1868 moving to Kansas and in 
1878 to Texas where Herbert received his first 
experience in stockraising on a large scale, be- 
coming a range rider and giving his attention 
to cattle in an active and exacting manner. He 
was robust and strong, and the arduous exercise 
was of advantage to him, building up his con- 
stitution and developing both physical power and 
mental readiness and resourcefulness. In 1881, 
bidding: adieu to the southern country he came 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



185 



first to Ogalalla, Neb., and soon after to Chey- 
enne, Wyoming, where he engaged to take charge 
of a herd of cattle to North Dakota, after com- 
pleting this engagement, working in Montan? on 
the ranges until 1894, when he came again to 
Wyoming and took up his residence on a ranch 
near Bighorn which is still his home. On this 
he is actively and successfully engaged in the 
stock business, conducting one of the leading 
industries of its kind in the county. Mr. Wil- 
liams married at Miles City, Montana, in 1886, 
with Miss Cora M. Bray, a native of New York. 
They have four children, Viola M., Berta B., 
Orda and Rose, all of whom are at home, valued 
members of the household. Mr. Williams has 
sought neither political preferment nor social 
distinction. His business has occupied him wholly 
and has satisfied all his desires for mental or 
physical activity. Yet he has risen by his gen- 
eral worth and manliness to a high place in the 
good will and esteem of his friends and neigh- 
bors, and has not failed to bear his due share of 
the burdens of improving and advancing the 
community, and working his county toward the 
position its natural resources and the enterprise 
of its people entitle it to hold. 

PHILIP J. YODER. 

Among the most highly respected and sub- 
stantial citizens of the state of Wyoming is 
Mr. Philip J. Yoder, who resides at Phillips. 
He is a native of Ohio, a state which has fur- 
nished so many men of sterling character to the 
country farther west. He was born on January 3, 
1836, near Shanesville, Ohio, the son of Jacob 
and Barbara (Miller) Yoder, both natives of 
Ohio, where his father was a successful 
farmer, long owning one ol the finest farms 
in his section of the state, and being a prosperous 
citizen. He died there in 1892 and the able 
mother passed away at the same place in 1871. 
They are buried side by side near the scenes of 
their active and useful lives. Philip J. Yoder 
received his early education in the schools of 
Tuscarawas county, Ohio. After completing 
his education he remained at home, assisting his 



father in the work and management of the 
farm, until he had arrived at the age of twenty- 
two years. He then engaged in business for 
himself as a dealer in cattle and horses, buying 
from the farmers of his county and those ad- 
joining, and driving or shipping to the cities of 
the state which offered the best market. He 
carried on this business for over three years 
with considerable success. In 1863 ne disposed 
of his property in Ohio and removed to Henry 
county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming 
and stockraising until 1881, when desiring to 
enter more extensively into the stock business, 
he sold his Iowa farms and came to Cheyenne, 
then in the territory of Wyoming, looking for 
a suitable location for his enterprise. He re- 
mained for two years in Cheyenne and in 1883 
purchased his present ranch property on Bear 
Creek, about twenty miles east of Chugwater, 
Wyo., and embarked largely in cattle and 
horseraising. In this he was very successful, 
and now is the owner of a fine hay and stock 
ranch in one of the most favored sections of 
the state, having 960 acres of patented land, 
with adjacent land for range purposes, and 
several thousand acres which he holds under 
lease from the state. On October 9, 1863, Mr. 
Yoder was united in -marriage at Shanesville, 
Ohio, with Miss Cinderella Hattery, a native 
of Ohio and the daughter of Joseph and Liddy 
Hattery, both natives of the same state. Her 
parents died when she was a small child and 
she grew to womanhood in the family of a 
relative. Eight children have come to the 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Yoder, Benjamin F., 
Amanda, Jesse, Oscar, Clara, Ida, Sadie and 
Nina, all now living except Nina, who passed 
away from earth at the home of her parents on 
December 26, 1900, at the age of sixteen years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Yoder are active members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church and are deeply in- 
terested in all measures calculated to promote 
the work of religion and charity in the commu- 
nity where they reside. No worthy object de- 
signed for the improvement of the condition 
of the unfortunate or to contribute to the gen- 
eral welfare of the church goes from them with- 



1 86 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



out substantial aid and assistance, and they 
are noted for their many acts of charity and 
helpfulness to others. Politically, Mr. Yoder 
is affiliated with the Republican party and is 
an earnest supporter of the principles of that 
organization, although he has never sought or 
desired political preferment. During the long 
years of his residence in the territory and state 
of Wyoming, Mr. Yoder has demonstrated his 
ability as a business man and his worth as a 
citizen, being faithful to every responsibility 
that has rested upon him and unfailing in the 
performance of every duty. Though firm and un- 
yielding in what he believes to be right, he is 
ever considerate and just in his dealings with 
others and has commanded the unqualified re- 
spect of all who have come in contact with 
him. By his energy, perseverance and un- 
swerving fidelity he has established himself as 
one of the most substantial and highly esteemed 
citizens of Wyoming, and it is to such men as 
he that the state owes its rapid growth, develop- 
ment and prosperity. 

WILLIAM H. WYMAN. 

The first American ancestor of this family 
was the German emigrant, Erastus Wyman, 
who came to the Massachusetts Colony before 
the Revolutionary War, in which his son, Eras- 
tus, was also a conspicuous actor in the patriot 
army, holding the rank of captain. He was the 
grandfather of William H. Wyman of this re- 
view, and he established himself at an early 
date subsequent to the Revolution in the almost 
unbroken wilderness of St. Lawrence county, 
N. Y., where he lived a successful and use- 
ful life and developed by his industry, and that 
of his sons, a comfortable home and estate 
from the heavily timbered acres of the primeval 
forest. Henry Wyman, a son of the Revolu- 
tionary hero and St. Lawrence pioneer, was 
reared among the pleasures and discomforts of 
a pioneer home, where hard and constant labor 
was not only the rule of existence, but a neces- 
sity of the times. He remained for years on 
the ancestral acres, continued the improvements 



so ably commenced by his parents and had the 
pleasure of beholding broadstretching fields 
producing ample crops take the place of the 
original wilderness. In 1835, however, he re- 
moved to Whiteside county, 111., there becom- 
ing one of the earliest settlers and tendering his 
services to the Federal Government at the time 
of the Black Hawk War. He married a Miss 
Vienna Olds, born in St. Lawrence county, N. 
Y., in 1 81 9, who, after years of unceasing indus- 
try in which she has exemplified the finest quali- 
ties of Christian womanhood, is passing the 
quiet evening twilight of her life in her Illinois 
home. Her paternal grandfather, John Olds, 
born in and a lifelong resident of New York 
state, was of German descent, a carpenter and 
cabinetmaker . by trade. His wife. Elizabeth 
(Spencer) Olds, was the daughter of William 
Spencer, and of English extraction. Thejr son, 
Thomas A. Olds, was the father of Mrs. Wy- 
man. Henry Wyman was an old-time Whig, 
a strong supporter of Gen. William H. Harri- 
son, and in 1856 he voted with the Republican 
party, then first presenting a presidential can- 
didate to the country. His great love for home 
prevented him from ever engaging in strife for 
political office for himself. He died in 1861, 
aged forty-seven years. William H. Wyman, 
the youngest of the five children of Henrv and 
Vienna (Olds) Wyman, was born on August 18, 
185 1, in Whiteside county, 111., and there received 
the education given in the district schools of 
the place and period, continuing to abide at his 
Whiteside home engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits until the pioneering proclivities of his race 
sent him westward to Colorado. After a short 
stay in that section he came to Wyoming in 
1874 and at first engaged in the wild, rough, 
yet fascinating labors connected with prospect- 
ing and mining, pursuing these vocations for 
several years, being prospered in his under- 
takings. Later he became a pioneer in an- 
other industry, holding the first head of cattle 
ever held on the Rattlesnake range of moun- 
tains, then a part of Sweetwater county but 
now in Fremont county, being then in the em- 
emplov of the large stockfirm of Beckwith. Quinn 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



187 



& Co. In 1885 Mr. Wyman located a ranch on 
Bear River, five miles north of Cokeville, Wyo., 
where he successfully engaged in raising horses, 
during 1897, however, erecting the hotel at 
Cokeville, of which he is the present popular 
and genial landlord. Republican in politics, his 
sterling- ability was recognized by his party in 
1900 by his nomination for the responsible of- 
fice of member of the lower house of the state 
legislature, to which he was elected by a very 
flattering vote, serving with conceded benefit 
to his constituents and to their general satisfac- 
tion. Among his other possessions Mr. Wy- 
man has oil and copper claims of high prospec- 
tive value, but he has never married. 

FREDERICK G. WOLF. 

One of the pioneer citizens of Wyoming 
and the proprietor of the leading hotel of Car- 
bon county is Hon. Frederick G. Wolf, of 
Saratoga. He is a native of Germany, born in 
the old state of Wurttemberg, on December 27, 
1845, tne son °f Frederick G. and Margaret 
(Nebelmesser) Wolf, both natives of Wurttem- 
berg, and well-known and prominent residents, 
his father being the burgomaster of the city 
for eighteen years and also being the revenue 
officer of the German government and for many 
years the leading citizen of his district. His 
father, Frederick G. Wolf, was also prominent 
and long followed the occupation of wine- 
gardening. Of a family of ten children, the 
subject of this review was the eldest son. He 
grew to man's estate in his native city, and ac- 
quired his early education in its public schools. 
When he had completed his school life, he was 
entered as an apprentice to the trade of a 
gardener, continuing in this employment until 
he had attained twenty years, when he was 
drawn into the German army for a period of 
six years, and in this service in 1866 he took 
part in the war between Austria and Southern 
•Germany against both Prussia and Italy, and par- 
ticipated in the battle of Tauler Bishopsheim, 
in which he was severely wounded, being badly 
shot in one of his legs and compelled to remain 



in hospital for eight weeks before he was able 
to rejoin his regiment. After returning to act- 
ive service he took part in the battle of Wurz- 
burg and was later in the battle of Ashaffinburg. 
In the latter engagement he was the leader of 
a patrol and was surprised and attacked by a 
larger force of the enemy, and during the con- 
flict which followed one of his men was shot 
and captured, and Mr. Wolf received a lance 
wound in the hip and it was only by shooting 
his assailant that he was enabled to save his 
life and to escape to the camp of his regiment 
which was two miles away. The wound he re- 
ceived proved a serious one, upon reaching his 
camp his boot was full of blood, and he was 
again confined in hospital for two months. Upon 
his recovery he returned to his home, peace hav- 
ing been declared. He continued in the army 
until 1869, when his term of service expired and 
he determined to seek his fortune in the New 
World. Arriving in the city of New York on 
December 31, 1869, he came direct to Indiana 
and located at Michigan City in the employ of 
the Michigan Central Railroad, where he re- 
mained until 1873. He then resigned his po- 
sition and removed to Rawlins in the territory 
of Wyoming. Here he became a foreman on 
the Union Pacific Railroad and was continued 
in that position until 1876, when he opened a 
wholesale and retail liquor store in the city of 
Rawlins, Wyo., continuing successfully engaged 
in that business until the spring of 1882. He 
then disposed of his business and property in 
. Rawlins and removed to the Platte Valley, 
where he was engaged in the cattle business 
until 1887 and during this time he had frequent 
difficulties with the Indians, who were trouble- 
some and caused him some losses by reason 
of their thieving propensities, but he had no 
more serious difficulty with them than the loss 
of some stock. As he suffered severely from 
rheumatism, he was compelled to retire from 
the cattle business, and went to Saratoga for 
the purpose of trying the waters of* the hot 
springs there for his trouble, soon opening a 
liquor store at that place and conducting it up 
to 1892. He then disposed of this business to 



i88 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING, 



good advantage, and going to Cheyenne dur- 
ing the session of the Legislature, he was elected 
sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representa- 
tives, serving in that capacity until the close of 
the session. Upon his return to Saratoga he 
erected his present large brick hotel and en- 
gaged in the hotel business. In this he has 
been very successful and has steadily increased 
his accommodations and added to his facilities, 
until he has now the very best accommodations 
for 160 guests, and is here already carrying on a 
large and remunerative business, for his great en- 
terprise, public spirit and genuine popularity have 
given his place a wide reputation among the 
traveling public, as well as among the people 
of the vicinity, and his hotel is the most popu- 
lar resort in his section of the state. In Janu- 
ary, 1869, Mr. Wolf was united in marriage with 
Miss Christiana Waldeman, a native of Wurt- 
temberg, Germany, where her parents were well- 
known and highly respected citizens. To this 
marriage have been born four children, Carrie, 
now Mrs. Alexander Munz of Petersburg, 
Colo., where her husband is engaged in real- 
estate operations ; Freddie, now Mrs. A. J. Dog- 
gett of Denver, Colo. ; Frederick W. (de- 
ceased) ; Henrietta, still at the parental home. 
The son, Frederick W. Wolf, a young man of 
great promise and held in the highest esteem 
in the community, was accidentally drowned in 
July, 1 90 1, while bathing in the Platte River, 
and his unfortunate death was mourned as a 
public calamity. Fie was one of the leading 
young men of his section of the state, and at the 
time of the breaking out of the Spanish- Ameri- 
can War was the first to enlist in the local com- 
pany raised for Torrey's regiment of Rough 
Riders. After being mustered out of the serv- 
ice he had returned to Saratoga, and was con- 
nected in the hotel business with his father up to 
the time of his death. His funeral was conducted 
by the Knights of Pythias of Saratoga, of which 
he was vice-chancellor. Mr. Wolf is one of 
the leading citizens of his section of the state, 
and has done much to develop its resources and 
build up its industries, always taking a foremost 
part in the promotion of every enterprise which 



is calculated to benefit the public and contribut- 
ing of his time and means to all worthy meas- 
ures for the good of the community, he stands 
high in the respect of his neighbors and of all 
the people of that portion of Wyoming. He 
has been very successful and is counted one of 
the solid business men and substantial prop- 
erty owners of Carbon county. 

WILLSON BROTHERS. 

One of the most substantial and best known 
stock industries of Wyoming is that of the Will- 
son Brothers, of Manville, Converse county. The 
firm consists of George L. and Eugene B. Will- 
son, both natives of Illinois and sons of George 
C. and Arathusa (Parkhurst) Willson, who were 
born in Massachusetts, their paternal grand- 
father, Luther Willson, being a native of the 
old town of Braintree, and one of the leading 
ministers of the Unitarian faith in the common- 
wealth and one of the founders of Unitarian- 
ism in America. In 1836, when in very early 
manhood George C. Wilson removed to the state 
of Illinois, then on the extreme western fron- 
tier of America, he was so highly pleased 
with this new country that he determined to 
make it his future home, in 1837 returning to 
his native state, where he married and im- 
mediately returned with his bride to Illinois. 
He established his home at Como, Whiteside 
county, and was elected as a justice of the peace 
at that place. George L. Willson was born in 
Whiteside county, 111., on November 1, 1848, 
and Eugene B. Willson was born at the same 
place on October 18, 1852. They received their 
early educational training in the public schools 
of the vicinity of their boyhoods' home, and 
there attained manhood. In 1870 Eugene B. 
Willson left his native state and came to Chey- 
enne, in the territory of Wyoming. This was 
then in the frontier days of Wyoming, and there 
were few habitations where the city of Cheyenne 
now stands. In 1872 George L. Willson joined 
his brother at Cheyenne, and in 1873 a still 
younger brother, Edmund, came here also. The 
brothers engaged in the responsible duties of 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



189 



surveying, under the general direction of the 
firm of Hay & Thomas, U. S. surveyors, and 
continued in this occupation for several years, 
until in July, 1880, they concluded to engage 
in the stock business and made a settlement 
on their present holdings in Converse county, 
to which on November 1, 1880, they brought 
the first band of sheep ever taken into the north- 
ern section of Wyoming. The business was 
conducted under the firm name of Willson & 
Rasmussen until 1888, when George L. and 
Eugene B. Willson purchased the entire in- 
terest of Mr. Rasmussen and formed the firm 
of Willson Bros., which has continued its 
operations to the present time and has met with 
a gratifying success. The firm is also interested 
in horses, having a large band of fine Hamble- 
tonian thoroughbreds and also run a fine herd 
of Hereford and Shorthorn cattle. They own 
several thousand acres of land, with large 
meadows, and grow each year many hundreds 
of tons of alfalfa and other hay, which is used 
in the care of their own stock. They are among 
the most progressive and successful stockmen 
of Wyoming. An older brother, William, also 
served with distinction in the Civil War, and 
died February 27, 1864, from an illness con- 
tracted during his army life. An unmarried sis- 
ter, who has an interest in her brothers' busi- 
ness, has made several visits to them from her 
eastern home and she has always shown a keen, 
and intelligent interest in their operations. 
Eugene B. Willson was united in marriage on 
July 23, 1890, with Miss Isabel Mack, a native 
of Ohio. She is a graduate of Wolfe Hall in 
Denver, Colo., and her first visit to Wyoming 
was made in her childhood when Cheyenne 
could boast but few trees and none of the fine 
buildings of today. She also holds a diploma 
as a trained nurse from a prominent hospital 
in Chicago, where she was engaged for four 
years in city missionary work. To their union 
have been born four children, Eugene Parkhurst, 
Edna Lucille, Kenneth Mack and Frederick 
' Brooks. The family is held in high esteem by 
a large circle of friends and acquaintances and 
the Willson Brothers stand in the front rank of 



the representative citizens of Wyoming, and 
their enterprise and energy have done much 
to develop the resources and promote the wel- 
fare of the section of the state in which they 
have established their residence. 

EUGENE AMORETTI, JR. 

Although Wyoming is the youngest in our 
galaxy of states, and her history covers scarcely 
more than a generation of men, she has never- 
theless contributed to the business and social 
forces of the country a liberal share of produc- 
tive energies and live, active, influential men. 
Among the latter Eugene Amoretti, Jr., of 
Lander holds a deservedly high place, to which 
he has easily risen by reason of his scholarship, 
his urbanity of manner and his genuine business 
capacity. He was born at South Pass, Fre- 
mont county, Wyo., on January 12, 1871, the 
son of Eugene and Mary Amoretti, descendants 
of a royal line of Italy and natives of Venice, 
that rare beautiful city which rose like Aphrodite 
from the sea. What he is, therefore, although 
of noble lineage, he is all Wyoming's own. His 
parents came to the United States in the early 
forties and to Wyoming in 1868. He was edu- 
cated at the University of Notre Dame at 
South Bend, Ind., at the College of the Sacred 
Heart at Denver and at the Friends College 
at Omaha. On leaving school he engaged in 
the business of raising and selling cattle and 
sheep, taking up a place of 240 acres on Horse 
Creek in Fremont county, which he still owns 
and on which he conducts an extensive cattle 
business. He is also an important factor in the 
affairs of the Stock Growers' Bank at Bridger,. 
Mont., of which he is vice-president, and holds 
a large interest in the Lander Electric Light 
Co., being its manager and giving to its devel- 
opment the full benefit of his superior executive 
ability. In addition to these enterprises he is 
manager of the large rollermills at Lander and 
carries on an extensive real-estate business in 
the town and county. Having a taste and a 
decided capacity for public affairs, Mr. Amo- 
retti gives to the welfare of the community and 



190 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



its proper development due attention, and his 
potential voice is always heard in reference to 
matters touching the progress and improve- 
ment of his section of the state. He served the 
city two years as councilman and the county 
two years as treasurer, and, although his serv- 
ices were valuable and highly appreciated and 
he was urged to continue them, he declined on 
account of his personal interests, which were 
engrossing, to stand for a reelection. He is a 
member of the Masonic order and has pursued 
its mystic ■ and symbolic teachings up to and 
also including the Thirty-second degree of the 
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. He is 
also a noble of the Mystic Shrine of Corean 
Temple at Rawlins and a member of the local 
lodge of the Knights of Pythias. On Novem- 
ber 18, 1891, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Eloise Creedon of Omaha, Neb., where 
the nuptials were celebrated, the bride being a 
daughter of P. J. and Margaret (Clark) Creedon 
of Pennsylvania. Her mother is deceased, but 
her father now lives in Omaha, Neb. Two chil- 
dren, Margaret and Eloise, have blessed the 
union and enlivened the beautiful home of Mr. 
and Mrs. Amoretti. 

MRS. JOSEPHINE E. BALDWIN. 

The life of the hardy pioneer in the wilds of 
a new country is a hard one and it has little to 
relieve its monotonous round of toil, peril and 
privation. It is however frequently relieved and 
blessed by the helpful presence of a devoted 
Avoman, who leaves the pleasures and securities 
of civilization to cast her lot in the west with the 
man of her choice, braving whatever fate awaits 
her by his side. This is in brief the story of 
Mrs. Josephine E. Baldwin of Lander, the widow 
of the late Major N. Baldwin, one of the earliest 
pioneers of Wyoming and the first white woman 
seen in this part of the country. She was a 
daughter of Joseph and Eveline (Leak) Wright, 
natives of New York, Friends in religion and 
well esteemed wherever they were known. Pier 
father was a wholesale leather merchant in New 
York City, where he died of cholera in 1832 



soon after his daughter, the younger of his two 
children, was born. In 1835 her mother again 
married with Philemon Canfield, a prominent 
contractor and builder. In 1849 he ar >d Mr- 
Baldwin yielding to the persuasive voice of 
California offering her newly discovered golden 
treasures to an eager world, left their native 
heath for the distant Eldorado. In 1854 Mr. 
Canfield returned to ''the States" for his family, 
and soon after their arrival in San Francisco 
Miss Josephine Wright became Mrs. Noyes 
Baldwin, the nuptials being solemnized on Sep- 
tember 5, 1854. She had been well educated at 
private schools in New York, and having in- 
herited from a determined and self-reliant ances- 
try a resolute spirit, was read}' for any emer- 
gency that might arise in her new home. Mr. 
Baldwin was born on September 8, 1826, at 
Woodbridge, Conn., the son of Lyman and 
Marie (Beach) Baldwin, being a contractor and 
builder. After a short period in California sub- 
sequent to his marriage, he took his wife to her 
native city, and returning to the Pacific coast, 
bought a brig and left for Valparaiso, Peru, to 
make divings for sunken treasures in the Pacific. 
When he got back to California he sent for his 
wife and they remained in the state until 1857, 
then again returned to New York, where he 
went into business with Mrs. Baldwin's step- 
father until 1859, when they again made their 
home in California, a short time later removing 
to Nevada where he opened a hotel at Silver 
City, and conducted it until the Civil War broke 
out, when he raised a hundred volunteers for the 
service and was made captain of Co. B, First 
Nevada Cavalry. He soon rose by merit to the 
rank of major, was ordered with his command 
to Fort Churchill and soon after was sent to 
Camp Douglas, near Salt Lake City, on account 
of the Mormon uprising. In 1863 he was trans- 
ferred to Fort Bridger, Wyo., and from there 
to Provo, Utah, and after passing a short time 
among the Danites, returned to Fort Bridger, 
where he was placed in command of the post. 
During his military service he entertained a num- 
ber of officers afterwards distinguished in the 
Federal army, anion"' them Generals Sheridan 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



191 



and Miles. Towards the end of 1863 he and 
Captain Skelton organized a band of prospectors, 
but owing to the hostility of the Indians the pro- 
ject was abandoned after a few claims were lo- 
cated at South Pass, Wyo. In July, 1865, he was 
mustered out of service and came to Lander 
Valley, making his own roads, and began trading 
with the Indians for furs and skins which he 
took overland to Salt Lake, leaving his family in 
Lander Valley during his absence. In 1868 he 
erected and opened the first store at South Pass 
and bought goods by the carload at Benton or 
old Fort Steele, his wife attending to the store in 
his absence. About this time he started a news- 
paper in company with Col. E. A. Slack, now. 
a resident of Cheyenne. They received gold 
dust as money, and it being hard to make change, 
he issued tickets good for the requisite amount 
in goods at his store. In 1868 he built a new 
house on Baldwin Creek, and the Indians soon 
after becoming hostile, about sixty miners came 
down from Miner's Delight to protect him and 
his family and rescue them from a perilous situa- 
tion, and while on their way the miners found 
seven men who had been killed by savages and 
hastened to convoy the Baldwins to South Pass. 
Two years later the U. S. government sent troops 
to Fort Brown and in 1872 Fort Stanbaugh was 
established, and the major appointed posttrader 
and postmaster, remaining there in that dual ca- 
pacity for ten years having many thrilling exper- 
iences with the Indians. In 1879 ne returned to 
the valley and built the house now occupied by 
Mrs. Baldwin, having a year previous sent P. P. 
Dickinson forward with merchandise to sell on 
commission. In 1883 he took charge of the en- 
terprise and built the store now conducted by his 
son, Melvin Baldwin, to whom he sold it in 1890. 
On January 12, 1892, after a career of unusual 
adventure and usefulness, he died at his late 
home and was laid to rest with every demonstra- 
tion of popular affection in the beautiful region 
he had done so much to civilize and fructify. He 
was a valued member of the Masonic fraternity 
and also of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
Throughout their eventful married life Mrs. 
Baldwin entered fully into all of his aspirations 



and designs, proving herself a worthy com- 
panion for the bold, resourceful and produc- 
tive man whose name is a synonym for the best 
qualities of the very highest type of American 
pioneer and soldier. They have nine children, all 
living, Almonto, wife of Sylvester Read, now de- 
ceased ; Evelyn, wife of Dr. Thomas G. Maghee 
of Rawlins, Wyo., Melville, merchant at Lander; 
Stella, wife of John Chittham , of Lander ; 
Louisa, wife of J. Ludin of New York City; 
George, the first child born in Lander Valley, 
now at Lander ; Josephine ; Grace ; Florence, wife 
of Griffith Magee, of Rawlins. 

CUSHING W. BUTTERFIELD. 

Nothing in the history of the American peo- 
ple is more remarkable or more indicative of 
their real character than the lofty courage, stern 
endurance, unflagging industry and readiness for 
every requirement shown by the pioneers or 
early settlers in all parts of our land. Every 
town of consequence, which is not the sudden and 
recent product of trade conditions, venerates the 
memory of some sterling, though it may be rug- 
ged founder, who anticipating the tide of emi- 
gration which has been flowing from the Atlantic 
seaboard steadily toward the sunset until it has 
overspread the whole country, planted his foot 
in the wilderness and hewed out a new home 
wherein his hopes might expand and flourish. 
To this, class belonged the late Gushing W. 
Butterfield of Crook county, Wyoming, who was 
one of the substantial and forceful elements in 
the early settlement and civilization. He was 
a native of Vermont, coming with parents to 
Iowa late in the sixties he passed a number of 
years at Durant, Cedar county, and there he met 
and married with Miss Hattie C. Collier, a na- 
tive of Ohio, and they soon after removed to 
O'Brien county in the same state where he was 
engaged in farming until 1882. At that time he 
came overland to Wyoming, bringing his young 
family and arriving at Beulah in July. Within 
a month after his arrival he located the ranch on 
Red Water Creek, eighteen miles northeast of 
Sundance, which is now owned by his sons, 



192 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



George C. and Burdette S. Butterfield. Only 
three ranches were occupied and under cultiva- 
tion on the creek when this family settled there 
and the country was yet the primeval wilderness 
the habitat of the savage and wild beast. All 
the privations and dangers of remote pioneer life 
were to be encountered and all the conveniences 
and blandishments of cultivated life to be fore- 
gone. Yet with resolute hearts and lofty courage 
the family entered into a contest where men, 
beasts and nature seemed arrayed against them, 
and went steadily forward from victory to vic- 
tory. They began an industry in raising cattle 
and horses which was conducted under the 
direction of the father until 1888 when he 
turned it over to his sons and went to Nebraska. 
He remained there but a short time, then re- 
turned to Wyoming where he died in September, 
1890. His widow survived him eleven years 
dying in 1901. No residents of the county were 
better known or more highly esteemed. Mr. 
Butterfield was noted far and wide for his great 
industry and his stern and unyielding integrity. 
He was always active in politics as a Republican 
but never sought office for himself, being a man 
of lofty public spirit and the most progressive 
ideas. The family consists of four children. 
William H. Butterfield, the eldest son, born in 
1868, is perhaps the best-known man of the 
name in the live stock circles of the state. He 
was one of the early range riders of the county, 
riding for a number of large cattle companies 
and winning high commendation for his skill 
and courag"e. He is now a wealthy stock dealer 
and cattle feeder on a very extensive scale at 
Wisner, Neb., where in 1891 he married with 
Miss Bessie L. Mansfield and has since made his 
home there, taking occasional business trips to 
Wyoming. Burdette S., the second child, was 
born in 1870 and was married in 1899 to Miss 
Ella Douglas, a Crook county lady, resident in 
the county since she was six months old. Mr». 
Minnie B. Rich, the third child and only daugh- 
ter, was educated at the State Normal School at 
Spearfish, S. D., and was for a number of years 
one of the county's most popular teachers. She 
married on June 10, 1899, Henry E. Rich, a 



prosperous ranchman and resides eight miles 
north of Sundance. The youngest son and 
child, George C. Butterfield, was born in March, 
1876, at Sheldon, Iowa, and grew to manhood 
in Crook county and was educated at the public 
schools supplemented by instruction at the State 
Normal School at Spearfish, S. D. After leaving 
school he joined his father on the farm and 
since then has been occupied with its work and 
improvement. In 1897 he and his brother Bur- 
dette S. formed a partnership for conducting a 
stock business and since have been engaged in 
raising cattle and horses on a scale of increas- 
ing magnitude. They have 880 acres of land in 
addition to the fine home ranch on Red Water 
Creek which their father took up, the properties 
being well improved, with good buildings and 
cultivated with assiduous industry and skill. 
They understand their business thoroughly, hav- 
ing had years of practical experience, and are 
well acquainted with localities and with people in 
northern Wyoming and adjoining states. They 
are Republicans in politics but have never al- 
lowed office to be thrust upon them. The brothers 
all belong to the Modern Woodmen of America, 
B. S. and G. C, all holding membership in the 
lodge at Beulah, except W. H. whose affiliation 
is at Wisner. Young, active, progressive and 
highly esteemed, with a full and accurate knowl- 
edge of their business and tireless energy in push- 
ing it, as social factors welcomed in every desir- 
able circle, being in accord with the best tenden- 
cies in civil affairs, the Butterfield brothers are 011 
the threshold of a fruitful and promising future. 
Burdette has made his home on the ranch and 
George has been dealing in stock as a com- 
mission merchant in addition to his ranching 
interests. 

ALEXANDER P. BATTRUM. 

Every clime and every land has given of 
their people to develop the Great Northwest of 
the United States, and no element in the inter- 
esting conglomerate of our population has firm- 
er fiber or greater fertility of resources than 
that coming from old England, and among 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



193 



those who owe their ancestry to that country 
Alexander P. Battrum, now prominent in 
financial circles and the public life of Fremont 
county, Wyoming, has an honored place. He 
is a native of County Suffolk, England, born 
on December 12, 1838, his parents being 
Thomas and Esther (Parker) Battrum, mem- 
bers of families long resident in that part of 
England and of standing and influence. The 
father was a merchant and farmer and had his 
son Alexander, the sole survivor of his three 
children, educated with care. When he was 
seventeen years of age, in 1855, the young man 
determined to seek the smiles of fortune for 
himself in the New World and he set sail for 
the United States, locating on his arrival in 
Boone count)', 111., where he found profitable 
agricultural pursuits ready to his hand. After 
a short time he removed to Hancock county, 
and there followed his chosen vocation until the 
beginnning of the Civil War, when he promptly 
enlisted in Co. I, Sixteenth Illinois Infantry, 
with which he took part in a number of im- 
portant engagements, in 1862 reinlisting in the 
same regiment. Receiving an ugly saber cut 
at the battle of Corinth soon after, in December 
of that year he was discharged on account of 
physical disability and returned to his home in 
Illinois. In the spring of 1863 he came to Ne- 
vada and found congenial employment in the 
lumber business and a little later in teaming, 
which he followed for three years. He then 
took a turn at mining and hotelkeeping at 
Treasure Hill, near Shermantown, which lasted 
two years, then in the Freyburg district he fol- 
lowed mining and teaming for a year, then, 
after mining a season in California, he returned 
to Freyburg, thence a short time later remov- 
ing to Pioche, where he was occupied in min- 
ing and stockraising for five 3'ears. In 1880 
he came to Wyoming and started a permanent 
stock business, having sent a band of horses 
into the state two years before in care of 
Messrs. Atkins & Gillis. He bought the land 
near Lander on which he has since lived, con- 
sisting of the 400 acres located about six miles 
east of the town, which he has recently sold, 



and there he built up and conducted a profitable 
and expanding trade in graded Hereford cat- 
tle and desirable breeds of thoroughbred horses, 
having a fine barn and outbuildings. He is still 
interested in a similar enterprise on 960 acres 
of land on Green River in Uinta county, and is 
keenly alive to every element of progress in the 
county and every financial, intellectual and 
moral support of the advancing tides. In 1900 
he was elected county commissioner and at the 
organization of the board was chosen president. 
His services to the county in this position have 
been universally commended as wise and valua- 
ble. He is a member of the order of Odd Fel- 
lows, holding the rank of past grand in the lo- 
cal lodge, and belongs to the Grand Army of 
the Republic. On August 1, 1886, he married 
Mrs. Elizabeth Clark, of Lander, the capable 
widow of William Clark, who was frozen to 
death in this county. In their attractive resi- 
dence in Lander a warm genialty and generous 
hospitality are ever present. They have had 
two children, Viola E., a student at the Boul- 
der, Colo., Normal School, and Leslie A., killed 
by a horse in 1899. By her first marriage Mrs. 
Battrum had five children, four of whom are 
living. 

HON. H. L. CALLAWAY, M. D. 

The ancestry of the distinguished citizen of 
Fremont county, Wyoming, whose name heads 
this review, traces back through two genera- 
tions of gallant Kentuckians to prominent fam- 
ilies of Virginia, domiciled in the Old Dominion 
from an early Colonial period. The Doctor pre- 
sents in his character the best characteristics 
of both states, being a polished, courtly and 
cultivated gentleman of rare professional skill, 
possessing practical business qualities of a high 
order. These qualities, combined with his 
great services in connection with the develop- 
ment and the building up of the state of Wyom- 
ing have given him a warm place in the esteem 
of the people, which his capable and effective 
services in the State Senate has intensified and 
enlarged. Doctor Callaway was born in the 



194 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



cultured city of Lexington, Ky., on October 2J, 
1864, the son of Dr. J. B. and Ella (Logan) 
Callaway, both of ancient English lineage, 
Americanized and improved by a long connec- 
tion with the thrilling events of Virginia Colo- 
nial and Revolutionary history and with fron- 
tier life in the Blue Grass state, the father being 
a "physician and surgeon of skill and promi- 
nence. The atmosphere of his home, which 
after the war period was removed to Missouri, 
was keenly intellectual, and of his family of six 
children, three sons engaged in medicine or 
dentistry. Dr. L. H. is a practicing physician 
of Nevada, Mo. ; Dr. H. L. of Lander, Wyo. ; 
Frank B. of Nevada, Mo. ; Dr. William L., a 
dentist of Nevada, Mo. ; Sarah, wife of G. R. 
Godfrey of Nevada, Mo. ; Ella, wife of Eugene 
Parish, also of Nevada, Mo. Dr. H. L. Calla- 
way received his early literary training in the 
schools of Nevada, Mo., suppplementing this 
by a three-years' course of study at the Central 
College of Fayette, Mo. Thereafter he matric- 
ulated in the St. Louis Medical College, pur- 
suing the scientific and technical studies neces- 
sary to the complete equipment of a physician 
and surgeon for two years, then continuing 
these studies at that noted institution, the Uni- 
versity of Louisville, Ky., for one year, then 
devoting one year to hospital practice in the 
Missouri Pacific Railroad Hospital at St. Louis, 
Mo., still further pursuing his investigations 
and medical study for another year at the Beau- 
mont Medical College of St. Louis, from which 
he was graduated in 1890 as M. D. With this 
splendid preparation and mental equipment, 
Doctor Callaway began an active professional 
life at Lander, Wyo., in 1891, and here he has 
since resided, enjoying a marked personal popu- 
larity and controlling a large and representative 
patronage. He keeps in touch with the marked 
advances of the sciences of which he is the local 
interpreter by reading the best and latest litera- 
ture and through his connection with medical 
societies, and his skill as a physician and sur- 
geon has often been demonstrated. The Doc- 
tor has been a very prominent factor in the de- 
velopment of this section of Wyoming, is inter- 



ested to some extent in its stock industry, in its 
oil territory and in its mining and is one of the 
promoters and founders of the thriving town 
of Thermopolis. Indeed, all things which he has 
touched have seemed to prosper, while in all 
ways he stands as one of the best representa- 
tives of the professional and cultured people of 
the state. In 1896 his talents and zeal in the 
cause of the people had become so manifest that 
he was placed in nomination by the Democratic 
party as its candidate for state senator, being 
successful at the polls by a triumphant majority, 
holding the office for four years. Fraternally the 
Doctor has attained the Knights Templar de- 
gree in the Masonic order and is affiliated with 
the Knights of Pythias. At the present writing 
he is a member of the city council of Lander, 
and he is at all times and under all circum- 
stances a liberal contributor of time and means 
to the advancement and interests of the city, 
his county and his state. He has a host of 
friends, winning and retaining them by his ad- 
mirable qualities of head and heart. 

ABNER LUMAN. 

The immediate progenitors of Mr. Luman 
were in the true sense representative men and 
women, whose integrity, moral worth and in- 
tellectual endowments gave them standing and 
influence. His father, James Luman, was a 
native of Ohio and an industrious tiller of the 
soil who followed agricultural pursuits in 
Ohio for some years and then changed his 
residence to West Virginia where he continued 
his chosen calling until his removal in 1855 to 
Kansas, where he passed the remainder of his 
life, dying in 1865 at the age of fifty-six. He 
was an honorable and upright man of un- 
impeachable character, a great lover of home 
and a liberal provider for his family. He never 
aspired to public distinction but was content 
to pursue the even tenor of his way as a plain, 
honest farmer, and to be known only as a pri- 
vate citizen. His wife, who bore the maiden 
name of Matilda Anchram. was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, was married in Ohio and departed this 




s£. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



195 



life in St. Joseph county, Mo., in 1880. She 
possessed a beautiful Christian character and 
was a zealous worker in her church and early 
instilled into the minds of her seven children the 
principles of religion by which her own life 
was directed. Abner Luman was born on 
February 23, 1849, i n West Virginia and ac- 
companied his parents to Kansas when but 
six years old. His boyhood and youth sped 
away on the farm, and in the public schools 
he secured his first instructions in the mysteries 
of education. At an early age he became ani- 
mated with a desire to see something of the 
world, and when a mere youth he made a trip 
to New Mexico and shortly after his return went 
to Denver, Colo., in the vicinity of which city he 
remained until September, 1866, then went fur- 
ther west, passing the winter in various parts of 
Utah, then made his way to Montana, where 
for ten years he was engaged in staging and 
freighting. While thus employed Mr. Luman 
drove to all the principal points of the western 
states and territories, meeting with thrilling 
experiences, not always free from adventure 
and danger. On discontinuing the above work 
he began trailing cattle and sheep for different 
parties from the northwest to Cheyenne and 
after two years at this business he gave up his 
position and engaged in the stock business upon 
his own responsibility, locating a ranch in 
Sweetwater county, Wyo., in 1880, from which 
time dates his career as an independent factor 
in the business world. Mr. Luman began by 
buying cattle and sheep, and in due time ex- 
tended his operations until he had a large and 
well stocked ranch and was on the high road 
to prosperity. In purchasing stock he traveled 
extensively over nearly every part of the west, 
coming in contact with the leading cattle and 
sheep raisers, every day becoming more and 
more experienced as a close observer and far- 
seeing business man. Without going into de- 
tails, suffice it to say that from the beginning 
his business met his most sanguine expecta- 
tions and each year his operations grew in mag- 
nitude until he became known as one of the 
enterprising and most prosperous stockmen of 

12 



Wyoming. He continued dealing in cattle and 
sheep and since 1896 he has largely extended 
his operations in sheep. Mr. Luman's success 
has been commensurate with the efforts he has 
put forth, owning several large ranches in 
Wyoming and Idaho, besides valuable prop- 
erty throughout the west, including a fine resi- 
dence in Salt Lake City, where his family reside. 
Of a persevering and indomitable nature, he 
has sturdily and persistently held to his course; 
obstacles he has encountered and many of his 
best achievements were wrested from condi- 
tions which would have insured certain defeat 
to men of less courageous resolution. To rise 
equal to emergencies and to overcome difficul- 
ties have been among his chief characteristics, 
and being a man of sound judgment and prac- 
tical expedients he seldom addresses himself 
to an undertaking without careful plans for 
carrying it to a successful conclusion. He 
is a man of action rather than of words. His 
mind is strongly analytical and in its scope deep 
and wide. He is decidedly utilitarian, energy 
of character, firmness of purpose and unswerv- 
ing integrity being among his most pronounced 
traits. He looks searchingly and comprehen- 
sively into the nature of probable results and 
possesses the rare faculty of seeing with ac- 
curacy the end from the beginning. Indefati- 
gable and with earnestness of purpose, he goes 
forward where others hesitate, is confident 
where others doubt and wins success where 
others would see nothing but discouragement, 
if not disaster. A sanguine disposition has 
enabled him to take advantage of circumstances 
and where opportunities are lacking he pos- 
sesses the power to create them. As a citizen 
Mr. Luman is popular with all classes and in 
his home life few are as happy and contented 
or as comfortably situated. His home at Salt 
Lake is one of the beautiful and attractive pri- 
vate residences of the "city and no business or 
worldly cares are permitted to disturb the quiet 
of the domestic circle or to interfere with its 
peace or serenity. It is presided over by a 
ladv of culture and refinement, with whom he 
was wedded on October 22, 1885, her maiden 



196 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



name being Jennette Snedden, and she is the 
daughter of Robert and Mary (Monteith) Sned- 
den, natives respectively of Scotland and the 
United States. She has borne her husband 
seven children, Eugene, Jennette, Kenneth J., 
Mary, Phillis, Richard, Frank and Rock, all 
living but the two last named, who departed 
this life when they were eleven years and eleven 
months old respectively. Mr. Luman has every 
reason to feel proud of his family, the domes- 
tic circle in many respects approaching the ideal 
in the mutual love and interest which the dif- 
ferent members manifest. He has provided for 
his children the best educational advantages 
obtainable and considers no reasonable sacri- 
fice too great to fit and prepare them for useful 
stations in the world. These laudable efforts 
are heartily seconded by the wife and mother, 
and both parents and children have harmoniously 
cooperated for this desirable end. 

GEORGE F. CHAPMAN. 

George F. Chapman, one of the leaders of 
the enterprising citizens of Evanston, Wyo- 
ming, comes of sturdy Yankee stock, for his 
parents and grandparents were all natives of 
Massachusetts, where he himself was born in 
Canton, in i860, his father being Oliver S. Chap- 
man, born at Belchertown, Mass., in 181 1, and 
during his mature life he was always interested 
in railroads and railroad building, aiding in the 
construction of the first railroad in Massachu- 
setts and being a member of the first board of 
directors of the Union Pacific Railroad. Politi- 
cally he was a Republican, and his life ended 
in 1879, his remains being buried at Canton, 
Mass. His wife, the mother of George F. 
Chapman, was Elizabeth Everett, born in 181 7 
at Canton, Mass., where she was married and 
lived until two years ago, when she also passed 
away. Her remains rest beside those of her 
husband. Her father, Leonard Everett, and her 
mother also were natives of Massachusetts and 
their remains also rest in the attractive ceme- 
tery at Canton. George F. Chapman was edu- 
cated at Canton and in the Massachusetts Me- 



chanical University of Technology. Graduat- 
ing from the latter in 1878, he came to Omaha, 
Neb., engaged in railroading, and at the time 
he closed his connection with this road he was 
the master mechanic of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, with headquarters at Evanston. Having 
become largely interested in ranching property 
in company with his brother, J. E. Chapman, he 
ably engaged in the active management of its 
affairs and also with a meat business in Evans- 
ton, which was started fifteen years ago, and 
at the present writing the brothers own 56,000 
acres of land in Rich county, Utah, which they 
devote principally to sheepraising. In politics 
Mr. Chapman is a Republican, and he was elect- 
ed a member of the legislature of Wyoming in 
1892 and served with credit to himself and bene- 
fit to his constituents, manifesting legislative 
qualities of a high character. Mr. Chapman 
Was first married in 1882 to Eliza Copen, who, 
like himself, was a native of Canton, and de- 
scended from Colonial families of Massachu- 
setts. Her parents were George and Clara (Boy- 
ton) Copen, whose mortal remains were buried 
in their native place, Massachusetts. Mrs. 
Chapman died about four years ago, leaving her 
husband with four children : Ruth, George H., 
Elizabeth L. and Frederick. About two years 
ago Mr. Chapman again entered matrimony 
with a member of the distinguished old Ames 
family, which has furnished so many notable 
people of the state and nation, being prominent 
in every generation from Colonial days. She 
was Alice Ames, a daughter of Frank and Cath- 
erine (Copeland) Ames, of whom the father is 
dead and the mother a resident of Boston. 

ADIX E. BROWX. 

This well-known stockman, whose ranch is 
located seven miles north of Evanston. Uinta 
county, Wyoming, was born in Summercoates, 
Derbyshire, England, on December 19. 1853, 
a son of William and Hannah (Clark) Brown. 
The father was engaged in mining in England 
ami is now a farmer in Providence, Utah, being 
a member of the Latter Dav Saints church. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



197 



Mrs. Hannah (Clark) Brown was called front 
earth at Almy on January 25, 1882, at the age 
of forty-six years, and her remains were there 
interred. James and Martha (England) Clark, 
the parents of Mrs. Hannah Brown, were also 
natives of England, the former being a son of 
Josiah and Mary (Skevington) Brown and an 
engineer by profession. In 1871 the Brown 
family came to the United States and settled in 
Utah. At the age of nine years Adin E. went 
to work in the mines of England, and mining 
was his occupation until he had attained his 
majority, when, about 1873, he entered eighty 
acres of his present homestead, which is now 
jointly owned by himself and wife and is located 
in Almy. Mrs. Harriet Brown, wife of Adin 
Brown, owned 160 acres at Hilliard, Wyo., 
about twenty-five miles south of Evanston, 
which is now jointly owned by herself and hus- 
band. Adin E. Brown was married in Almy on 
September 28, 1873, to Miss Harriet Bower, a 
daughter of William and Martha (Davis) 
Bower, natives of Bunsley, Nottinghamshire, 
England, who came to Uinta county, Wyo., on 
July 4, 1872. The father of Mrs. Brown was a 
son of Christopher and Helen (Housley) 
Bower, also natives of England. William 
Bower was born on July 19, 1832, was a farmer, 
and died at Croydon, Utah, on July 21, 1890; 
his widow now resides in Dempsey, Idaho. Mr. 
and Mrs. Adin E. Brown had twelve children, 
of whom one was the wife of William Nisbitt, 
and departed this life on March 10, 1894; Wil- 
liam H. married Miss Nellie Aikten, and is liv- 
ing in, Lafayette, Colo.; Herbert is married to 
Mabel Godber and resides in Hilliard, Wyo. ; 
Annie E., wife of Benjamin Benjamine of 
Spring Valley, Uinta county, Wyo. ; Maud M., 
died in infancy; Adin, Jr., died July 7, 1900, 
aged seventeen years, nine months and sixteen 
days; Frank married Elizabeth Boan and lives 
in Spring Valley, Wyo. ; Charles Milton, died 
an infant; Harriet H. and Lyman are still liv- 
ing, and the two others died in infancy. Mr. 
Brown is one of the most enterprising farmers 
and cattlemen in Uinta county and by his in- 
dustry he has done much to develop the pros- 



perity of the community. The family enjoys 
the esteem of all their neighbors, and the neat- 
ness and thrift which characterize his ranch 
are matters of universal admiration and com- 
mendation. He is the "architect of his own 
fortune," and deserves all the praise which is 
accorded him. He is the kind of a man that 
a newly settled section of a country most profits 
by in securing as a resident, and the citizens of 
Uinta county may well congratulate themselves 
at having his presence among them. 

EDMUND CUSACK. 

An energetic, progressive and widewake 
stockgrower and liveryman of Thermopolis, 
one of the first public officials of his county, 
helping to fix the metes and bounds and estab- 
lish the character of its political and official de- 
partments and always actively and practically 
interested in the welfare of his community, Ed- 
mund Cusack is thoroughly identified with the 
growth and development of Wyoming and has 
a good record of faithful service to his credit 
wherever he has lived. He is a native of Leav- 
enworth, Kan., born in 1859, the son of John 
and Mary Cusack, who came to that state from 
their native Ireland soon after they were mar- 
ried. In 1867 they removed to Cass county, 
Neb., where their son Edmund was reared and 
educated. In 1885 he came to Wyoming, locat- 
ing first at Cheyenne and later in the Bighorn 
basin. Here for years he rode the range and 
in 1887 located a homestead at the mouth of 
Owl Creek, where he engaged in stockraising, 
farming and carrying the U. S. mail under con- 
tract, having the first route from Lost Cabin. 
He has given up his contract for carrying the 
mails, but still retains his ranch of 320 acres 
and carries on his stock business, handling- 
large bands of horses and cattle. In 1898 he 
engaged in merchandising at Thermopolis, but 
sold out in 1900. Two years later he started his 
present livery business in the town and, by 
his careful attention to its requirements and his 
enterprise in meeting them, he has expanded it 
to a large and busy enterprise, up-to-date in 



198 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



every respect and one of the finest of its kind 
in a large scope of country. In politics Mr. 
Cusack is an ardent Democrat, always lending 
aid to his party's campaigns. He was a mem- 
ber of the first board of county commissioners 
elected in Bighorn county and was one of the 
first justices of the peace in this part of the 
country. In the administration of both offices 
he had important functions to perform and won 
general commendation by his fidelity, intelli- 
gence and breadth of view. He belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
Modern Woodmen of America. At Meeteetse, 
in 1890, he was married with Miss Almyra 
Adams, a native of Ohio, who died on June 10, 
1899, leaving one child, their daughter Mary. 
In all the essentials of good citizenship Mr. 
Cusack has fully satisfied the requirements and 
as a business man and public official he has ex- 
hibited an uprightness and force of character 
worthy of emulation and approval by all classes 
of the people. 

DAVID F. CROUT. 

A prominent stockman and rancher of 
Wyoming,' and one of the most progressive and 
enterprising citizens of his section of the state 
is David F. Crout, whose address is Collins, 
Wyo. A native of Jackson county, Mich., he 
was born on October 14, 1861, the son of Wil- 
liam and Melissa A. (Bryant) Crout, natives of 
New York. The paternal grandfather, John 
Crout, was also a native of the Empire state, 
removed to Michigan in his early life and was 
one of the pioneers of that state and remained 
there engaged in agriculture up to the time of 
his death. The father also followed farming 
in Michigan until 1861, when he enlisted as a 
member of the First Regiment of Michigan 
Cavalry, for service in the Civil War, in which 
service he received a promotion for gallantry 
in action, and by a re-enlistment he was con- 
tinued in the army and detailed to guard the 
stages on the old overland stageroad to Cali- 
fornia. He began this service in 1866 and 
served in it for about three years, having many 



exciting experiences on the frontier and being 
frequently engaged in skirmishes with the In- 
dians, with several narrow escapes. In 1869 he 
was mustered out at Fort Douglass near Salt 
Lake City, Utah, and came to Laramie, Wyo., 
and engaged in the hotel business, and his 
place, the Frontier Hotel, was one of the fa- 
mous resorts of the early days. He carried 
on this business successfully for thirteen years, 
improving his property from time to time, as 
his patronage demanded and the country grew 
in population and business. In 1883. he located 
the ranch on Beaver Creek which is now the 
property of W. R. Hunter, and there engaged 
in ranching and the raising of sjtock, continuing 
in this to the time of his decease, which oc- 
curred in 1896. He was a representative man 
of the community and was held in high esteem 
by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
David F. Crout was the youngest son of his 
father and grew to manhood in Wyoming, hav- 
ing come hither in 1869. He received his early 
education in the primitive public schools, and 
remained with his parents until 1883, when he 
located his present ranch, and moved unto it 
shortly afterward. Here he engaged in ranch- 
ing and stockraising, and was successful. He 
gradually improved his property, adding to his 
holdings each year both land and cattle, until 
he is now the owner of one of the finest ranches 
in that section of Wyoming, with about 340 
acres under irrigation and raising great quan- 
tities of alfalfa each year, often putting up 500 
tons for the use of his own stock. He has a 
fine herd of graded Shorthorn cattle, being the 
owner of some of the most valuable animals in 
the state. He is one of the large property own- 
ers and substantial business men of that section. 
On November 30, 1892, Mr. Crout was united 
in marriage with Miss Jennie M. Hunter, a na- 
tive of Illinois and a daughter of Thomas W. 
Hunter, a well-known business man, who was 
extensively engaged in stockraising both in Illin- 
ois and other states. To this union were born two 
children. William H. and Marion Grace. In 1898 
the health of Mrs. Crout began to fail and in 
spite of every effort that affection could suggest 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



199 



or money command to restore her to health 
she passed away from earth in 1900. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Crout is affiliated with the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows, the order of Macca- 
bees, the Modern Woodmen of America and the 
Yeomen, and takes an active interest in the fra- 
ternal life of the community where he resides. 
His ranch is situated on Beaver Creek, about 
eleven miles from Encampment, near the new 
mining districts where several large mines are 
now being' developed, being in the center of one 
of the best sections of Wyoming. Mr. Crout 
is an enterprising, progressive and successful 
man, who has done much to develop the re- 
sources of this portion of the state, and is- high- 
ly respected. 

WILLIAM C. CASTO. 

Every man who earnestly works into practi- 
cal form the expression of great thoughts and 
of inspiring and lofty ideals is a benefactor to 
mankind. His operations for success in his par- 
ticular field of labor help to educate each suc- 
cessive generation, and such records of life, work 
and success supply the most inspiring and disin- 
terested motives to the highest exertion in the 
present and in the future. We are led to these 
reflections in contemplating the life and activi- 
ties of William C. Casto, now of Fort Bridger, 
Wyoming, who is a native son of the west, born 
at Montpelier, Idaho, on April 14, 1869, a son 
of James and Sarah (Odekirk) Casto. His 
mother was born in Missouri and his father in 
Indiana when he long conducted the saddlery bus- 
iness. He was of French origin, while his wife, 
a daughter of Isaac and Eliza (Dutcher) Ode- 
kirk, was of German descent, although her par- 
ents were natives of Ohio. James Casto early 
became identified with the church of Latter Day 
Saints and crossed the plains in the second pil- 
grimage of Mormons in 1850, settling in Provo 
Canyon, Utah. They removed to Idaho some 
time in the early sixties where James Casto was 
a trapper and hunter until his death which oc- 
curred in 1870, at the age of fifty-five years. Of 
their union nine children were born, and after 
the demise of her husband, Mrs. Casto married 



William Hendrick and they have two living chil- 
dren. In crossing the plains in 1850 Mrs. Casto 
drove an ox team the entire distance from the 
Missouri River to Fort Bridger. Her death oc- 
curred at Fort Bridger in July 1897, at the age 
of sixty-four years. Mr. Casto was early left an 
orphan by his father's death and was brought to 
Wyoming by his mother at the age of two years. 
Here his educational discipline was acquired in 
the common schools and after his school days 
were over he became a rider on the range, fol- 
lowing this vocation for many years and he was 
daring, intrepid and successful. In 1895 he made 
his home at Fort Bridger, where he has since 
been connected with various branches of busi- 
ness, and is now engaged in merchandising. He 
is a man of great activity, energy and practi- 
cality. He combines fine taste with his practical 
qualities and as an evidence of this has the 
finest residence in Fort Bridger. He is identified 
to a certain extent with cattleraising and is gen- 
erally interested in anything that adds to the 
value or welfare of the community. Fraternally 
he is identified with the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks, holding membership with the 
lodge at Rock Springs. In political relations he 
is strongly pronounced in favor of the Demo- 
cratic party, and does earnest work for its 
candidates, although desiring no position elective 
or appointive. ' The secret of his successful life 
can be comprised in the statement that he has 
ever been a man of well-directed, steady and per- 
sistent energy, always sincere and honest, and 
intensely loyal to his friends. He has ever been 
kind-hearted, hospitable, generous to the needy 
and diligent and faithful to all his trusts and 
friendship. As a business man he stands in a 
high rank. The marriage of Mr. Casto occurred 
on October 27, 1898, when he was married at 
Fort Bridger, Wyo., to Miss Rosanna Pearce, a 
daughter of William and Mary M. (Clucas) 
Pearce, natives of New Jersey and Missouri. 
They also are Mormons. Taking the long and 
wearisome journey across the plains to the prom- 
ised land in i860, with a handcart train, they are 
still enjoying life in their home in the west. The 
home of Mr. and Mrs. Casto is brightened by 
two children, William Charles and Pearl N. 



200 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



KENT KANE CURTIS. 

The Curtis family has been prominently con- 
nected with the progress of civilization in 
America from the earliest days of the Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut colonies, and scat- 
tered all through the county to-day are prom- 
inent professional men, captains of industry, 
literary men of high standing, as well as more 
humble and unpretentious but equally as able 
representatives, all bearing the name of Curtis. 
In 1760 there was born in Connecticut a lad 
who was named Hull Curtis, and he attained 
early manhood in the most troublous days of 
the Connecticut colony, and when the effort was 
made to throw off the British yoke, Hull Cur- 
tis, then being seventeen years old, became a 
soldier of the Continental army, seeing much 
service in bloody engagements and being cap- 
tured in the battle of Long Island and held a 
prisoner for months in the old Sugar House 
prison of New York City. He lived, however, 
to become once more a free man and to see the 
British power driven from the land. His son, 
Philo Curtis, was born in Vermont and became 
a pioneer farmer in the new lands of New York, 
where he married Hannah Miller, had sons and 
daughters, and both of the parents died and 
were buried in the state of their adoption. 
Their son, Simon Curtis, was a man of brilliant 
intellectual powers and a deep and thoughtful 
student. Having the advantages of a liberal edu- 
cation, he supplemented this by a thorough 
course in the medical college at Albany, N. Y., 
where he made marked progress and was grad- 
uated with a high standing. Being thus fully 
equipped for his chosen profession of medicine 
and surgery, he commenced its practice at 
Hoosick, N. Y., soon acquiring distinction as 
a most highly gifted practitioner. This small 
town could not long contain him and his re- 
moval to Troy but enlarged the sphere of his 
usefulness and reputation. His exhausting la- 
bors in his very large practice caused his com- 
paratively early death in 1867 at the age of fifty 
years. His wife was Alcha Cottrell, a daughter of 
Jonathan and Alcha (Case) Cottrell, the father 



being born at Hoosick, N. Y., in 1799 and dying 
there in 1847. He was a farmer and an ener- 
getic factor in the affairs of his section, being 
an active and influential Democrat. His wife 
was born in Hoosick in 1802, where she also 
died in 1837. Her paternal grandfather was 
Samuel Cottrell of Rhode Island, and his wife 
was originally Huldah Southwick. Her mater- 
nal grandparents were Nathan Case and Sarah 
Center, of Dutch extraction. At the age of 
sixteen years Kent Kane Curtis went to sea, 
but two years of this life was sufficient for him, 
and he thereafter learned the machinist's trade 
in Brooklyn, N. Y., becoming a skilled work- 
man he was employed in New York City, Al- 
bany, Hoosick, Portland and Astoria, Ore., be- 
ing expert and well versed in the technique of 
his vocation. In 1890 he crossed the continent 
and coming to Wyoming he took up a home- 
stead at his present location, where he made his 
permanent home in 1900, his productive ranch 
residence being located twelve miles north of 
Kemmerer, and here he is devoting his time, 
to his cattle interests, which are steadily in- 
creasing, as well as his estate, his original 
homestead having been much enlarged. His 
landed estate now takes up most of his time. 
On April 27, 1889, Mr. Curtis wedded Miss 
Matilda Schultz, a daughter of William and 
Mary (From) Schultz, her father coming from 
Germany to New York City when only eigh- 
teen years of age, and by his own endeavors be- 
coming the proprietor of a large merchandising 
house in Brooklyn, devoted entirely to the sale 
of artists' materials, etc. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis 
enjoy the unqualified respect of their associates 
and dispense a truly western hospitality in their 
pleasant home. 

SYLVANUS COLLETT. 

The first American ancestor of the prom- 
inent Collett family of Wyoming and Utah was 
Daniel Collett, the English emigrant, who made 
his home in the new lands of Iowa at an early 
day in its settlement as a pioneer farmer and 
was later a farmer in Missouri, where was born 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



20 1 



his son, Sylvanus. A carpenter and builder by 
trade, he did much of this work in a widely ex- 
tended territory and erected the first Christian 
church of the Cherokee nation, removing to 
Utah in 1852, where his death took place in 
1894 at the age of eighty-six, long surviving his 
wife, Esther, an English lady of Welsh extrac- 
tion, whose character was one of rare beauty 
and excellence. After passing some years on 
the Missouri homestead with his father, Syl- 
vanus Collett plunged into the wilderness coun- 
try of Montana, whither its" mineral treasures 
had commenced to gather the people of the 
earth, and as a miner contended with the num- 
berless privations and dangers of those primi- 
tive days when the Indian as well as the buffalo 
swarmed the plains, and when the "road agent" 
had scarcely commenced to realize the power 
of the "Vigilants." Under these educational 
forces he soon developed into a hardy moun- 
taineer, keen of sight, quick and unerring as a 
shot, ready to meet the audacious Indian with 
equal audacity or his cunning trickeries with 
subtler wiles. From i860 to 1872 he followed 
agriculture in Utah, removing to Idaho and 
engaging in stockraising and farming for a 
time, soon, however, returning to Uinta county, 
Wyo., in 1874, there locating on a fine ranch 
of 160 acres and successfully operating in cattle, 
conducting his operations with rare discrimina- 
tion and care and being greatly prospered in his 
undertakings. A sterling Democrat in politics, 
his great ability made him a positive force in 
the development of whatever section might be 
his home, and he was prominent in the creation 
of Uinta county, and one of the first justices 
of the organization. At his hospitable home 
every one was welcome and no better example 
of western courtesy existed in many a long 
mile of distance. He married with Miss Lydia 
Karens, a native of Iowa and a daughter of 
Thomas and Elizabeth Karens, the father com- 
ing from the Isle of Man to America- and ulti- 
mately making the permanent family home in 
Utah, where both himself and wife lie buried 
in Salt Lake City. Their daughter, Mrs. Col- 
lett, died in 1865 and her burial place is in 



Cache county, Utah. Their f our children bore 
the following names : Esther A., Lydia, Syl- 
vester and Thomas K. Sylvester Collett, son 
of Sylvanus and Lydia (Karens) Collett, was 
born on July 23, 1863, in Cache county, Utah, 
and his early years were passed in the acquisi- 
tion of the practical knowledge of Utah farm- 
ing and the details of successful operations in 
stockraising, and at the age of sixteen, while 
some of the eastern youths would be conning 
over books or studying bookkeeping in a com- 
mercial school, he was a man of independent 
business, raising cattle for himself, an occupa- 
tion that s'oon tests both the physical and men- 
tal equipment of the operator. Mr. Collett was 
steadily successful and on his preemption claim 
at Cokedale, Wyo., he has placed fine improve- 
ments and is considered one of the prominent 
cattlemen of the section, his operations being 
of wide scope and importance, and demonstrat- 
ing his wise supervision and care. A Repub- 
lican in politics, he has worthily held the office 
of justice of the peace for six years and also 
that of school trustee, while fraternally he is a 
valued member of the Woodmen of the World. 
In 1888 Mr. Collett was united in matrimony 
with Miss Nora Tanner, a native of Wyoming 
and a daughter of William and Lucy (Snider) 
Tanner, early settlers of the territory, and they 
have one child. 

JAMES A. CROCHERON. 

One of the prosperous stockmen of Carbon 
county, Wyoming, and one of the representative 
citizens of that state and also a native of the 
state of New York, James A. Crocheron was 
born in Richmond county, in January, 1838, the 
son of Nicholas and Sophia C. (Guyon) Croch- 
eron, both natives of Staten Island. The 
Crocheron and Guyon families were of Hugue- 
not stock and members of both families came to 
America and leaving France soon after the St. 
Bartholomew massacre, they settled in New 
York during the seventeenth century. His father 
spent the greater portion of his active life on 
Staten Island, holding a position under the 



202 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



U. S. government as the resident customs officer, 
the position being one of importance and respon- 
sibility, and he discharged its duties with the 
full approval of his superior officers. He had a 
family of four sons and six daughters, of whom 
James received his elementary education in the 
public schools of the community where his boy- 
hood's home was located on Staten Island and 
in early life he removed to Alabama, where the 
family of a brother was located. Here he be- 
came a clerk in the office of his brother, William 
H. Crocheron who was engaged in a general 
mercantile business and subsequently he was ad- 
mitted to a partnership. Upon the breaking out 
of the Civil War, while not a believer in the prin- 
ciple of secession, he yet espoused the cause of 
his adopted state and enlisted in the Third Ala- 
bama Infantry, under Col. J. M. Withers. The 
regiment was ordered to Norfolk, Virginia, 
where they had charge of the navy yard and 
during the first year of service it was occupied 
in garrison duty. Mr. Crocheron saw his first 
active service on the James River in Virginia, 
and was a witness of the historic naval battle be- 
tween the Monitor and the Merrimac. After 
that engagement his regiment was ordered to 
Eichmond, then menaced by the Monitor, was 
transferred to the brigade of Gen. William Ma- 
hone and subsequently took part in the battle of 
Fair Oaks or Seven Pines, being then assigned 
to the Alabama brigade of General Rhodes. 
Later he was a participant in the Seven Days 
Fight in Virginia and took part in all the princi- 
pal engagements of the armies of the Potomac, 
his regiment being under command of Stonewall 
Jackson. In his military service he was wounded 
three times, first at the battle of Fair Oaks, 
second at the battle of Boonesborough Gap, and 
third at the battle of Gettysburg. His injuries 
at Fair Oaks were not serious and he soon re- 
covered, but at Boonesborough Gap he was shot 
down, left upon the field and made a prison- 
er by the Union forces, taken to the U. S. 
hospital at West Philadelphia, and upon his 
recovery after some time was exchanged and re- 
turned to his regiment. At the battle of Gettys- 
burg, he was still more seriously wounded, was 



again made a prisoner, but again paroled after 
three months captivity. At the close of the war 
he returneed to his Alabama home and accepted 
a position as a clerk in the city of Montgomery 
where he remained for some time, subsequently 
removing to Mobile, where he again engaged in 
business with his brother William. He remain- 
ed here successfully engaged in business for 
about five years, when he removed to Galveston, 
Tex., and was there engaged in commercial pur- 
suits up to the year 1887, when he came to the 
territory of Wyoming. Here he established him- 
self on Cow Creek, about seven miles north of 
the city of Encampment, and engaged in ranch- 
ing and stockraising. In this enterprise he has 
met success and is now the owner of one of the 
finest ranch properties in his section of the 
state, and he is known as one of the leading 
citizens of Carbon county, being held in high 
esteem. In August, 1871, Mr. Crocheron was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Kelly, 
a native of Louisiana and a member of one of its 
prominent families. To their union were born 
three children, Laura, now Mrs. Brewer, who 
resides at Denver, Colo. ; Annie. Mrs. Kling. 
whose home is on Cow Creek, Wyo. ; Sophia G., 
now living in Denver, Colo. Mrs. Crocheron 
died in 188 1, and in 1886,, while in the state of 
Texas, Mr. Crocheron was again married, the 
bride being Miss Helen Owen, a native of 
Connecticut, whose parents were highly re- 
spected citizens of that commonwealth and of 
ancient Welsh lineage. She is an attractive lady, 
whose graces of culture and refinement center in 
the home life and embellish it. making it also 
a center of most gracious and generous hospi- 
tality. Mr. Crocheron has not in recent years 
taken an active part in political life, preferring 
to give his entire time and attention to the care 
and management of his ranch interests, although 
he has been solicited by his party friends and as- 
sociates to become a candidate for positions of 
trust and honor. Just after the close of the war 
he was elected an alderman of the city of Mobile. 
Ala., and served in that capacity with capability 
and the satisfaction of his constituents. He is 
a wearer of the bado-e of the Southern Cross of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



203 



Honor, a mark of distinction which means much 
to the soldiers of the Confederacy, and which ex- 
emplifies the heroic services he rendered to the 
Lost Cause, a progressive and spirited citizen, 
doing much in a private capacity to advance the 
interests of the community and to promote the 
general welfare of the public. 



HORACE COLE. 

The wild plains and ranges of the Great 
Northwest of the United States have not given 
to the world style in dress or fashion in man- 
ners, but they have given to American citizen- 
ship some of its firmest fiber, best brain, stur- 
diest brawn, most resolute spirit and wildest 
sweep of vision. The great army of industrial 
progress which has overspread them and made 
them fruitful in all the products for comforta- 
ble living, enterprising in all the elements of 
commercial greatness and rich in all the bless- 
ings of political freedom, has dealt with great 
problems in human destiny and sown mighty 
harvests for human good. Among the silent 
units of this loud sum of manly enterprise, Hor- 
ace Cole of near Sundance, Wyoming, has a well- 
established rank and is entitled to due considera- 
tion as an old settler and a progressive and public 
spirited citizen. He is a native of Putnam county, 
N. Y., born on March 17, 1844, the son of Horace 
B. and Betsey (Cummings) Cole, the former a 
native of New York and the latter of Connec- 
ticut. The father was a well-to-do farmer in 
New York, where he passed his entire life with 
the exception of a short time spent in Ohio just 
previous to his death, which occurred on Janu- 
ary 11, 1844, about two months before the birth 
of his son Horace. The mother lived until 
1887, having made her home with Horace in 
Wyoming, where she died. After her husband's 
death she resided in Putnam county, N. Y., 
until 1848, then removed her family to Ohio 
to live on a farm which her husband had bought 
in Ashtabula county, where Horace grew to 
the age of seventeen and received his education. 
On November 26, 1861, he enlisted in the Sixth 



Ohio Cavalry in defense of the Union and 
served in that regiment until December, 1864. 
He was in the Army of the Potomac and saw 
arduous and exhausting service in the field and 
on the march, being most of the time the com- 
missary sergeant of his company. In July, 
1864, he was captured and confined in Libby 
prison until near the end of that year, when he 
was paroled and returned to Ohio, where he 
engaged in farming until 1869, then removing 
to Missouri he bought a farm in Harrison 
county, which he cultivated until the spring of 
1873, then took another flight toward the set- 
ting sun, halting in Harlan county, Neb., and 
farming and raising stock there until 1877. At 
that time the Black Hills was the Mecca of all 
Argonauts and he joined the rush to that re- 
gion and passed five years prospecting and 
mining in and around Deadwood. In 1882 
he again sought the cultivation of the soil as 
an agreeable occupation and coming into north- 
ern Wyoming, took up a homestead seven and 
one-half miles northeast of Sundance and ad- 
joining the ranch on which he now lives. There 
he raised cattle and farmed his land until 1897, 
when, having been elected to the office, he qual- 
ified as sheriff of the county and took up his 
residence at Sundance. At the end of one 
term he retired from public life against the 
wishes of his party friends in order to devote 
his time and energies entirely to raising cattle, 
settling on the ranch which is his present home 
and which he had bought in 1895. ^ consists 
of 960 acres of fertile and well located land, all 
in one body, considerable of it under cultivation. 
He raises nothing for market, however, feeding 
all his grain and hay to his stock. He has a 
pleasant and convenient cottage residence on 
the ranch, with good barns, sheds, corrals, etc. 
From his advent into the neighborhood he has 
taken great interest in the growth and develop- 
ment of the county and he has made substan- 
tial contributions of time and counsel to its 
advancement. The country was very thinly set- 
tled when he came to it, but under the inspira- 
tion of such examples and such impelling forces 
as his it has been rapidly occupied and built up. 



204 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



He is a Republican in politics, giving his party 
loyal and zealous service, and while averse to 
official life, he has yielded to importunity and 
accepted the position of commissioner of the 
State Soldier's Home in addition to his office 
of sheriff. On September 28, 1879, at Central 
City, S. D., he was married with Mrs. Maria 
(Ogden) Randall, a native of Illinois and a 
daughter of David and Mary Ogden of that 
state. Her parents came to the Black Hills in 
the spring of 1877 and in 1882 located in Crook 
county, Wyo., where they conducted a leading 
stock industry until the death of the father. By 
her former marriage Mrs. Cole has one child, 
Roy R. Randall. The Coles have had four chil- 
dren, Wavie, Daymond and Raymon, twins, 
the latter of whom died on June 17, 1897, at the 
age of four years and five months, and Ralph. 
The family attend the ■ Methodist Episcopal 
church at Sundance and are active in its works 
of benevolence and charity. 

PETER P. DICKINSON. 

Exhibiting in the creditable, and highly ap- 
preciated discharge of the duties of his impor- 
tant public office as county treasurer of Fre- 
mont county the sterling qualities of progres- 
sive citizenship, ability and integrity which he 
inherited from a long line of patriotic ancestors, 
Peter P. Dickinson is one of the most useful 
and esteemed public men of Wyoming. His 
life in the commonwealth began in her early 
days when men were few and difficulties of liv- 
ing were many. He was born in New York on 
September 25, 1845, a son °f William and 
Katharine (Richtmyer) Dickinson, natives of 
New York, the former of English origin and 
the latter belonging to the old Dutch families 
of New Amsterdam. The father, a wheelwright 
by occupation, worked industriously at his 
trade except when public duty called him to the 
field of battle or the forum of civil activity. The 
grandfather, Moses Dickinson, who came from 
England to the United States when he was 
three years old, was a soldier in the Revolution 
and fought side by side with his father in that 



great struggle. Conrad Richtmyer, Mr. Dick- 
inson's maternal grandfather, also an American 
patriot, on many a bloody battlefield under the 
banner of the Continental army displayed the 
valor that made his country free and her citi- 
zen soldiery respected throughout the martial 
world. Mr. Dickinson attended the district 
schools of his native state and finished his 
school education with a course at Eastman 
Business College in New York, then came west 
to Denver, Colo., in 1863, and for seven years 
endured the hardships and privations of a 
miner's and teamster's life. During the next 
three years he was engaged in the care of stock 
and in mining for Major Baldwin and Mr. 
Kline at Camp Stanbaugh, in 1874 removing to 
Lander, where he has since resided, busily fol- 
lowing mercantile pursuits until 1882, after 
which time he entered upon a large cattle and 
real-estate business. He owns 180 acres of ex- 
cellent land on the north fork of the Popo 
Agie and an additional tract of eighty acres of 
hay land nearby, all well improved and in a high 
state of cultivation. Being a firm believer in 
the success and continued prosperity of Wyo- 
ming, he has invested the fruits of his labor in 
real-estate in the town of Lander, of which he 
was one of the founders, and has already real- 
ized the wisdom of his choice in the growing 
greatness and importance of the town. In con- 
nection with his son he conducts the Eureka 
meat market and handles a large number of cat- 
tle. He belongs to the Masonic order in vari- 
ous of its branches, holding membership in 
Hugh de Payen Commandery, K. T., of Lander, 
and Corean Temple of the Mystic Shrine at 
Rawlins. In public affairs he has always been 
active and forceful as a Democrat, rendering 
good service to his people and his party amid 
the rank and file and in responsible official sta-' 
tions. He was from 1888 assessor of his county 
for a number of years, was mayor of Lander 
during an important time in its history and was 
elected to the legislature without his consent 
but declined to accept the seat. In 1900 he 
was chosen county treasurer of Fremont 
county, being reelected in 1902. and has con- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



205 



ducted his office to the satisfaction and com- 
mendation of citizens of all shades of political 
opinion. On August 18, 1875, he was married 
with Mrs. Margaret Heenan, the widow of 
Michael Heenan, who was killed by the Indians 
near Miner's Delight in September, 1872. They 
have had four children, William H., a merchant 
at Lander; Byron P. and Herman C, twins 
who died in infancy ; Margaret N., now a law 
student at Ann Arbor (Mich.) University. By 
her first marriage Mrs. Dickinson had three 
children, Mary, now the wife of George Jackson, 
a prosperous stockman of Fremont county ; 
James B. Heenan, also a stockman conducting 
an extensive and profitable business ; Emma, 
now the wife of William G. Johnson, one of 
Lander's leading meat merchants. 

STRAUTHER DEAN. 

The unending versatility of the American 
mind, which can mold a shapely destiny out of 
any plastic conditions that fate may fling be- 
fore it, is well illustrated in the career of 
Strauther Dean of Crook county, Wyoming, 
one of the first settlers in his part of the coun- 
try and one of the valiant men of Wyoming who 
have come up through tribulation. His life for 
years was one continuous succession of dan- 
gers and difficulties, constantly threatened by 
savage beasts and still more savage men, be- 
ing exposed to the ravages of hunger and thirst, 
the rage of storms and the violence of floods, 
with no companion in the untrodden wilds but 
nature's hostile children and no covering at 
night but the canopy of heaven, black with 
clouds or beaming with stars as the weather 
willed. In Westmoreland county, Pa., on De- 
cember 23, 1840, his eventful life began and 
early in its history he was earning his "keep" 
by working in the mines. His parents were 
Philip and Rachel (Maheney) Dean, the former 
a native of Virginia of probably Scotch ances- 
try, and the latter born and partially reared in 
the Emerald Isle. The father owned and 
worked valuable salt mines in Pennsylvania 
and also worked at his trade as a constructing 



millwright. He was a man of fine mental en- 
dowment and superior talent in mechanics and 
lived a very useful life in the midst of a pro- 
gressive people until 1872, when he was called 
to his final rest. His widow survived him ten 
years, being summoned in 1882. Mr. Dean re- 
ceived a limited education in the schools of his 
native county; but nature, having marked him 
for instruction in her own great schools by field 
and fell, forest and stream, did not permit him 
to linger long under the guidance of human 
pedagogues. He began mining- long before 
"manhood darkened oh his downy cheek," and 
afterwards learned his trade as an engineer. He 
remained at home until he was twenty-two years 
of age and in 1862 went to Washington, D. C, to 
aid in constructing a canal of which that city was 
one of the terminals. In this work he was oc- 
cupied about eighteen months when he returned 
to Pennsylvania and resumed his mining opera- 
tions, working there and in Maryland, Virginia 
and Ohio until 1865. Then, soon after the 
assassination of President Lincoln, he went to 
the oil regions of West Virginia and there re- 
mained until the spring of 1866 when he began 
making his way westward, reaching- Fort Ben- 
ton, Mont., in July. For ten years he lived the 
wild life of the Northwest in this section and 
British Columbia, hunting and trapping, trad- 
ing and mining, and in 1876 he came to the 
Black Hills, making his headquarters at Dead- 
wood and Spearfish and prospecting through 
"The Hills." At one time he owned many valu- 
able mining claims in that section, but never 
worked them extensively. In 1884 he came to 
Crook county and located on the ranch he now 
occupies, which has been his home ever since, 
although he has not given much attention to 
ranching, but has rather followed his inquisitive 
bent by prospecting throughout the surround- 
ing country, and for a period of years he owned 
160 acres of the best coal land in it on Hay 
Creek. His ranch is eleven miles north of Sun- 
dance and contains 160 acres, being capable of 
being brought to great fertility and high culti- 
vation, well located and pleasantly diversified 
in surface and soil and adapted to both farming 



206 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and cattleraising. Mr. Dean is held in high es- 
teem, is a leading citizen, full of that worldly 
wisdom learned only in the hard school of ex- 
perience, but always available in every public 
and private need. He was elected to the state 
legislature on the Populist ticket in 1892, in the 
ensuing session giving his constituents faithful 
and appreciated service, working for the good 
of his section and the advancement of the state. 
In fraternal relations he is connected with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding 
membership in the lodge at Spearfish, S. D. 
He is vigorous and active, even for his years, 
notwithstanding the strenuous life he lived in 
his early manhood, the mark of which he bears 
in three wounds made by Indian bullets at dif- 
ferent periods in his scouting and hunting days. 
His knowledge of woodcraft is extensive and ac- 
curate ; his knowledge of men is wide and com- 
prehensive ; his grasp of elemental principles of 
government and social relations is intuitive and 
direct. He has, therefore, without effort or os- 
tentation, been a force potential in shaping the 
trend of affairs in his locality and giving color 
and tone to civil institutions. 

HON. CHARLES DELONEY. 

Prominent in official and private life, suc- 
cessful in business and in agricultural pursuits. 
a gallant soldier in the Civil War and contrib- 
uting a gallant son to fight against the armies 
of Spain in the Spanish-American War, giving 
the impress of an enlightened and farseeing un- 
derstanding of local civil affairs, Hon. Charles 
Deloney of Uinta county, Wyoming, has well 
served his country and well deserves the uni- 
versal esteem and respect in which he is held. 
He is a native of Mount Clemens, Mich., born on 
August 27, 1837, his parents, Richard and Mary 
(Shabinow) Deloney being Canadians by birth, 
having moved into the states in their early mar- 
ried life. The mother died when her son was 
but a lad, and thereafter he was reared by his 
father who was a sawyer in the lumber mills, 
and held in high esteem as a public spirited man. 
In 1861 he espoused the cause of the Union and 



enlisted in the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, 
but before his term of enlistment was out he 
was disabled by sickness and sent home, dying 
from his disability in 1864. The son remained 
at home until he was of age, getting what 
schooling he could in a little log schoolhouse 
near by, and in 1864, taking up the role of pa- 
triotism where his disabled father laid it down 
and receiving from his dying hands the Bible 
which that father had carried through his own 
arduous sendee, the son enlisted in Co. B, Twen- 
ty-ninth Michigan Infantry, and was in active 
service until the close of the war, being mus- 
tered out at Murfreesboro in the fall of 1864 and 
receiving his discharge at Detroit, Mich. While 
at Murfreesboro in the campaign against Hood 
and Forrest, his command had their supplies 
cut off and the men lived on what they could 
gather by foraging and on parched corn for six 
weeks. After the war Mr. Deloney engaged in 
the lumber business for a year and in 1867 came 
west, locating at Evanston, Wyo., and working 
in the logging industry on Green River. He ran 
the first log drive ever made on Bear River and 
was making good profits until the financial de- 
pression of 1869 carried away in its flood of dis- 
aster all the accumulations from his labors. In 
that year he and his party got out of food and 
lived for sixteen days on dried snails and Indian 
potatoes, himself and a companion were sup- 
posed to have perished and were near starva- 
tion when they were rescued. After his calam- 
ity he made a new start and conducted a thriv- 
ing barber business for some years, then spent 
twenty vears in the liquor industry at the same 
time ranching and stockraising at Cokeville on 
Smith's Fork. He now owns in addition to 
considerable city property in Evanston a ranch 
of 640 acres at Cokeville, Uinta county, Wyo.. 
and one of 160 acres within three miles of Ogden, 
Utah, both of which are in a high state of cul- 
tivation and well furnished with good improve- 
ments. Mr. Deloney's public spirit and knowl- 
edge of affairs early marked him as a man of 
superior qualifications for public life, and he was 
elected to the territorial legislature of Wyoming 
for two terms, rendering invaluable service in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



207 



aiding the territory to throw off her swaddling 
clothes and assume the more dignified garb of 
statehood, and he capably served in the State 
Senate in 1895-8, in that body giving ardent and 
most helpful support to the candidacy of Hon. 
C. D. Clark for the U. S. Senate. Mr. Deloney 
was nominated twice for sheriff and was several 
times elected constable but refused to serve. In 
1898 he was commissioned captain for service 
in the Spanish-American War, but on account 
of the illness of his wife he was unable to ac- 
cept the appointment and was made superin- 
tendent of the Teton County Forest Reserve but 
after a tenure of the office which was full of 
active duty, he was obliged to resign on account 
of disabilities incurred in fighting fire in the re- 
serve. Since then he has been engaged in a 
commercial business at Jackson, where he has an 
extensive stock of general merchandise and lays 
a considerable scope of country under tribute to 
his trade. He is also occupied more or less with 
mining interests. Mr. Deloney is quite a land- 
mark in the community. When he first came to 
Evanston the town consisted of a tent which was 
both a saloon and an eating-house. He was mar- 
ried in Evanston on November 21, 1871, with 
Miss Clara Burton, a native of England and a 
daughter of Rev. Wm. G. and Hannah (Tregal- 
lis) Burton, her mother being a lineal descend- 
ant of the Rev. Trebo Tregallis, archbishop of 
Canterbury in the ninth ' century. They have 
had ten children of whom eight are living : 
Clara C, the first child born in Evanston, who 
was educated there and there married John 
Mills of that city. She is a cultured musician 
and teaches the science of music; Hannah R., 
wife of Charles Cook, a painter and decorator at 
Evanston ; William Charles, a soldier in the Span- 
ish-American and Philippines Wars, coming out 
of the service as an orderly sergeant and carry- 
ing through it the Bible which his father re- 
ceived from his father when he entered the Union 
army in 1864, now being a missionary of the 
Mormon church and stationed in Kentucky; 
Nephi J., married and living at Evanston ; Hiram 
W., a graduate of the Ogden Business College, 
although but fifteen years old; Rhoda Viola, 



Maud and James, all living at home. Another 
son, Charles R., died at the age of two months 
at Evanston, and still another, Joseph T., was 
killed in a railroad accident in January, 1900. 
Mrs. Deloney's family was one of the first three 
to settle at Piedmont, Uinta county, and her 
father taught the first district school at that 
place, which was the third taught in the county. 
He is now a missionary for the Church of the 
Latter. Day Saints in England at the age of 
seventy-five years. The Deloneys also belong 
to this church and are active in its meetings and 
ceremonials. Mr. Deloney has an interest in the 
flouring mill at Evanston and gives its affairs 
close personal attention. He belongs to the or- 
ders of Freemasonry, Odd Fellowship and to 
the Grand Army of the Republic. He attended 
the last grand encampment of the last named or- 
der at Washington, D. C, and' was a delegate to 
the encampment at Pueblo, Colo., Governor War- 
ren appointed him marshal at the time of the his- 
toric riots against the Chinese, and in this office 
he effected a settlement of the difficulties at Ev- 
anston and was appointed marshal of the town 
and given control of a force of men to protect the 
lives of prominent citizens whowere in danger. 
At the little postoffice of Wilson, just across the 
river, where he owns forty acres of land, he is 
making preparations to lay out a town site and 
call it Roosevelt. His son, Hiram, is a stock- 
holder in the Piedmont Oil Co., a busy and en- 
ergetic corporation with good prospects in its 
oil fields and with headquarters at Piedmont. 

FREDERICK C. DeGRAW. 

This well-known citizen of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, a prominent ranchman, a native of 
the Dominion of Canada, was born in Ontario 
county in 1837, the son of Cornelius and Mar- 
garet .(Hendershot) DeGraw, natives of the 
state of New York. Cornelius DeGraw, the 
father, was a farmer by calling in the state of 
New York, where he was born, but removed to 
Ontario county, Canada, when he was quite a 
young man, there married Miss Hendershot 
and passed the remainder of his life. Mrs. 



208 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






Margaret DeGraw passed her girlhood in her 
native state and she was unmarried when taken 
by her parents to Canada, where her marriage 
took place. Frederick C. DeGraw was reared 
to agricultural pursuits and followed farming 
in his native country until eighteen years of 
age, when he felt himself to be sufficiently com- 
petent to begin life on his own account. He 
accordingly bade farewell to his native country 
and sought a home in the states, locating in 
the new, fertile and uncultivated land of 
Minnesota, which state was then comparatively 
a wilderness. His first employment in that 
state was in the timber lands, where, being of 
a hardy and robust constitution, and inured to 
toil on the farm, he excelled and followed a 
woodman's life for ten years. He then returned 
to Ontario, Canada, where for five years he 
was employed in drilling for oil. Then ■ Mr. 
DeGraw again concluded to try his fortune in 
the states and went to Jackson county, Iowa, 
where he was employed in agricultural pursuits 
quite successfully for three years and the next 
year he was similarly employed in Page county, 
Iowa. The state of Missouri next became his 
home and agriculture was his calling there for 
four years ; then Kansas attracted his attention 
and for twelve years he farmed in Smith county, 
that state ; in 1892, the newly admitted state 
of Wyoming opened up to him her charms and 
he took up a ranch on La Barge Creek, among 
the mountains and valleys of Uinta county, 
where he has since made his home, made his 
living, and achieved a name which is honored 
wherever it is mentioned. During the decade 
that Mr. DeGraw has made his home in Uinta 
county, fortune has smiled upon him and pros- 
perity followed his footsteps. His skill as a 
farmer and indefatigable industry have met with 
a well-earned reward and he may well congratu- 
late himself upon his undeviating course of 
prosperity. Mr. DeGraw was united in mar- 
riage in Jackson county, Iowa, in 1870 with 
Miss Mary Woodard, daughter of Alpheus and 
Ang-eline (Bailey) Woodard, natives of Ver- 
mont, Alpheus Woodard was a farmer, which 
vocation he followed in Vermont, Canada and 
Iowa. He was a son of Pollas and Rachel (Rey- 



nolds) Woodard of Vermont, and died in Shelby 
county, Iowa, in 1892, having attained the great 
longevity of eighty-five years. Mrs. Angeline 
(Bailey) Woodard, the mother of Mrs. DeGraw, 
was a daughter of James and Mary (Abercrom- 
bie) Bailey, formerly of England. The children 
that have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. De- 
Graw are eight in number and the family are 
among the most respected residents of the La 
Barge region. 

SIVERT J. ELLINGSON. 

One of the oldest and most respected citi- 
zens of Islay, Laramie county, Wyoming, Sivert 
J. Ellingson, a native of Norway, was born in 
that country on October 31, 1828, the son of 
Elling and Ingeborg Ellingson, both natives 
of the same country, where they followed the 
occupation of farming, continuing in that pur- 
suit up to the time of their deaths. Their son 
Sivert received his early education in the Nor- 
wegian schools, then served an apprenticeship 
at the trade of shoemaking and followed that 
occupation in the old country up to 1871, the 
time of his departure for America. Upon ar- 
riving here, he and his family located first at 
the city of Monroe, Wis., where he established 
himself at shoemaking, and remained engaged 
in that occupation for nine years, thence, in 
1882 removing to the territory of Wyoming, 
where he at once purchased a ranch, the same 
property he still owns and occupies, situated on 
Pole Creek, about twenty-three miles northwest 
of Cheyenne, and entered upon the business of 
cattleraising. By reason of hard work, fru- 
gality, and good business judgment he has 
gradually built up from small beginnings a fine 
property and is now the owner of one of the 
best ranches in that section of the county, con- 
sisting of 752 acres of deeded land, well fenced 
and improved, and a large portion of it under 
irrigation. He also, owns a large herd of fine 
cattle, to which he is adding from year to year. 
On June 30, 1866, in his native country of 
Norway. Mr. Ellingson was united in marriage 
with Miss Ellen Knutson. a native of the same 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



209 



country, born on Nevember 20, 1843, the daugh- 
ter of Knut and Tonette Knutson, old-time resi- 
dents of Norway. The parents of Mrs. Elling- 
son were engaged in farming in the old coun- 
try up to the time of their demise. To the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Ellingson have been 
born two children, Lena Ellingson Chadwick, 
and Edgar Ellingson. Both are living and the 
son, Edgar, is residing at home with his par- 
ents, and now has the management and direc- 
tion of the business at the ranch. The family 
are devout members of the Lutheran church, 
and take a sincere and earnest part in all works 
of religion and charity in the community where 
their home is located. The subject of this 
sketch, now in advanced years, has retired from 
active business pursuits, although still enjoy- 
ing good health, and he has turned over the 
management of the business and the large prop- 
erty which he has accumulated through his 
long life of industry and economy, to his son. 
In the community where he resides no one is 
held in higher esteem or is more deserving of 
the deference paid him by his large circle of 
friends and acquaintances. 

HON. J. E. EYCHANER. 

Descended from patriotic ancestors of the 
Colonial days who helped materially to win our 
national independence, and some of them sealing 
their devotion to the cause with their blood, 
it is fit and proper that Hon. J. E. Eychaner, 
of Ranchester, Sheridan county, Wyoming, a 
prominent and successful rancher and stock- 
grower, should have been among those who 
won this western country from savage domi- 
nation and primeval wildness and made it fruit- 
ful with the products and inestimable blessings 
of peace. His forefathers found the Atlantic 
slope a wilderness and aided in bringing it into 
subjection to the will and the needs of civilized 
life ; they found their adopted land a depend- 
ency on a tyrannical foreign government and 
assisted in releasing it from thralldom and in 
erecting it into a separate and self-sustaining 
political entity. He and his generation found 



this western part of our great heritage given 
up to untamed and treacherous barbarism, and 
forced its savage tenants to "stand ruled ;" they 
found it all unfilled and waste, and have 
brought it under systematic cultivation and 
planted and peopled it with beneficent activity 
and enduring productiveness. Mr. Eychaner 
was born in Wisconsin on February 2, 1858, the 
son of Milton and Mary (Hamm) Eychaner, na- 
tives of New York and early settlers in Wis- 
consin. After a residence of some years in that 
state they removed to Iowa, where the mother 
died and the father is still living. Their son, 
J. E. Eychaner, was educated in Iowa and there 
grew to man's estate, soon after reaching his 
majority, coming to Wyoming, reaching the' ter- 
ritory in 1879 and making it his home continu- 
ously since that time. In 1888 he removed to 
Sheridan county the stock business he had been 
for years successfully conducting elsewhere in 
the state, and located on the ranch which was 
so long his home, taking part of h up as a 
homestead. This property comprises 360 acres 
one half mile southeast of Ranchester, and is 
beautifully located on Tongue River. Here he 
pursued the peaceful and independent vocation 
of a prosperous farmer and stockgrower until 
he sold it on February 1, 1903, his business ex- 
panding with the flight of time and increasing 
in profit and importance. It had his careful and 
studious attention, yet gave him leisure to look 
well to the welfare of his community and take 
the active and zealous interest in local affairs 
of government which it is the duty of every 
American citizen to show. Upon the sale of 
his ranch he became a member of the mercantile 
firm of Lord & Pollat, of Sheridan, Wyo., the 
largest dealers of the state in hardware and ag- 
ricultural implements. In politics he is an 
unwavering Democrat and in T898 his capabili- 
ties for official life were suitably recognized by 
his election to the lower house of the State Leg- 
islature, one of the three Democrats holding 
seats in the body. At the close of his legisla- 
tive term he was elected county assessor and is 
now filling that position with credit to himself 
and satisfaction to the people. In 1889, at Big 



2IO 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Horn, Wyo., he married with Miss Delia. 
Dewey, a native of Wisconsin, a daughter of 
James M. and Pirena P. (Bayley) Dewey, also 
Vermonters by nativity and closely related to 
Admiral George Dewey, of whom her father 
was a first cousin. Her mother belongs to the 
celebrated Putnam family of Revolutionary 
fame and Mrs. Eychaner's great-grandfather, 
Captain Pratt, was an aid-de-camp to General 
Washington. Her father died in this state in 
1899. Among the fraternal societies numerous 
among men Mr. Eychaner belongs only to the 
Knights of Pythias. 

HON. THOMAS G. MAGHEE, M. D. 

This gentleman, the most experienced medi- 
cal practitioner in Rawlins, Wyo., was born in 
Evansville, Ind., in 1842, and is a son of Joseph 
B. and Mary (Jacobs) Maghee. Joseph B. 
Maghee was born in 1814 in Bucks county, Pa., 
not far from the county and city of Philadelphia 
and was reared to a mercantile life. In his 
early manhood he went to Texas, thence came 
north and made his home in Evansville, Ind., 
where he passed the remainder of his life, dying 
in 1889, holding then the exalted position of the 
head of the Temple of Honor in the United 
States. He also rendered service to the Union 
army in the medical department. William and 
Martha (Plolme) Maghee, the parents of Joseph, 
came from Scottish ancestors who settled in 
Pennsylvania in 1749, the entire family being 
of agricultural proclivities and the greater num- 
ber of them practical farmers. Mrs. Mary 
(Jacobs) Maghee was born in Evansville, Ind., 
in 1819, and was the first white child born in 
Yanderburg county, being the daughter of G. 
W. and Hannah (Sampson) Jacobs, pioneers 
of the county. G. W. was a native of Vermont 
and a son of Nathaniel, who was born in the 
same state in 1757, and was wounded at the 
battle of Bennington in the Revolutionary War 
yet lived to be 106 years old. G. W. was a cap- 
tain in the War of 1812, but attained the rank 
of major at the battle of Lundy's Lane, where, 
too, he was wounded. Thomas G. Maghee at- 



tended Hanover College until about nineteen 
years of age, when his patriotism was aroused 
at the breaking out of the Civil War and he 
at once relinquished his studies to take up arms 
in the defense of the Union by enlisting in 
Co. F, Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry, in 
which he served with bravery and fortitude for 
two and one-half years, winning the unstinted 
praise of his superior officers and the admira- 
tion of his comrades. After his return from 
the army, Mr. Maghee resumed his studies in 
his native state and was graduated as a physi- 
cian and surgeon in 1873, and was at once as- 
signed as an assistant surgeon in the U. S. army, 
was attached to various posts at different times, 
and in May, 1873, was assigned to Camp Brown, 
now Fort Washakie, Wyo. He received honor- 
able mention from the Secretary of War in 
1874 for gallantry 'in action with Indians in 
Bates' fight in the Big Horn Mountains on 
July 4, of that year. Resigning in 1878, he lo- 
cated in Green River, Wyo., and was elected to 
the territorial legislature in the same year. In 
1880 he changed his residence to Rawlins, and 
here he has since been favored with a large and 
lucrative practice and standing at the front of 
his profession. Doctor Maghee has been twice 
married, in 1866 to his first wife, Miss Mollie 
Williams, a daughter of James L. and Ellen 
(Smith) Williams. This lady was called away 
in 1884 at the age of thirty-five years, leaving 
four children: Thomas G, who died in 1892, a 
cadet at West Point ; Morgan M., an electrical 
engineer, served in the Spanish- American War 
as captain of Troop K, of Torrey's Rough Rid- 
ers ; Griffith H., pharmaceutical chemist ; Torrey 
B., also a cadet at West Point. In 1885. the 
Doctor took unto himself a second wife in the 
person of Evelyn Baldwin, a native of New 
York City and a daughter of Major Noyes and 
Josephine E. Wright Baldwin. This union has 
been blessed with one child, Yalliere B. Doc- 
tor Maghee is a member of the American Medi- 
cal Association, the Pan American Medical As- 
sociation and the Colorado State Medical As- 
sociation, and he has been the surgeon for the 
Union Pacific Railroad Company with hut brief 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



211 



intervals since 1878. He has been highly com- 
plimented for his successful treatment of a sur- 
gical and dermatological case, which in 1886 
came under his care, the subject being a Mr. 
Geo. Webb, for whom he restored an almost 
entire face, forming a new nose, new lips, new 
lower jawbone and new chin. Doctor Maghee is 
a very genial gentleman as well as a skillful 
physician, and fraternally is a Freemason of 
the Thirty-second degree (about as high as or- 
dinary mortals reach). He is also a Knight of 
Pythias, an Odd Fellow and an Elk, and as 
a citizen he is honored and esteemed wherever 
his name is known. His brother, Lieut. Joseph 
B. Maghee, of Saratoga, Wyo., came out in 
1879. 

EDWARD C. ERDERLEY. 

As one of those modern knights errant, the 
commercial travelers, who keep in active move- 
ment the currents of trade and of invention, dis- 
covery and progressive thought throughout the 
territory covered by their periodical wanderings, 
Edward C. Erderley, of Thermopolis, Wyoming, 
sees much variety in human life and business and 
renders valuable service to his kind in mercan- 
tile and social circles. He is a Wyoming pioneer 
of 1887, and since that time has been contin- 
uously a resident and also one of the developing 
forces of the state. The place of his nativity 
is Des Moines, Iowa, where he was born on 
October 16, 1862, the son of Christian and Cath- 
erine (Gassett) Erderley of that city. There he 
was reared and educated, on leaving school be- 
ginning the struggle of life for himself by go- 
ing to Brown county, Nebraska, where for a 
number of years he was engaged in the drug 
business, thence removing to Box Butte county, 
where he again conducted a drug business until 
1887, when he came to Wyoming and in 1893 he 
settled at the mouth of Owl Creek, and opened 
and carried on the first merchandising estab- 
lishment of the neighborhood. After some time 
passed in successful and prosperous business at 
that point he was robbed of a large part of his 
possessions by midnight marauders and soon 
thereafter, when the town of Thermopolis sprang 

13 



into being, he removed to that place and opened 
and conducted its first general store. In 1899 ^- e 
disposed of his business and accepted employment 
as a traveling salesman for Ferdinand Weslen- 
heimer, of St. Joseph, Mo., and he has continued 
in this employment ever since, building up a 
large trade in his territory. His labors in his 
mercantile ventures and in other domains of ac- 
quisitive efforts have not been fruitless, notwith- 
standing serious reverses which have come to 
him at times, for he owns a very attractive home 
and a whole business block in Thermopolis, and 
two well improved and productive farms in Fre- 
mont county. In 1889, in Box Butte county, 
Neb., he was united in marriage with Miss Ad- 
die Walters, a native of Marshalltown, Iowa. 
They have two children, their sons Earl and 
Wesley. Mr. Erderley's success as a salesman 
and in building up business for his house is 
neither accidental nor procured by adventitious 
circumstances, for it is the legitimate result of 
great business capacity, knowledge of men, 
thorough acquaintance with trade conditions and 
requirements and his genial and obliging dis- 
position. He is a "prince of good fellows" among 
his craft in the better sense of the phrase, and 
is cordially welcomed as a valuable addition to 
any social circle where he is known. He is also 
energetic, knowing and resourceful, always ready 
for an emergency and always master of the sit- 
uation. 

JAMES N. FARLOW. 

A leading member of the city council of 
Lander from time to time, a member of the Sec- 
ond Legislative Assembly of the state of Wyo- 
ming, and at present chief of the city fire depart- 
ment, and for nearly twenty years a prominent 
merchant of the town, James N. Farlow has made 
his impress on the life and history of his city 
and county in a way that gives him great credit 
and will not soon fade away. On November 5, 
1858, in Dallas county, Iowa, his life began as 
the son of Isaac J. and Martha E. (Bringham) 
Farlow, natives of Indiana and descendants of 
Colonial families of North Carolina and other 
southern states, representatives of whom ren- 



212 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



dered valiant service to their country in times 
of its severe trial in Revolutionary days, in the 
War of 1 812, and also along the frontiers against 
the hostile Indians. The father was a prosper- 
ous farmer, stock merchant and shipper in In- 
diana and is now in Iowa, where they are living, 
and where he has a potential voice in the affairs 
of his section. James N. Farlow, the second of 
their eight children, seven of whom are still liv- 
ing, received a limited edtication in the public 
schools of his native county and, in 1880, hark- 
ening to the call within him for larger oppor- 
tunity and greater freedom of action, he came 
to Wyoming, settling at Lander which was then 
but a village, and began operations in the stock 
business which he followed until 1886, when he 
bought the harness and saddle manufactory 
which he has so successfully conducted ever 
since and which is now one of the leading in- 
dustries of its kind in this part of the country, 
carrying a large stock of superior quality and 
great variety. He has prospered in his business 
by close and intelligent attention to its needs and 
the taste of his patrons, whom he has firmly at- 
tached to him bv r his probity of character and 
urbanity- of manner. The people of the com- 
munity have recognized in him superior quali- 
fications for public life and have not been back- 
ward in demanding his services in their behalf 
in this way. They made him a member of their 
city council and elected him to the Second Leg- 
islature of the state. In both bodies he justified 
their confidence and established a solid and grat- 
ifying reputation as a useful and representative 
citizen. He is now efficiently serving his sixth 
term as a school trustee and at the present writ- 
ing is chief of the Lander fire department, in 
this position also rendering most valuable ser- 
vice to the community. He was a charter mem- 
ber of Lander Lodge, No. 10, Knights of Pyth- 
ias, is now one of its trustees and also belongs 
to the uniform rank. By judicious care of the 
fruits of his labor and thrift he has acquired 
much valuable property in the town and county. 
On October 3, 1886, he was married to Miss 
Ada Trosper of Dallas, Wyo.. a daughter of W. 
B. and Annie (Evans) Trosper, natives of Eng- 



land, then living at Dallas, but now residents 
of Lander, and they have three children, Wil- 
liam I., Clarice N. and Clark N. 

WINFIELD S. FIRESTONE. 

Born near Pittsburg, Pa., on June 28, 1858, 
and soon after left entirely to the care of 
strangers by the death of his mother when he 
was an infant and the enlistment of his father 
in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil 
War, Winfield S. Firestone, now one of the 
most public spirited and substantial merchants 
and citizens of Lander, is virtually the product 
of his own natural faculties, properly developed 
by exercise through being thrown on his own 
resources throughout an active and' useful life. 
He received a limited education by attending the 
public schools of West Virginia during the win- 
ter months for a few years and when he was 
fourteen left the home in which he had found 
shelter to learn the trade of a cabinetmaker, on 
completing his apprenticeship, journeying to 
Missouri, there to begin work at the craft in 
which he had prepared himself. His father 
served through the Civil War, participated in 
many battles, was twice wounded and after the 
conclusion of the struggle he married again and 
reared a large family, Winfield having been the 
only child of the first marriage. In 1884 Mr. 
Firestone removed from Missouri to Rawlins, 
Wyo., and engaged in the furniture business 
in company with H. Rasmusson ; and in 1886 
he came to Lander and opened an establishment 
in the same line as a member of the firm of H. 
Rasmusson & Co. In 1900 he bought the inter- 
est of Mr. Rasmusson and since then has con- 
ducted the business alone, increasing its facili- 
ties, adding to its features, enlarging its trade 
and expanding its popularity by his excellent 
business methods and the pleasing manner for 
which he is esteemed. He combines with deal- 
ing in furniture the business of a funeral direc- 
tor, and in both lines of enterprise enjoys a 
well earned celebrity. His stock of furniture, 
queensware and other articles of household 
utility, is large and varied, embracing the new- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



213 



est designs and conveniences and covering a 
wide range of styles and qualities, while in his 
supplies and work as a funeral director he is 
studious to meet the requirements of the most 
exacting taste. He is also the collector of the 
electric light plant of the city, giving the wants 
of the community in this respect careful and 
intelligent attention. In fraternal circles he 
takes an earnest interest in Lander Lodge, No. 
10, Knights of Pythias, of which he is an enthu- 
siastic member and at the present writing mas- 
ter of finance. He also belongs to the uniform 
rank of the order. His zeal for the welfare 
and progress of the town is shown by his hav- 
ing served twice as its mayor and several times 
as a member of its council, in both positions 
rendering service of great value and highly 
appreciated. In 1885 he was married to Miss 
Mary E. Nave, a native of Indiana, the mar- 
riage being solemnized at Rawlins. They have 
five children, Winfield S. Jr.; Guy, Dora, Wal- 
ter and Vainer. Mr. Firestone has long been 
a director of the Lander Building and Loan As- 
sociation and for two years was its treasurer. 

ALBERT GAINES. 

Springing from an ancestry that grew and 
flourished in the Blue Grass region of Ken- 
tucky and in the Old Dominion, born and reared 
on the frontier of Missouri and coming to Wyo- 
ming in 1867, just after the march of civiliza- 
tion had reached the territory, when what is 
now Cheyenne consisted of one tent and had 
not a house, Albert Gaines of Dayton is a typical 
pioneer, identified with the history of the state 
almost from its very beginning. He was born 
on November 19, 1837, in Randolph county, 
Missouri, whither his parents had removed from 
Kentucky, his father William Gaines, being a 
native of that state, and his mother, nee Annie 
Dickson, of Virginia. They were well-to-do 
farmers of their time and section and on their 
Missouri estate their son Albert grew to man- 
hood, attending the public schools of the neigh- 
borhood as he had opportunity for a few months 
in the winter. When he reached man's estate 



he began life for himself by following the fam- 
ily pursuit of cultivating the soil in his native 
state for a few years of varied success, then 
relinquished it and in partnership with William 
Paxton engaged in contracting on the construc- 
tion of the Union Pacific Railroad, continuing 
their operations until it. reached Cheyenne in 
1867. At that time, as has been noted, the only 
human residence was but a single tent, and the 
wildest imagination without previous experi- 
ence would not have predicted the early plant- 
ing and rapid growth of the inchoate city. For 
some years after his arrival at that point he 
conducted vigorous and prosperous freighting 
operations, then for some years kept a saloon 
and in 1901 removed to Dayton in Sheridan 
county, where he has since resided and carried 
on a flourishing livery business, the leading 
enterprise of the kind within a considerable 
scope of country. Mr. Gaines has seen all the 
phases of frontier life and borne his share in 
its privations and dangers. Nothing that it 
brings to man in the way of alternate hope and 
fear, success and failure, peace and peril, full- 
ness and want, has been missing from his meas- 
ure of its gifts, and now that all its hazard is 
past and he is secure in the comforts of this 
world, and approaching the sunset of life in 
peace and prosperity, his present estate is all 
the more enjoyable because of the toils and 
hardships through which it was attained. His 
fund of reminiscence is rich and varied, the in- 
terest taken in his narratives of time and of 
scenes now forever passed away never flags; 
while the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen 
which he enjoys is the best assurance of the use- 
fulness and uprightness of his life. 

JOHN A. GERBER. 

A native of Switzerland, having been born 
in that little mountain republic on November 13, 
1858, John A. Gerber, of Granite, Wyoming, is 
the son of John and Katheryn (Ernst) Gerber, 
both natives of Switzerland, where his father fol- 
lowed the business of farming up to the time of 
his death, which occurred in 1878, and in 1895 



214 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the mother also passed away, and both are buried 
in their native land. John A. Gerber received his 
early education in the schools of his native coun- 
try, and at the age of twenty entered the army 
of Switzerland as a soldier, serving in that ca- 
pacity for three years. In 1881 seeking to better 
his fortune he came to the New World, and soon 
found himself in Cheyenne, Wyo., where he se- 
cured employment in a brickyard for about three 
months, then accepted a position on the Union 
Pacific, near Potter, Nebraska. In the spring of 
1883 he located a homestead on Pole Creek, two 
miles west of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., and engaged in 
farming, soon adding cattleraisng to his other in- 
dustries and remained largely occupied in that 
pursuit until the fall of 1893, when, owing to the 
unusually dry season, he moved his cattle to his 
brother's place about twenty miles from Pine 
Bluffs, where he remained about four and one- 
half years with varying success, and in the spring 
of 1898, he purchased a ranch property about 
three miles northeast of Egbert, Wyo., contin- 
uing his stock operations here until the winter 
of 1900, when he disposed of his ranch and his 
stock and removed to Cheyenne, where he con- 
tinued until April, 1901, when he purchased his 
present ranch on South Crow Creek, about six- 
teen miles west of Cheyenne, and here he is^ now 
successfully engaged in cattleraising. On June 
20, 1900, Mr. Gerber was united in marriage at 
Cheyenne, Wyo., with Mrs. Rachel R. (Vin- 
ton) Brown, a native of Canada and the daugh- 
ter of Hezekiah and Sarah 1 (Ousterhout) Vin- 
ton, natives of New York. Her father was for- 
merly engaged in farming in New York, but 
early removed to Ontario, Canada, where he 
continued in the same employment until his 
decease in 1864. The mother nf Mrs. Gerber 
passed away in 1863, and both of the parents lie 
buried in the Province of Ontario, Canada. In 
1866 Mrs. Gerber came to Colorado, where she 
remained about four years, coming to Fort Lar- 
amie, Wyo., in 1870. She was born in 1840 and 
received her education in Canada. She is one of 
the most prominent of the pioneer women of 
Wyoming, and it is largely due to the influence 
and the efforts of women of her type that the 



state has recently made such rapid strides in 
moral improvement and civilization. She is a wo- 
man of strong character and humanitarian char- 
acteristics, and she has been of great assistance 
to her husband in his various enterprises. Mr. 
Gerber is a stanch member of the Republican 
party, taking an active interest in public affairs, 
having been taught during his early life in Swit- 
zerland that it is the duty, of every citizen under 
a Republican form of government to lend his as- 
sistance to the management of the public business. 
He has many of the sturdy and sterling char- 
acteristics of the brave race of William Tell, and 
is a worthy, progressive, and highly respected 
citizen of the state. 

ALFRED C. GODFREY, M. D. 

On American scholarship and scientific and 
professional knowledge the judgment of the 
intellectual world, slow to concede anything for 
a long time, has finally set the seal of its high 
approval ; and when the theoretical and practi- 
cal attainments of our professional men are 
backed by genuine American enterprise, there 
is no limit to their success except the boundary 
of their opportunities. Dr. Alfred C. Godfrey, 
in the almost untrodden fields of a new region, 
has won substantial recognition as a close and 
careful student, a skillful and successful prac- 
titioner of the healing art and a master of the 
scientific principles on which it is based. For- 
tune did not favor him with adventitious cir- 
cumstances or robust health, but made up for 
her niggardlyness by a generous endowment 
of natural adaptability to his surroundings and 
natural qualifications for the work to which she 
assigned him. Born and reared in the little 
rural hamlet of Benton, Wis:, where nature in 
her untamed luxuriance might minister to his 
spirit, he grew up with the breadth of view and 
self-reliance she begets in her true children and 
she taught him to turn to her as the source and 
fountain of inspiration in every condition. His 
life began on July 24, 1867. as the son of Dr. 
Hr T. and Eliza (Footner) Godfrey, natives of 
Montreal, Canada. The mother, a ladv of do- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



215 



mestic tastes and tender devotion to the inter- 
ests of her family, was called away from her im- 
portant duties in 1891 at the early age of forty- 
four. The father is still living and engaged in 
active practice at Galena, 111., where he is the 
division surgeon of the Illinois Central and Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railroads, and is presi- 
dent of the board of pension examiners and of 
the Jo Daviess County Medical Association, 
being a prominent man in his profession and in 
public affairs and as the surgeon of the One 
Hundred and Thirty-first Illinois Regiment of 
the Civil War held the rank of major. Dr. 
Albert Godfrey was well educated in the public 
schools of Galena, Illinois, receiving his profes- 
sional training" in Rush Medical College, Chi- 
cago, from which he was graduated in 1890. 
During the next eighteen months he was house 
surgeon in the Presbyterian Hospital in that 
city and the following year was surgeon at the 
iron mines in Minnesota. He was then ap- 
pointed demonstrator of anatomy at the Creigh- 
ton Medical College at Omaha, and also sur- 
geon to the Presbyterian Hospital there. At 
the .end of his first _ year of service in these 
capacities, he became ill from pulmonary trou- 
ble and sought relief in the more favorable 
climate of Denver, Colo., where he was as- 
sociated with the Denver Medical College as 
demonstrator of anatomy for three years, being" 
also in active practice at the same time. He 
then received an appointment as assistant sur- 
geon in the U. S. Army and was assigned to 
duty at Fort Washakie, Wyo. In 1900 he re- 
signed and located at Lander for the purpose 
of pursuing vigorously a general practice of 
his profession, in which he has since been most 
energetically engaged, having drawn to him- 
self a large and representative body of patrons 
and won a high and cordial regard in the es- 
timation of all who have the pleasure of his ac- 
quaintance or enjoy the benefit of his professional 
services. He is the official physician of Fre- 
mont county, the physician in charge and the 
manager of the Lander Hospital, being one of 
the most eminent practitioners in this part of 
the West. He has also extensive interests in 



the stock business. Fraternally he is connected 
with the Masonic order through the lodge (of 
which he is at the present writing the senior 
warden), the chapter and the commandery. He 
also belongs to Lander Lodge, No. 10, Knights 
of Pythias. On September 30, 1893, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Sarah Coats- 
worth of Galena, 111., a daughter of James and 
Martha (Walton) Coatsworth, natives of Eng- 
land. Three children have blessed this union, 
Alice E., who died at Lander when she was six 
years old, Helen and Ruth. Doctor and Mrs. 
Godfrey are zealous and useful members of the 
Episcopal church and are looked upon as 
among the best and most representative citizens 
of the town. 

WILLIAM GRAHAM. 

The subject of this review is a successful 
stockraiser of Uinta county, Wyo., and his life 
affords a commendable example of what may be 
accomplished by thrift and perseverance when 
directed and controlled by correct moral prin- 
ciples. His parents, Joseph and Elizabeth 
(Robinson) Graham, were born in England, and 
Joseph Graham was a son of Benjamin and 
Sarah Graham, both of English-Scotch extrac- 
tion. He was a native of County Durham and 
a tiller of the soil. In 1883 he came to the 
United States and settled in New Mexico where 
he engaged in railroading. His life after com- 
ing to this country was of short duration as it 
ended in Silver City, N. M., in the fall of 1886. 
Mrs. Graham was to have joined her husband 
the following spring, but learning of his un- 
timely death she decided not to make the trip, 
consequently she still lives in the land of her 
birth, having reached the age of sixty-six years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Graham were members of the 
Church of England and faithfully endeavored 
to bring up their children in that faith. Of 
the six who were born to them, three have 
joined the father in the other world, one of 
the others is living in the old country and Wil- 
liam is the subject of this sketch. He was born 
on December 5, 1865, in England and enjoyed 



2 1 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the advantages of a good practical education 
in the schools of his native county. He re- 
mained with his parents until twenty-one and 
then became an engineer, a profession to which 
he had previously devoted several years of 
very diligent study. After becoming proficient 
in the use of instruments he found abund- 
ant opportunities for the exercise of his pro- 
fessional talents in his native country and con- 
tinued there in various departments of work. 
In 1886, impressed with the idea that America 
afforded a better field for engineering than 
England, he came to the United States in com- 
pany with a sister, and for six months after his 
arrival, followed railroading and freighting in 
New Mexico. From that territory Mr. Graham 
went by San Francisco to Alaska and spent one 
summer in and around Juneau variously em- 
ployed, on his return staying one winter near 
Yakima, Washington Territory, then coming 
to Wyoming and taking up 160 acres of land 
about fourteen miles north of Opal on Slate 
Creek, where he has since resided. Subse- 
quently Mr. Graham added to his original pur- 
chase until he now owns real estate to the 
amount of 420 acres, on which he keeps quite 
a large herd of sheep, many cattle and a num- 
ber of fine horses. He began stockraising in 
a modest way, but has gradually enlarged the 
business until he is now well situated, with 
a prospect of continuous prosperity and a much 
larger growth in his future undertakings. His 
place is well located for the purposes to which 
it is devoted, contains quite a number of sub- 
stantial improvements and is one of the com- 
fortable and attractive homes of the community 
as well as one of the most valuable. Mr. Gra- 
ham was married on November 9, 1892, with 
Mrs. Katie Pyle, the widow of William Pyle and 
a daughter of Martin and Christina (Beighey) 
Hyle, natives of Germany. Mrs. Graham was 
born in Pennsylvania and married her first hus- 
band there ; by this marriage she is the mother 
of two children, Frederick D. and Guy E. both 
students of Logan College, Utah. Her union 
with Mr. Graham has been blessed with one 
child, Myrtle. 



JOHN S. GOODMAN. 

One of the oldest families connected with the 
development of civilization in the Eastern states 
of the Union and particularly identified with the 
Massachusetts Colony, is the Goodman f amity; 
and the name is now prominent in the leading 
circles of business, commercial, political and 
manufacturing departments in Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire. It has ever been a name 
of power and its representatives have taken con- 
spicuous part in law, literature and loyalty, in the 
French and Indian Wars, in the Revolutionary 
struggle, the War of 1812 and on the sanguinary 
battlefields of the Civil War and extensive rec- 
ords tell of the patriotic devotion, heroic self- 
sacrifice and manifold suffering experienced as 
the result of their devotion to principle. Such 
are the antecedents of the subject of this sketch, 
John S. Goodman, now a prominent citizen of 
Mill Creek Valley, whose elegant modern res- 
idence and attractive home ranch is located twen- 
ty miles south of Evanston, AVyoming. Mr. 
Goodman is a native of Niagara county, N. Y., 
where he was born on November 27, 1846, a 
son of Elias and Sarah C. (Cook) Goodman. 
His paternal grandparents were John and Re- 
becca (Bascom) Goodman, who were represen- 
tatives of prominent early families and natives 
of Virginia, descending from old Colonial stock. 
Elias Goodman was born in Pennsylvania, and 
by his marriage with Sarah C. Cook, a daughter 
of Seelye and Sarah (Swartout) Cook who was 
born in New York, he became connected with an 
interesting old New England family. In 1872 
Elias Goodman came to Wyoming directly from 
New York, first locating on Green River ; one 
year later, however, he removed to Hilliard, 
where he was extensively engaged in stockrais- 
ing until his death in 1896, at the age of seventy- 
two years. He was a prominent Freemason, by 
which brotherhood his funeral rights were con- 
ducted and his remains lie buried in the Masonic 
cemetery at Evanston. Elias Goodman while 
peacefully engaged in agricultural pursuits in 
his native state in 1861 patriotically responded 
to the call of his country to defend the Union and 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



217 



Constitution against the assaults of the Confed- 
erates, and loyally and gallantly served as a 
member of the Seventeenth New York Battery 
until the close of the war. His widow is still 
living at the age of sixty-nine. This worthy 
couple are parents of four children, all sons, the 
eldest of whom was John S. Goodman, who re- 
ceived his early education in the excellent edu- 
cational institutions of New York state and early 
became initiated into the labors and life per- 
taining to agriculture in the older settled sections 
of the East, being employed in farming in New 
York state until 1877. His married life com- 
menced on November 1, 1867, when he was 
united in matrimony with Miss Caroline Kidney, 
a daughter of William and Abigail (Whitcomb) 
Kidney, who was born in New York and a de- 
scendant of a family for many years established 
in that state. In 1877 Mr. Goodman, becoming 
convinced of the superior possibilities and ad- 
vantages of the industrial development of the 
new West, exchanged his residence in New York 
for one in Wyoming, where he made his first 
location in Evanston, but one year later, in 
1873, he purchased 320 acres of Union Pacific 
Railroad land and established his present home. 
In this beautiful locality, which he has largely 
improved and developed, he is extensively en- 
gaged in agricultural operations, particularly de- 
voting himself to the raising of cattle and horses, 
and in this field of industrial activity he has been 
very successful, conducting his affairs with 
thrift, discrimination and more than ordinary 
foresight. A person might travel through miles 
of pleasant country and not discover so iinp a 
home as Mr. Goodman has here developed. He 
is a man of most excellent judgment, of exact in- 
formation, public-spirited in the true sense of the 
word, and his popularity and influence in busi- 
ness and social circles are very great. He is a de- 
voted and earnest worker in all measures of pub- 
lic welfare and gives frequently and freely of his 
time, means and influence to all matters and 
causes which his judgment shows him are for 
the benefits of his community, the state or of the 
nation. He is prominently identified with the 
Republican party, in whose interests and contests 



he has labored most loyally. His wife has ably as- 
sisted him by her wise counsel and unintermitting 
labors and by her cheery presence she has given 
an added charm to the bounteous hospitality dis- 
played in their home. This worthy couple has 
reared a large and interesting family, who now 
by their irreproachable lives and their industrious 
habits do honor to their parents and the illus- 
trious stock from which they have sprung. Their 
names are Charles ; Elias U. ; Addie S., now 
Mrs. Cummington, of Cumberland, Wyo. ; Fred; 
John Arthur, who maintained the patriotic rec- 
ord of the family by his services as a member of 
Troop L, in Colonel Terry's regiment of Rough 
Riders in the Spanish-American War ; Jennie A., 
now wife of Walter A. Cummington, of Mill 
Creek, Wyo. ; Gertrude ; Edwin G. ; Harry ; 
Clinton Seelye. The following maxim happily 
exemplifies we think the active and useful life 
of Mr. Goodman : "All experience shows that 
the great highway of human welfare lies along 
the old road of steadfast well-doing, and they 
who are the most persistent in their endeavors, 
working in the truest spirit, will invariably be 
the most successful, for success treads close upon 
the heels of every right exertion." 

WILLIAM GUILD. 

There is perhaps no better representative of 
the business interests of this section of Wyo- 
ming, or one better informed in all matters of 
civil, religious and literary improvement in the 
state, than the accomplished gentleman whose 
name heads this review. His ancestral history 
is fully delineated in the personal sketch of his 
honored father, Mr. Charles Guild of Piedmont, 
Wyo., which appears elsewhere in this volume, 
and to which the reader is referred. William 
Guild of Lyman, Wyo., where he owns a com- 
fortable home and eighty acres of fine alfalfa 
land of marked productiveness, was born on the 
Guild homestead at Piedmont, Wyo., on May 29, 
1873, a son of Charles and Mary M. (Cardon) 
Guild. He received his preliminary scholastic 
training in the schools of Uinta county and sup- 
plemented this by a three years' course at the 



21} 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



Brig-ham Young College at Logan, Utah, by his 
attention and unusual mental endowments mak- 
ing rapid progress and attaining a high pro- 
ficiency. Being deeply devoted to the doctrines 
and principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter Day Saints, his manifest qualifications for 
the position caused his appointment as a mis- 
sionary of that faith to Germany. There he 
passed about thirty months in very active but 
pleasant service which was fraught with marked 
results, winning many converts to the faith. In 
1900 he became associated in business with his 
father and brothers, and is now the secretary of 
the Guild Mercantile Co., and also of the Guild 
Land & Live Stock Co. Mr. Guild still holds 
active .relations with his church, being an hon- 
ored elder in its communion, also filling the dual 
office of first assistant superintendent of the 
Sunday-school and superintendent of the religion 
class of Lyman ward. ' During his collegiate 
years he was for one year the professor of art 
and of elementary mathematics in the institu- 
tion he was attending. A man of great activity 
and enterprise, he keeps a vital interest in all 
that concerns the public weal, and is a strong 
supporter of the principles and policies for which 
the Republican party stands sponsor. On March 
6, 1901, in Salt Lake City, Mr. Guild "took un- 
to himself a wife" in the person of Miss Nettie 
Heiner. a daughter of George and Mary (Hen- 
derson) Heiner, the father of German and the 
mother of Danish ancestry, and they have one 
child, Kenneth H. Guild. 

OLIVER P. HANNA. 

This representative gentleman who was the 
very earliest arrival and settler in what is now 
Sheridan county, Wyoming, was born at Meta- 
mora, 111., on May 10, 185 1, the son of Harvey 
and Nancy (Taylor) Hanna, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania who came to Illinois in 1850, making 
the trip by way of the Ohio river. The father 
was a first cousin of the father of Hon. Marcus 
A. Hanna, the distinguished U. S. Senator from 
Ohio. In the Illinois home they had chosen 
the Hannas lived and worked out a destiny of 



peace and prosperity, such as was available in 
those early days in what is now the great 
prairie state, encountering the perils of frontier 
life, wherein men, beasts and even nature her- 
self seemed arrayed in arms against their hopes 
and their very safety and here their son Oliver 
was reared, from the experiences of his wild 
life drawing in that strength of body and firm- 
ness of spirit which prepared him for many 
subsequent contests with man and nature on 
the later frontier to which his love of adventure 
hurried him. His path from the beginning of 
his career has been beset with difficulties, but 
his soul and physique were hardened to meet 
them, dangers forming the very spice of his life. 
He has been a hunter of mighty prowess, a 
pathfinder of skill and intrepid courage,, a re- 
deemer of the wilderness from its savage con- 
dition and a promoter of the enterprises of that 
advancing civilization which builds common- 
wealths and enriches peoples. In 1868, when 
he was but seventeen years of age, he started 
out in life for himself, making the long and haz- 
ardous trip across the plains from Fort Scott, 
Kan., to the Deer Lodge valley in Montana, 
there joining the army of miners working in the 
rich placer grounds now covered by the city of 
Helena. Thence' he went in a short time to 
the valley of the Yellowstone and for eight years 
in that prolific region was engaged in hunting 
and trapping on an enormous scale, when 
joining the government survey under Professor 
Hayden, he aided in laying out the Yellowstone 
National Park and in naming its natural curiosi- 
ties. ■ Under General Custer he was a trusted 
scout and was in the command of that renowned 
chief of scouts, Mich Bowier. After a short visit 
to his old home in 1S75 ne returned to the west- 
ern frontier, joining General Crook's command 
and accompanying it to what is now Sheridan 
county, where he was placed in charge of a 
wagon train drawing supplies to Fort Fetter- 
man. The next year he went with the supply 
train to the Red Cloud agency and in 1878 
started with a pack outfit for Bozeman. Mont., 
but when he reached Fort McKinnev he took a 
contract to supply the soldiers with 3,500 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



2ig 



pounds of elk and deer meat per month during 
the winter. He kept his contract faithfully, kill- 
ing all the game himself and employing teams 
to haul it to the forts. In 1879 he accompanied 
James White on a hunting expedition, on the 
Yellowstone River near Miles City, in which 
they killed 2,200 buffaloes in six weeks. During 
that winter, it is said, there were slain on the 
Yellowstone 225,000 of these noble animals, and 
he and Mr. White killed more than any other 
two men. At the expiration of three months 
of this profitable sport the Indians drove the 
hunters away, but Messrs. Hanna and White 
had 5,000 buffalo hides to take with them. In 
1879 Mr. Hanna came back to Wyoming and 
located on a ranch he had taken up near the 
site of the present Bighorn in Sheridan county. 
In the intervals between his labors in improving 
his ranch he acted as guide for parties of tour- 
ists and hunters. During his first year's resi- 
dence at Bighorn he killed sixteen bears, being 
crippled in his arms ever since from a danger- 
ous encounter with one of them, within this 
year he also made a trip of 700 miles with a 
team to Cheyenne and return for the purpose 
of buying a plow, garden seed and seed grain. 
He started in February and returned in April, 
camping- out all of the way, and with the plow 
thus secured through so much toil and effort 
he made the first furrow turned with a plow 
in Sheridan county. The plow is still in his 
possession, a valued souvenir of a period of 
difficulty and danger happily forever past. He 
raised a crop of oats which he threshed with a 
flail, in the spring of 1880 selling the grain at 
ten cents a pound. On his ranch, remote from 
civilization and with but few of the comforts 
of life about him except such as were secured 
by his own efforts, he lived for some years, 
improving the property and hunting. Mean- 
while the advance guard of the oncoming army 
of settlers was approaching his domain, and ac- 
cepting always the opportunity of the moment, 
he laid out the town of Bighorn and christened 
it with the name it now bears. He built the 
first cabin erected in the present Sheridan 
county and helped Mr. Mason build the first 
one erected in the town of Sheridan. In 1890 



he sold his ranch and in 1892 purchased a store 
at Sheridan which he conducted until 1900, from 
the time of his purchase until 1896 being post- 
master of the town. Mr. Hanna has always 
been active in local affairs where he has lived 
and taken a deep interest in politics. He is 
a Democrat in political faith, in 1900 being 
elected to the state legislature, the only man 
of that party who was elected in the state. At 
the close of his term in 1901 he accepted a po- 
sition with Armour & Co., of Chicago, as travel- 
ing salesman, a position which he still holds. 
He owns a residence and considerable other 
property in Sheridan and makes that place his 
headquarters. Fraternally he is connected with 
the Knights of Pythias and the Order of Elks. 
Qn June 27, 1885, lie married at Miles City, 
Mont., Miss Dora Myers, a native of Blooming- 
ton, 111. They have three children, Tressie M., 
aged 16; Jesse, aged 14, a student in the mili- 
tary school at Kearney; and Laura, aged 12. 
Mr. Hanna has had a remarkably interesting 
and adventurous career and he has met all the 
requirements thereof with an unyielding forti- 
tude and constancy to duty. He is essentially 
a child of nature and has reveled in her wild 
and virgin luxuriance, yet has had an unswerv- 
ing fidelity to the requirements of civilized life, 
daring dangers of every kind in their behalf. 
Whether sharing the lowly couch of "Big Nosed 
George," a notorious road-agent, acting a part 
of necessary cunning while a private detective 
of the Union Pacific Railroad, whether founding 
a town and establishing its civil functions or 
marching in the Bozeman-Rosebud expedition 
against the Sioux Indians, who under the com- 
mand of Sitting Bull kept them fighting for 
twenty-seven days ; whether hunting wild beasts 
alone in the forest or on the plains or helping to 
arrest and imprison lawless men of desperate 
character ; whether gliding down the turbid 
Missouri for hundreds of miles with a few faith- 
ful companions, the mark of frequent shots of 
hostile savages all along the course, or pursuing 
in solitude the daily vocations of his quiet 
ranch ; in all the exigencies of his existence he 
has borne himself bravely and with becoming 
dignity. 



220 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



HON. E. A. SLACK. 

One of the men, who for more than thirty 
years has been and still is one of the "powers 
behind the throne" in Wyoming is Hon. E. A. 
Slack, of Cheyenne, editor of the Cheyenne 
Daily Leader and receiver at the U. S. land-office 
in that city. Broadminded and comprehensive in 
the view which he takes of public affairs, he is 
the confidant of U. S. senators and congressmen, 
and consulted by the political managers of the 
great political party to which he belongs, who 
have not infrequently taken their "cue" from him 
as to the proper issues and plans for political 
campaigns in Wyoming, conferred with by gov- 
ernors in reference to appointments to office, and, 
as a matter of fact, often naming many of the 
appointees in the first instance, and, in one in- 
stance, actually naming every appointment made 
during the term. Mr. Slack has been recognized 
for more than a quarter of a century as a most 
remarkable man, one who has probably had more 
to do with the matter of pushing Wyoming for- 
ward to the very enviable position which it now 
occupies among the far western states of the 
American Union than any other person in Wyo- 
ming. Edward Archibold Slack was born at 
Owego, N. Y., on October 2, 1842, but while 
yet a mere child his parents removed to Peru, 111. 
His father, who was educated at Norwich, Vt., 
was a civil engineer of considerable distinction 
and a confidant and close friend of General 
Sickles, Gen. G. M. Dodge and also other distin- 
guished men, and in many cases he was associ- 
ated with them in important enterprises. ' His 
mother was the late Mrs. Esther Morris (she 
having married a second'time) one of the noblest 
women that ever lived in the far West and who 
has not inappropriately been termed "the mother 
of women suffrage in Wyoming." At the age of 
fifteen years Mr. Slack began to learn the print- 
ers' trade at Peru, 111., and later went to Chi- 
cago for the same purpose, but on May 1, 1861, 
when but eighteen years of age, he enlisted in 
the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, in which organi- 
zation he served during the Civil War until about 
the middle of June, 1864, when, his term of en- 



listment expiring, he returned to Chicago, having 
served faithfully and with credit in the cause 
of his country. Shortly after returning from 
the war Mr. Slack entered the sophomore class 
of the Chicago University, where he remained 
for two years, later completing his collegiate 
course at Fulton, 111. While attending the Chi- 
cago University, Mr. Slack, under orders from 
General Sweet in command at Camp Douglas, 
then filled with Confederate prisoners of war, or- 
ganized a great company of cadets of which he 
was given command ; it being apprehended that 
an attempt might be made by the prisoners to 
break up the camp and escape. In the spring of 
1868 Mr. Slack came to Wyoming and located 
at South Pass, where he engaged in the newspa- 
per business and in due time became clerk of 
the District Court. Early in 1871 Mr. Slack 
was married to Miss Sarah F. Neeley, she being 
a sister of Mrs. Gen. John M. Palmer, who was 
at that time governor of Illinois, the mar- 
riage ceremony being performed at the city 
residence of the governor in Springfield, 111. 
In the early fall of 1871 Mr. Slack came to 
Laramie City in Albany county, Wyo., where he 
began the publication of the Laramie Daily 
Independent (later the Laramie Sun), and at 
about the same time he began to take a very 
active part in politics as a leader and worker in 
the political field, not in the way of aspiring to 
office himself, but in March, 1876, he moved 
his plant to Cheyenne, where having bought the 
Cheyenne Daily News, he consolidated the two 
and began the publication of the Cheyenne Daily 
Sun. In 1895 he purchased the Cheyenne Daily 
Leader outfit. For a time the daily published by 
Mr. Slack was known as "The Sun-Leader," but 
later the name was changed again and it is now 
known as "The Cheyenne Daily Leader," being 
one of the ablest edited and most influential 
newspapers in the far West. While never having 
linn what might be called an aspirant to public 
office, he was nevertheless appointed receiver of 
the U. S. land-office in Cheyenne in 1898 by the 
late President McKinley and was reappointed in 
[902. He has discharged the duties of that posi- 
tion witli satisfaction to the government and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



221 



with credit to himself, being now (May, 1903) 
in the incumbency of the office. As a public spir- 
ited citizen, whose impulses are always in the 
right direction, and as a husband and father, Mr. 
Slack may be pointed to as a model. In the 
broader field of public affairs it may be said that 
scarcely a measure can be named, which has 
been originated for the benefit of Wyoming and 
carried to successful consummation within the 
last quarter of a century, where he has not been 
among the first and foremost, and sometimes 
the only leader in the fight. His paper, of all pa- 
pers in Wyoming, was the first to advocate state- 
hood ; he fought single-handed and alone for 
free textbooks in the schools of Wyoming and 
carried his point; he moved forward first in the 
lead in organizing the State Editorial Associa- 
tion of which he is the president, and, in a reso- 
lution introduced by him in that body, took the 
lead in the State Industrial Convention move- 
ment, and it is a well-known fact that the idea 
of having Wyoming properly represented at the 
St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition ema- 
nated from that body. He also organized and 
set on foot the Pioneer Association, of which he 
is the chairman, and from this association came 
the idea of holding the annual Frontier Day cele- 
brations at the capital of the state, now a per- 
manent feature, as celebrations have been held 
annually, beginning with 1897. In local enter- 
prises, those which pertain more particularly to 
Cheyenne, Mr. Slack (we might say Colonel 
Slack, for so he is usually called, having held 
several positions in the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, which gave him that title, to say nothing 
of his having been commander of the cadets at 
the Chicago University, which we presume also 
entitled him to that rank) has always been among 
the first and foremost in advocating just and 
necessary measures and enterprises, such as the 
establishment of a water and sewer system, the 
organization of a building and loan association, 
the payment of better wages to teachers in the 
public schools, the lighting of the streets of the 
city by electricity, etc. At present Colonel Slack 
is erecting not only a number of medium-sized 
office buildings on the southwest corner of Capi- 



tol avenue and Seventeenth street, in Cheyenne, 
but he is also erecting a large and commodious 
building just north of the Inter-Ocean Hotel 
on Capitol avenue, into which, when completed, 
he will transfer his extensive printing plant, at 
the same time putting in new machinery to make 
of it one of the best and most thoroughly equip- 
ped newspaper establishments in the far West. 
But we must stop at this point, for want of space 
will not permit us to elaborate. We can only 
say in conclusion that which we have already 
said before, that Col. Edward A. Slack is one 
of "the powers behind the throne" in Wyoming. 

SAMUEL HOWES HARDIN. 

Born in the city of Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, on November 16, 1846, the sixth son of 
Seth W. and Reliance (Howes) Hardin, Samuel 
H. Hardin comes from the best strains of early 
colonial New England settlers. His parents re- 
moved to Chicago, 111., in 1847, an d in 1849 to 
Peru, where his father engaged in the lumber 
and grain business, Samuel, at the age of fif- 
teen, returning to Chicago to enter the real-es- 
tate office of his brother, Seth W. Hardin, Jr. 
In 1864 he was employed in the banking-house 
of Cushman, Hardin & Bro., in which house his 
brothers, Seth W. Jr., and Isaac N. were part- 
ners. He remained in this bank until 1868 when 
he became a teller in the William F. Coolbaugh 
Bank (Union National) of Chicago, then the 
largest bank west of New York City. Nature 
equipped Mr. Hardin for a prominent position 
in the affairs of men, and as a banker he wouid 
no doubt have attained a conspicuous and exalted 
place had he chosen to devote his energies to 
this calling, but his nature yearned for the wider 
fields of action that in 1871 attracted his atten- 
tion in the far west and southwest. The price 
of cattle at that time in remote parts of Texas 
was as low as $1.00 per head for cattle and land 
in unlimited qualities could be purchased at ten 
cents per acre, and in 1878 he determined to en- 
gage in the cattle industry and in 1880 he found- 
ed the firm of Hardin, Campbell & Co., and lo- 
cated their range and ranch on the Tongue River, 



222 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming, near the Montana line and at the 
base of the Big Horn Mountains, a then very far 
distant and unsettled country, abounding in buf- 
falo and other wild game and the coveted home 
of the Sioux and Crow Indians. Thus his pioneer 
life began amidst scenes, deprivations and hard- 
ship, that only the pioneers of that period can 
understand. He brought into this new life those 
characteristics that stamped him then, as now. 
a leader among men. The great cattle industry 
of the west soon after became the center of 
attraction for the capitalist and men of courage 
and enterprise from the East, West and South- 
west and from Europe and Canada until all the 
ranges became stocked with great herds of cat- 
tle. Mr. Hardin became prominent in all mat- 
ters pertaining to the cattle industry. He or- 
ganized the first live stock association in Wyo- 
ming north of Cheyenne and was its president 
for several years. He also rendered valuable as- 
sistance in the later organization of the Montana 
Live Stock Association and served many years 
on the executive committee of that association 
from Wyoming at the time when Theodore 
Roosevelt, now President of the United States, 
served on the same committee from Dakota. 
Few men who then entered into the cattle busi- 
ness have so continuously remained in it as has 
Mr. Hardin. He now owns the same ranch and 
brand of cattle that he located and established 
twenty-three vears ago. His success in his 
chosen field is marked in man}- ways. The brand 
of cattle he started in 1880 has for man/ years 
had the distinction of rare quality, command- 
ing the highest prices on the markets. His firm 
established in 1880 was succeeded by the Hardin- 
Hysham Cattle Co.. in 1898, and this company 
in 1900 by the present firm of S. H. Hardin & 
Co., consisting of S. H. Hardin and his stepson, 
John Grieves Mcllvain. Mr. Hardin is the 
present president of the Old Settlers' Club and 
takes great interest in the organization. He was 
nominated for the legislature in 1902 without 
his knowledge or consent, was elected by a very 
large majority and in the Seventh Legislative 
Assembly served his people and his state with 
marked ability. His nomination for eovernor in 



1906 is generally spoken of. He is not, nor 
ever has been, in politics and should the high 
office of governor of his young, virile state be 
tendered him, it will no doubt fail to induce him 
to enter the field of politics. "Hardin Cabin" the 
familv home is located on his ranch, being; built 
on an eminence at the confluence of the Tongue 
River and Wolf Creek, commanding a grand 
view of mountains, hills and valleys for miles in 
every direction. It is a most spacious and charm- 
ing country home, having few if any equals in 
the Rocky Mountain region. Mr. Hardin mar- 
ried in 1895 with Mrs. Jessie Grieves Mcllvain. 
a native of Philadelphia, Pa., a daughter of 
Charles Brown and Christina (Dubois) Grieves 
of that city, and their charming and hospitable 
home receives from her supervision a most de- 
lightful addition of cultured refinement. 

JAMES HARDMAN. 

One of the pioneer stockmen of Albany 
county, Wyoming, who have here met with suc- 
cess is_ James Hardman. the subject of this 
sketch, who is now a prominent citizen of Lara- 
mie. A native of England, born in the year 1837, 
he is the son of Richard and Sarah (Wyld) 
Hardman, both natives of England, where the 
father was a calico printer, following that occu- 
pation at Bury, in his native country, up to the 
time of his death in 1867. at the age of fifty-nine 
years. In politics he was a Liberal, and was the 
son of James and Bettie Hardman, both natives 
of England, where the mother was also born in 
181 1, a daughter of James Wyld. a leading cit- 
izen of Bury, who was engaged in the dual vo- 
cations of farming and butchering. She was a 
woman of extraordinary character and the moth- 
er of thirteen children, eight of whom are now 
living. She passed away in 1804 at the great 
age of eighty-three years. James Hardman 
passed his early life in his native country and 
received such limited schooling as his opportuni- 
ties permitted in the public schools in the neigh- 
borhood otVBury. At the early age of eight years 
he was put to work in the woolen mills at that 
place, where he remained for a short time, at the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



223 



age of fourteen years entering upon an ap- 
prenticeship to the trade of machinist. He pur- 
sued this employment for about seven years in 
England, then accepted a position with an iron- 
works company, and traveled in the interest of 
that house for six years. In 1864 he came to 
America and located first in New Jersey, secur- 
ing employment as a machinist for about one 
year and then removed to the interior of the 
state of New York, where he continued in the 
same occupation until 1871, when he resolved to 
come to the western country, and soon found 
himself at Greeley, in the territory of Colorado. 
At this place, he followed his former occupa- 
tion and ranching for a short time, thence com- 
ing to the territory of Wyoming, where in 1874 
he accepted a position in the shops of the Union 
Pacific Railroad at Laramie. Here he remained 
for twelve years, being one of the most trusted 
employes of that company. In July, 1886, he 
resigned his position with the railroad and lo- 
cated a homestead near his present ranch prop- 
erty, about eighteen miles southwest of Lara- 
mie, where he engaged in raising cattle and 
in ranching. Here he has remained up to the pres- 
ent writing engaged in the same pursuit and has 
met with marked success, being now the owner 
of a fine ranch of over 900 acres of land, well 
fenced and with. modern improvements, build- 
ings and appliances for the carrying on of his 
business. He takes a special pride in the raising 
of thoroughbred and graded stock, and makes a 
specialty of the white-face line of cattle. In 1861, 
in his native country, Mr. Hardman was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary Dent, a native of 
Durham, England, and a daughter of William 
Dent, one of the leading. residents of that place. 
To their union were born six children, Sarah, 
William, Emma (now deceased), Edwin, Anna, 
Bessie (deceased). Mrs. Hardman passed away 
from earth in 1882 and was buried at Laramie, 
Wyo. In 1884, Mr. Hardman was again mar- 
ried, the bride being Mrs. Alice (Buckley) Kent, 
a native of England, and a daughter of John 
and Elizabeth (Brooks) Buckley, both natives 
of the same country, who had one child by her 
first marriage. Her father was a master boiler- 



maker in England, and followed that occupation 
up to the year 1869. He then disposed of his 
boiler-making business and entered into partner- 
ship with his father in the cotton waste and gro- 
cery business which he followed until his death, 
in the year 1897, when he had attained to the age 
of seventy-three years. He was the son of John 
Buckley, who long successfully followed dealing 
in groceries and cotton waste in his native coun- 
try of England. Mrs. Hardman's mother passed 
away on July 22, 1890, and her father was named 
David Brooks, who was also a successful busi- 
ness man of England. To the union of Mr. and 
Mrs. Hardman have been born two children, 
James B. and Alice H., both of whom are living. 
Politically, Mr. Hardman is a stanch member of 
the Republican party, taking an active part in 
public affairs. Fraternally, he is affiliated with 
the Free Masons and the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, being one of the leading men of 
his section of Wyoming and enjoying the re- 
spect of nearly all classes of people. 

HENRY S. HANSON. 

One of the leading citizens of Salem, Wyo- 
ming, is the subject of this brief sketch, Henry 
S. Hanson, a prominent ranchman and stock- 
owner who is a native of Sweden, born in that 
country on July 11, 1870, a son of John and Mar- 
tha (Olson) Hanson, both natives of the same 
country, where his father followed the occupa- 
tion of farming until his emigration to America 
which occurred in January, 1888, for leaving his 
family at the old home in Sweden, the father 
then came to the New World, locating first in 
Henry county, Illinois, where he established him- 
self in farming and a few months later as soon 
as he had arranged his new home for their ac- 
commodation, he sent for his wife and children 
to join him. ttere they remained engaged in 
agricultural pursuits until 1892 when in the fall 
the family removed to Wyoming, and there im- 
mediately took up the ranch which the subject 
of this sketch now owns and occupies, situated 
about fourteen miles northwest of Pine Bluffs. 
Soon after establishing themselves at this place. 



224 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



they purchased a small band of cattle and en- 
gaged in a modest way in cattleraising. The 
father continued in this occupation with con- 
siderable success until 1898, when he disposed 
of his interest in the ranch and cattle to his son, 
Henry, and removed to Minnesota, purchasing 
a farm in the county of Isanti, and there he has 
continued forming until the present writing. 
Henry S. Hanson grew to manhood in his na- 
tive country and there received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools. Coming to Amer- 
ica with his mother in 1888, he continued to re- 
side at the family home in Illinois, until 1889, 
when he left home and, going to the northern 
part of Wisconsin, he there secured employ- 
ment in a sawmill until the spring of 1890, when 
he then returned to Henry county, Illinois, and 
engaged in farming there until August, 1895, 
thence coming to Wyoming on a visit to his par- 
ents, who were then residing at their ranch 
about fourteen miles from Pine Bluffs, and here 
he remained for a short time, assisting his fa- 
ther in the work and management of the ranch 
and cattle. Afterward he removed to Colorado, 
where he located in the vicinity of Greeley, se- 
curing employment as a farmhand. Here he re- 
mained acquiring a thorough knowledge of 
ranching and stockraising until 1898, when he 
returned to Wyoming, and purchased from his 
father the home ranch, with the cattle and all 
other property interests, and since that time he 
has been continuously employed in the manage- 
ment of his ranch and prosperous cattle business, 
during a portion of the time being associated 
with his brother, Joseph, who. has now a small 
interest in the business. By hard work, close at- 
tention to business and careful management and 
personal supervision of all details Mr. Hanson 
is building up a good paying property. Po- 
litically, he is a stanch adherent of the Repub- 
lican party, ever active in the political life of the 
section where he resides. In 1898 he received 
the appointment as postmaster at Salem, giving 
entire satisfaction to the public until 1901, when 
he tendered his resignation that he might make 
a visit to his native country where he remained 
for three months, rapidly visiting the scenes of 



his childhood and early manhood, and then re- 
turned again to his Wyoming ranch and cattle 
interests, where he has since been fully occupied, 
being one of the rising young stockmen of Lar- 
amie county. 

HAROLD H. HARRISOX. 

The postmaster and leading merchant of Au- 
burn, Uinta county, Harold H. Harrison, is a 
native of Utah, born on April 4, 1863, the son 
of Henry J. and Sarah E. (Burningham) Har- 
rison, natives of England, who came to Utah in 
i860, crossing the plains with handcarts, theirs 
being the second train of this kind to make the 
trip. The father was a mason by trade and 
worked at his craft as diligently and faithfully 
in his new home as he had done in the old. He 
put up the first brick house built at Bountiful 
and now divides his time between this place and 
Salt Lake City, still working at his trade al- 
though past seventy years of age. His parents, 
James and Judith (Edgerton) Harrison, came 
from England to Utah some time after his ar- 
rival there and Mrs. Harrison, Harold's mother, 
was a daughter of Thomas and Sarah E. Burn- 
ingham of England. She died in L T tah in 1887, 
aged fifty-three years. Harold Harrison was the 
eldest of the eight children of his parents and 
was educated in the public schools of Utah. He 
learned the trade of his father and worked at it 
with his father in his native place until 1892 
when he came to Auburn, AYyoming, and en- 
gaged in merchandising, purchasing the store 
and stock of Charles Kingston, now a resident 
of Evanston. Wyo., and settling down to busi- 
ness, being one of the earliest residents of the 
town. His venture prospered and his trade in- 
creased to such an extent that in 189S he was 
obliged to build more extensive accommoda- 
tions, and he accordingly erected a commodious 
and convenient two-story store building, in which 
he gathered and arranged for advantageous dis- 
play and for convenient handling as large, varied 
and well-selected a stock of general merchandise 
as can be found anywhere in this part of the 
country. This storehouse is complete in equip- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



225 



ment and has under it the best cellar in the val- 
ley. From his settlement here Mr. Harrison 
has been the postmaster of the town and for 
six years was also a justice of the peace. He 
was married at Salt Lake City on September 21, 
1882, with Miss Clara Mold, a native of Eng- 
land and a daughter of Thomas and Jane 
(Spencer) Mold, who came to Utah in 1870 with 
her widowed mother and the rest of the family. 
Mr. and Mrs. Harrison have six children, Lil- 
lian Clara, Harold Roy, Ross Leo, Ona Alvin, 
Vivian Cecil and Rex Leland. The head of this 
house is one of the leading citizens of this county, 
being universally respected and esteemed. 

ROBERT B. HARVEY. 

On "Caledonia's rugged hills" for generations 
have lived the ancestors of Robert B. Harvey of 
Mountain View, Wyoming, his father being the 
first of the family to leave their native Scotland 
and cross the Atlantic to secure a home in the 
United States, eventually locating in the city of 
Muscatine, Iowa, where, on July 23, i860, Rob- 
ert was born. His parents were William H. and 
Agnes (McCulloch) Harvey, and they gave to 
their children such educational advantages as 
were available at the time, Robert attending the 
public schools until 1877, when he courageously 
took up the duties of life for himself and coming 
to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, he engaged to ride 
the range for Philip Mass, following this stren- 
uous occupation for him for three years, and two 
thereafter in the Big Horn country. From there 
he returned to his former home in this state and 
there forming a partnership with his uncle, he 
took charge of a band of cattle on shares. He 
prospered in his undertaking and at the end of 
three years took up a tract of 160 acres of land 
on Smith's Fork, about one mile from the little 
village of Mountain View, where he is now lo- 
cated permanently and where he has since in- 
dividually conducted a cumulative industry in 
raising cattle and horses, having fine grades of 
each, and in addition has valuable real-estate in- 
terests in the town of Mountain View. By his 
earnest and forceful energy and integrity Mr. 



Harvey has risen to importance in local public 
affairs, having been the capable and efficient 
road supervisor of the southeast district of Uinta 
county during the past four years, discharging 
his duties to the satisfaction of the people and 
the benefit of the community. In politics he is 
allied with the Republican party, and fraternally 
he is connected with the Woodmen of the World 
through his membership in the local lodge at 
Fort Bridger. On November 25, 1883, in Sac- 
ramento, California, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Emma Forehand, a daughter of Am- 
nion and Annie (Webster) Forehand, natives of 
Litchfield, 111., pioneers of that state. The chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey are Robert W., 
George E., William R., Ralph A., and Hazel S., 
who died at the age of seven years in February, 
1902, Edna, who died in infancy in November, 
1899, Frederick A. and Edith E. 

JAMES R- HAWLEY. 

The capable, accurate and very efficient time- 
keeper for the Union Pacific Railroad at Raw- 
lins, Carbon county, Wyoming, was born in Liv- 
ingston county. New York, in 1838. His father, 
James Hawley, was born in Delaware county in 
the same state in 1806, but died in Livingston 
county in 1897, being a son of John and Mary 
(Robinson) Hawley, the farmer of whom was a 
native of Scotland, • who settled in the state of 
New York in 1801 and there passed the re- 
mainder of his life. The mother of James R. 
Hawley bore the maiden name of Mary Ruth- 
ven and was born in Scotland, married in New 
York state and died in 185 1, the mother of ten 
children. James R. Hawley received his prep- 
aratory education in the public schools and then 
attended the Western New York Seminary at 
Lima, N. Y., from which he was graduated in' 
1859. The following ten years he passed in 
teaching school in his native state and then he 
turned his attention to farming, in 1875 coming 
to Laramie, Wyoming, and entering the employ 
of the Union Pacific Railroad as clerk and hold- 
ing this position two years, then coming to 
Rawlins, where be has since lived, with the ex- 



226 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF 1VY0UIXG. 



ception of six years, and is employed by the 
Union Pacific as time-keeper. In 1868 Mr. Haw- 
ley married with Miss Olivia Doty, who was 
born in New York in 1840, a daughter of Smith 
Doty ; but she was called from earth in 1878 leav- 
ing four children, Frederick E., James G., Cecil, 
Charlotte, deceased. Mr. Hawley is an ener- 
getic member of the Republican party and has 
done his share of active party work, on more than 
one occasion being largely instrumental in its 
success at the polls. His personal popularity has 
been demonstrated by his election to several of- 
fices of trust, honor and prominence, chief among 
them being justice of the peace of Rawlins, pro- 
bate judge of Carbon county and county treas- 
urer, in all of' which offices he has fully come 
up to the expectations of his constituents and 
met with the approbation of the public. Mr. 
Hawley is a gentleman of great mental capacity, 
which has been plainly manifested in every po- 
sition he has held, and it is within the scope of 
reasonable supposition that higher honors await 
him in the near as well as the ultimate future. 
He is public-spirited and broadminded, and ever 
ready to contribute of his available means and 
to lend a helping hand to all enterprises that 
have a tendency to advance and improve the 
general prosperity of the community. He is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity and lives 
strictly in accordance with the teachings of that 
grand organization. As a citizen he is univer- 
sally respected, for he conscientiously 'performs 
every duty entailed upon him and as a man he 
counts his friends by the hundreds. 

HON. FRANCIS E. WARREN. 

The foremost citizen of the state of Wyo- 
ming, and one of the leading public men of the 
United States, is Senator Francis E. Warren. 
For many years he has been identified with the 
commercial and political life of the territory and 
state and has been a prominent factor in develop- 
ing the resources and laying the foundations of 
the commonwealth of Wyoming. A resident of 
Wyoming since 1868, he has seen it grow from 
its then primitive condition to the civilization 



and prosperity of the present day. Savagery 
and barbarity have passed away and the desert 
and wilderness have given way to settled and 
prosperous agricultural districts and industrial 
centers alive with the busy ways of trade and 
commerce. In this marvellous growth and de- 
velopment Senator Warren has borne a foremost 
part for more than thirty-four years. Coming 
to the territory when but twenty-four years of 
age, he held the responsible position of mana- 
ger of the extensive mercantile interests of Mr. 
A. R. Converse, then one of the most extensive 
operators on the frontier. At that time the city 
of Cheyenne was a typical western town, hav- 
ing all the characteristics of frontier life on the 
plains. It had no buildings save tents and tem- 
porary frame structures and there was little re- 
gard for law or for social order. The great 
change that has come about during the years 
which have followed has been due in no small 
measure to the energy and progressive spirit, 
the organizing ability and strength and the firm- 
ness of character of Senator Warren. A native 
of the old commonwealth of Massachusetts, he 
was born in the city of Hinsdale on June 20, 
1844. His father was Joseph S. Warren, a 
member of the distinguished New England fam- 
ily of that name. They were among the early set- 
tlers of Massachusetts and bore an historic part 
in the early Colonial history, of the American 
republic, Gen. Joseph Warren who fell at the 
battle of Bunker Hill being a representative of 
the family. The mother of Senator Warren, 
Cynthia E. Abbott, was of English descent, and 
her family were among the pioneers of the 
Massachusetts colony, the name often occurring 
in early, as well as later, New England histon . 
The father of Francis E. Warren was always a 
farmer and trader, a shrewd and successful man 
of business, but while in many respects a man 
of liberal ideas, he did not believe in the higher 
education, and thought the training of the com- 
mon schools, which was all that he himself pos- 
sessed, was sufficient for anyone. lie therefore 
encouraged his children to master the details "I 
practical things ami to acquire a knowledge of 
commercial ami industrial life rather than to 




HON. F. E. WARREN. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



227 



devote their time to an academical and classical 
education. Consequently young Warren had 
little opportunity of acquiring an education in 
his early life, his schooling being confined to a 
few weeks' attendance upon the district schools 
during the winter season and the rest of his time 
occupied with work on the farm. At fifteen 
years of age he attended Hinsdale Academy for 
one year, and that marked the end of his school 
life. He was then placed in charge of a dairy 
farm for a year, and at the age of seventeen 
years he enlisted in Co. C, Forty-ninth Mass. 
Infantry as a soldier of the Union army of the 
Civil War. His regiment was ordered into in- 
struction camps at Pittsfield and Worcester, 
there drilled and prepared for service, then they 
were ordered to New York City for garrison 
duty, later going to New Orleans, being assigned 
to the nineteenth army corps. The regiment 
was soon detailed for service at the front ana 
took part in the siege and capture of Port Hud- 
son and in other important engagements in- 
cluding Donaldsonville. During the siege of 
Port Hudson, Corporal Warren, for he had been 
promoted, participated in one of the most gallant 
actions of the war, and in later years Congress 
recognized the heroism of the few survivors, 
awarding them medals of honor. It had been 
determined to storm the Confederate position, and 
the Forty-ninth Mass. was called upon for volun- 
teers to precede the main force of the at- 
tacking army and fill with fascines a large trench 
which formed a part of the enemy's defences and 
must be passed by the Union forces in making 
the proposed attack. Young Warren was one 
of the first volunteers for this dangerous service. 
As soon as the purpose of this advance force was 
observed by the enemy, a fire so terrific was 
opened upon it that about three-fourths of the 
little band were either killed or wounded, but 
the resolute remainder, the "forlorn hope," ac- 
complished its purpose, although at an appalling 
sacrifice of life, and prepared the way for the 
successful assault. While the firing was at its 
height, the fascine carried by Corporal Warren 
was struck by a cannon ball and the blow 
knocked him down and rendered him uncon- 

14 



scious for several hours. To this circumstance 
he doubtless owes his life, for under the deadly 
fire of the enemy every commissioned officer of 
the command was killed and the entire de- 
tachment practically annihilated. Remaining in 
the service until the close of the war, Senator 
Warren then returned to his native state and was 
the manager of a large stock farm until the 
spring of 1868, when he determined to seek his 
fortune in the far west and came to Iowa, where 
he became a foreman of construction work on 
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, 
soon however going to Cheyenne, Wyo., where 
he at once engaged in mercantile pursuits and 
also became interested in the live stock business. 
From the first his energy, untiring perseverance 
and indomitable resolution to make for himself 
a high place in the business and public life of the 
new country brought to him a large measure of 
success. In 1871 was formed the large mercan- 
tile firm of Converse & Warren, which for years 
carried on an extensive business in Cheyenne and 
adjacent territory. Subsequently he purchased 
the interest of his partner and continued the 
business as F. E. Warren & Co. - Several years 
later the operations of this house became so ex- 
tended that it was incorporated as the F. E. 
Warren Mercantile Co., Senator Warren being 
its president. This company has been for many 
years the leading mercantile house of Wyoming 
and its business transactions extended throughout 
the entire state. Mr. Warren is one of the pioneer 
stockmen of the west and has done much to de- 
velop that industry not only in Wyoming but 
in adjoining states. During the decade from 
1873 to -1883 he gave attention to the raising of 
cattle and sheep, and was a member of the live 
stock firms of Guiterman & Warren, Miner & 
Warren and Post & Warren, all having large in- 
terests in Wyoming and Colorado. In 1883, he 
organized and became the president of the War- 
ren Live Stock Co., one of the heaviest com- 
panies of the west, having extensive holdings of 
lands, horses and sheep in Wyoming and 
Colorado. Mr. Warren has shown his public 
spirit and his confidence in the future of 
Cheyenne by erecting several of the largest 



228 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



blocks and most important buildings of the city, 
among them are the Warren Block, First Na- 
tional Bank Building, Atlas Block, Commercial 
Building, Union Block, Phoenix Block, the 
station of the Cheyenne and Burlington Railroad 
and numerous residences. He is also the presi- 
dent of the Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Co., 
which owns the electric light and gas-works of 
that city. Always foremost in the advocacy of 
all measures calculated to promote the interests 
of the city, or to develop the resources of the 
state, he has shown his faith by his works, and 
has invested the profits of his business enter- 
prise in the building up of the city of his resi- 
dence and the state of his adoption. Seldom has 
his judgment been in error, either in business or 
public affairs, and he is considered as one of 
safest and most conservative, as well as the most 
progressive and enterprising, of the leading men 
of the west. During his residence of thirty-four 
years of life in the territory and state he has 
been called upon by his fellow citizens on many 
occasions to accept positions of honor and trust. 
In 1872 he was elected as a trustee of the city 
of Cheyenne and shortly afterward was elected 
one of the members of the Territorial Legis- 
lature, also serving as president of the Senate 
before he was thirty years of age, while for 
six years he was treasurer of the territory. 
In 1884 he was tendered and declined the unani- 
mous nomination of the Republican party as a 
candidate ' for delegate to Congress. In 1885 
he was elected mayor of Cheyenne and while ser- 
ing in that position was appointed as governor 
of the territory by President Arthur. During 
his term of office the anti-Chinese riots occurred 
at Rock Springs, Wyo., and by his decisive and 
statesmanlike action in enforcing the laws and 
protecting the Chinese he earned the commenda- 
tion of good citizens, not only in Wyoming but 
throughout the United States. Owing to his 
criticism of General Land Commissioner Sparks, 
which he saw fit to make in his official report as 
governor, he was removed from office by Presi- 
dent Cleveland, but in 1889 was again appointed 
governor by President Harrison, and served un- 
til the admission of Wyoming as a state. At 



the state election in 1890 he was elected the first 
governor of the state, and upon the convening 
of the legislature received the high distinction of 
an election as one of the first U. S. Senators from 
the state. He took his oath of office on December 
1, 1890, and his term expired on March 4, 
1893. In 1895 he was again elected by the leg- 
islature to that office, receiving the unanimous 
vote of the Republican members of the legisla- 
ture. When the legislature convened in 1901, 
Senator Warren was occupied with official duties 
at Washington, D. C, but nearly all the members 
of the legislature wrote to him pledging their 
support for his reelection. He therefore did 
not return to his state and was duly reelected 
his own successor for the term ending March 
3, 1907. His record in the United States Senate 
has been distinguished by great ability and tire- 
less activity. He has been loyal to every interest 
of his constituents, while guarding the welfare 
of the people of the entire country. No sacrifice 
has been too great, nor has any expenditure, 
either of time or energy, been considered by him 
in the performance of his patriotic duty to the 
people of his state and nation. While not a 
speech-maker and considering himself only a 
plain man of business, he has nevertheless so 
impressed himself upon the U. S. Senate by his 
force of character and clearness of statement, 
that he is considered one of the leaders of that 
body, and is always listened to with reverence 
and respect. Devoted to the interests of the 
west and believing that no greater question was 
ever presented for the consideration of the 
thoughtful men of America than the irrigation 
of the arid lands, it was largely through his ef- 
forts that the Congress passed the present na- 
tional irrigation law. He is chairman of the 
Senate Committee on Claims, one of the most 
important committees of Congress and is also a 
member of the following important committees, 
Appropriations, Agriculture and Forestry, Irri- 
gation and Reclamation of Arid Lands, Military 
Affairs, Public Buildings and Grounds, Indus- 
trial Expositions. He is one. of the strong men 
of the west, a practical man of large affairs, 
possessing broad views and statesmanlike char- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



229 



acter, whose service in the U. S. Senate has been 
of inestimable value to the people of his statu 
and to the entire country. Successful in business, 
straightforward in his methods, both in busi- 
ness and in public life, unselfish and unswering 
in his devotion to public duty, he is loyal to his 
friends, faithful to the people of Wyoming, and 
a' patriotic and distinguished representative of 
the American republic. 

HON. JOSIAH A. VAN ORSDEL. 

Standing out as one of the central figures in 
the recent history of Wyoming is the name of 
Hon. Josiah A. Van Orsdel. Prominent in 
the public and political affairs of the state, with 
a reputation as a jurist second to none of his 
compeers and possessing those abilities eminently 
fitting him for high station, there are few men 
of his age that have achieved as marked distinc- 
tion in professional and official life. Although 
a young man, there is in him a weight of char- 
acter, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment 
and a fidelity of purpose to the various private 
and public trusts with which he has been iden- 
tified, that commands the unbounded respect of 
the people, irrespective of political creed. Of 
indefatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, 
he has carved his name deeply upon the records 
of Wyoming and no compendium, such as the 
province of this work defines in its essential 
limitations, will serve to offer a complete record 
of his life, character and accomplishments. 
Josiah A. Van Orsdel, the attorney-general of 
Wyoming, is a native of Lawrence county, Pa., 
where he- was born on November 17, i860. He 
is a scion of an old Colonial family, tracing his 
lineage back to an early period in the history of 
his own state and Virginia. His father, Ralph 
L. Van Orsdel, was born in Adams county, Pa., 
on May 9, 1812. His mother, whose maiden 
name was Margaret Randolph, was a native of 
Beaver county, Pa. The father was a son of 
Cornelius Van Orsdel of Virginia, a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, who distinguished himself in 
some of the most noted campaigns of the his- 
toric struggle for independence, participating 



in a number of battles as a private and the col- 
orbearer. He bore a gallant part in the action 
at Eutaw Springs and at the close of the war 
was awarded by an act of Congress a large tract 
of land in western Pennsylvania, for brave and 
meritorious conduct in that memorable engage- 
ment. When independence was achieved he 
moved to Adams county, Pa., thence in 1823 
to Beaver county, where he died in 1826. He 
followed agricultural pursuits in his native state 
until his death in 1891, Mrs. Van Orsdel dying in 
1886. Ralph and Margaret Van Orsdel had 
ten sons and one daughter, Josiah A. being the 
youngest, of this large family only six are now 
living. In his native county and state and in 
the public schools Josiah A. Van Orsdel ac- 
quired his preliminary education, which was 
supplemented by a full classical course in West- 
minster College at New Wilmington, Pa., from 
which he was graduated with an honorable rec- 
ord in 1885. For one year thereafter he en- 
gaged in teaching, then entered the office of 
Dana & Long, prominent attorneys of New- 
castle, under whose instruction he had been 
prosecuting his law studies from' the time of his 
graduation. Upon completing his legal course 
he turned his face westward and engaged in 
business for a time in Gage county, Neb., where 
he was admitted to the practice of his profes- 
sion. In 1 891 he came to Cheyenne and formed 
a partnership with Hugo Donzelman which 
lasted one year, during which time the firm 
built up a large and lucrative legal business. 
The partnership dissolving, Mr. Van Orsdel and 
R. E. Esteb became associated in a legal prac- 
tice and the same fall he was elected county and 
prosecuting attorney, the duties of which of- 
fice he discharged in an able and satisfactory 
manner for two years. He soon took high rank 
among his professional brethren of the Chey- 
enne bar and became a prominent factor in local 
and state politics, his prestige as a leader of 
the Republican party in Laramie county bring- 
ing him conspicuously to public notice. In the 
fall of 1894 he was elected to represent Laramie 
county in the lower house of the State Legisla- 
ture, and he then took a leading part in the de- 



230 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



liberations of that body, earning the reputation 
of being an able, discreet and judicious law- 
maker. By reason of his superior legal attain- 
ments he was given places on some of the most 
important of the house committees, notably 
that of lands and irrigation; as chairman of this 
committee he was instrumental in framing and 
passing a bill providing for the acceptance by 
the state of the million acres granted by the 
U. S. government under the Carey act, accom- 
plishing great good to the state in the way of 
redeeming and making habitable large areas of 
country formerly deemed valueless, this induc- 
ing an industrious class of people to purchase 
them for agricultural and grazing purposes. In 
February, 1895, Mr. Van Orsdel was also made 
chairman of the commission appointed by the 
government to compile, revise and codify the 
laws of Wyoming. This service, which was not 
completed until 1899, bears evidence of scholar- 
ship and great legal erudition. Mr. Van Ors- 
del's record as a legislator is replete with duty 
ably performed in the interest of his constitu- 
ents and the state at large, and he retired from 
the office with 'the approbation of the people, 
regardless of political complexion. In January, 
1898, he was further honored by being ap- 
pointed attorney-general of Wyoming to fill the 
unexpired term of Hon. Benjamin F. Fowler, 
and on April 1 of the following year he was 
chosen his own successor for a full term of four 
years. In the exalted office he now holds Mr. 
Van Orsdel's career has fully demonstrated the 
wisdom of his appointment and his course has 
been eminently satisfactory to the people of the 
state. He has more than met the high expecta- 
tions of his friends, and so discharges the duties 
of the position as to receive the hearty approval 
and warm commendation of the bar of Wyo- 
ming, as well as the populace. He is independ- 
ent, fearless, honest and singularly painstaking, 
discharging his duties in strict compliance with 
the law, without fear or favor. It is but just 
to say, and infinitely to General Van Orsdel's 
credit, that no personal or political bias, pre- 
judice or zeal has ever been able to deflect his 
mind from its honest and intelligent convic- 



tions. His written opinions attest his fitness for 
judicial position. His style is lucid, unstrained 
and vigorous ; his statements full and compre- 
hensive, his analysis perspicuous and complete ; 
his opinions show research, industry and care, 
and challenge approval. As a lawyer General 
Van Orsdel has stood high ever since his ad- 
mission to the bar. He has a large practice and 
has been signally successful. He evinces a fa- 
miliarity with legal principles, a ready percep- 
tion of facts and the ability to apply the one 
to the other which obtain for him the reputa- 
ton of an able and judicious practitioner. Xo 
one knows better than he the necessity of 
thorough preparation in the trial of causes and 
no one is more industrious and painstaking in 
this respect. Always courteous and deferential 
to the court, kind and forbearing towards his 
adversaries, he conducts his cases with becom- 
ing dignity, never resorting to low personalties, 
vituperation or abuse. Loyal to his client, he 
leaves nothing undone in his behalf, and in the 
treatment of the case in hand is always clear 
and exhaustive. He has a ready command of 
language and in arguing a cause presents his 
facts in logical order, enforcing them with 
strong appeals to reason and judgment, fre- 
quently rising to true eloquence. Reference 
has already been made to him as a politician 
and political leader. He is an able and aggres- 
sive campaigner and there are always great de- 
mands for his services on the hustings in state 
and national contests. He stumped the state 
in 1894, making friends and winning votes 
wherever he addressed meetings. As a mem- 
ber of the Republican State Central Committee 
he was largely instrumental in leading his party 
to success in several campaigns. At the present 
time he is the chairman of the committee, con- 
ducting his third successive campaign as such 
officer. In this capacity he has shown marked 
executive ability, leading his party to victory 
in each campaign. As a party manager he is 
fully appreciated by the party leaders, as well 
as by the rank and file of the party throughout 
the state. In March, 1895. General Van Orsdel 
formed a partnership with C. W. Burdick, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



231 



which still exists. When not attending to his 
official duties he gives close personal attention 
to the extensive business which has come to 
the firm, and he may be said to be one of the 
busiest as well as one of the most successful 
lawyers of the Wyoming bar. He is in the 
prime of life, popular with all classes as a law- 
yer, official and citizen, and it is safe to predict 
for him a prosperous and distinguished career 
in years yet to be. In his domestic life he is 
fortunately situated, enjoying the companion- 
ship of an intelligent and refined wife, to whom 
he was married on July 28, 1891, at Blue 
Springs, Neb., her maiden name being Kate 
Barnum. They have a beautiful home in Chey- 
enne, where their cultured hospitality is always 
in evidence. General Van Orsdel is a member 
of the Presbyterian church of Cheyenne and he 
has served on its board of trustees for ten 
years. 

HON. HENRY G. HAY. 

Through many lines of productive activity, 
in mercantile life, the stock industry, banking, 
mining and real-estate dealing on an extensive 
scale and through a large acquaintance with cus- 
toms, interests and peoples in various parts of 
our country, Hon. Henry G. Hay, the state 
treasurer of Wyoming, has come to his present 
commanding eminence in this part of the world 
and his fitness and great capacity for influence 
and high standing anywhere. He was born at 
Indianapolis, Ind., on October 31, 1847, tne son 
of George D. and Harriet H. (Axtell) Hay, the 
former a native of Lancaster county, Pa., and 
the latter of Geneva, N. Y., his father being a 
prominent merchant of the city of his nativity. 
Soon after his birth the family removed to Vin- 
cennes, Ind., and there the father continued for 
a number of years the business so successfully 
carried on at Indianapolis. Some years later he 
took up his residence at New Orleans and made 
that Southern metropolis the base of his mercan- 
tile operations until the beginning of the Civil 
War drove him through the blockade to seek a 
home for his declining years among the people 



holding the sentiments which were dear to him 
and who were defending them. The autumnal 
evening of his life descended quietly and peace- , 
fully to the tomb, the end coming on the Atlantic 
seaboard at a pleasant resort where his remains 
were cremated, from whence the ashes were 
brought to his former home at Vincennes and 
buried beside those of his wife who had died a 
number of years before. Their son, Henry G. 
Hay, attended the Vincennes (Ind.) University 
until he was seventeen years old, then went east 
for a course in the German language with the 
Harmony Society at Economy, in Beaver county, 
Pa. At the close of his year there he entered the 
Eastman Commercial College at Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y., from which he was graduated in 1866. He 
then came west to Missouri and was made super- 
intendent of a lead mining company at the age of 
nineteen, holding the position four years, there- 
after removing to Cheyenne, Wyo., being there 
appointed a deputy U. S. surveyor under Dr. 
Silas Reed, the first surveyor-general of the ter- • 
ritory. In this capacity he surveyed the first 
mile of the government survey of Wyoming, it 
being on the eighth guide meridian, about twelve 
miles east of Cheyenne. He served five years as 
a deputy surveyor, in the meantime going into 
the ranch and stock industry nine miles south- 
west of Cheyenne, in partnership with John 
B. Thomas, under the firm name of Hay & 
Thomas. They continued in this business until 
1883 when they sold out to Senator Warren 
transferring to him one of the best managed and 
best known stock industries to be found in those 
days, this the Senator yet owns and he has al- 
lowed it to suffer no diminution in volume or de- 
pression in standard. In the fall of 1875, in part- 
nership with I. C. Whipple as Whipple & Hay, 
Mr. Hay started a large grocery enterprise and 
engaged in outfitting for the Black Hills and the 
ranches. In 1883 this business was sold to the 
Union Mercantile Co., which still owns and con- 
ducts it. After the sale of these two enterprises 
Whipple & Hay formed the Laramie River Cat- 
tle Co., and engaged extensively in the live stock 
business, until 1894. Before this industry began 
operations, in 1881, Mr. Hay, Thomas Sturgis 



232 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and J. M. Carey organized the Stockgrowers' Na- 
tional Bank at Cheyenne, with Mr. Hay as cash- 
ier. This position he held until 1894 when he 
became its president and he has served in this 
capacity continuously since that time, having 
been a director since the organization of the 
bank. This financial house is one of the strongest 
and best managed banking institutions in this 
part of the world, and is a source of perennial 
blessing to the city and county. Its resources 
include a capital stock of $100,000, with $90,000 
surplus, loans and discounts aggregating over 
$900,000 and deposits amounting to $1,500,000. 
It was the only bank in Cheyenne that survived 
the panic of 1893 and it has come forth from 
every financial trial untarnished and maintained 
an exalted reputation for great fiscal resources, 
prudent and skillful management and a spirit 
of generous accommodation. Mr. Hay owns 
considerable real-estate of high value in different 
parts of the state and mining properties and town 
lots and houses. In politics he is an ardent 
Republican, everywhere regarded as one of the 
leading and most forceful and effective workers 
in his party. He was a member of the conven- 
tion which framed the constitution of the state, 
was one of the commissioners from Wyoming 
to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 
1893, and was elected state treasurer in 1894, 
carrying every county in the state. He .served in 
this office four years and then retired, but in 
1902 he was again elected state treasurer, repeat- 
ing his wonderful achievement of eight years be- 
fore, even improving on it by the size of his ma- 
jority. In fraternal relations he is an enthusias- 
tic Freemason, and has mounted on the mystic 
ladder step by step to the Thirty-second degree 
of the Scottish Rite, belonging also to chapter, 
commandery, council and the Mystic Shrine. Of 
the Blue Lodge at Cheyenne he has been a mem- 
ber for more than thirty years. He is also affili- 
ated with the order of Elks and the Sons of the 
Revolution, belonging to one of the leading 
societies of this organization in Pennsylvania and 
eligible to membership through Revolutionary 
ancestors on both sides of his house. He is 
besides a charter member of the Cheyenne Club, 



belongs actively to the Denver Club and to the 
Denver Athletic Club in Colorado. In each of 
these organizations he takes a leading part and 
renders highly appreciated service. But life has 
not for Mr. Hay been all work and contest. He 
early bowed beneath the flowery yoke of Eros, 
marrying with Miss Ella O. Bullock, a daughter 
of James S. and Nancy (Barrows) Bullock, na- 
tives of Massachusetts. The marriage occurred 
on November 18, 1874, and Mrs. Hay died at 
Cheyenne on November 6, 1895. Her birth- 
place was Vermillionville, 111., and her remains 
were buried at Cheyenne, the place where she 
passed the most of her mature life, and where 
her charming graces and efficient society labors 
will long be remembered. Two children sur- 
vive her, Henry C, and Mildred. Henry G. 
Hay, Jr., received his academic education at the 
Cheyenne high school and was prepared for 
professional life in the law department of Ann 
Arbor University, Mich., from which he was 
graduated in 1896. He was admitted to practice 
in all the courts of the state at Cheyenne and is 
now connected with his father's bank. He was 
married on October 12, 1897, to Miss Bessie 
Robins, an adopted daughter of W. A. Robins, 
who was for many years secretary of the Union 
Mercantile Co., of Cheyenne. They have one 
child, Henry G. Hay. Miss Mildred Hay was 
educated in the schools of Cheyenne and at 
Philadelphia, Pa., and she assists in dispensing a 
generous and refined hospitality. 

HENRY HELD. 

There is no element of American citizenship 
that has been more productive of real good to 
the country, whether considered as a promoter 
and builder of industrial and commercial in- 
terests or as a moral and educational force in 
the community, than that we have received from 
the thrift and enterprise of the industrious Ger- 
man. Of this fact Henry Held of Sheridan. 
Wyoming, is an impressive illustration. He was 
born in the Fatherland on November 22, 1852, 
but when he was but fourteen years of age came 
to the United States. He lived for a short time 




HENRY HELD. 



MRS. HENRY HELD. 



PROGRESSIVE. MEN OF WYOMING. 



233 



with an uncle, and then enlisted in the Union 
army of the Civil War for a term of three years. 
He was discharged from the service at Fort 
Kearney in Nebraska and for a time thereafter 
engaged in railroad construction work on the 
Union Pacific, working on this until the road was 
completed. He then returned to Cheyenne, and 
was in the employ of the U. S. government until 
May 7, 1882, when he came to Sheridan and 
built his blacksmith shop, the first horseshoeing 
establishment in Sheridan, and was one of the 
five men who laid out the town and he 
gave it its name of Sheridan and on a 
portion of it the town of Sheridan has risen to 
its present fine proportions. After working at 
his trade for a number of year's he leased his 
shop and went into the real-estate business. In 
May 1900 he went to Alaska and is still there, 
his business in Wyoming being well managed 
by his wife. In Alaska he has discovered coal 
mines of value and has other interests of magni-v 
tude which he is developing. At Sheridan he 
owns 430 acres of land, also the Mount Hope 
cemetery, the building occupied by the court- 
house, and other property which is steadily in- 
creasing in value. Mr. Held was married at 
Cheyenne on October 10, 1875, to Miss Nettie 
B. Nail, a native of Fayette, Arkansas, being a 
daughter of Larkin and Rebecca Nail, natives 
of Kentucky and Tennessee. The father died 
in 1 86 1 and the mother now lives in the Indian 
Territory. In the absence of her husband Mrs. 
Held manages all his business in this state and 
has exhibited business capacity of a high order. 
Everything prospers in her hands, this being 
not the result of accident but the legitimate fruit 
of skill, care and ability. Both herself and her 
husband are highly respected and esteemed in 
the community and are fully worthy of the re- 
gard in which they are held. Mrs. Held is a 
member of the Pioneers Association and a 
valued contributor to the interest of its meet- 
ings being also a charter member of the New 
Era Association of Sheridan, holding also the 
vice-presidency of the society. Mr. Held is a 
Freemason, with membership in the lodge at 



Sheridan. Mr. and Mrs. Held have one child, 
Virgie N., wife of John H. Ladd, station agent 
at the Crow Agency, Mont. 

CHRIS. J. HEPP. 

Born in Bavaria, where his ancestors had 
lived for generations and where his mother died 
when he was but a child, coming to America 
with his father when he was eight years old and 
living for a time in Baltimore, later in Cincin- 
nati and still later in Chicago, then turning his 
back when he was but eighteen years of age 
upon all the allurements and conveniences of the 
centers of civilization and making his home on 
the wild frontier of the far west, helping to 
conquer hostile Indians, destroy lawless stage 
robbers and punish sneaking horse thieves, and 
giving himself and his energies to the develop- 
ment of the country and the multiplication and 
improvement of its civilizing influences, Chris. 
J. Hepp, of Kearney in Johnson county, has 
seen almost every phase of human life and has 
gathered wisdom from all his observation. The 
story of his adventurous and busy life, although 
fruitful in the elements of both comedy and 
tragedy, can here be told only in commonplace 
details. He was born in Bavaria on May 2, 
1857, the son of Karl and Elizabetha (Koch) 
Hepp, also natives of the same land. His 
mother died when he was a young child and in 
1865 he accompanied his father to America, 
landing at Baltimore, Md., and after passing a 
few years in that city removed to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, and somewhat later to Chicago, 111., at- 
tending the schools of these cities as he had 
opportunity, working between times until 1872 
when he went to . northern Wisconsin to begin 
the struggle for supremacy among his fellows 
on his own account and he was there em- 
ployed in the lumber industry and at farming 
for three years. In 1875 he came farther west 
and during the next two years courted the 
smiles of fortune in the mining regions of the 
Black Hills. During the gold excitement of 
1877 he came to the Big Horn Mountains in 



234 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the second party of gold-seekers who invaded 
this almost unknown region, and after a summer 
of unsuccessful prospecting engaged in hunting 
and trapping on Powder River and other streams 
near Fort McKinney for two years. In the 
meantime, in 1878, he had taken up a home- 
stead on Little Piney Creek, twenty-three miles 
southeast of Sheridan and fifteen from Buffalo, 
on what is now the main road in Johnson 
county, it being' a part of the ranch on which he 
now lives. In 1879 he went to Laramie for im- 
plements and materials for farming and return- 
ing to his ranch, on which he had built a house 
during the previous year, he began to cultivate 
and improve the land and has made of it a 
comfortable and desirable home. He owns 
1,000 acres, the most of it under cultivation, 
and all devoted to his principal industry, rais- 
ing cattle, in which he has been -continuously en- 
gaged since he settled here. At the time of 
his occupancy of the land the public survey had 
not been made, and he had but one neighbor, 
T. J. Foster, on the creek. His land adjoined 
the old Fort Phil Kearne)' reservation and con- 
tained the remains of the soldiers and others 
who fell in the bloody massacre near this loca- 
tion. These have since been taken up and 
buried on the Custer battlefield. His first years 
of residence here were far from quiet. Stage 
robbers and horse thieves gave him trouble, 
roving bands of Indians looked upon his enter- 
prise with unfriendly eyes, wild beasts contested 
his right to peaceful possession of the soil he 
was bringing into fruitfulness, but he reso- 
lutely persevered in his efforts to gain a firm foot- 
hold and conquered every obstacle and found 
himself surrounded with other hardy adven- 
turers for whom also the rugged frontier wore 
a winning smile. The section in which they live 
is one of great historic interest and is often vis- 
ited by tourists on this account, it will ever be 
known as a locality where great tragedies of 
human life have been enacted and Mr. Hepp has 
a large and interesting collection of souvenirs 
of the events and personages that have made the 
region renowned. In the winter of 1885, at 
Grand Island, Neb., Mr. Hepp was united in 



marriage with Miss Rosa Weller, a native of 
Germany. They have six children, Rosa, Ellis, 
Elsie, Lora, Clara and Chris. In April, 1898, 
he enlisted in- Co. C, First Wyoming Infantry, 
and served in the Philippine Islands in battles 
and engagements with Spanish forces in 1898, 
the assault and capture of Manila on August 
13, actions with Filipinos in 1899, the battle of 
San Pedro, Macati, February 5, battle of Guada- 
lupe February 22, battle of San Juan Del Monte 
March 7, engagements at Maraquina and Anti- 
polo June 3-4, Zapote, in siege of Bakor and 
Imus June 15, the capture of San Nicholas June 
20, continuing in service until the fall of 1899 
when the regiment was brought back and he was 
mustered out as first sergeant of his company, 
having made an excellent record for gallantry and 
other soldierly qualities and having had a gold 
medal and a bronze medal presented to him. He 
silenced a Filipino battery single handed at the 
battle of San Juan Del Monte on March 7, 1899; 
crawling within 200 yards of this battery he 
fired into the battery and silenced it. as he was 
the best shot in his company, having the best 
score in target practice of any one in Co. C. 

JACOB H. HERSCHLER. 

One of the leading ranchmen of his sec- 
tion, who as a raiser of stock has acquired both 
reputation and financial success on his fertile 
ranch at the head of Fontenelle Creek, thirty-five 
miles from Opal. Mr. Herschler is a native of 
Lee county, Iowa, where his birth took place 
on June 28, 1861. His parents, John and Eliza- 
beth (Pfeiffer) Herschler, are both natives of 
Germany, the father being a cooper by trade. 
John Herschler and family came to this country 
and early settled in Lee county. Iowa, where he 
has since been a farmer and stockraiser, his 
home being in the town of West Point, where 
he is living in retirement, his companion hav- 
ing departed this life in August, 1872, at the 
age of forty-three years. Their family orig- 
inally consisted of eight children, of whom five 
are living, Jacob being the eldest one of the 
survivors. He was born near the town of West 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF. WYOMING. 



2 35 



Point, Iowa, and grew to young manhood on 
his father's farm, enjoying the advantages of a 
common school education and also receiving 
instruction in a private institution of learning. 
He was his father's valuable assistant as long 
as he remained under the parental roof and on 
reaching- the age when young men are ex- 
pected to make their own way in the world he 
left home and engaged in agricultural pursuits 
upon his own responsibility in his native state 
until 1886, when he went to Montana and for 
two years drove stage between Helena and 
White Sulphur Springs. Resigning his position 
with the stage company he came to Uinta 
county, Wyo., and took up the ranch on Fonte- 
nelle Creek, where he now lives, subsequently 
adding to his place until it embraced 500 acres, 
its present area. Mr. Herschler's land is ad- 
mirably adapted for grazing, containing a dense 
growth of rich, nutritious grasses and a plenti- 
ful supply of water for all stock the ranch will 
accommodate. He has made substantial im- 
provements in the way of buildings and in 
other lines and runs a large number of sheep 
and cattle and also devotes considerable atten- 
tion to horses. On September 26, 1886, at 
West Point, Iowa, was solemnized the marriage 
ceremony of Mr. Herschler and Josephine Ful- 
ler, daughter of J. G. and Helen M. (Coggshall) 
Fuller, the father being a native of Massachu- 
setts and the mother of Pennsylvania. The Ful- 
lers are a very old family of Scotch-Irish descent, 
the progenitors of the American branch com- 
ing to this county in a very early day. Jedu- 
than Fuller was a son of John and Sarah (Cobb) 
Fuller, of Connecticut, where in 1762 was born 
Nathaniel Fuller, who with his wife Mary were 
the immediate progenitors of John. How long 
before that date the family was represented in 
the Connecticut colony is not known, but its 
advent there was at a very early date. Mr. and 
Mrs. Herschler's home is brightened by one 
son and three daughters, whose names in order 
of their succession are as follows : Helen E., 
Francis L., Edgar F. and Emma H. The do- 
mestic circle is a happy one and all the love 
and affection the parents possess are unselfishly 
devoted to the best interests of their offspring. 



JUDGE CHARLES W. HOLDEN. 

It is difficult to bring into the limitations of 
a biographical sketch even the outlines of a 
life so replete with travel,, adventure and ardu- 
ous activities as have fallen to the useful and 
fruitful career of the subject of these notes. 
Born with the best of ancestral blood flowing 
in his veins, with a rich store of mental and 
moral qualities for his heritage, he has shown 
himself faithful and worthy of all trusts devolv- 
ing upon him. Scotch and Irish lineage com- 
mingled with Quaker principles have in him 
made a personality that has been an uplift to 
every community in which he has lived. A na- 
tive of Illinois, born in Hennepin, Bureau 
county, on January 4, 1838, a son to Miller and 
Zipporah (Thompson) Holden of Ohio, and 
being a grandson to Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Miller) Holden, he was on his father's side a 
lineal descendant of old Colonial families of 
Scotch and Quaker parentage, while on his 
mother's side he inherits that touch of Irish 
pluck and wit which has ever made the Sons of 
Erin aggressive workers and fighters. On both 
sides of his parentage ancestors took part in 
the Revolutionary War, and "Grandpa" Holden 
fought in the battle of Trenton. The Judge's 
father was a preacher and farmer, dying at the 
age of seventy-seven in 1888 and he was buried 
in Indiana, where his mother was also interred. 
He might be said to have received "samples" 
of district school instruction, having attended 
schools in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois 
before he was seventeen, when he began life for 
himself -as a farm hand, having a debt of over 
$50 and for his services received but $14 per 
month. For a year he engaged in blacksmith- 
ing, removing to Dewitt county, 111., about 1858, 
during which time he commenced the study of 
law, which he began to practice in Marion be- 
fore moving to Clinton, the county seat, where 
he "remained until June, 1861, when he enlisted 
in Co. F, Forty-first Illinois Infantry, and 
served as a gallant soldier of the Union army 
of the Civil War until August, 1864, when he 
was mustered out at Springfield, being then 
hospital steward of the general hospital. He 



236 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



participated in the bloody engagements of Forts 
Henry and Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Cor- 
inth and at Holly Springs, where he was cap- 
tured by General Van Dorn, but fortunately he 
was paroled at once. Having some knowledge 
of medicine he was made drug clerk in the hos- 
pital, and later promoted to hospital steward. 
At Fort Donelson he received signal marks of 
service, being wounded in both legs, but not 
seriously. After the war he resumed his law 
practice at Clinton until 1875, when he drifted 
about for some time through California, Ore- 
gon, Idaho, Utah and Washington, in the last 
named territory being a deputy county auditor 
under Captain Ewart of Whitman county until 
the fall of 1876, when he came to Green River, 
Wyo., opened a law-office and indulged in some 
literary work, founding the Daily Evening 
Press of that place, which he continued to edit 
until he went to Fontenelle Creek in 1877, and 
took up a homestead and where he now owns 
personally 560 acres, and with the family 5,000 
acres in the county, supporting on his land 200 
head of cattle and 100 head of Clydesdale 
horses. Through his influence was organized 
the Opal and Big Piney Telephone Co., of 
which he is the president and general manager 
and largest stockholder. A consistent, intelli- 
gent but enthusiastic Republican from the or- 
ganization of the party, he was naturally chosen 
delegate to the constitutional convention of 
Wyoming territory and worked zealously for 
female suffrage, an independent supreme court 
and the irrigation scheme, all of which were in- 
corporated in the constitution. He was after- 
ward made a delegate to several other conven- 
tions and his forceful speeches for female suf- 
frage largely helped to win that cause in 
Wyoming. Notwithstanding his active and in- 
fluential service in the formation and growth of 
his county and state politically, having been a 
member of the first state board of control, assist- 
ing in its organization and in the formation of the 
rules which still govern its action and also 
took a leading part in the formation of the dis- 
tricts for La Barge and Fontenelle and for 
twenty-three years continuously was a member 



of the school board, yet he always refused of- 
fice. Through his influence the mail route for 
that section was established in 1879 an d his 
wife was appointed postmistress in 1895. He 
married in Clinton, 111., March 9, 1857, with 
Miss S. J. Lane, a daughter of John and Rebecca 
(Thompson) Lane, the father being a son of 
Tillman and Ritta Boone, a sister of the fa- 
mous pioneer and scout, Daniel Boone, all be- 
ing natives of Kentucky. Mrs. Holden's 
mother was a daughter of Roden and Elizabeth 
Thompson, born in Tennessee and of Colonial 
stock, originating from German and Irish an- 
cestors. Mr. Lane was a strong Abolitionist 
and the family has been noted for its strong 
political work in Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. 
Holden have had ten children, five of whom 
are living. One son, Charles B., was mur- 
dered in 1 89 1 while acting as deputy sheriff, and 
Minnie F. was the first white child born on 
Fontenelle Creek. When the Judge began his 
life at Fontenelle his capital did not exceed 
$500, but a life of prudent foresight, unceasing 
activity and superior, judgment in financial mat- 
ters have brought him a large competency, and 
his keen mentality, farseeing wisdom and prac- 
tical attainments have been unselfishly used 
freely for the good of the people of his county 
and state, and have given him a position and an 
influence that can not be measured by dollars 
and cents, but which easily mark him as the 
most popular as well as one of the foremost 
representative men of the state, whom all citi- 
zens of Wyoming, irrespective of party, delight 
to honor. 

EMORY B. HUDSON. 

This experienced cattleraiser and rancher 
has resided eleven miles east of Fort Laramie 
since 1890 and is about as well and favorably 
known as any cattleman in the country. He 
was born in Washington county. Virginia, on 
January 8, i860, a son of Hiram and Nancy 
(Gobble) Hudson, whose ancestors located in 
the Old Dominion in Colonial days, the family 
being in each generation very prominent in the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



237 



state. The father of Emory B. was a teacher, 
which profession he followed until his death 
in 1861, when his remains were interred in 
Washington county, Va., while his widow sur- 
vived him until May 5, 1902, when she too 
passed away, her remains being deposited in 
Laramie county, Wyo., where she had made her 
home with her daughter, Mrs. Knott, for two 
years previous to her death. Emory B. Hudson 
lived until eighteen years old with his mother 
in Virginia, in the meantime acquiring an edu- 
cation. -On attaining this age he made a trip 
to Kansas and Nebraska, working in those 
states until the fall of 1879, when he changed 
the field of his operations to Colorado, there 
located near Fort Collins and went to work 
for Cross & Harris, dealers in and importers of 
horses. He left this employment in the spring 
of 1884 and took a position on a ranch near 
Cheyenne, for about eight months, then re- 
turned to Fort Collins, where he remained until 
March, 1886, most of the time running a ranch. 
In the spring of 1886 Mr. Hudson came to that 
part of Wyoming where he now resides and 
entered the employ of the Pratt & Ferris Cat- 
tle Co. on one of their ranches until the fall of 
that year, when he was appointed foreman of 
their two ranches on the Platte River, a posi- 
tion he held to their great satisfaction until the 
spring of 1899, when he came to his present 
ranch, eleven miles east of Fort Laramie, which 
he had taken up in 1890. He has 280 acres of 
land under irrigation, 475 head of cattle, fifty 
head of horses, and has just completed a fine 
cottage and is now well prepared to settle down 
to the enjoyment of the comforts of life, to 
which his long career of industry justly entitles 
him. Emory B. Hudson entered into the bonds 
of matrimony on February 14, 1879, in Wash- 
ington county, Va., with Miss Cynthia E. Gar- 
rett, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Pur- 
cell) Garrett, all natives of Virginia. This 
happy marriage has resulted in adding to the 
population of Wyoming seven interesting chil- 
dren, F. Ray, Clara M., Pearl F., Mabel L., 
Leslie R., Hazel and Lillian E. These children 
have all been well educated and reared to be use- 



ful members of society and a credit to the coun- 
try. Mrs. Hudson is a devout and useful mem- 
ber of the Christian Baptist church, being an 
active participant in its good works, and in 
politics Mr. Hudson is a staunch worker for 
the Democratic party, in which he has implicit 
faith. He is a public-spirited and patriotic citi- 
zen and an intelligent and enterprising ranch- 
man, well deserving the high esteem in which 
he is held. 

TOM O. JAY. 

A capital type of the adventurous and pro- 
gressive Englishman, whose operations in all 
parts of the world and in every field of human 
endeavor has met with conspicuous success and 
ever been for the promotion of civilization, Mr. 
Tom Ovingdon Jay, is now a representative 
young stockman of Islay, Wyoming. He was 
born on December 26, 1867, in London, Eng- 
land, a son of Tom S. and Elizabeth (Pawson) 
Jay, both descendants of ancient families of 
England. His father was for many years a 
prosperous furrier of London, but he has been 
for several years retired from active business\. 
as a gentleman of leisure passing his life at his 
home in Putney, a suburb of London. Always 
fond of fine horses, he is now the owner of a 
racing stable containing some of the finest ani- 
mals in England. He won the Liverpool Cup 
in 1 90 1, one of the great prizes of the English 
turf, and he has also won many other valuable 
trophies in this "sport of kings." The subject 
of this sketch grew to manhood in his native 
country and received his early education in the 
schools surrounding London, subsequently pur- 
suing a course of study at Lausanne, Switzer- 
land, where he remained for about two years. 
In 1883 he returned to London and shortly aft- 
erward took ship for New Zealand, where he 
intended to learn farming and stockraising and 
ultimately enter upon that business in that 
country, which he believes to be one of the most 
attractive in the world. After two years of 
New Zealand life he concluded to have a look at 
America, and took ship for San Francisco, Calif., 
arriving there in 1885, from there coming to 



2 3 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the city of Rawlins, Wyo., where he accepted 
a position on the horse ranch owned by Messrs. 
Carrington & Brooks, about seventy-five miles 
from Rawlins, in the year he there remained 
acquiring a practical knowledge of the horse- 
raising business. He then resigned this position 
and took employment on a large cattle ranch, 
situated on the Sweetwater River, where he 
rode the range as a cowboy, and in the two 
years he gave to his learning he became 
thoroughly familiar with the details of that busi- 
ness also. He then came to Laramie county, 
Wyo., and rode the range in that vicinity until 
the fall of 1889 when he took ship for London 
to visit his old friends and home. For three years 
he remained in Europe and during a portion of 
that time he was engaged in learning the silk 
business in the south of France. In 1892 he re- 
turned to Wyoming and again secured employ- 
ment on ranches and in the stock business until 
1895, when he purchased a ranch on the head of 
the Main Chug and entered upon the business ot 
cattleraising. One year later he disposed of 
his ranch and stock, and for a year was engaged 
with financial success in buying and selling 
cattle and horses. In the fall of 1897 he dis- 
posed of his property in Wyoming and with his 
wife visited his parents in England. They 
passed their time in London and vicinity until 
the spring of 1898 and returned to Wyoming, 
where Mr. Jay again engaged in buying and 
selling horses and cattle until the spring of 1902, 
when he purchased the fine ranch property which 
is now his home, situated about twenty miles 
northwest of Cheyenne. This property, located 
on Pole Creek in Laramie county, is one of the 
best appointed and improved ranches in that sec- 
tion of the state, consisting of about 6,000 acres 
of land, with fine house, barns and buildings, 
having all modern improvements, and is entirely 
devoted to stock-raising. On April 15, 1895, 
Mr. Jay was united in marriage at the city of 
Cheyenne, Wyo., with Miss Minnie Mathews, 
a native of Wyoming and the daughter of Fran- 
cis and Rachel (Taylor) Mathews, nntivp*; of 
Missouri. Her parents removed from their na- 
tive state, Missouri, to the territory of Wyo- 



ming in 1873, and have since been meeting with 
marked success in ranching and cattleraising, 
and they are now residing in Granite Canyon. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jay are members of the Pro- 
testant Episcopal church and among the most 
respected residents of the community where 
they maintain their residence they are classed, 
while an atmosphere of generous hospitality 
ever surrounds their attractive home. 

PETER JENSEN. 

One of the contributions of the sterling land 
of Denmark to the productive forces of the 
United States and particularly of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, Peter Jensen is here doing most ex- 
cellent service in the grand work of developing 
the industrial resources of the land of his adop- 
tion, and with the assistance of his most capa- 
ble wife, whose intuitive knowledge of the prin- 
ciples underlying correct business transactions 
far exceeds that of many financial operators, he 
is engaged in stockraising, and under the espe- 
cial care of his gifted wife and with her shrewd 
manipulations, is rapidly forging forward to 
a distinctive place and prosperity. He was born 
in Denmark in June, 1855, the son of Jens and 
Mary A. Jensen. In 1867 the father, whose 
birthplace was Aalborg, Denmark, emigrated 
from his native land, making his destination 
as a faithful Mormon in the fair land of L T tah. 
After one year's residence here he went to 
Omaha, Neb., and for fifteen years there con- 
ducted a most prosperous mercantile busi'ness, 
amassing wealth and returning to* L T tah he 
made his home at Pleasant Grove, where at the 
age of seventy-five years he closed his eyes in 
death in 1880. The faithful wife, who was also 
a devoted adherent of the Church of the Latter 
Day Saints, now makes her home at Pleasant 
Grove, surrounded by loving friends and the 
devotion of her children. From his eighteenth 
year Peter Jensen has wrestled for himself with 
the opposing forces of life and has grown 
strong and athletic in the struggle in which he 
has been a 'winner. He was connected for a 
time with his father in Utah, and in Omaha he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



2 39 



was identified with the Republican Office Co. 
for nine years, being active, alert and dis- 
criminate in his methods and winning commen- 
dations for his ability. Returning to Utah he 
engaged in freighting, making Pleasant Grove 
his headquarters, continuing this until he went 
to Evanston in 1890 and transferred his ener- 
gies to the field of merchandising, in which he 
is now traveling with his wares on a defined 
circuit and reaping substantial rewards. He 
located a homestead claim of 160 acres of fer- 
tile land on Hams Fork, fourteen miles north 
of Kemmerer in 1898, and here he and his esti- 
mable wife are developing rapidly one of the 
commodious and substantial homes of the 
country. It was a fortunate day in Mr. Jen- 
sen's life that marked his marriage with Miss 
Christina (Hairup) Peterson, a daughter of 
Christian and Sarah Peterson. Christian Peter- 
son was born in Denmark in 1838, and after 
his death in 1884 his widow came to the United 
States and is now living at the age of sixty- 
five years at Bear Lake, Idaho. Mrs. Jensen's 
people in Denmark have for many generations 
been representative people, thrifty, honorable 
and industrious members of the community 
and of a deeply religious nature. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jensen have many friends and their pleasant 
home is a center of hospitality. 

HON. JOSEPH IREDALE. 

Holding worthy prestige among the public 
men of Wyoming, enjoying personal popularity 
locally and maintaining a representative posi- 
tion as a citizen, Hon. Joseph Iredale is a 
worthy representative of the younger genera- 
tion, whose talents and energies have so mate- 
rially affected the Great West by directing its 
material and industrial development. As an 
able and discreet legislator his name is asso- 
ciated with many important measures bearing 
upon the prosperity of Wyoming, and what he 
has accomplished is prophetic of a still greater 
career as a faithful public servant. He is a 
native of England, born in Flinnby, County 
Cumberland, in i860, where his parents, John 



and Matilda (Cooper) Iredale, were also born 
and reared. They are noticed at length on other 
pages of this volume. When quite young their 
son Joseph was brought to the United States' and 
much of his early life was passed in Stark 
county, Ohio. After receiving a good literary 
education he studied engineering, becoming 
proficient therein, and turned his knowledge to 
practical account, prosecuting his labors as. an 
engineer in various capacities for several years 
in Stark county, then coming to Wyoming and 
locating at Carbon. For two years he served as 
engineer for various parties at Carbon, then 
secured a position with the engineering depart- 
ment of the Union Pacific Railroad, with head- 
quarter at Rawlins. After one year with the 
road Mr. Iredale resigned his place and located 
at Rock Springs, where he has since been ac- 
tively engaged in his profession when not at- 
tending to his official duties as a member of the 
state legislature. He is a master of his calling 
and easily the peer of the most skillful men of 
his profession in the West. He has done much 
fine technical work in railroading, mining and 
other industries requiring very great proficiency 
and skill and his labors have ever been satisfac- 
tory. • He possesses rare mathematical ability 
and has never been contented to occupy a sec- 
ond place where profound knowledge and profes- 
sional efficiency are involved. Mr. Iredale early 
became interested in politics and shortly after 
locating at Rock Springs was recognized as a 
potent factor in local and state affairs. An un- 
compromising Republican, he soon became a 
leader of his party and had much to do in shap- 
ing its local course. In 1892 he was elected to 
represent Sweetwater county in the lower house 
of the General Assembly, serving two terms 
as a member of that body, taking active part 
in its deliberations and holding leading posi- 
tions on the most important committees. His 
course as a legislator proving satisfactory to his 
constituents, he was subsequently honored by 
being elected a member of the State Senate, in 
which he served during its fifth and sixth ses- 
sions, acquiring an added reputation there as 
an able and painstaking lawmaker. Deeply in- 



' 



240 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



terested in good government, he patriotically 
sought the enactment of laws most conducive 
to the general welfare, and his name is insep- 
arably connected with legislation for the great 
good of the state. In both branches of the as- 
sembly he was one of the Republican leaders, 
and his career there is an open book, in which 
the people find little to criticise and much to 
commend. He always subserved private inter- 
ests to the public good, was untiring in behalf 
of the people of his own section and ever mind- 
ful of the interests of the state. During its 
last session he was vice-president of the senate, 
in that capacity being frequently called upon to 
preside over the deliberations, in which duty 
he demonstrated an ability and dignity bespeak- 
ing a natural leadership of men. He is now 
a member of the Republican State Central Com- 
mittee, where his wise counsel and businesslike 
methods have been productive of successful re- 
sults in more than one hotly contested cam- 
paign. In local affairs he has long been a' force- 
ful factor, ever lending his influence to what- 
ever is calculated to advance the intellectual 
and moral interests of the community. For 
eight years he was the efficient chief of the Rock 
Springs' Fire Department, doing much to 
build up the department and enhance its ca- 
pability. Mr. Iredale has been twice married, 
first in 1881 with Miss Annie Ball of Ohio, who 
died in 1883 at the age of twenty-three years, 
leaving one child, Joseph C. Iredale. She was 
a daughter of Isaac and Kate (Cliff) Ball, na- 
tives of England, but for a number of years 
residents of Stark county, Ohio. In 1887 Mr. 
Iredale married his present wife, Agnes Patter- 
son, daughter of John L. and Ellen (Willey) 
Patterson, the father being a native of Scot- 
land and the mother of England. John L. Pat- 
terson came to America about 1866 and is now 
engaged in agricultural pursuits in Boone 
county, Iowa. The children of Mr. Iredale's sec- 
ond marriage union are Fulton C, Hazel A. and 
Lucille P. Iredale. Leading" an active, indus- 
trious life from his youth nearly every hour at 
Mr. Iredale's disposal has been diligently em- 
ployed. He early laid broad and deep a foun- 



dation of usefulness and his fidelity to every 
trust (and of trusts there have been many) 
brought its certain and substantial reward in 
friends, remunerative employment, responsible 
official station, material wealth and success. 
He is easily the peer of any of his fellows in 
all that constitutes true and virile manhood, 
and during his residence in Sweetwater county 
his name has been synonymous with every- 
thing honorable and upright in citizenship. 
He is truly a self-made man in the best sense 
of the term and too much credit can not be 
awarded him for the indomitable courage and 
unflagging perseverance with which he has won 
a conspicuous place among the leading men of 
his county and state. 

WILLIAM G. JOHNSON. 

Prominent in business, political and social 
■ circles, and generally recognized as one of the 
leading citizens of the community. William G. 
Johnson of Lander, Fremont county, was born 
in Connecticut on October 4, 1861, the son of 
M. W. and Ellen (Raymond) Johnson, both 
descended from Colonial families prominent 
and influential in their section and both con- 
spicuous in the Revolution. The father's an- 
cestry belonged to the Rhode fsland colony and 
the mother was of Huguenot origin. Her 
parents were Milford and Abigail C. (Tracy) 
Raymond. From very early childhood William 
Johnson was left almost wholly to the care of 
strangers, for his mother died when he was less 
than two months old, and his father was a sea- 
captain engaged in the African trade. Soon 
after the birth of his son he lost his vessel by 
reason of the Civil War, and then gave up the 
sea and moved to Iowa, where he died in Jan- 
uary, 1890, leaving a widow and seven children 
of his second marriage. William Johnson was 
educated in the public schools of Connecticut 
and when he was sixteen years old began life 
for himself as a range rider in Colorado, for 
five years following this life of varying 
monotony and excitement in the Centennial 
State, in 1882 removing to Wyoming, and from 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



241 



that time until 1891 he was a range rider in 
this state, sometimes herding his own and some- 
times other people's cattle. In 1891 he sold his 
interests and passed a few years in travel, then 
for five years managed his father's farm in 
Iowa, in 1899 returning to Wyoming and open- 
ing- a meat business at Lander in partnership 
with Peter P. Dickinson, and he has in addition 
to this an interest in cattle in the county. Theirs 
is the only mercantile enterprise of the kind in 
the town and it has a large and appreciative 
trade. But because there is' no competition its 
proprietors do not assume the right to draw 
on the indulgence of their customers. They are 
as conscientious and attentive in their business 
as if they had several rivals, being firmly con- 
vinced that this is not only their best policy but 
their duty towards those whom they serve. It 
is the probity of his character, as well as his pub- 
lic spirit and progressiveness, that has secured 
for Mr. Johnson a high place in the regards of 
his people and -induced them to seek his services 
in their behalf both as mayor of the city and 
county commissioner, places which he has filled 
with credit to himself and advantage to every 
interest in the community. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with the Masonic order, holding member- 
ship in Wyoming Lodge, No. 2, at Lander and 
in Garfield Chapter, No. 3, and Ivanhoe Com- 
mandery, No. 4, at Rawlins. In 1892, on Octo- 
ber 4, he married with Miss Emma M. Dickinson 
of Lander, a daughter of his partner in business, 
Peter P. Dickinson, and his wife Margaret 
(Heenan) (Burke) Dickinson. Five children 
have blessed their union, all of whom are living, 
Ellen A., Nicholas W., Burke, Raymond and 
Emma. Their pleasant home at Third and 
Canyon streets is one of the ornaments of the 
town and one of its centers of cordial and re- 
fined hospitality. 

DAVID J. JONES. 

One of the foremost citizens of Lander, 
whose beautiful residence at the corner of 
Main and Second streets is one of the archi- 
tectural triumphs of the town and a center of 



refined and gracious hospitality, is David J. 
Jones, a most successful cattleman, farmer and 
capitalist, whose business acumen, breadth of 
view and force of character have done much to 
develop the resources and promote the welfare 
of Wyoming. He is a native of Wales, born 
on February 13, 1840, the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Williams) Jones, also born and 
reared in Wales, where the father was a pros- 
perous farmer and where the mother died when 
she was about forty years of age. In 1855 the 
father emigrated with his family to the United 
States and settling in Ohio, there continued in 
in the vocation of the old patriarchs until his 
death in 1870 at the age of seventy-six. There 
were eight children in the family, all of whom 
are still living. David J., the third in the order 
of birth, received a primary education in the 
schools of Wales and when he came to America 
he began working for wages in Dayton, Ohio, 
for John W. Harris of that city, in 1861 coming 
west to Colorado,' having lost his earnings in 
disastrous mining ventures in 1862 he removed 
to Montana and began new mining operations 
on Grasshopper Creek, where Bannock now 
stands. Here he was successful and continued 
to work for four years then gave his attention 
for four more to the cattle business, when he 
went to the Black Hills and mined with success 
for a year, in the meantime retaining his cattle 
in Montana. In 1876 he passed four months in 
San Francisco, then returned to Montana and 
transferred his cattle to Wyoming, where he 
has remained and prospered ever since. He 
now owns about 600 acres of land, all meadow, 
some of- it very close to the town, and in addi- 
tion some fifty acres within its limits. On his 
ranch the staples are cattle and horses, graded 
Durhams being his favorite in cattle. In mat- 
ters affecting the advancement and improve- 
ment of the community he is deeply interested 
and applies to their proper management hi9 
foresight and enterprise, omitting no effort on 
his part necessary to secure the best results in 
every way. He is a stockholder and director 
in the First National Bank of Lander and has 
been one of the most forceful elements in en- 



242 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



larging its usefulness and multiplying its re- 
sources. On October 15, 1884, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Martha M. Boyd, a 
daughter of Thomas and Mary Boyd, natives 
Of Missouri. They have had three children, D. 
Eugene and Fannie M., twins (the latter of 
whom died at the age of seven), and Anna D. 
In his early days in the far West Mr. Jones 
had many thrilling adventures, encountering 
both savage Indians and unscrupulous road 
agents, and giving contenance and support to 
the movements of the Vigilantes in their efforts 
to subdue and punish, the lawless. At times 
he lost heavily in cattle from thefts by Indians, 
one year losing fully $7,000, but in every dan- 
ger and mishap he preserved a brave and cheer- 
ful spirit, and triumphed finally over every dis- 
aster. 

AMOS W. SMITH. 

One of the prominent citizens and progres- 
sive, enterprising stockmen of Uinta county, in 
the Bigpiney section, Amos W. Smith beholds 
the products of his intelligence and public spirit 
blooming and growing fruitful around him in 
the excellence of the industrial, educational and 
civic forces he has helped to put in motion, and 
the elevated tone of the social life he has aided 
in quickening into healthy and vigorous activity. 
Missouri is his native state, where his life be- 
gan on October 7, 1846. His parents, Samuel 
and Sarah (Groom) Smith, were natives of Ten- 
nessee and Kentucky respectively, but both de- 
scended from old Kentucky families who were 
among' the first settlers in that state. They set- 
tled in Missouri soon after their marriage, there 
engaged in farming and reared their family of 
five children, three of whom are yet living. 
Amos W. Smith received a common-school edu- 
cation in his native county, and when he was 
eighteen years old he left the paternal fireside 
and, journeying westward, found promising em- 
ployment in the mines and mining districts of 
Idaho and Nevada for eight years. At the end 
of that time he gave up mining and turned his 
attention to stockgrowing, in 1879 coming to 



Bigpiney as one of the first settlers in this now 
favored region, where he homesteaded the nucleus 
of his present ranch of 640 acres and at once be- 
gan to give it the appearance and accommoda- 
tions of a home for civilized man and he has 
steadily continued to improve it and add to its 
acreage since. He now owns in all about 2,800 
acres of good hay and pasture land, and has made 
it, by judicious improvement and cultivation one 
of the finest ranches in this part of the state. He 
is extensively engaged in raising graded Here- 
ford cattle and superior breeds of horses, keeping 
his standard up to the requirements of an ex- 
panding market, which he has helped to create 
and make exacting. He is a gentleman of fine 
public spirit, seeing in the advance of the com- 
munity in which he lives one of the best contri- 
butions to the general weal, withholding from 
the service of his people no aid he can give in 
counsel or in active effort toward its progress. 
For five years after his arrival he served as post- 
master for the convenience of the people and has 
ever been at their command for any good he can 
do them. He was married in this county on 
September 15, 1885, to Miss Frances Griggs, a 
native of New York and daughter of Reuben 
and Asenath (Aikens) Griggs of that state, 
where the mother is still living, the father having 
died in 1892. 

STEPHEN A. D. KEISTER. 

The exigencies and the opportunities of life 
in the great Northwest of the United States be- 
get a great variety of actrvities. many of them 
frequently combined in the same person. In 
the case of Stephen A. D. Keister of Lander is 
found an apt illustration, he being prominent in 
the drug business, in insurance, in mining, in 
real-estate and in politics. He is a native of 
West Virginia, born at Huntington on March 28, 
1865, a son of William J. and Lavina (Cobb) 
Keister. also natives of that now rich and grow- 
ing commonwealth, where both are still living 
and where the father is a prosperous farmer, 
merchant and stockman. He is a descendant of 
Dutch ancestors and the mother comes from old 




# V ^C^^r 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



243 



Colonial families of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina. Of their ten children nine are living, of 
whom Stephen received a common school edu- 
cation in his native state and then attended an 
excellent academy at Point Pleasant. After 
leaving school he taught for two years while 
taking a special course of instruction at the 
completion of which he removed to Missouri 
and again engaged in teaching and in clerking 
in a drugstore, remaining there learning the 
drug business until 1890. After passing some 
time in business for himself, he sold out and 
came to Wyoming, locating at Lander, where 
he was employed as a clerk in the drugstore of 
James I. Patten until 1893. In that year he was 
appointed postmaster and held the position un- 
til 1897. At the conclusion of his term he 
bought one-half interest in the pharmacy of 
Harry P. Brower whom he soon after bought 
out, since when he has conducted the business 
alone, carrying a large and complete stock of 
superior drugs and a full line of attractive 
toilet articles, pure liquors and the wares us- 
ually found in a first-class drugstore. Mr. 
Keister is also diligently engaged in the life and 
fire insurance business and does considerable 
work in both branches, representing a number 
of the best companies. In addition to these ex- 
acting occupations he is the president of the 
Sweetwater Placer Mining Co., which controls 
seven miles of the Sweetwater River through 
the mining district. Moreover, he has some 
cattle and considerable country and city prop- 
erty to which he gives a personal attention. All 
matters of public interest engage his earnest and 
fruitful efforts, no man being more zealous in 
behalf of the advancement of his section of the 
state. In politics he is an ardent Democrat, 
and has rendered his party good service as a 
member of the county and state central commit- 
tees. In 1900 he was one of its nominees for 
the state legislature, and, although there was 
an adverse majority of 375 against his party, he 
was defeated by only twenty-eight votes. In 
fraternal relations he is an enthusiastic Free- 
mason, holding membership in the lodge, the 
chapter, the commandery and in that Masonic 

15 



club the Mystic Shrine. He is also a* Knight 
of Pythias, belonging to both the lodge and the 
Uniform Rank. In this order he is the grand 
chancellor of the state. He is also a valued and 
very useful member of Rock Springs Lodge of 
Elks. On July 12, 1893, he was married at Lan- 
der with Miss Pearl Simpson, a daughter of John 
P. and Maggie (Sullivan) Simpson, now resi- 
dents of Jackson, Uinta county, and both stand 
high in the leading social circles. 

WILLIAM T. KELLY. 

Among the essentially self-made men of 
Laramie county who have distinguished them- 
selves for their ability to master opposing con- 
ditions and wrest from fortune a creditable 
measure of success and an honorable name, is 
William T. Kelly, who as a soldier and a civil- 
ian has made records of which any man might 
well feel proud. He was born in the city of 
Baltimore, Maryland, on March 19, 1857, the 
son of Hugh and Susannah (Parson) Kelly, the 
father a native of Ireland and the mother of 
the United States. By occupation Hugh Kelly 
was a brickmaker, who worked at his trade for 
many years in Baltimore and there died on 
May 20, 1873. Mrs. Kelly still lives in Balti- 
more, dividing her time among her several chil- 
dren. The childhood and youthful years of 
William T. Kelly were passed in his native city 
and when quite young he began earning money 
at various kinds of labor, in the meantime at- 
tending school and acquiring a fair knowledge 
of the branches taught, but at the age of nine- 
teen left the home fireside in quest of his own 
fortune, and on January 17, 1877 he enlisted 
in Co. D, Seventh U. S. Infantry, and shortly 
thereafter accompanied his command to Camp 
Baker, Mont., later known as Fort Logan. In 
1878 the regiment was transferred to Fort Snel- 
ling, Minn., and from there in 1879 to the upper 
Missouri, thence in the fall of 1879 returned to 
Fort Snelling, where it remained until 1880, and 
then was sent to the Bad Lands to guard the 
railroad during the trouble with the Sioux In- 
dians and it remained there until the fall of 



244 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



1 88 1, when it marched to Fort Laramie, Wyo., 
where Mr. Kelly remained until the expiration 
of his period of enlistment, when he received his 
discharge on February 16, 1887. He saw much 
active service in the course of his military ex- 
perience, discharged his duties as became a 
brave and faithful soldier and left the army with 
the rank of sergeant. After receiving his dis- 
charge Mr. Kelly opened a general store at 
Fairbank, Wyo., was made postmaster at that 
place and he carried on business for about ten 
years with encouraging success, at the end of 
that time selling an interest to another party 
and retiring from active participation in the 
business. He was united in marriage with Miss 
Kate Tomaichel on May 17, 1886, the ceremony 
taking place at Fort Laramie. Mrs. Kelly was 
born in Illinois, the daughter of John A. To- 
maichel, who for eighteen years was hospital 
steward at Fort Laramie, himself and his fam- 
ily still living at that place. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kelly have a pleasant and attractive home in 
Fairbank, its brightness being heightened by 
five children, whose names are Corelia E., 
William T., John A., Lundia and Fred. No 
man stands today among his fellow citizens 
with a wider circle of warm and true friends 
than -does Wililam T. Kelly, for he is favorably 
known throughout this region as a gentleman 
of unimpeachable integrity and a high sense of 
honor, while his career in the service of his 
country is without a stain and nothing savoring 
in the slightest degree of disrepute has ever 
attached to his name as a civilian.' He is de- 
cidedly a man of the people, having their in- 
terests at heart and hesitating at no reasonable 
sacrifice to promote the material and moral 
welfare of the community in which he lives. 
Popular with all classes and enjoying the un- 
bounded confidence of those who know him 
best, it is proper to speak of Mr. Kelly as a 
fine example of the intelligent and progressive 
class of typical Americans, whose remarkable 
enterprise has done so much to transform the 
Great West and to develop its wonderful re- 
sources. 



JOHN A. KESSLER. 

One of the very earliest of the pioneers of 
the section of the country where he maintains 
his home, having settled there in 1878 and hav- 
ing been a resident of Wyoming for more than 
twenty-eight years, John A. Kessler, of Meri- 
den, Wyoming, was a pioneer of pioneers, for 
at the time he first came to the territory of 
Wyoming there were very few white settlers 
north of Cheyenne. The most of the country 
now occupied as a range for cattle, and now 
dotted here and there with the homes of pros- 
perous ranch and stockmen, was then a barren 
waste, over which the buffalo roamed at will 
in great herds of many thousands and the Indian 
pursued his wild vocation of the chase. He has 
had many thrilling experiences on the frontier, 
and it is interesting to hear him relate the his- 
tory of the days during which he has been an 
eyewitness of several of the most remarkable 
changes that have marked the development of 
the West. He has been an important factor in 
the bringing about of these changed conditions 
and contributed his full share in the great evolu- 
tion of his section from savagery and outlawry 
to its present advanced stage of civilization. Mr. 
Kessler is a native of Hawkins county, Ohio, 
born on January 9, 1846, the son of Felix and 
Christina Kessler, both natives of Germany, who 
upon coming to America, first settled in Ohio, 
where the}' followed the occupation of fanning, 
subsequently they removed their residence to 
Johnson county, Iowa, where they were among 
the earliest pioneers of that section of the state 
and developing a fine farm where the mother died 
in 1876, and the father lived until 1898, when he 
too passed away at the age of seventy-seven 
years, both being buried in Johnson j county, 
Iowa. John A. Kessler received his early 
academic training in the schools of Johnson 
countv and remained with his parents until he 
had attained the age of twenty-one years, then 
began life for himself and in 1867 he worked 
for wages as a farmhand, but in 1868, taking his 
small savings, he came to Chevenne. Wvomnig, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



245 



then on the extreme frontier and not finding 
anything satisfactory in employment he pushed 
on south and eventually reached the town of 
Big Thompson in the territory of Colorado, 
where he engaged in ranching for five years 
with varying success. In the spring of 1874, he 
concluded to return to Wyoming , and joon 
found himself in the vicinity of Horse Creek, 
Wyo., where he secured employment and win- 
tered with Mr. Frank Preguer, in the spring 
he worked on the cattle round-up between Horse 
Creek and Fort Robinson and for three years 
following he rode the range with various out- 
fits, thus acquiring a thorough and practical 
knowledge of the business in which he after- 
wards became interested. These were the ideal 
days of the cowboy in Wyoming, for great 
herds roamed at will over the ranges and no 
fence obstructed the movements of stockmen. 
Since then conditions have changed materially 
in the stock business in this section of the 
country, for large areas of land are now owned 
under patent from the United States and are 
carefully fenced to prevent intrusion from tres- 
passers. In the spring of 1878 Mr. Kessler took 
up his present ranch property on Bear Creek, 
about thirty-one miles east of Chugwater, and 
has since resided there, engaged in the cattle 
business. He has endured the hardships and 
shared in the good times incident to life on the 
extreme frontier and now has a fine ranch of 
480 acres, with a fine adjacent range. Part of 
his land is under irrigation, and it makes an ex- 
cellent hay and stock farm. On November 7, 
1888, Mr. Kessler was married at Fort Laramie, 
Wyo., to Miss Catherine Yoder, a native of 
Indiana, a daughter of Samuel and Barbara 
Yoder, both natives of that state. The parents 
of Mrs. Kessler, upon leaving Indiana, lived for 
some years in Iowa, in 1884 removing to Wyo- 
ming, where they settled at Goshen Hole and 
engaged in the cattle business, in which they 
continued until the father's death in September 
1900. Since that time the mother has made her 
residence with Mr. and Mrs. Kessler. To this 
worthy pair two children have been born, A. 
Raymond, aged fifteen years, and Charles B., 



aged thirteen years. Mr. Kessler is counted 
one of the prosperous and successful stockmen 
of his section of the state. He is thoroughly 
posted on frontier life of the country where he 
resides and is one of the best informed men of 
the state on all matters connected with its early 
history. No one in the community is more 
highly esteemed and respected than Mr. and 
Mrs. Kessler. 

JAMES W. KIRKPATRICK. 

One of the most interesting and picturesque 
regions in northern Wyoming is that through 
which runs Prairie Dog Creek, formerly called 
Peno Creek by hunters and trappers. Nature 
has done much for it in wild and varied beauty, 
and this fact alone would make it interesting to 
the tourist, but man has also placed his stamp 
upon it and made it many times more interesting. 
History has wandered down the vale and tinged 
the water with human blood, for along its banks 
one tragic day ninety-six brave men under the 
gallant Fetterman fell fighting to redeem 
Wyoming from savage dominion, and though 
the battle and massacre marked somewhat the 
sunset of a dying race, the fate of those who 
perished in the awful tragedy was none the 
less sad and deplorable. Money has been ap- 
propriated by the government to mark the 
spot and commemorate their memory, and it 
will be a tribute also to their bravery, for more 
than 300 of their barbarous assailants under 
the renowned Sitting Bull fell in the engage- 
ment. Since then the hand of the husbandman 
has moulded the valley into prolific and syste- 
matic productiveness and it now blooms and 
glows with the broad harvests of cultivated in- 
dustry. In this fertile and highly favored region 
lives James W. Kirkpatrick on a ranch which he 
has redeemed from the wilderness and brought 
into service for man, strewing his pathway with 
its flowers and filling his table with its plenty. 
Mr. Kirkpatrick is a native of Clayton, Adams 
county, 111., where he was born on December 
3, 1857. There his parents, James and Eliza- 
beth (Houskins) Kirkpatrick, settled in the 



246 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



early fifties, having left their native Ohio for 
the frontier. And there they remained engaged 
in mercantile business until 1884, when they 
joined their son on a new frontier in what is 
now Sheridan county, Wyo., and took up a 
body of land on Prairie Dog Creek, sixteen 
miles southeast of the town of Sheridan, and 
lived together on it until 1901, when the mother 
passed away, her remains being interred at her 
old Illinois home; which the surviving husband 
visits every winter. He is still living on the 
ranch and is actively engaged in raising cattle. 
James W. Kirkpatrick was educated at Clay- 
ton, 111., and when he was seventeen years old 
he went to Kansas and lived one year with an 
uncle, then went into Texas and the Indian 
Territory and became interested in the stock 
business. In 1880 he came to Wyoming and 
settled on the ranch he now owns and which 
has been his home since that time. The coun- 
try was sparsely settled and his land was unsur- 
veyed, but the next year the government sur- 
vey was completed and he homesteaded a part 
of his present estate. His property lies eigh- 
teen miles southeast of Sheridan and is lo- 
cated along the historic stream already men- 
tioned. He was the fourth man to here locate 
and is now the oldest settler on the Prairie 
Dog, and the little log cabin which he built 
when he first came still occupies a prominent 
place on his ranch, although as a residence it 
has given way to a much more pretentious 
structure. Fort McKinley then furnished a 
ready market for all sorts of farm products and 
Mr. Kirkpatrick busied himself to secure va- 
riety as well as abundance in his crops. He 
sowed grain, paying seven cents a pound for 
the seed. His enterprise was rewarded with a 
yield which kept annually increasing in volume 
and rising in quality and his example was fol- 
lowed by others. He has since the early days, 
however, given his attention mainly to raising 
cattle, increasing his holdings of land to 1,400 
acres, which he has under deed, having in ad- 
dition a large body under lease. Nearly all 
of his own land is well irrigated and yields ex- 
tensive crops of hay and as much grain as he 



cares to sow. The range is wide and the loca- 
tion favorable to the stock industry, supporting 
now under cultivation with generous supplies 
many more cattle than the number of wild ani- 
mals that once wandered over it and furnished 
very large quantities of excellent game. In 
politics Mr. Kirkpatrick is a Republican, warm- 
ly attached to the principles and policies of his 
party, but he is in no sense an office-seeker 
and has always refused to be a candidate, giv- 
ing his interest to public affairs for the benefit 
of his community rather than from personal 
ambition. He belongs to the Knights of Pyth- 
ias at Sheridan and takes an active part in the 
proceedings of his lodge. On September 8, 
1886, at Clayton, 111., he was united in marriage 
with Miss Nora McMurray, born in that state, 
as were her parents, John H. and Anna G. 
(Murphy) McMurray. Her mother died in 
1898 and her father in 1901. Her own domestic 
altar has been blessed and brightened with two 
children, Alta M., and Florence A., who still 
abide in the parental household. 

PAUL KIPPING. 

Among the younger ranchers and stock- 
men who have brought the cattle industry of 
Wyoming to a high state of development and 
made the excellence of its products favorably 
known throughout the stock markets of the 
country, none, is entitled to more credit for his 
years of experience, and none has expended 
his time to better advantage in building up 
this great industry and establishing himself se- 
curely in the esteem of his neighbors and as- 
sociates than Paul Kipping of near Boyd. 
Weston county. Wyo., whose ranch of 320 
acres in South Timber, near Beaver Creek, is 
becoming a model of systematic development, 
skillful cultivation and tasteful improvement. 
creditable alike to the section in which he lives 
and to his thrift, industry and intelligence as a 
husbandman. He was born on March l6, 1872, 
at Cincinnati. Ohio, where his parents settled 
soon after their marriage, having left their na- 
tive Germany with high hopes for a successful 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



247 



career in the New World. In the Ohio metrop- 
olis they lived and flourished and were rearing 
their young family with care and discretion, 
when in 1880 the father was lost by an un- 
timely death and laid to rest in the city he had 
learned to love as a home. Two years later 
his son Paul, when he was but ten years old, 
removed with his mother to Kansas City, and 
there completed the education he had begun in 
Ohio. After leaving school he continued to re- 
side at home, but learned and worked at the 
trade of a machinist, part of the time at Little 
Rock, Ark., until 1890, when he came to 
Wyoming with his mother and stepfather, who 
took up land on Salt Creek, where for three 
years he industriously assisted on the home 
farm, in 1893, when he was twenty-one years 
old, homesteading land adjoining his mother's, 
on which he lived and worked until his mar- 
riage in 1897, after that important event set- 
tling on the ranch he now occupies, which his 
wife had taken up before her marriage. This 
he has improved with an attractive cottage resi- 
dence, good barns and other outbuildings, and 
has gradually brought to a state of great fruit- 
fulness and fertility. Their land comprises 320 
acres, agreeably diversified in surface and soil 
features, yielding good crops of grain and hay 
and furnishing excellent pasturage and range 
for their herds of superior and profitable cattle. 
On October 25, 1897, Mr. Kipping was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary L. Fawcett, a na- 
tive of Kansas and a daughter of Frank B. 
and Martha C. (Armstrong) Fawcett, and her 
father's sketch and the 'family history appear on 
other pages in this volume. Mrs. Kipping was 
born on the same day as her husband, and is 
his mate in diligence, energy and breadth of 
view, as she is his exact equal in age. She 
was educated in the schools of Kansas and at 
the Northwestern Normal School at Stanberry, 
Mo., being graduated from this institution with 
honors, after which she taught in the Wyoming 
schools near her father's home for a number of 
years. They have three children, Karl F., Kate 
E., Emily L. In politics Mr. Kipping is a Re- 
publican and, although not an active partisan, 



has shown such public spirit and capacity for 
local public affairs that a public career is open 
before him if he will consent to enter upon it. 
Young, energetic and knowing, with integrity 
and • force of character, acquaintance with men 
and a genial manner in dealing with them, he 
is just entering upon a life of usefulness and 
elevating citizenship that must bring honors 
to him and decided advantage to his county and 
state. 

JOHN D. C. KRIIGER. 

One of the progressive and successful busi- 
ness men of Saratoga is John D. C. Kriiger, the 
cashier of the State Bank of Saratoga, Wyo- 
ming. A native of Germany, he was born on 
November 1, 1868, the son of Henry F. and 
Doris (Block) Kriiger, both natives ■ of the 
Fatherland, where his father followed the occu- 
pation of carriage-making, having inherited the 
business from his father, and he continued in 
that pursuit until 1883, when he emigrated 
with his family to America, establishing his 
first American home at Clinton, Iowa. Here 
he established a carriage-making business, hav- 
ing received from the sale of his property in 
Germany about $10,000. Two years later he 
disposed of his business and removed to Omaha, 
Neb., where his health failed, and his condi- 
tion was such as to warn him to seek an occu- 
pation which would enable him to spend more 
of his time in the open air. He therefore re- 
mained only one year in Omaha, and then pur- 
chased a farm about seven miles west of that 
city, where he made his home and was occupied 
in farming and stockraising for a number of 
years. His health being considerably improved, 
his desire to give his children better facilities 
for acquiring an education than they could 
have on the farm induced him to return to 
Omaha, and he has since then made that city his 
permanent home. His family consists of six 
daughters and three sons. Two of the sons are 
engaged in a successful plumbing business in 
Omaha and the family is highly esteemed. 
During his younger days in Germany, the 



248 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



father served for a time in the German army, 
and during the war with Denmark in 1846, was 
made a prisoner with many of his fellow soldiers 
by the Danes. They were finally released and his 
associates have always attributed their release 
and the fact that they were not shot, to his 
thorough familiarity with the Danish langauge 
and the earnest and eloquent manner in which 
he pleaded their cause with the Danish author- 
ities. John D. C. Kriiger grew to manhood in 
his native country, and there received his ele- 
mentary education. Upon coming to America 
in 1883, he visited his uncle, Ferdinand Block, 
who had served with distinguished gallantry as 
a non-commissioned officer in the Union army 
of the Civil War and was residing at Ida 
Grove, Iowa. This uncle was a representative 
farmer of that section of Iowa, and desired his 
nephew to make his home with him. Desiring 
however to engage in commercial pursuits, his 
thorough knowledge of the English and French 
languages, as well as his native German lan- 
guage, enabled him to secure a responsible posi- 
tion in the mercantile establishment of Lusk & 
Davis, then the leading merchants of Ida 
Grove. Here he remained for two and one- 
half years, and was held in high regard by his 
employers. At the end of that time he resigned 
that position for the purpose of accepting a 
more responsible one in the United States Na- 
tional Bank of Omaha, Neb. Here his promo- 
tion was steady and rapid, until he reached the 
position of first teller. He served in this posi- 
tion with marked ability and with satisfaction 
to his employers for about two years, when he 
resigned to engage in business with his brothers 
in their plumbing enterprise, which had grown 
to large proportions. He remained in this firm 
for two years, when he disposed of his interest 
and accepted a position with the great packing 
house of Armour & Co. at South Omaha. He 
continued there about one year and was offered 
and accepted his present position as cashier of 
the Saratoga State Bank, at Saratoga, Wyo. 
Coming here in 1899 he has since that time had 
charge of the business and management of this 
banking institution, and has carried on its af- 



fairs with great success, extending its opera- 
tions and largely increasing its deposits. He 
has established himself as one of the leading 
business men and one of the safest and most 
conservative bankers of that section of Wyo- 
ming, and is foremost in the advocacy of all 
measures which are calculated to build up the 
country or promote the welfare of all the peo- 
ple of the community where he maintains his 
home. In September, 1892, Mr. Kriiger was 
united in marriage at Omaha, to Miss Minnie 
Lehmann, the daughter of Henry Lehmann, 
one of the prominent business men of that city, 
who was one of the pioneers of Nebraska, first 
establishing his business in Omaha in 1868. To 
the union of ~Mr. and Mrs. Kriiger have been 
born two children, namely, Henry J. W. and 
Carl, of whom both are living. Their home is 
noted for the gracious and generous hospitality 
which is there dispensed, and the family is highly 
respected, especially for the many acts of charity 
to those less fortunate than themselves. Mr. 
Kriiger is one of the rising men of the state, des- 
tined to take a prominent part in the future pros- 
perity of the commonwealth. 

BENJAMIN F. A. KUENY, M. D. 

Dr. Benjamin F. A. Kueny of Dayton, 
Sheridan county, is a native of Sunny France, 
where he was born in December, 1842, the son 
of Francis A. and Anna Mary (Mathis) Ken- 
ney, also French by nativity, and descended 
from long lines of ancestry of 600 years in that 
country. When he was seven months old his 
parents came to the United States and located 
near Chicago, 111., but soon removed to Lock- 
port in the same state. There the Doctor was 
reared, educated and lived until 1861. On May 
25, of that year he enlisted in defense of the 
Union in Mulligan's Brigade Later he enlisted 
in the Second Artillery under Captain Hartsuff 
in command of the noted General Custer. He 
served three full years in the Civil War and 
had arduous duty on the march and in the field, 
experiencing every form of military hardship 
and privation except wounds and imprisonment. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



249 



being honorably discharged .on May 25, 1864 
He then returned to Illinois and began the study 
of medicine. He studied, and after a time prac- 
ticed, until 1878, when he was graduated from 
the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, 
and after practicing a year in Illinois subse- 
quent to his graduation, he removed to Kan- 
sas and locating at Lenora was actively en- 
gaged there in practice until 1884. He then 
came to Wyoming and in Sheridan county took 
up a homestead, but continued to practice his 
profession. From 1887 to 1894 his base of 
operations was at Sheridan, and in the year last 
named he took up his residence at Dayton, 
where he has since resided and been in almost 
constant demand to administer to the sick and 
alleviate human suffering. His practice is large 
anH representative, while in professional circles 
he is much esteemed for the skill and knowl- 
edge he exhibits, and for the exalted standard 
he maintains of professional ethics. Exacting 
as his practice is, it does not prevent the Doc- 
tor from finding relief from its more serious 
claims and entertainment for another class of 
mental faculties in conducting a ranch and 
stock business, which his wife owns, and look- 
ing after his valuable town property. t In poli- 
tics he is an ardent Republican, having been 
twice elected county coroner of Sheridan county. 
While residing at Sheridan he was engaged in 
the drug business in connection with his pro- 
fessional duties, pharmacy always having had 
a strong attraction for him, and while thus oc- 
cupied he formulated and placed on the market 
the celebrated Kueny whisky cure, which has 
been found of great value as a specific and has 
a large sale. The Doctor was married at Lock- 
port, III, in 1864, with Miss Mary A. Wank, a 
native of France. They have had three chil- 
dren, Emma V., wife of Martin D. Shields of 
Santa Cruz, Calif. ; Charles J., who died on April 
28, 1901, and Francis, now a ranger on the 
Wyoming Forest Reserve. Doctor Kueny's life 
has been one of toil and trial, but is also full 
of triumph, as that of any active physician must 
be. The literature of his profession has en- 
grossed his attention, but he has been a 



thoughtful and observant reader, not an omni-* 
verous one, and has carefully applied in his 
practice the suggestions found in his reading 
and study, eliminating with rare judgment and 
discrimination what appeared of little or no 
value. He is much esteemed as a wise and skill- 
ful practitioner, a useful citizen and an honora- 
ble, educated and cultured gentleman. 

ALBERT D. LANE. 

Albert D. Lane, the merchant, banker and 
stock grower now doing business at the Sho- 
shone Indian agency, located in Fremont county, 
Wyoming, was born at Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., 
on October 8, 1847, a son °^ Charles and Fran- 
ces (Hellier) Lane, natives of England who 
came to the United States about 1835. The 
father was a merchant and a prominent man in 
local affairs during a long and useful life and 
his family consisted of seven children, four of 
whom are living: Albert D. ; Henry J., a mer- 
chant at Sacketts Harbor, Charles E., a dealer in 
real-estate at Despatch, N. Y., and Anna M., 
also living at Despatch. Mr. Lane was educated 
at the public schools of his native town and at 
two good academies, one at Belleville and the 
other at Adams, N. Y. After leaving school he 
was engaged in business with his father for a 
short time, then came to Wyoming in 1873 and 
in company with Worden P. Noble, whose inter- 
esting career is recorded elsewhere in this vol- 
ume, passed four years in doing contract work 
for the government. In 1877 they came together 
to this valley and in 1880 started the store at the 
Shoshone agency which Mr. Lane now conducts 
with so much enterprise and success. Five years 
later they engaged in a similar enterprise at Lan- 
der and in 1890 established the bank there under 
the name of Noble, Lane & Noble, Fred Noble, 
a brother of Mr. Lane's other partner, being the 
third member of the firm, and Mr. Lane being 
the president. He is also interested in the Lane 
& Curtis Sheep Co., which owns several thousand 
sheep and carries on a flourishing business in 
this branch of the stock industry. All his busi- 
ness ventures have prospered, but his success is 



J 



250 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



'the legitimate fruit of his energy, capacity and 
excellent judgment, and it has been achieved 
without the aid of adventitious circumstances or 
fortune's favors. He has neither inherited nor 
found, but has hewed out his opportunities and 
has been essentially the architect of his own for- 
tune. In commercial, social and political circles 
he is highly esteemed and has commanding in- 
fluence where he chooses to exert himself. When 
a young man he became a member of the Masonic 
order at Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., where he still 
holds his membership in both the Blue Lodge 
and the Royal Arch Chapter. There also he was 
married on June 23, 1869, with Miss Sarah J. 
Noble, a native of that place and a daughter of 
William and Jane A. (Payne) Noble, being a 
sister of his partners in the bank at Lander. 
They have one child, William Noble Lane, a ris- 
ing lawyer of Denver, Colo. This brief narrative 
of a useful life which has been one of the con- 
quering forces of the wilderness and one of the 
productive and directing elements of all the com- 
mercial, educational and social progress of this 
portion of the state, cannot even suggest in any 
commensurate manner the danger of life and 
property which in early days frequently menaced 
Mr. Lane, the privations that had to be endured, 
the strenuous efforts to keep the currents of 
business in motion often made necessary by un- 
usual difficulties and hard conditions, nor the 
indomitable spirit which triumphed over every 
obstacle and turned even seeming disaster to 
advantage. They are the inevitable concomitants 
of successful pioneer life to which this section of 
cur country is so accustomed in recital, if no 
longer in experience, that they awaken no more 
than a passing interest, but they are none the less 
heroic. 

JOHN F. LEWIS. 

A farmer in times of peace and a soldier in 
time of war, born and reared in the most pop- 
ulous and progressive section of the Mississippi 
Valley, and making his permanent home as a 
pioneer on the frontier of Wyoming, John F. 
Lewis, of Bighorn, for years a leading farmer 



and stockgrower of Sheridan county, and now 
conducting a thriving and far-reaching livery 
business at his home town, has seen many phases 
of American life and has exhibited adaptability 
and readiness in them all. He is a native of In- 
diana, where he was born in May, 1839, a son 

' of William and Mary J. (Van Meter) Lewis of 
that state but natives respectively of Virginia 
and Kentucky. His grandfather, William Lewis, 
was a descendant of parents who came from 
Wales to Virginia, and he became an extensive 
planter and slaveholder there and there died after 
a long life of usefulness. John F. Lewis began 
his education in the public schools of his native 
state and finished it in those of Iowa, whither 
his family moved when he was fourteen years 
old. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted 
in 1861 with the state troops of Iowa, in 1862 re- 
enlisting and becoming a member of Co. F., 
Twenty-ninth Iowa Regiment, in which he 
served until June 22, 1865, when he was honor- 
ably discharged, having seen hard service in the 
field and still harder as a prisoner for ten months 
at Camden, Ark., and at Tyler, Tex. After his 
discharge he returned to Iowa and was there oc- 
cupied in farming until 1883 when lie came to 
Wyoming and followed the same pursuit in con- 
nection with stockraising, for five years being in 
charge of the Government experiment station at 

. Sheridan. He has ever taken active and unflag- 
ging interest in local affairs and has represented 
his party from time to time in its county and 
state conventions, being a member of the state 
convention which nominated a woman for state 
superintendent of public instruction, the first wo- 
man elected to a state office in the United States. 
In 1901 he retired from his farm and moved to 
Bighorn where he has since been engaged in a 
livery business which is one of the most extensive 
and representative in this part of the state. This 
occupies his time and his faculties as much as 
he wishes, leaving him some opportunity to en- 
joy the pleasures of his beautiful home in the 
town and the society of his friends, whom he 
numbers in hosts. For many years he has been 
a devoted Freemason, standing high in the es- 
teem of the fraternity. He was married at Bed- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



251 



ford, Iowa, in 1861, to Miss Almira Gardner, a 
native of Ohio and a daughter of John and Lois 
(Webster) Gardner, who were born and reared 
in New York. The Lewises have two children, 
L. F., living at Basin City and W. R. Lewis. 
Mr. Lewis is an elder brother of Joseph H. 
Lewis, whose biography appears on another page 
of this volume. Both are creditable to the state 
of their nativity and serviceable as well as cred- 
itable to that of their present residence, present- 
ing upright citizenship and commendable enter- 
prise. 

JOHN LOUGHRAN. 

John Loughran, the gentleman whose name 
heads this article, is one of Laramie county's en- 
terprising stockmen, owning a well-improved 
ranch on the Platte River about eleven miles 
east of Fort Laramie, where he has been engaged 
in the cattle industry since 1885, being a native 
of Ireland and the son of Michael and Catherine 
(Slane) Loughran, both of whom were born and 
reared in the Emerald Isle, and the mother sleep- 
ing her last long sleep in the old ancestral burial 
ground in County Tyrone. Michael Loughran 
was a well-to-do farmer and land owner of that 
county and a man of considerable prominence. 
Possessed of much more than ordinary intelli- 
gence and judgment, he became an adviser 
among his friends and neighbors in matters of 
business, in no small degree being a molder of 
public opinion. In 1864 he came to the United 
States and engaged in mining near Wilkesbarre, 
Pa., leaving his family in Ireland until he could 
provide a comfortable home for them on this side 
.of the water. After passing eight years in suc- 
cessful mining operations in Pennsylvania he re- 
turned to Ireland and brought his family to 
Wilkesbarre, where he continued his work until 
1 88 1, when he disposed of his interests there and 
moved to Denver, Colo., thereafter carrying on 
mining at Leadville and vicinity and he was thus 
engaged when his death occurred on May 8, 1884. 
He was buried at Leadville. His wife died on 
November 5, 1895, while on a visit to the land of 
her birth and, as already stated, rests beneath the 



green turf of the beautiful island which she loved 
so well. John Loughran was born in County 
Tyrone, Ireland, on May 19, 1859, and received 
bis educational training in the schools of his na- 
tive place and at Wilkesbarre, Pa. When old 
enough to do manual labor he began working 
with his father in the mines and remained with 
him until twenty years old, when he started in 
quest of his own fortune, meantime accompany- 
ing the family to Colorado. After working for 
some months in a commission-house at Denver, 
he went to Leadville, near which place he was 
engaged in mining until his father's death in 
1884. He came to Wyoming in 1865 and took up 
bis present ranch in Laramie county, and since 
that time he has been largely interested in cattle- 
raising, meeting with encouraging success in this 
important and rapidly growing industry. Mr. 
Loughran's ranch lies in a beautiful section of 
country, and it is all irrigable, the greater part 
being susceptible of tillage. He has improved his 
place in various ways, has a comfortable home, 
in which he takes great pride, as well as in his 
lucrative business, which returns him a liberal . 
income. He is a man of progressive ideas and 
broad views, easily the peer of the leading ranch- 
ers of the district in which he lives. His success 
as a stockraiser has been commensurate with the 
energy he has displayed since engaging in the 
business, and to him as much as to any other man 
is due the credit of giving an impetus to the in- 
dustry in this section of the state. Mr. Loughran 
has never married. He was reared in the Cath- 
olic faith and remains true to the teachings of 
the church. In politics he is a Democrat and 
while active in his work for the party has no 
aspirations for office or public distinction. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN LOWE. 

It was a race of heroes that redeemed the 
wilderness of the Great West from ferocious 
savages and made it fruitful and fragrant with 
the products of civilization, that founded fam- 
ilies, that created mighty commonwealths, estab- 
lished politics, started great cities and set in mo- 
tion all the currents of commercial, industrial, 



252 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



moral, social and educational life. High on the 
roll of this heroic army should be placed the 
honored name which heads this review of a ca- 
reer at once interesting and inspiring, a patriot- 
ism that is pure and purifying, a citizenship that 
is elevated and elevating. Benjamin Franklin 
L.owe, the present county assessor of Fremont 
county, Wyoming, one of the best known men 
in the whole Rocky Mountain region, was born 
in Crawford county, Indiana, on June 28, 1840, 
and nine years later accompanied his parents, 
Benjamin W. and Mahala (Cotton) Lowe, from 
that state to Iowa. His father was a native of 
Pennsylvania and his mother of Tennessee. Aft- 
er a residence of five years in Iowa they removed 
to near Kansas City, Mo., and there remained 
during the troublous times incident to the set- 
tlement of -Kansas. When a reasonable degree of 
peace and security had been reached along the 
border, they took up their residence at Tecum- 
seh in Shawnee county, Kansas, and there lived 
in comparative peace and comfort until the end 
of their lives. Their son, Benjamin, was active 
in the development of the section and took an 
active part in the conflicts that arose from time 
to time, being ever diligent and energetic, in the 
intervals of school attendance turning his hands 
to any kind of useful labor. He helped to make 
the brick used in building the court-house at Te- 
cumseh, they being molded . and burnt in the 
midst of almost daily contests between the rival 
factions that were struggling for the mastery, 
and as the messenger of one side he was fre- 
quently exposed to critical danger. In 1858 he 
took charge of a wagon train carrying supplies 
for General Johnston, who had been ordered to 
Utah to settle the difficulties between the U. S. 
Government and the Mormons, and remained in 
the farther West, beginning his career there as a 
trader with the Indians near the site of South 
Pass City, Fremont county, and continued this 
business until 1861. The country was alive with 
the friendly Shoshones, Blackfeet and Bannocks, 
and with the hostile Cheyennes, Sioux and Ara- 
pahoes. Mr. Lowe acted as scout for a consid- 
erable part of the time, making firm friends of 
the Indians on both sides, especially of that In- 



dian Nestor of the region, Washakie, with whom 
he had a lasting and serviceable friendship until 
the death of the old chief in 1900. He witnessed 
many a bloody conflict between the tribes and 
recalls with more than usual interest the Burned 
Ranch Fight, which lasted all day. It was a com- 
bined attack on the Shoshones by the Sioux, 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes, and in the battle the 
Sioux were almost annihilated. Although it was 
won by the Shoshones, it cost them many a braye, 
including their war-chief, a son of Washakie. 
In 1862, on August 10, while at Fort Hall, Idaho, 
on his way to Montana, a messenger reported that 
a train of gold-seekers from Colorado and the 
East had been attacked near the head of the Port 
Neuf and Ross Fork Rivers by some 400 West 
Shoshone and Bannock Indians. With 120 men 
from the fort and vicinity Mr. Lowe proceeded 
to the scene of the attack and on their approach 
the Indians withdrew. Eleven graves of white 
men still show where the fight took place and 
a large number of Indians were killed. The 
train was escorted to Fort Hall safely. Immed- 
iately afterwards Mr. Lowe went to Salt Lake 
City, being four days on the road alone and pass- 
ing through these very Indians without trouble of 
any kind, which angered the Mormons, as they 
had often suffered at the hands of the same sav- 
ages. At Salt Lake City Governor Hardin in- 
formed him of the near approach of General 
Connor with his California volunteers. The Gen- 
eral wintered at Fort Bridger and early in the 
spring started with 105 teams under command of 
Hugh O'Neill, Mr. Lowe acting as guide, for 
Bannock, Mont., the discovery of whose immense 
gold deposits had electrified the world a few 
months previously. They reached this new El- 
dorado on April 25, 1863, and there Mr. Lowe 
found fortune's favor awaiting him. He mined 
with success and finding the means of communi- 
cation with the outside world very limited, he 
established a pony express between Bannock and 
Fort Bridger, a distance of 400 miles, but carried 
only letters and valuable packages. The venture 
was profitable but full of danger. The Indians 
were hostile and eager for gain and the road 
agents, who were keen-scented for the fruits of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



253 



other men's toil, were on the lookout for every 
chance to rob a rich consignment and held human 
life as cheap as those of deer. At Soda Springs, 
in partnership with Harry Richard from Camp 
Douglas representing General Connor, and Bill 
Hickman, the noted Danite chief and outlaw, Mr. 
Lowe established the Eagle Rock ferry on Snake 
River in the place afterwards known as Tay- 
lor's Bridge, and now Idaho Falls, which was a 
great financial success, the receipts often reach- 
ing $1,000 a day from the toll received from the 
immense number of emigrants, gold-seekers and 
freighters crossing Snake River. While he was 
at Fort Bridger he took part in the fight on Bear 
River, near Franklin, Utah, between the troops 
under General Connor and the Western Shos- 
hones and Bannocks under the gallant and crafty 
Pocatello, where 400 of the Indians were killed 
in righteous retribution for the fight they had 
provoked and begun. In the fall of 1863, the 
pony express was abandoned, the discovery of 
gold in Alder Gulch, Mont., having turned the 
tide of travel thither and a stage-coach line estab- 
lished. Thereafter Mr. Lowe gave his attention 
to the ferry and his mining claims at Bannock 
and Virginia City, Mont., until September, 1864, 
when he sold the ferry and removed to Deer 
Lodge, Mont., the activity of the "Vigilantes" in 
executing Henry Plummer and nearly fifty of 
his associate road-agents and outlaws having 
made life in that territory reasonably secure for 
law abiding citizens. Three years were passed 
in trading with- the Indians at Fort Bridger and 
elsewhere, a portion of the time Mr. Lowe being 
in the employ of Ecoffe & Cuney, extensive con- 
tractors and Indian traders, and after the cele- 
brated massacre at Fort Phil Kearney he went 
to Kansas City on a visit to his former home, re- 
turning a few months later and resuming busi- 
ness at the old ranch, five miles east of Laramie, 
where he remained until the whole outfit was 
burned in July by U. S. troops, causing a loss of 
about $60,000 to Ecoffe & Cuney. After this he 
went to Denver en route to Julesburg, at that time 
the western terminus of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road. As they passed the site of Cheyenne the 
surveyors were laying out the town and one of 



the surveying party was killed by the Indians. 
From Denver he was conveyed by stage to Jules- 
burg, then the only means of travel, and the route 
was full of difficulty and danger. Wells, Fargo 
; & Co. ran three coaches out together, the hostil- 
ity of the Indians making it necessary to use 
every available precaution. The route had been 
robbed of horses and it was therefore necessary 
to run all the teams through without change. 
The coaches were held at either terminus until 
a full complement of passengers was secured and 
then proceeded in V shape, like the flight of wild 
geese, for additional safety. Mr. Lowe's party 
consisted of thirty-six passengers and ten em- 
ployes, drivers, messengers and .guards. They 
met the Smoky Hill coaches which were riddled 
with bullets and had some of their horses shot; 
but Mr. Lowe's party passed through without 
mishap, only to find at Julesburg a worse con- 
dition, for the roughs of the town were "on a 
rampage" and "shooting wild." The town was 
then wholly a canvas city and the coaches af- 
forded the best protection against stray bullets 
and the passengers remained in them. Omaha 
at the time of his visit was a typical western 
town, dance houses and gambling dens being 
open all the time and every form of dissipation 
in full vigor. Mr. Lowe remained there a short 
time trying to get some satisfaction for his em- 
ployers from the government authorities for the 
loss of their property near Cheyenne, but not 
seeing much prospect of success he returned hop- 
ing to recoup for his own losses, which amounted 
to about $8,000. He then entered the employ of 
the Northern Pacific Railroad where he remained 
until the Bear River riot, when he went with 
Mr. Decker to Pueblo, Colo., and bought cattle 
to bring to Wyoming. But not being able to get 
horses with which to drive them he sold out in 
the spring and came to South Pass to engage in 
mining. Water for the purpose not being avail- 
able he located a hay ranch nearby on Pine Creek. 
Indian outbreaks were yet very numerous and 
in the spring of 1870 Camp Stanbaugh was es- 
tablished for the better protection of the miners 
of South Pass, Atlantic City, Miners' Delight 
and the surrounding ranchers. On account of 



254 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the outbreaks Mr. Lowe abandoned his ranch on 
Pine Creek in 1870, and took charge of a lumber 
business at Atlantic City for a Mr. Hinnman, a 
government contractor who furnished the lum- 
ber for Fort Stanbaugh. In September, 1872, 
he was one of the persons who negotiated the 
Brunot Indian treaty, going to Utah and bring- 
ing the Shoshone Indian village to Fort Wash- 
akie for this purpose. Congress was three years 
in ratifying the treaty and the rights of the white 
settlers on the south side of the Shoshone reser- 
vation and in Lander valley were not definitely 
fixed until the end of that time. In the fall of 
1874 Mr. Lowe located on what was still Indian 
land and during the next three or four years out- 
breaks were frequent and life was very uncertain. 
In the spring of 1875 a postoffice was established 
at this point, and Ms. Lowe suggested that it 
be named Lander, in honor of General Lander, 
an army officer greatly favored by the Indians. 
Two years later, when the government survey 
was made, Mr. Lowe filed on a portion of the 
land on which the town stands, organized the 
Lander Townsite Co., became president of the or- 
ganization, a position which he still holds, and 
began to sell lots from a part of the town which 
he had made in accordance with some of the 
streets already laid out and buildings already 
erected. In 1877 he was elected to the legislature 
and in 1884 was a member of the commission ap- 
pointed to organize the new county of Fremont, 
becoming the first sheriff of the new political di- 
vision by election on April 22, 1884. H. C. Nick- 
erson was elected county treasurer, J. A. Mc- 
Avoy, county clerk, A. H. Bright, county attor- 
ney, J. W. O'Neill, county assessor, and Messrs. 
Hall, Blim andMcDonald, county commissioners. 
In 1897 he was again a member of the legislature 
and in 1900 was elected county assessor, having 
filled the office during the two previous years by ■ 
appointment. On February 18, 1867, at Kansas 
City, Mo., Mr. Lowe was united in marriage 
with Miss Sarah A. Wright, a native of New 
York, who died in Denver, Colo., on February 13, 
1897. On October 4 next ensuing, at the Shos- 
hone Agency he contracted a second marriage, 
his choice on this occasion being Mrs. Laura F. 



Cleveland, of Chicago. They have an adopted 
daughter, now Mrs. Nora.E. Walter, wife of 
Daniel S. Walter, of Pratte, North Dakota. 

JACOB LUND. 

A substantial business man and stockowner 
of Swedish birth, whose residence is situated 
about twenty-six miles southwest of Laramie 
City, Wyoming, is the subject of this sketch, Ja- 
cob Lund, of Wood Siding, in Albany county. 
Born in Sweden in the year 1843, ne i s the son 
of Lawrence and Catherina (Burie) Lund, both 
natives of Sweden. His father followed the oc- 
cupation of farming in his native country and 
passed away in 1896, at the age of seventy years. 
The mother passed all of her life in Sweden, her 
decease occurring in 1894, at the age of about 
seventy years. She was the mother of three chil- 
dren, of whom the subject of this sketch is the 
only one surviving. He grew to man's estate 
in his native land and received his early educa- 
tion in the public schools there. His opportun- 
ities in his younger days for acquiring an edu- 
cation were somewhat limited, but he improved 
them to the best advantage and laid the foun- 
dation for an intelligent business career in the 
vears to come. In 1861, when he had attained 
to the age of eighteen years, he was compelled 
by circumstances to leave school in order to 
make his own way in the world and secured em- 
ployment as a sailor. He remained in this pur- 
suit for a period of about fourteen years, and 
during that time he had a varied experience and 
saw many portions of the world. Returning 
again to his native country in 1873 ^ or a visit he 
determined to seek his fortune in the New World 
beyond the sea and. leaving the home of his 
cbildhood and early manhood, he came to Amer- 
ica. Here he located first in Michigan and en- 
gaged his services as a sailor on the Great Lakes. 
He remained in this employment for a period of 
about three years, when he disposed of his prop- 
erty in Michigan and removed his residence to 
the then territory of Wyoming, locating at the 
city of Laramie. Here he engaged in mining and 
railroading, and continued to be thus employed 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



255 



for about seven years. He then purchased his 
present ranch property and settled down to the 
business of cattleraising, in which he has since 
then been continuously engaged. He has met 
with satisfactory .success and is now the owner of 
a fine ranch, consisting of about 1,000 acres of 
land, well improved, with a large herd of cattle, 
which is constantly being increased from year 
to year. By industry, perseverance and careful 
attention to business, he has built up a fine prop- 
erty and he is one of the prosperous business men 
of this section of the county. In 1881, at Lar- 
amie, Wyo., Mr. Lund was joined in wedlock 
with Miss Lena Peterson, a native of Sweden and 
a daughter of Jess and Elizabeth Peterson, well- 
known and respected residents of that country. 
To their union two children have been born, Ef- 
fie and Elva, both of whom are residing at home 
with their parents. Politically, Mr. Lund is a 
stanch member of the Republican party, and 
takes an active interest in all public affairs, al- 
though never a candidate for any official position. 
He is one of the highly respected citizens of 
Albany county. 

JAMES A. McAVOY. 

Through a variety of occupations, adventures, 
and the study of human nature in a number of 
longitudes, sustaining himself in all circum- 
stances by the force of his character and the re- 
sourcefulness of his self-reliant nature, James 
A. McAvoy has come to the estate of comfortable 
prosperity in worldly affairs and esteem in the 
hearts of his fellows which he now enjoys. He 
was born at Cambridge, Ohio, on January 17, 
1842, a son of Daniel and Mary (Noble) Mc- 
Avoy. His father, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, was 
a pioneer farmer and freighter between Ohio and 
Baltimore, Md., before any railroad had crossed 
the virgin soil of Ohio and had a consequence 
and prosperity commensurate with his position 
as a leading common carrier of that day. His 
wife, nee Mary Noble, was a daughter of Rev. 
Thomas Noble, an esteemed minister of the 
Methodist Episcopal church stationed at Cam- 
bridge. They were the parents of twelve chil- 



dren, James being the eldest and of whom eleven 
are still living. He was educated in the public 
schools of Ohio and at the Wesleyan University 
at Washington, Iowa, leaving school at the be- 
ginning of the Civil War to take charge of a 
farm belonging to a friend who had enlisted in 
the Union army, and conducting this until the 
close of the war. He then taught school for a 
number of years in eastern Iowa, going from 
there to Kentucky and teaching there also for 
a short time, while following that he traveled as 
a salesman through New England for a year and 
then joined Barnum's circus, traveling with that 
outfit as a vaulter and tumbler for a season. In 
1868 he came west, and stopping at Cheyenne 
secured employment in the office of the Case- 
ment Brothers, who had a contract for the track 
at Logan, for the Union Pacific Railroad then 
in progress. He remained in this employment 
until the road was completed and in 1869 came 
to South Pass City, Wyo., and engaged in min- 
ing for two years. From there he removed to 
the Wind River Valley, assisting in the con- 
struction of the Shoshone Indian Agency, set- 
ting up the first steam-engine run in the valley 
and sawing the lumber for all the buildings in 
the agency. Next he engaged in freighting from 
Fort Stanbaugh to various places, in 1873 located 
on Willow Creek and farrhed for three years, 
raising one good crop, the next two being de- 
stroyed by grasshoppers. Discouraged by this 
misfortune, he abandoned farming and put up the 
first sawmill of his neighborhood and carried on 
a flourishing business with it for a few years. He 
then sold out and again followed freighting un- 
til 1884, when, upon the organization of Fremont 
county he was elected county clerk, filling the 
office until 1895, six successive terms. During 
the next two years he was engaged in prospect- 
ing on Green and Snake Rivers, and in 1897 was 
appointed postmaster at Lander, an office which 
he has held continuously since that time. He 
was with the expedition that captured Reverend 
Coolidge, who was sent east to be educated 
and is now the Indian minister at the agency. 
Mr. McAvoy was a charter member and one of 
the organizers of Fremont Lodge, No. 11, I. O. 



256 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



O. F., and has given active service to it in many 
ways, being also affiliated with the Daughters 
of Rebekah and the Knights of Pythias. From 
1894 to 1897 he was a member of the Board of 
Trustees of the University of Wyoming and a 
member of and the secretary of its finance com- 
mittee. He owns a valuable tract of land ad- 
joining the city on which he resides and has ex- 
tensive oil lands adjoining the Bonanza and the 
old Murphy property, both good producers, hold- 
ing a patent on the Diana gold mine at Atlantic 
City in Fremont county, and a controlling in- 
terest in the stock of the Sweet Grass Placer Min- 
ing Company. 

b. McCaffrey. 

One of the leading and most progressive busi- 
ness men of Wyoming, one who has done much 
to develop the great resources of the state, B. 
McCaffrey, of Encampment, Wyoming, is a na- 
tive of the Dominion of Canada, and was born 
in the city of Belleville, on March 18, 1844, the 
son of Edward and 'Mary (Doyle) McCaffrey, 
natives of Ireland. His father left the land of 
his nativity in 1840, coming to County Hastings, 
in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Establish- 
ing his home at Belleville, he engaged in the man- 
ufacture of lumber, in which he met with a reas- 
onable success. He was a man of marked abil- 
ity and energy and was a representative busi- 
' ness man of that section of the country. Of a 
family of eight children, all now living, the sub- 
ject of this sketch was the youngest. He grew 
to manhood in his native city and received his 
education in her public schools. When he had 
completed his school life, he served an ap- 
prenticeship at the trade of manufacturing leath- 
er. He continued in this business for some time 
and became manager of the leather manufactur- 
ing establishment of Grant & Perkins at Galena, 
and of the Lapham & Waterbury factory in the 
city of Kalamazoo, Mich. In 1870 he resigned 
this position for the purpose of going into busi- 
ness for himself as a manufacturer of agricultu- 
ral implements and remained in that pursuit for 
seven years. At the end of that time he closed 



out his manufacturing business, engaged in the 
general merchandise business in the southwestern 
portion of Kansas, in which he continued for 
about some four years. Owing to the severe 
drouths prevailing throughout that section of the 
state this business was not a success, and dispos- 
ing of his property in Kansas, he removed to the 
territory of Utah, where he located in the city 
of Ogden, and there formed a partnership asso- 
ciation with Hon. Willis George Emerson, which 
has continued to the present writing. They were 
largely interested in real-estate at Ogden, and 
that section of country, and continued operations 
there for about one year, then acquiring large 
interests in the vicinity of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and 
removed their main office to that place. Here 
they were the organizers and promoters of the 
great irrigation system of the Snake River val- 
ley, the principal canals of which were the 
Great Western and the Idaho Falls Canal. The 
first named represented an investment of $750,- 
000 and is over 10b miles in length, irrigating a 
vast area of land, being of enormous benefit to 
that section of the country. The Idaho Falls Ca- 
nal is about eight}" miles in length, and also sup- 
plies a great extent of country. Their operations 
in real-estate, both in city and country property 
were at this time very extensive, and they were 
very successful and are still large holders of 
property in that section. Subsequently, they re- 
moved their main office to Chicago, 111., where 
they established their headquarters for about 
seven years. During this time, they were largely 
interested in real-estate operations and were 
promoters of emigration and colonization in the 
western country. From their offices in the Cham- 
ber of Commerce Block, Chicago, they conducted 
a very extensive and profitable business for many 
years. During the gold excitement in the Crip- 
ple Creek district in Colorado, they removed their 
headquarters to Colorado Springs and acquired 
large interests at Cripple Creek and vicinity. 
Thev remained here about one year and removed 
to Denver, still continuing in the same line of 
business. While here, their attention was called 
by Mr. E. L. Lomax. general passenger and 
ticket agent of the Union Pacific Railroad, to the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



257 



advantages offered at Grand Encampment, Wyo., 
and they opened a branch office at that place 
where they acquired large interests, becoming the 
owners of the townsite and of large tracts of land 
in the vicinity. They maintained their office at 
Denver, until February, 1902, when they disposed 
of their interests in that city, removing their main 
office to Grand Encampment, where they have 
since been making their headquarters. In con- 
nection with their real-estate ana tuwnsfte opera- 
tions, they have also organized a smelting, power 
and light company which was suDseqitently turned 
over to C. E. Knapp, of Chicago. They incor- 
porated the Ferris-Haggarty Copper Mining 
Co., and the aerial tramway which is to trans- 
port the ores sixteen miles from these mines to 
the smelters. The firm at present has the con- 
tract for transporting these ores, the capacity of 
the tramway will be about goo tons per day, and 
succeeded in buying the F. H. mine in August, 
1902, for $1,000,000. They were also the or- 
ganizers of the city Avater-works company, and 
have been very active in promoting every in- 
dustry calculated to benefit the community in 
which the}- - maintain their headquarters. They . 
are largely interested in the Encampment Smelt- 
ing Co., a capacity of 500 tons per day, and in 
the Electric Light Co.. Power Co. and Trans- 
portation Co., and their operations have not only 
been remunerative to themselves, but of vast im- 
portance to this section of the state. On January 
17, 1867, Mr. McCaffrey was united in marriage 
with Miss Florence Vane Hunt, a native of Ohio, 
daughter of prominent residents of that 
state. The marriage took place in Galena, 111., 
when Mr. McCaffrey was engaged in business 
in that city. To this union has been born one 
child, Anna E., now Mrs. C. M. Hanna, who re- 
sides at East St. Louis, 111., where her husband . 
is a member of the National Stockyards Asso- 
ciation and is one of the leading business men of 
the city. Fraternally, Mr. McCaffrey is affili- 
ated with the Masonic fraternity and takes an 
active interest in the social life of the community. 
He has steadily declined to become a candidate 
for any position of trust or honor in the gift of 
his party, although he has been often solicited 



by his party friends and associates to permit the 
use of his name for that purpose. He has pre- 
ferred to devote his entire time and energy to 
the care and management of his extensive busi- 
ness interests and the development of the great 
resources of the Great West. Public spirited, 
progressive, always foremost in the advocacy of 
every movement to advance the industrial life 
of the state, he is one of the leading citizens of 
Wyoming. 

donald Mcdonald. 

A native of Argyleshire, Scotland, born on 
August 26, 1844, Donald McDonald, now of 
Diamond, AVyoming, is the son of Donald 
and Margaret (Campbell) McDonald, also na- 
tives of Scotland. His father was a tailor who 
followed that occupation in Argyleshire until his 
death, which occurred in 1865. The mother 
passed away in 1873 and both lie buried in Ar- 
gyleshire, where their busy lives were passed. 
Their son, Donald, grew to manhood amid the 
rugged surroundings of his native Scotland, 
early being taught by his parents the virtues of 
industry, thrift and economy. The family was 
poor and almost from childhood was he com- 
pelled to contribute by his labor to the assistance 
of the family. This was a training which, al- 
though severe, was of great value to him in after 
life. It taught him as no school could have done, 
the dignity of honest labor and its supreme im- 
portance as the most powerful factor in the de- 
velopment of the man. His people were types 
of those hardy sons of Scotland, who wherever 
they have established themselves have never 
failed to impress upon the community a high 
character for integrity, loyalty of purpose and 
an indomitable determination never yielding to 
defeat. Mr. McDonald received his early educa- 
tion in the schools of Argyleshire and remained 
there until he bad attained the age of twenty- 
five years, during most of this time being en- 
gaged in farming. Hearing many tales told by 
the firesides of Scotland of the New World over 
the sea, he resolved to go there in the pursuit of 
the fortune which severe conditions seemed to 



2 5 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



deny him in his native land. Therefore in 1869 
he took ship for Canada, arriving in the Prov- 
ince of Ontario later in that year. Here he 
worked for about seven years as a farmhand, 
doing a little farming on his own account, but 
not meeting great success. His habits of fru- 
gality, however, stood him in good stead and he 
was enabled to save a considerable sum out of 
his earnings. In 1876 he concluded to go west 
in the hope of bettering his conditions and came 
to Laramie Plains, Wyoming. Here he secured 
employment on sheep ranches for five years, in 
January, 1881, leaving his employment at Lara- 
mie Plains and in February taking up his present 
ranch on the Chugwater, fifty-five miles north of 
Cheyenne. Here he began the business of cat- 
tleraising in which he is still engaged. His be- 
ginnings were humble. With the money he had 
saved through long years of labor and rigid 
economy he purchased a few head of stock, which 
he has slowly but surely added to from year to 
year, until now he is one of the most prosperous 
and successful ranchmen of his section of the 
state. He is a type of the hard-working, sober- 
minded, earnest and deserving men to whose ef- 
forts is mainly due the rapid development of the 
west. On his home ranch he has a fine two-story 
stone residence, with all modern conveniences, 
with about 3000 acres of patented land, well 
fenced, with many thousands of acres of adja- 
cent range for his stock. Over 300 acres of his 
place are in alfalfa, and each year he cuts im- 
mense quantities of hay, the greater portion of 
which is consumed on his ranch by his own cat- 
tle, sheep and horses. n January 13, 1882, at 
the city of Cheyenne, Wyo., Mr. McDonald mar- 
ried with Miss Jane Cameron, a native of the 
Dominion of Canada and a daughter of Duncan 
and Mary (Black) Cameron, natives of Argyle, 
Scotland. ' Her parents emigrated from Scotland 
in 1846 and settled in Ontario, Canada, there 
following the occupation of farming and stock- 
raising, in which they continued until their death. 
The father died in 1865 and the mother in 1892, 
and both lie buried near the old family home 
in Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have four 
cbildren, Robert Daniel, Hugh, Maggie J. and 



Duncan N., all are living, and residing with 
their parents. Mr. McDonald is a member of the 
Masonic order, being affiliated with the lodge 
at Wheatland, Wyo., and politically, he is identi- 
fied with the Republican party. He has often 
been solicited to accept political honors at the 
hands of his fellow citizens, but has invariably 
declined to do so, preferring to devote his entire 
time to the supervision arid management of his 
private business, which has, grown to such pro- 
portions and is so extensive as to make very ex- 
acting demands upon his attention. In addition 
to his other interests, he has over 8,000 acres of 
land leased from the state, and is now one of the 
largest individual stockowners of Wyoming. 
The family belong to the Presbyterian church, 
being earnest and devoted in their interest in all 
church and charity work and in assisting and 
providing for the needs of those less fortunate 
than themselves, being held in the highest es- 
teem by their neighbors as respected and sub- 
stantial citizens. 

ANTHONY WILKINSON. 

A type of the successful man of business 
who has fairly earned his present prominence 
in the business world by his energy, industry 
and perseverance, Anthony Wilkinson, an in- 
fluential citizen of Egbert, one of the leading 
stockmen of the state of Wyoming, was born 
in Yorkshire, England, on July 4, 1838, the son 
of Anthony and Alice (Savers) Wilkinson, na- 
tives of Yorkshire. His father was engaged in 
dairy-farming - and continued in that occupation 
in his native country until 1890, when he emi- 
grated and joined his sons in the state of 
Nebraska. He died at a ripe old age at Archer, 
Wyo., in 1894, being buried in Cheyenne. The 
mother now makes her home at the residence 
of her son, the subject of this sketch. Anthony 
Wilkinson grew to man's estate in his native 
country, receiving his early education in the 
schools of Yorkshire, remaining with his par- 
ents until lie had attained to the age of six- 
teen years, being filled with an ambition, even 
at that early age, to make his own way in the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



259 



world, he secured employment as a farm hand 
on farms near the parental home, remaining 
there engaged in that occupation for three 
years, then received an appointment as game 
watcher at Rookby Park in Yorkshire, where 
he remained for about two years, in 1863 going 
to Scotland and being appointed gamekeeper 
at Tolloch Castle, Rosshire, in which capacity 
he continued for four years. He then returned 
to Yorkshire and remained with his parents, 
assisting- his father in the work and manage- 
ment of the farm until 1873, when he left his 
old home in England and took passage for 
America. Arriving here, he first went to 
Dorchester, Neb., where he engaged in operat- 
ing a meat market for about three years, send- 
ing wagons to the surrounding country and to 
adjoining' towns and transacting an extensive 
and profitable business. At the end of that time, 
he removed his residence to the county of Cus- 
ter, and there took up a homestead, and be- 
gan in a small way the raising of cattle and 
sheep. He also owned and conducted a general 
meat market at Ansley, Neb., his farm adjoining 
that place. In this business he met with suc- 
cess, but desiring to have a larger field for his 
stockgrowing operations, he removed to the 
then territory of Wyoming. In 1878 he pur- 
chased a ranch near Archer, and engaged in 
a successful business in the raising of cattle 
and sheep. He remained here until 1891, when 
he purchased his present ranch property on 
Muddy Creek, about one mile southwest of the 
city of Pine Bluffs. Here he entered more ex- 
tensively upon his chosen occupation, extending 
his operations from year to year until. now he 
is one of the heaviest dealers and largest prop- 
erty owners in the state and being one of the 
largest landowners in the western country, 
having 8,500 acres at his home ranch, about 
16,000 acres on Big Horse Creek, and about 
8,000 acres a short distance south of his home 
ranch, making about 32,500 acres of land which 
he owns in Wyoming. He also owns large 
tracts in the vicinity of Ansley, Neb., and is 
interested jointly with his brother, John, in the 
ownership of other lands in northern Wyoming. 

16 



In 1900, desiring to unify his large business 
holdings, he organized and incorporated the 
A. Wilkinson Live Stock Co., having a capital 
of $150,000. Mr. Wilkinson owns a controll- 
ing interest in this company and as its president 
usually directs its policy, although endeavoring 
to retire from active business. This company 
has been increasing its cattle interests, and is 
also entering more largely into sheepraising 
and woolgrowing, finding this department more 
remunerative and paying a better return for the 
capital invested. Mr. Wilkinson is a man of 
progressive spirit, public enterprise and great 
confidence in the future greatness of the com- 
monwealth which he has done so much to build 
up. Having business interests scattered all 
over the state and having been among the fore- 
most of her citizens in developing the resources 
of both the territory and the state, he has yet 
done more for the industrial progress, com- 
mercial growth and advancement of the county 
of Laramie than for any other section of Wyo- 
ming. Here has been his home for many years, 
here his large interests have been centralized 
and the business life of this section of the state 
owes much to his intelligent foresight and cap- 
able management. It is to the pluck, energy, 
and good business judgment of such men that 
the great western country owes its steady ad- 
vancement from a condition of sagebrush bar- 
renness to cultivated fields, with happy homes 
and villages and cities springing up everywhere. 
He has been instrumental in bringing capital 
into the country to develop the resources and has 
liberally contributed of his means to every 
worthy purpose calculated to promote and ad- 
vance the best interests of the community in 
which he has maintained his home. He is a 
member of the Protestant Episcopal church, 
being one of the most prominent in the sup- 
port of religion and charity, for the relief of the 
unfortunate and the promotion of the welfare 
of the public. Politically he is a stanch ad- 
herent of the Republican party, and for many 
years has been a loyal supporter of the princi- 
ples' and policies of that political organization, 
giving unwavering support to its candidates 



260 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and his time and means to the party's success. 
He has done this as a matter of patriotic duty, 
not with any view to seeking any political hon- 
ors for himself. Often solicited to become the 
candidate of his party for positions of honor 
and trust, he has steadfastly refused to do so, 
preferring to give his entire time and atten- 
tion to the direction and management of his 
extensive business interests. His standing in the 
business world, and the high' esteem in which he 
is held by his fellow citizens, would place with- 
in his reach almost any position of honor with- 
in the gift of the people, if he desired to be- 
come a candidate for political distinction. 

WILLIAM MacFARLANE. 

One of the leading men of Laramie county, 
whose efforts have done much to develop the re- 
sources of this section of Wyoming, Hon. Wil- 
liam F. MacFarlane, of MacFarlane, is a native 
of the city of Montreal, Can., born on September 
7, 1852, the son of William S. and Mary (Fer- 
rier) MacFarlane, the former a native of Perth, 
Scotland, and the latter of Canada. The father 
removed from Scotland to Canada in 1834 and 
engaged in the wholesale grocery business in the 
city of Montreal. Subsequently he engaged in 
the wholesale hardware business in the same city, 
and later in life also retired from merchandising 
to engage in the real-estate business, operating 
largely in property in the city of Montreal and 
Canada, up to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred on February 22, 1886. He lies buried in 
the city where he passed most of his active and 
useful life. The mother passed away in 1874, and 
lies at rest by the side of her husband. Wil- 
liam F. MacFarlane grew to man's estate in the 
city of Montreal and acquired his early education 
in the public schools of that city. After complet- 
ing his education he took a position in a whole- 
sale crockery store in his native city for the pur- 
pose of acquainting himself with the mercantile 
business, remaining in that employment for about 
three years. When he had attained to the age of 
twenty-one years, he determined to seek his* for- 
tune in the far west, and came to the then terri- 



tory of Colorado in 1873, and in the fall of that 
year settling near Fort Collins as a rancher and 
raiser of cattle and horses. Here he carried on 
this business with success until 1879, when he 
disposed of his interests and removed to Wyo- 
ming territory where he took up his present 
ranch on Horseshoe Creek, about seventeen miles 
west of Glendo, and forty-four miles northwest 
of Wheatland, and there continued the raising of 
cattle. He has since been continuously engaged 
in the cattle business at this place and has stead- 
ily added to his holdings, both of lands and cattle, 
until now he is the owner of one of the finest 
pieces of ranch property in that section of the 
state, comprising about 1,200 acres of patented 
land and thousands of acres leased from the state. 
He has a large and handsome home, with all 
modern conveniences, and his barns, buildings 
and improvements are the finest in that section 
of the country. About 700 acres of his ranch are 
under irrigation and he raises great quantities of 
hay each year, as well as fruits and vegetables 
of many varieties. His extensive experiments in 
fruitgrowing and in the successful raising of 
vegetables have conclusively demonstrated that 
these products can be grown in Wyoming with 
the greatest success. He has disabused the 
minds of many of the impression that the finest 
of grains, fruits and vegetables cannot be suc- 
cessfuly grown in this latitude. In cattle he con- 
fines his attention chiefly to registered Hereford 
stock and is the owner of some of the most valu- 
able animals of that breed in Wyoming. His 
place is one of the landmarks and showplaces of 
the county, and no man in the state has done 
more to draw the attention of men of capital to 
her wonderful undeveloped resources, or to en- 
courage the growth and settlement of the newer 
portions of the commonwealth. On October 4, 
1888, at the city of Cheyenne, Wyo.. Mr. Mac- 
Farlane was united in marriage with Miss Jessie 
A. Whalley, a native of Yorkshire, England, 
a daughter of Jonathan A. and Annette (Gars- 
tang) Whalley, both natives of England, and her 
father being a manufacturer of woolen goods in 
Yorkshire, up to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred in 1894. Her mother died in December, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



261 



1867, and both the parents were buried in 
Yorkshire. Mr. and Mrs. MacFarlane have two 
children to bless their home life, Florence and 
William Stewart, and the home is widely noted 
for its gracious and generous hospitality. The 
family are members of the Protestant Episcopal 
church, active and foremost in all its works of 
religion and charity. No worthy object ever 
goes from them without assistance, and they are 
well known and honored for their many acts of 
helpfulness. Mr. MacFarlane has been for many 
years one of the most trusted of the leaders of the 
Republican party of the state, being a conscien- 
tious believer in the principles of that political 
organization, and he is an eloquent advocate of 
all measures which are calculated to promote the 
public welfare. In 1896 he was nominated and 
elected by a handsome majority to the Legisla- 
tive Assembly of the state, and was there dis- 
tinguished for the ability and fidelity with which 
he served his constituents and the state. Many 
measures of large public interest, especially of 
a beneficial nature to the live stock interests of 
Wyoming, owe their origin to his patriotism as 
a member of the legislature. The people of the 
state would be fortunate if his services could be 
again commanded in her legislative halls, for he 
is recognized by men of all parties as one of the 
foremost men of the state, whose ability and 
loyalty to the best interests of Wyoming are un- 
questioned. He is a type of the best citizenship 
and his successful life, as well as his public ser- 
vices, should be an inspiration to the young men 
of Wyoming. 

HON. MARTIN McGRATH. 

Although born in Pennsylvania and reared 
there to the age of fourteen, Hon. Martin Mc- 
Grath of Thermopolis, a member of the legisla- 
ture of 1903, is essentially a western man; 
thoroughly identified with the interests of the 
section and imbued with its spirit. He has given 
himself up to the wild life of its plains as a 
range rider, has been one of its potential and pro- 
gressive mercantile factors and has had a voice 
of influence and force in its politics. His life 



began on November 9, 1864, and when he was 
fourteen his parents, Thomas and Margaret 
(Hines) McGrath, natives of Ireland but resi- 
dents of Pennsylvania from their early matu- 
rity, removed to eastern Kansas and two years 
later, in 1880, to Wyoming, locating at Dale 
Creek, where Martin nearly reached his majority 
and completed his education so far as schools 
were concerned. In 1884 he came to. Fort Fet- 
terman and for three years rode the range with 
the most hardy and fearless riders, gathering 
strength of body, independence of spirit, acute- 
ness of perception and readiness for any emer- 
gency from its life of exposure and strenuous 
effort. In 1887 he migrated to Glenrock and en- 
gaged in mercantile business until 1895, when he 
came to Thermopolis and started his present 
mercantile enterprise, one of the most extensive 
and progressive of its kind in this part of the 
state. It is a comprehensive general or depart- 
ment store where is to be found everything that 
necessity can demand or taste desire in the way 
of merchandise, and by its very fullness and 
variety of stock, wisdom of selection and su- 
perior quality in its wares and the grace and 
courtesy of manner in which they are offered to 
the public, it has become one of the most pop- 
ular emporiums of trade in the Northwest. In 
addition to this Mr. McGrath is one-half owner 
with Mr. Higgins of 10,000 sheep and has con- 
nection with other valuable industries in his 
county and elsewhere. A gentleman of Mr. 
McGrath's enterprise and public spirit, which 
have been exhibited by his active and forceful 
interest in the welfare of his community and 
whatever tends to its advancement, could not be 
overlooked as an element of usefulness and a 
power for good even in the maelstrom of politics, 
and he must perforce be drawn into it willingly 
or unwillingly, unless he should resist the impor- 
tunities of the public with the utmost positive- 
ness and constancy. In 1902 he was elected to 
the lower house of the State Legislature, in the 
ensuing session he sustained in that trying, and 
to him new forum, the reputation he had already 
made in others for readiness in resources, ten- 
acity of purpose, tact in management and know- 



262 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ledge and breadth of view in public affairs. His 
services to his constituents were of great value 
and his influence on general affairs of the state 
through legislation was wholesome and consider- 
able. He was married first at Glenrock in 1890, 
with Miss Minnie Thomas, a native of Iowa, who 
died at Thermopolis on December 25, 1900, leav- 
ing two sons, Roy and Lester. In 1902 he was 
married a second time, being united with Mrs. 
Dora Barker, also a native of Iowa. He is a 
stockholder in the electric light plant of the town, 
having given his aid to the installation of the 
system in order to secure its benefits for the com- 
munity and help along the progress of the town. 
And in the same way he is connected with var- 
ious other public utilities and private enterprises 
which contribute to the general weal, although 
by no means ostentatiously a philanthropist or 
promoter. 

ARCHIE R. MARCHESSAULT. 

There have been no greater factors in the 
development of the Great West and Northwest 
than the brave Canadians of French extraction 
who have everywhere distinguished themselves 
by their daring and brave pioneering and by the 
civilization that has never failed to follow in 
their footsteps. Mr. Marchessault is one of the 
men of this race who has manifested in the pres- 
ent generation the progressive characteristics 
shown so often by his ancestors in the preceding 
periods of our history. His life and activities 
find a fitting place in this volume, as he is a 
strong, self-reliant man, who, having been de- 
pendent upon himself since early youth, has come 
to regard ordinary obstacles in the way of his 
progress as but trifles that vanish like shadows 
when attacked by zeal and ' determination. 
Archie R. Marchessault, now a prominent stock- 
man of Uinta county, Wyoming, his highly im- 
proved and developed home ranch lying on 
Smith's Fork, near the pleasantly located town 
of Mt. View, was born near L'Acadie in the 
Dominion of Canada, on March 13, 1857, a son 
of Simon and Florence (Beauchard) Marchess- 
ault, both natives of Canada and of French line- 



age, their ancestry running back for generations 
into tented fields and knightly endeavor in the 
fair land of France. The father was a farmer, 
adding to the slender produce of the sterile 
acreage by his diligent handiwork as a black- 
smith, his father, Levi, being for long years the 
proprietor of a small hotel. The fourth in a 
family of ten children, seven of whom are now 
living, the luxuries of life were not in great 
evidence for Archie, but in the parish school he 
acquired a correct knowledge of the French 
language, which formed a solid base for the 
education he has diligently pursued under his 
own instruction in the United States, a know- 
ledge of scholastic English being a portion of the 
curriculum. When but thirteen years of age the 
courageous youth crossed the international 
boundary, and as he possessed a strong vitality, 
he could and did find employment in brickyards 
and icehouses, the heavy toil' there necessary only 
hardening his muscles and being a fitting pre- 
paration for his after life and labors in the far 
west. Feeling assured that in that free land be- 
yond the great western plains were opportu- 
nities for carving out a successful career, in 
1876 Mr. Marchessault took the long trail for the 
west, never stopping until he reached the terri- 
tory of Utah, his initial employment here being 
mining in the camps of the Atlas and Frisco dis- 
tricts. A year later he was in the mining region 
of Nevada, where he tried both farming and 
mining, not meeting success enough however to 
prevent him from saying farewell and leaving 
Elko, his last location, and pressing on to the 
Wood River country of Idaho, where he mined 
and freighted for a year and then came to 
Evanston, Wyo., where he became identified 
with railroading as a brakeman and a fireman on 
the Union Pacific, "leaving the road" to become 
an employe -for a j'ear of the great stockman 
"Phil Masson, his operations being conducted on 
Henry's Fork. Being thus well equipped with 
the technical knowledge necessary to a success- 
ful and profitable adventure for himself in the 
cattle industry, Mr. Marchessault secured a 
squatter's right on a portion of the land now 
constituting his fine landed estate, and engaged 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



263 



in the stock business, in which he has shown rare 
skill and judgment and in which he still con- 
tinues, being bountifully prospered in his opera- 
tions, his herds increasing from year to year un- 
less diminished by sale, which only tends to his 
prosperity. When the reservation land was 
thrown open to settlement, he filed on the place 
now constituting his home ranch, which estate 
consists of 240 acres of excellent meadow land 
under intelligent improvement of a high order, 
while three miles below he is the owner .of an- 
other choice 160 acres. He has raised horses, 
cattle, and sheep and is known as one of the 
daring operators in his line. He has at present 
a large number of cattle, mostly milk cows, while 
his sheep have been reduced by sale to two bands. 
He has won his way to wealth by an earnestness 
and a xletermination that few men possess, while, 
being courteous in his manner, entertaining in 
his conversation and generous in his impulses 
and hospitality, he has made warm and lasting 
friendships and his family holds a high place 
among the people of the entire county. He is 
particularly happy in his domestic life and has 
no desire to exchange . it for political honors, al- 
though loyal and energetic in his support of the 
Republican party as a member in the ranks. On 
March 9, 1885, occurred the wedding of Mr. 
Marchessault with Miss Belle, J. Harvey, a 
daughter of William and Agnes (McCulloch) 
Harvey, natives of Scotland, her native place 
however, being Muscatine, Iowa. The children 
of this congenial couple are Florence A. ; Clyde 
W. ; Robert R. ; Max A. ; Victor G. ; Myrtle R. ; 
Grace W. M., and a beautiful fragrance of hos- 
pitality emanates from the' home. 

THOMAS MATTHEWS. 

Progressive in all which the term implies and 
holding distinctive prestige as a business man 
and citizen Thomas Matthews is a splendid ex- 
ample of the wide-awake, enterprising class of 
men who in recent years have done so much to 
develop the wonderful resources of the Great 
West and advertise its manifold advantages to 
the world. Although a resident of anothei state 



he has large and important business interests in 
Wyoming and during the last twenty years has 
been very closely identified with' the material 
development of the county of Weston. His par- 
ents, William and Nancy (King) Matthews, were 
among the very earliest pioneers of Southern 
Texas, settling in Gonzales county about 1835, 
where the father became one of the most 'exten- 
sive cattleraisers of that region, owning at one 
time nearly 5,000 acres of land, the greater part 
of which came into his possession by reason of 
his service as a soldier during the Mexican War. 
He was one of the successful and influential men 
of his county, accumulated valuable property and 
became widely known throughout Southern 
Texas as a farmer and stockman ; he died in 
1856, his widow surviving until 1892. Thomas 
N. Matthews was born in Gonzales county, Tex., 
on April 14, 1849. He was a lad of six years 
when his father died, and to his mother's faith- 
ful care and guidance is he indebted for his early 
training and for much of the success with which 
his riper years have been crowned. At the proper 
age he became a pupil of the public schools and 
until eighteen years old remained with his 
mother on the home farm, looking after her in- 
terests and assisting to run the place. On April 
23, 1867, when but little past eighteen years of 
age he was united in marriage with Miss Fannie 
Walker, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of 
Allen Walker, the ceremony being solemnized 
in the city of Gonzales, Upon the division of 
his father's estate about 1,000 acres fell to his son 
Thomas, who, on this, set up his first domestic 
establishment and began his long and successful 
career as a cattleraiser, building up a large and 
lucrative business and for a number of years 
ranking with the leading stockmen and successful 
farmers of his native county, also earning the 
reputation of an intelligent and public spirited 
man of affairs. He continued in Texas until 
1881 when he sold a part of his extensive in- 
terests there and brought a large number of cat- 
tle to Wyoming, purchasing the fine ranch near 
Gillette which he still owns. Since transferring 
his interests to this state Mr. Matthews has re- 
doubled his diligence, gradually forging to the 



264 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



front until he became one of the most extensive 
stockmen in Weston county, beside holding large 
and valuable possessions elsewhere. His family 
joined him in 1889, when he disposed of the res- 
idue of his property in Texas, and in 1895 
he moved to his present home in the town of 
Spearfish, South Dakota. Mr. Matthews owns 
a large amount of fine grazing land in South 
Dakota, which is well stocked with cattle and 
horses, his son Thomas being jointly interested 
with him and giving personal attention to the 
business in Wyoming. Mr. Matthews has 
steadily increased his realty and his business con- 
tinues to grow in magnitude and importance 
with each recurring year. His various ranches 
are admirably situated and with the improve- 
ments which he has added from time to time are 
now among the most valuable properties of the 
kind in the west. He owns an elegant modern 
residence in Spearfish, abundantly supplied with 
the comforts and conveniences calculated to 
make life desirable, and in addition thereto has 
nearly 1, 000 acres of land in close proximity to 
the city. In many respects the subject of this 
sketch is more than an ordinary man, for his 
career has been attended with financial success, 
such as few achieve and he has made his presence 
felt as a forceful factor in business circles and 
in the public affairs of his city arid state. His 
methods have always been honorable and in his 
relations with his fellow men no shade or sus- 
picion of a questionable transaction has ever 
attached to his good name. His private char- 
acter is above reproach and as a neighbor, 
friend and citizen his record will bear the closest 
and most exacting scrutiny. By deeds of gen- 
erosity and kindness extending through a long 
period of years he has won and retained strong 
personal attachments, and it is doubtful if a 
more useful or popular individual can be found 
in the city of his residence, or in any part of the 
country where he is so well and favorably known. 
Mr. Matthews' first wife, to whom reference is 
made in a preceding paragraph, bore him five 
children and departed this life in August, 1894; 
her body was taken to Gonzales, Tex., where 
amid quiet scenes and peaceful shades, it will 



sleep until awakened by the angel- of the resur- 
rection. The following are the names of her 
children James, Thomas, Addie and Ida, twins, 
and Cora, all deceased except Thomas. His 
second marriage was solemnized on April 1, 
1895, in Deadwood, S. D., with Carrie Minegh, 
a native of Illinois and a daughter of George 
Minegh, Esq. Mrs. Matthews is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church of Spearfish and has 
a large acquaintance among the best social cir- 
cles of that city. While not personally identified 
with any religious organization, Mr. Matthews 
believes in the church as a great moral force and 
is a liberal contributor to its beneficences. All 
other enterprises having for their object the im- 
provement of society or the elevation of the 
standard of citizenship also find in him a zealous 
friend and liberal patron. 

JOHN McNISH. 

This gentlemanly and accommodating post- 
master at Viola, Uinta county, Wyoming, now at 
the entrance of the prime of manhood, was born 
in Green county, Wis., a son of Alexander and 
Elizabeth (Chadwick) McNish, a native of Glas- 
gow, Scotland, the father coming to the United 
States in 1856, following here the occupation of 
blacksmith and farmer until his death in 1890, 
at the age of seventy-six years. He was one of 
the pioneers of Wisconsin, and with the usual 
foresight, skill and thrifty habits of his country- 
men, became one of the most prosperous and re- 
spected citizens of his adopted county of Green. 
The mother of John McNish, born in Pennsyl- 
vania, was united, in marriage with her husband 
in Wisconsin and there she died in 1872. John 
McNish had just attained his majority when he 
came to Wyoming and for the first eleven years 
after his arrival in the state he was employed as 
a drover, and then, in 1884, having acquired 
some capital, he entered a desert claim on La- 
barge Creek and began the raising of cattle on 
his own account. Here he has made many im- 
provements and has one of the best ranches in 
the country. Straightforward in all his dealings 
he has established for himself a reputation for 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



265 



integrity unsurpassed in the county. The mar- 
riage of John McNish to Miss Lillie Price was 
celebrated in 1891. She was the accomplished 
daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Mott) 
Price, and a native of Missouri. But Mr. Mc- 
Nish was untimely bereft by the loss of his help- 
mate, and to his fatherly care there were left 
two children, Venus and Ellis, to whom he de- 
votes solicitous care and tender attention. It is 
now about six years since Mr. McNish, a zealous 
Democrat in politics, was appointed postmaster 
at Viola, but in the performance of the duties of 
this office he has given eminent satisfaction to 
the public and the Postoffice Department. 

SHERMAN T. MAJOR. 

In the lineage of this genial and energetic 
member of the firm of Nickerson & Major, pro- 
prietors of the Palace Pharmacy of Lander, the 
versatility and vivacity of the Canadian and the 
industry and thrift of the prairie farmer of Illi- 
nois unite. His life began on June 8, 1865, in 
Vermilion county, 111., where his father, Samuel 
Major, a Canadian by birth, died in 1890 aged 
sixty years, after a career of patriotic and pro- 
ductive usefulness. At the call of his country 
he enlisted in the Twenty-third Illinois Infantry 
in defense of the Union and served three years, 
engaging in many important battles and accom- 
paning Sherman on his renowned march to the 
sea. His wife, Margaret (Smith) Major, who 
was born and reared in Illinois, survived him un- 
til June, 1891, and then died while on a visit to 
her son in Wyoming. They were the parents of 
two sons, both of whom are living in this state. 
Sherman, the elder, attended the district schools 
of Illinois until he was fourteen years old, then, 
beginning the business of life for himself, he 
removed to Kansas and passed three years and 
a half as a clerk and salesman in a mercantile 
establishment. From Kansas he made his way 
to Minnesota where he worked for a year in 
the livery business. He then returned to his 
home and during the next three years worked 
for his parents on the farm. In 1888 he came 
west to Wyoming and accepted employment with 



Mr. McLaughlin on his ranch near Lander for 
a year, then rode the range for another year, at 
the end of which he entered the service of the 
U. S. government with the Shoshone Indian 
agency, where he remained four years and two 
months. During the following two years he con- 
ducted the hotel at Fort Washakie, after which 
he was engaged for two years in the cattle busi- 
ness in the Big Horn country in company with 
F. K. McCoy. In 1900 he joined his present 
partner, Oro K. Nickerson, in the purchase of the 
stock and store of the Palace Pharmacy at Lan- 
der, in which he has since been actively and pro- 
fitably occupied. This establishment, both in 
the stock it carries and the manner in which it 
is conducted, is a credit to the town and is much 
appreciated by its large and expanding list of 
patrons. Mr. Major is a capable and enterpris- 
ing business man, keenly alive to the needs of 
his trade and section, genial and obliging in man- 
ner, earnestly interested in the growth and de- 
velopment of his city and county and of firm 
faith in their continuing prosperity and advance- 
ment. He is a member of Lander Lodge No. 10, 
Knights of Pythias. On January 6, 1892, he 
married with Miss Mary A. Shere of Fort 
Washakie, a lady of English ancestry and they 
have one child, Sibyl A. Major. 

ROBERT MILLER. 

The sons of "Bonnie Scotland" are every- 
where found in the leading ranks of human en- 
deavor, and they have played a distinguished 
part in the toils and endurance, the labors and the 
achievements that have resulted in the creation 
of the great west. Perhaps in no field of indus- 
trial activity has their beneficial presence been 
more marked than in the mining of coal, one of 
the most important branches of our present in- 
dustries, for Scottish energy, intelligence and 
thrift, combined with a thorough technical 
knowledge of mining, and indefatigable industry, 
if given a good opportunity, rarely fail to win 
a success worthy of the name. A notable ex- 
ample of this is presented in the life of Robert 
Miller, now a prominent and esteemed citizen of 



266 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Evanston, Wyoming, who was born on February 
3, 1861, at Knightswood. County Dunbarton, 
Scotland, being a son of David and Elizabeth 
(Dougherty) Miller, and descending from fami- 
lies running back an unknown number of genera- 
tions in his native land. David Miller, born in 
Scotland in 1819, a son of Walter Miller, a life- 
long resident of Dunbarton county, acquired 
a solid education in the national schools, and for 
many years was engaged in coal-mining, which 
vocation he diligently followed until coming to 
the United States in 1883, marrying and rearing 
a family of nine children in the old country. Mrs. 
Elizabeth Miller, born in 1823, a faithful and 
beneficial wife and mother, passed from earth 
to those activities that have no weariness, at Al- 
my, Wyo., at the age of seventy-eight years, long 
surviving her husband, who died and was 
buried at Evanston in 1890. After a residence 
of two years at Echo, Utah, their life in the 
West was passed at Almy, Wyo., where they 
were highly esteemed members of society and de- 
voted members of the Presbyterian church. Ro- 
bert Miller had the Scotch desire for knowledge, 
availing himself of all the school advantages he 
could obtain and supplementing these by observ- 
ant reading of valuable authors. Of course his 
environments made him a miner and he became 
well grounded in its technical knowledge which 
was assisted by constant observation and a keen 
intellect. Preceding his parents to this country 
by one year, in 1882 he became identified with 
mining at Echo, Utah, for three years, thence 
proceeding to Almy, Uinta county, Wyo., and 
continuing the industry there for mdre than a 
decade. For three years he was employed in the 
silver mines at Park City, Utah, coming from 
that place to Frontier, Wyo., where he followed 
mining until his special qualifications and fitness 
for public life caused him to be placed in re- 
sponsible positions of trust and confidence. In 
1892, as a Republican, he was elected State Sena- 
tor for the county of Uinta and served his con- 
stituents well and faithfully in the Legislatures 
of 1893 and 1895. He was decidedly a working 
member of the Senate, carrying the same indus- 
trv and integrity into his official life that were 



prominent characteristics of his every day exis- 
tence among the people and he has won many 
friends. In 1900 he was elected clerk of the 
District Court and in 1902 was again the 
choice of the Republican party for the same 
office, to which he was again elected by one of 
the largest majorities ever given to any candidate 
in the county and he is now holding the office, 
being very popular with the people, the court 
and the legal fraternity. By his marriage on 
January 29, 1889, with Miss Ellen G. Hunter, 
a native of Pennsylvania, he has four children; 
Mary A. ; David H. ; Goldie M. ; Robert N. Mil- 
ler, their mother being the daughter of Robert N. 
and Mary (McDonald) Hunter, and her pater- 
nal grandfather, John Hunter, of Scotland, bet- 
ter known in the old country by his popular name 
of "Clydeside Johnnie," at one time lived in the 
United States, being a man of wide experience 
and great power as an orator, acquiring distinc- 
tion for his sterling advocacy of all causes tend- 
ing to the amelioration of the condition of the 
miners of Scotland. Her father was born in 
Scotland, but he has lived for more than forty 
years in America and now resides, a respected 
citizen at Cumberland, Wyo. 

ANDREW NEILSON. 

The general public has ever taken an in- 
terest in tracing the career of a man starting in 
life handicapped in many ways, but who not- 
withstanding obstacles or unfavorable environ- 
ment, pushes courageously to the front until he 
finally reaches the goal of success. The life of 
the self-made man whose name appears above 
affords an impressive example of what energy, 
when properly directed and controlled, may ac- 
complish in surmounting unfavorable conditions 
and lifting its possessor from a lowly station to 
affluence and usefulness. Andrew Neilson is 
a typical representation of sterling Scottish man- 
hood and, although of foreign birth, is none the 
less loyal to the government under which he now 
lives or none the less a lover of the country in 
which his most pronounced success has been 
achieved. He was born in Rutherqlend. Scot- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



267 



land, on September 28, 1861, the son of Andrew 
and Elizabeth (Grant) Neilson, natives of that 
country. For facts concerning Andrew and 
Elizabeth Neilson the reader is respectfully re- 
ferred to the biography of Robert Neilson to be 
found elsewhere in this volume. Andrew Neil- 
son passed his childhood and youth in his native 
land, at an early age being apprenticed to learn 
the painters' trade. After serving his appren- 
ticeship and becoming an efficient workman he 
came to the United States with his parents and 
for some time thereafter followed his trade in 
Pittston, Pa., where he remained until 1885, in 
November of that year coming to Laramie coun- 
ty, Wyo., where for several weeks he stopped 
with a cousin, Duncan Grant, meanwhile looking 
over the country to find a favorable locality 
wherein to settle. Leaving his relation, Mr 
Neilson went to Cheyenne and after remaining 
there a few months invested his means in a herd 
of cattle, which he drove to the mountains near 
Laramie Peak to pasture until the following 
spring. The winter being excessively severe 
fully one-half of his cattle died, entailing a 
heavy loss which would have disheartened a less 
courageous man. Returning from the mountains 
with the remainder of his herd, he took up his 
present ranch on Sybylle Creek, seven miles 
southwest of Wheatland, and purchasing more 
cattle, he resolutely faced the future, determined 
if possible to retrieve his fortune. In this laud- 
able ambition he has been eminently successful, 
now easily ranking with the leading stockmen of 
that part of Wyoming where he operates. Mr. 
Neilson began cattleraising in a modest way and 
notwithstanding the severe experience at the 
commencement his business has gradually ad- 
vanced until today he has accumulated a nice lit- 
tle fortune, which places him in independent cir- 
cumstances. He is familiar with every detail of 
the industry and the success of his past endeavors 
is an earnest of still larger transactions and con- 
tinued prosperity in years to come. Mr. Neilson 
pays especial attention to blooded stock and on 
his place may be seen some of the finest 
thorough-bred cattle in his section of the coun- 
try. His ranch, which contains 640 acres, is 



finely situated for live stock purposes, the greater 
part being quite level and overgrown with a 
rank growth of nutritious grasses well adapted 
for grazing and for hay. In addition to this he 
leases other lands. Mr. Neilson's ranch contains 
a number of substantial improvements and the 
condition of everything on the premises indicates 
the spirit of thrift and progress. His home is 
comfortable and attractive, no pains has been 
spared to make it the dearest spot on earth to 
the inmates. A man of enterprising spirit he 
takes an active interest in whatever tends to build 
up the community materially or otherwise and as 
a neighbor he is popular, as a friend loyal and 
steadfast, while in every relation of life 
his conduct has been upright, manly and 
above reproach. Mr. Neilson was most happily 
married on March 28, 1900, with Miss Ivy 
Curtis, a daughter of Wells A. and Caroline 
(Wemple) Curtis, the ceremony being solem- 
nized at the pleasant residence of Mrs. Mor- 
ris, a sister of the bride, whose father was 
born in New York, her mother in Pennsyl- 
vania, their marriage occurring in Iowa, of which 
state they were early pioneers. After the death 
of his wife in 1877 Mr. Curtis went to Colorado, 
locating at Fort Collins near which place he en- 
gaged in the stock business. He died on March 
7, 1896, and was buried at Fort Collins. Mrs. 
Neilson is a native of Iowa and has borne her 
husband one child, Andrew A., whose birth oc- 
curred on April 4, 1901. Mr. Neilson is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity and in politics sup- 
ports the Republican party. The Congregation- 
al! st church embodies his religious creed, him- 
self and wife being members of that com- 
munion. 

CHARLES W. MORGAREIDGE. 

The conquest of man over nature, an inspir- 
ing theme in all its phases, is in nothing more 
complete, perhaps, than in the propagation and 
distribution of choice varieties of fish, and this 
industry has grown to enormous proportions and 
is exceedinglv interesting as a subject of obser- 
vation and studv, either in general or in detail. 



268 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



The limits of this publication do not allow 
specific attention to the subject farther than to 
say that its control and management must be in 
competent hands and then good results are sure 
to follow. In this respect the State Fish Hatch- 
ery of Wyoming is most fortunate in having at 
its head the accomplished gentleman who forms 
the subject of the present writing, Charles W. 
Morgareidge, who is closely identified with the 
history of the state, having passed more than a 
generation of human life within her borders. He 
is a native of Ohio where he was born in 1855, 
the son of Simeon and Eliza (Coffee) Mor- 
gareidge, also natives of Ohio. When he was 
about fifteen years of age his parents came to 
Nebraska, settling at Rawlins, and in 1870 their 
son Charles came to Wyoming and soon entered 
the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad as a 
boilermaker and continued as a brakeman. He 
remained with the company four years, then was 
engaged in the stock industry for twelve more 
years, when he came to Sheridan and opened an 
establishment as a furniture dealer and under- 
taker which he conducted successfully until 1898. 
He was then appointed superintendent of the 
State Fish Hatchery by Governor Richards, hold- 
ing the position continuously since that time 
and having to his credit a record of fidelity and 
skill in the discbarge of his official duties, under 
which the business of the institution has greatly 
prospered and the state's interests have not only 
been well protected, but expanded in value. Mr. 
Morgareidge was married in 1885, in Johnson 
county, Wyo., to Miss Nellie V. Harris, a daugh- 
ter of B. B. Hairis of Colorado, a cousin of the 
late Hon. Benjamin Butterworth, for many years 
a distinguished member of Congress from Ohio. 
They have three children, Blanche, C. B. and 
Annie. Since 1899 Mrs, Morgareidge has been 
the postmistress at Wolf, where they live, and 
has conducted the office with general accepta- 
bility. The head of the house still owns his 
residence property in Sheridan City, with other 
holdings of value. He is an active member of the 
Masonic fraternity and takes great interest in 
the progress and proceedings of its lodges. In 
1876 and 1877 he was in the service of the U. S. 



Government, packing provisions for the troops 
in the field. Always and everywhere he has been 
ready and willing to take his part in any move- 
ment for the good of the community, the benefit 
of his county, his state or his country. His in- 
fluence is generally recognized in local affairs, 
and his zealous, upright and serviceable citizen- 
ship furnishes an inspiring example to his 
fellows. 

HARRISON J. NEWELL. 

One of the oldest residents of Albany county, 
Wyoming, and one of the representative citizens 
of that section of the state, is Harrison J. New- 
ell, whose address is Spring Hill. He was born 
October 12, 1831, a native of Wayne county, in 
the state of Ohio, and the son of James and 
Elizabeth (Coder) Newell, the former a native 
of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. His fa- 
ther was a farmer in Wayne county, Ohio, and 
removed from that state to Iowa in 1837, where 
he settled in the county of Louisa, being one of 
the earliest of its pioneers. He was a resident 
of the state during the Indian wars and all of his 
life was passed on the frontier. In 1847, he re- 
moved to Black Hawk county, where he engaged 
in farming and continued in that pursuit up to 
the time of his death, in 1872. The mother passed 
from earth in 1838, and was buried in Louisa 
county, Iowa. Harrison J. Newell grew to man- 
hood in Iowa, and received his earl}- schooling in 
Louisa and Black Hawk counties, although his 
opportunities for attendance in school in those 
pioneer days were very limited. He did his best 
to acquire an education and was enabled to a 
large extent to supply the deficiencies of his early 
training. He remained at the paternal home as- 
sisting his father in the work and management 
of the farm until he had attained to the age of 
twenty-one years. He then set out in life for 
himself and in 1852 purchased -a farm in Black 
Hawk county, Iowa, near his old home, and en- 
gaged in both farming and stockgrowing with 
fair success in his operations until 1881 when he , 
removed his residence to the then territory of 
Wyoming, there establishing his home in the vi- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



269 



cir.it>- of Eagle Mountain and engaged in pros- 
pecting and mining until the following year, 
when he returned to Iowa and brought his fam- 
ily to his new home at Eagle Mountain. He 
continued mining until the fall of 1882, then 
seeing a favorable opportunity to engage in the 
cattle business, he returned to his former Iowa 
home and purchased cattle which he brought 
to Wyoming, and located upon his present 
ranch in Horseshoe Park, lying about thirty-five 
miles south of the city of Douglas. He has 
since that time been continuously engaged in 
raising cattle and horses, and has been very suc- 
cessful, being now the owner of a large, well im- 
proved ranch, well fenced and with suitable 
buildings for the convenient operation of his ex- 
tensive stock, business, and is one of the progress- 
ive and representative men of his section of Wyo- 
ming. On November 20, 1856, Mr. Newell was 
united in marriage in Black Hawk county, Iowa, 
to Miss Sarah Jane Benham, a native of Ohio, 
and a daughter of William and Sarah (Prickett) 
Benham, also natives of that state, standing 
among the best known arid respected citizens. 
Mr. and Mrs. Newell have had seven children, 
Martha (deceased), Mary M., Frank -M., Em- 
mett M., F. Elma (deceased), Eva M. (de- 
ceased), Gut H. The three deceased daughters 
are buried in Black Plawk county, Iowa. Mr. 
Newell is a stanch adherent of the Democratic 
party, and a conscientious advocate of its prin- 
ciples. During his long life - he has sometimes 
taken an active and leading part in public af- 
fairs, but has never sought or desired public of- 
fice. He is one of the substantial and conser- 
vative business men of Albany county, whose 
long life has been full of usefulness to his fel- 
low men and he is held in high esteem. His 
popularity only exemplifies his real merits. 

ORO K. NICKERSON. 

Unquestionably one of the prime necessities 
in a community is a good and reliable drugstore, 
and it adds much to the peace of mind and com- 
fort of the community to know that such an in- 
stitution in its midst is properly conducted. The 
people of Lander have this source of comfort 



in the excellent pharmacy conducted in their' 
town by Messrs. Nickerson & Major. The sen- 
ior proprietor, Mr. Oro K. Nickerson, was born 
at Miners' Delight, Wyoming, on August 30, 
1877, the son of Herman G. and Hattie J. (Kel- 
sey) Nickerson, natives of Ohio from whence the 
father emigrated to Wyoming in 1866 and the 
mother in 1872. They are still living in the state 
of their adoption, the father being at this writ- 
ing Indian agent at the Shoshone agency, near 
Lander. He has always been a man of pro- 
gressive views and commendable activity in pub- 
lic affairs. Oro K. Nickerson received his schol- 
astic education in the public schools of Fremont 
county and afterward attended the Stout Manual 
Training School of Wisconsin and the depart- 
ment of Pharmacy at the University of Minne- 
sota. He was graduated in pharmacy in 1896 
and at once was employed as a druggist's clerk 
in Minneapolis where he remained two years. 
At the end of that period he came to Wyoming 
and went to work in the same capacity for Mr. 
Keister, of Lander. In 1900 he and Sherman T. 
Major bought the stock and store of the Palace 
Pharmacy, which they are still conducting in 
first-class style and with a complete line of the 
best drugs and chemicals. They give special at- 
tention to compounding prescriptions, using none 
but the best and freshest drugs, combining them 
with great care and skill. They carry also a full 
and attractive stock of liquors, toilet goods and 
fancy articles, such as are usually found in an 
up-to-date drug store and by their enterprise and 
close attention to the tastes and needs of their 
patrons they satisfy the exacting demands of a 
large and growing trade. Mr. Nickerson is a 
gentleman of breadth of view and public spirit, 
taking a deep and serviceable interest in all mat- 
ters of general concern for the advancement of 
the community. He is an earnest and zealous 
Odd Fellow, holding membership in Fremont 
Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F. On August 22, 1900, 
in Wisconsin, he yielded to the flowery yoke of 
Eros and was united in marriage with Miss Es- 
sie E. Cook of that state, a daughter of George 
R. and Julia (DeMoe) Cook, and one child, Oro 
K., Jr., has blessed their union. Mr. Nickerson is 
the captain of Co. B, Wyoming National Guard. 



270 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



FRED F. NOBLE. 

The youngest of six children and left an or- 
phan by the death of her father when she was 
but seven years old, Fred F. Noble, one of the 
proprietors and the cashier of the banking in- 
stitution of Noble, Lane & Noble, one of the 
leading commercial enterprises of the little town 
of Lander, has brought himself into conse- 
quence and public esteem in spite of adverse cir- 
cumstances and the want of fortune's favors. He 
was born at Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., on August 
■I, 1862, the son of Mr. William N. and Jane A. 
(Payne) Noble, prosperous farmers of that vi- 
cinity. His father, who was a native of Eng- 
land, practiced civil engineering in connection 
with his farming operations and was an in- 
fluential man in the community, when at the age 
of forty-five an untimely death ended his useful- 
ness, leaving his young family to their own re- 
sources. His widow, a native of New York, sur- 
vived him until 1892, when she died at the age 
of sixty-seven years. Their youngest son, Fred 
F. Noble, attended the public schools of his na- 
tive place until he nearly reached his maturity 
and then secured a course of business training 
at an excellent commercial college at Gibson, N. 
Y., from which he was graduated in 1882. Fie 
at once came to the west and, settling in Wyo- 
ming, began his creditable business career as a 
bookkeeper for Noble & Lane at the Shoshone 
Indian agency. Eight years of active and profit- 
able service there secured him general esteem as 
a business man and in 1890 he removed to Lan- 
der, there entering upon duty as cashier of the 
bank with which he is still connected and to 
whose development he has essentially contrib- 
uted. He also has valuable interests in the stock 
business in connection with the Noble, Carmody 
& Ivens Live Stock Co., which, without ostenta- 
tion, carries on an extensive and profitable trade 
in that commodity which has made Wyoming 
great and respected in the commercial world. 
Mr. Noble was married on February 13, 1895, 
at Lander, with Miss Isabella C. Ewing, a 
daughter of John and Eleanor Ewing, natives 
and residents of Grimsby, England, where their 



families have been people of standing and in- 
fluence for generations. Mr. and Mrs. Noble 
have two children, Everett E. and Marie, and 
are active and useful members of the Episcopal 
church, having a firm hold on the regard of the 
community in both a social and a public way. 
Their home is a center of refined and genial hos- 
pitality, contributing as much to the amenities of 
life in the town as Mr. Noble's business does 
to its financial and mercantile welfare. 

JOHN W. PADGET, M. D. 

Prepared for public and professional life by 
a thorough collegiate and technical education, 
and having gathered wisdom and experience 
from an extensive practice of his professiop in 
half a dozen states. Dr. John W. Padget, of 
Lander, is justly entitled to the eminence he holds 
in his life-work and fully justifies by natural ap- 
titude, acquired knowledge and skill the high re- 
gard in which he is held as a physician. He was 
born in Dallas county, Missouri, on April 14, 
1863, a son of Elias M. and Orlena (Holson) 
Padget, who removed from Tennessee to Mis- 
siouri in their early married life. The Doctor re- 
ceived a careful academic education in the Mis- 
souri University at Cobia, and in the medical 
department of that institution and of the Mis- 
souri Medical College at St. Louis he was well 
prepared in both the theoretical and the clinical 
departments of his profession, being graduated 
from the latter institution in 1883. After prac- 
ticing for one year at Winfield, Kan., he returned 
to his native state and practiced at Louisburg un- 
til 1888. At that time he was appointed physi- 
ian at the Nez Perces Indian agency in Idaho, 
remaining in that position until October 25, 
1889, when he removed to Palouse, ^Yash., and 
practiced there until June, 1895. During the 
next three or four years he was located at differ- 
ent times at Caldwell, Idaho, Anaconda and 
Bridger, Mont., and elsewhere. In November, 
1899, he located at Lander, where he has since 
resided and built up an extensive and profitable 
practice, taking a leading place in the ranks of 
the profession and in the general regard of the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



271 



people, socially as well as professionally. He 
participates actively in public affairs, serving on 
the staff of the commander in the Wyoming 
National Guard as a first lieutenant, freely giv- 
ing his voice and influence in behalf of every 
good enterprise for the advantage of the county 
and state in which he lives. On October 10, 
1885, he was united in marriage with Miss J. 
Ellen Carter, a daughter of Dr. James E. and 
Hepseby Carter, natives of Tennessee and be- 
longing to families long prominent in that state. 
Three of their four children are living, Elias 
Monford, Ernest Edward and Orlena; Clare 
died at the age of six years in Spokane, Wash., 
one year after the. death of her mother, who 
passed away on February 1, 1895, at Palouse in 
that state. 

CHARLES C. PALMER. 

In this enlightened and utilitarian age, when 
men of industry, energy and merit are rapidly 
pushing themselves to the front, those who by 
their own unaided efforts have won favor in po- 
sitions of trust may properly claim recognition. 
Within the last quarter of a century there have 
come to the Great West men of moderate finan- 
cial resources but evincing that sturdy independ- 
ence and determination which entitles them to a 
place in the history of the section with which 
they have been identified. The career of Mr. 
Charles C. Palmer forcibly illustrates the pos- 
sibilities open to a man possessing keen intelli- 
gence and sterling business qualifications and it 
proves that neither wealth, social position, nor 
the assistance of influential friends is at all req- 
uisite in placing an individual on the road to 
success. Charles C. Palmer, manager of the 
Pratt, and Ferris Cattle Co.'s interests in Lar- 
amie county, Wyoming, was born in Washing- 
ton county, Rhode Island, on January 6, i860. 
His ancestors came to this country in an early 
day from England, settling in Rhode Island 
where the family has been represented for a 
great many years. Oliver G. Palmer, the father 
of the one of whom we are now writing, was 
born and reared in the above state, passing all 



of his life in the county of Washington, dying 
in March, 1863. By occupation he was a shoe- 
maker ; his wife, formerly Miss Lydia Lewis, 
was also a native of Rhode Island, and some time 
after his death she went to Illinois, thence to 
Nebraska, dying in the latter state in December, 
1887. Charles C. Palmer was quite a small 
child when his father died and to his mother's 
careful training is he largely indebted for the in- 
struction and admonition which gave bent to his 
destiny for good. When ten years old he accom- 
panied her to Piper City, Ford county, 111., where 
the family lived from 1870 until 1880, Charles 
meanwhile attending school. The educational 
discipline acquired at Piper City was supple- 
mented by a .full course at Grand Prairie Semi- 
nary, Onarga, 111., where he pursued his studies 
until attaining his majority, when he engaged 
in agricultural pursuits in Ford county, where he 
remained until 1886, when he accompanied his 
mother to Cheyenne county, Neb., now Scotts 
Bluffs county, and entered a tract of govern- 
ment land. He retained this place until 1891 
when he came to Wyoming, settling in Laramie 
county, where he carried on agriculture until the 
spring of 1892, then going to the northern part 
of the state and, engaging in ranch work near 
the town of Sheridan, he continued in that ca- 
pacity during the ensuing six years. In 1895 ne 
accepted a position with the Pratt and Ferris 
Cattle Co., to take charge of the ranches near 
the above place and from that time to the pres- 
ent he has looked ' after their interests in va- 
rious parts of the country. For three years he 
was foreman of the Big Red ranch, the home and 
headquarters of the company, one of the larg- 
est and best improved properties of the kind in 
the state. In the spring of 1898 he was trans- 
ferred to the ranch on Platte River, twelve 
miles east of Fort Laramie, of which he has 
been superintendent to the present time. This 
is also a large and valuable property, having the 
finest buildings of any ranch in this section of the 
state and being one of the most important of the 
company's possessions. As foreman and man- 
ager of the large interests intrusted to him Mr. 
Palmer has demonstrated not only sound judg- 



272 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ment and executive ability of a high order, but 
has also become one of the most experienced 
stockmen in Wyoming. By making his employ- 
er's interests his own, he has won their un- 
bounded confidence and in all matters of busi- 
ness pertaining to the ranch with which he is 
connected his advice and counsel have much 
weight. His experience has been such as to 
gain not only the good will of the company, but 
that of other stockmen of this part of the state, 
among whom he is held in high personal es- 
teem. Mr. Palmer has maintained a lively in- 
terest in all that pertains to the legitimate ad- 
vancement and material prosperity of the county 
in which he lives, believing in enterprise in all 
the term implies, he has bent all of his energies 
in that direction and in many ways has contrib- 
uted to the industrial and general development 
of his part of the state. In addition to the high 
position he holds, Mr. Palmer owns a ranch 
which he rents, the property returning him a 
liberal income besides annually advancing in 
value. By industry and economy he has suc- 
ceeded in acquiring no inconsiderable fortune, 
being now in comfortable circumstances as far 
as finances are concerned and well situated to 
enjoy the fruits of his labors. A gentleman of 
unimpeachable integrity he discharges the duties 
of citizenship as becomes a loyal American and 
true lover of his state and nation. He was mar- 
ried in Ford county, 111., on January 13, 1881, 
with Miss Jennie McLeod of that state, and is 
the father of two children, Miss Fannie E. and 
Harry M. Mr. Palmer has now the charge of 
two ranches on the Platte, and both under his 
able management have become among the most 
valuable of the several large properties which the 
Pratt and Ferris Company own. 

WILLIAM WILSON NOTTINGHAM. 

After years of interesting and not un- 
profitable wandering in various states and ter- 
ritories and trying his hand at a number of 
different occupations, William W. Nottingham 
found near unto Bighorn, Sheridan county, 
Wyoming, a location suitable to his taste and 



an occupation that has engaged his faculties 
in a pleasing as well as a profitable manner. 
He is one of the prosperous and progressive 
farmers and stockgrowers of the state and, 
what is far more to his credit, his estate, both 
in worldly wealth and public esteem, is the 
legitimate fruit of his own energy, capacity 
and upright, useful citizenship, being essentially 
a self-made man in the better sense of the term, 
having gathered his stores of wisdom in an exi- 
gent personal experience and through a large 
acquaintance with men and conditions. Mr. Not- 
tingham was born on May 22, 1841, in Vir- 
ginia, where the families of his parents, Henry 
and Martha Nottingham, had long been domi- 
ciled, coming over from England in Colonial 
days. He lived on the farm with his parents 
and when he was sixteen years of age he came 
west with his oldest brother and married sister, 
by the consent of his parents, to Iowa, where 
he worked on a farm and attended school in 
the winter, completing there the education com- 
menced in Virginia. His parents went to Iowa 
from Virginia in 1871 and there the father died 
in 1882 and the mother in 1883. In i860 Mr. 
Nottingham joined the stampede to Pike's 
Peak, crossing the plains with ox teams, and 
after his arrival engaged in prospecting and 
mining for a time, then went to farming near 
Denver, in 1864 & onl 8' to Boise, Idaho, and 
soon after to Virginia City, Mont., where were 
passed two years in mining, after which for 
twelve years he conducted a freighting enter- 
prise with ox teams. He had government con- 
tracts, in addition to his private business, and 
was able to make the venture profitable, not- 
withstanding the continual hazard attending 
it. While he was conducting this business, he 
also had a stock ranch and carried on an in- 
dustry in cattle with vigor and energy. In 
1879 he removed to the Yellowstone and se- 
cured a contract from the government to supply 
hay to the military posts in the country near by. 
In 1880 he returned to his old Iowa home and, 
buying land there, remained actively occupied in 
farming it until 1886, when he sold out and again 
came west, locating in Sheridan county, Wvo., 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



273 



on the place which is now his home and on 
which he is engaged in farming and stockraising 
on a scale of magnitude commensurate with his 
enterprising spirit and his excellent facilities. He 
has 1,400 acres of deeded land and 880 acres un- 
der lease. On these tracts he has large herds of 
cattle and other stock and, while keeping pace 
with the demands of the market in the volume 
of his products, he is zealously raising his stand- 
ard to the highest degree of excellence. But 
exacting- and interesting as is his business, it 
has not taken all of Mr. Nottingham's time 
and energy, for he is sedulously interested in 
the welfare of the community and has not 
spared his efforts in that behalf. He served 
four acceptable years as county commissioner 
and has given much attention to educational 
affairs. In 1881 was solemnized in Iowa his 
marriage to Miss Belle Eads, a native of that 
state. They have five children, all sons, S. Bu- 
ford, J. W., George D., Don D. and Cecil Clay, 
and all assisting in his business or building up 
industries for themselves. Mr. Nottingham 
enjoys in a marked degree the esteem l of his 
friends and acquaintances and stands high in 
the good will and confidence of the public. 

RONEY R. POMEROY. 

The world judges a community by the char- 
acter of its representative citizens and yields its 
tribute of admiration and respect to the genius, 
learning or work of those whose actions consti- 
tute the record of prosperity and substantial ad- 
■ vancement. It is this record that offers for our 
consideration the history of men who, in their 
character for enterprise, probity and the kindly 
virtues, afford to the young examples worthy of 
emulation and among this class stands Roney 
P. Pomeroy, a native of Illinois, whose life has 
been one of consecutive endeavor in business af- 
fairs, entitling him to representation among the 
useful citizens of the county in which he now 
lives. He is a lineal descendant of an old New 
England family that figured in the annals of 
Massachusetts during the Colonial period. His 
father, Justin Pomeroy, a farmer, being a native 



of that state and the mother, who bore the maid- 
en name of Amy Runyon, was also of New 
England birth. A number of years ago the 
father moved to Pickaway county, Ohio, where 
he followed agricultural pursuits until about 1862, 
giving special attention to broom-corn. From 
Ohio he moved to Titusville, Pennsylvania, where 
he run several stage lines and a hotel and livery. 
In 1867 he came to Wyoming and located at the 
mouth of Fontenelle Creek, where he remained 
five years and about 1872 returned to Kansas, 
two years later moving his family to his former 
location in Wyoming and subsequently changing 
his abode to Evanston, where his death occurred 
on October 14, 1890; his faithful companion fol- 
lowing him to the grave one year later. They 
were the parents of six children, three living at 
the present time, R. R. Pomeroy being the second 
born. He is a native of Clay county, 111., born on 
January 10, 1844. Reared to agricultural pur- 
suits he assisted his father as soon as old enough 
to be of practical service and remained at home 
until manhood came, when he began life for him- 
self, choosing husbandry also for his vocation. 
By utilizing every advantage of the winter terms 
of school he acquired a familiar knowledge of the 
branches usually taught. After farming in Kan- 
sas for four years he came to Wyoming and, in 
1874, took up 160 acres of land on Fontenelle 
Creek, Uinta county, for stockraising purposes. 
Eater he purchased from time to time contiguous 
land until his place now embraces 600 acres, 
nearly all irrigable and constantly increasing in 
value. Mr. Pomeroy began his stockraising in 
a modest way but he has built up a very lucrative 
business, - running now from 300 to 600 head of 
cattle, in addition to sheep and horses. He raises 
considerable grain and thus far has met with 
financial rewards commensurate with the energy 
and perseverance put forth. His ranch lies in 
a rich grazing district and abounds in all natural 
advantages with the added one of the many im- 
provements he has made. He has a pleasant 
home, and is well situated to enjoy life and 
judging by what he has already achieved in a 
business way his future prosperity is assured. 
He has ever maintained interest in public affairs 



274 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and is an earnest advocate of internal improve- 
ments, especially those having direct bearing up- 
on the development of the country's resources. 
He discharges the duties of citizenship as be- 
comes a true American, is loyal to his state and 
nation, being a sanguine believer in the future 
of the great west. Since becoming a resident of 
Uinta county his life has been very closely identi- 
ed with its interests, and in all probability the 
community in which he now lives is destined to 
be his home during the remainder of his earthly 
pilgrimage. Mr. Pomeroy is a man of strong 
domestic tastes and does all within his power to 
make home what it should be, the dearest and 
happiest spot on earth to himself and those de- 
pendent upon him. In this laudable aim he is 
heartily seconded by his good wife who, since 
their marriage on September 3, 1868, has cooper- 
ated with him in all of his efforts, not a little of 
his success being due to her wise counsels and 
encouragement. Her maiden name was Amanda 
Mcllvain and she is the daughter of Mills and 
Rebekah (Stuart) Mcllvain, natives of Dele- 
ware . and Kentucky, and her marriage t6ok 
place in Lucas county, Iowa. This worthy couple 
have had five children, four of whom are now 
living, Eva V., wife of Cyrus Bowman of 
Evanston; Fanny, now Mrs. William Tomlinson 
of Evanston ; Frank J. ; Florence. 

JOHN WILKINSON. 

The state of Wyoming, while one of the 
youngest states in the Union, is one of the rich- 
est in natural resources, and offers the greatest 
rewards for energy, pluck and ability. While 
rich in opportunities and promise, she is richer 
still in the men who by their skill, foresight and 
business ability have amassed great fortunes 
from small and humble beginnings. Wyoming 
"points with pride" to scores of her leading 
citizens, who, coming into her territory with lit- 
tle or no capital save clear heads, strong hands 
and indomitable courage and perseverance, have 
built cities and established great business enter- 
prises with the material which they found ready 
to their hands. The entire western countv, with 



its marvelous resources of forest, mine and field, 
has offered splendid opportunities to the men of 
daring and intrepid spirit who found conditions in 
the country farther east less inviting and gener- 
ous and no section has held out greater promise 
to the hand of honest endeavor than Wyoming. 
Among the men of strong character and stead- 
fast purpose who were attracted to the then ter- 
ritory of Wyoming, none came with clearer 
head, firmer judgment, more confidence in the 
future than John Wilkinson, now of Pine 
Bluffs, Wyo., who is to-day the largest individ^ 
nal sheepowner and woolgrower of the state. 
In 1887, when he first came to Wyoming, he 
had only a small band and was practically with- 
out means or financial backing. But he was a 
man of great energy, industrious and perse- 
vering, and was neither ashamed or afraid of 
manual labor. The conspicuous success which 
has crowned his efforts has not been the resuit 
of accident or chance. It has been the logical 
outcome of conditions which he found and of 
circumstances which he created. The union of 
these two elements, brought about by his 
shrewdness, business judgment, mental grasp 
and keen financial acumen has naturally pro- 
duced his present prosperity, and established 
for him one of the largest business enterprises 
of his state. Coming to Wyoming only a few 
years ago a poor man, he is now one of the 
solid and most substantial of the business men 
of the commonwealth. His great success has 
been fairly won and is richly deserved. Prac- 
ticing economy in his younger days, he is now 
in his maturer years able to enjoy the fruits of 
his frugality and self-denial. The example of 
his successful life should furnish a lesson to 
the young men and women of his state of much 
greater value than any that can be taught by 
school or college. It is the lesson of persever- 
ance, of self-denial, of industry and unswerving 
integrity. Of the kingdom of Great Britain is 
John Wilkinson a native, having been born in 
Yorkshire. Eng., on October 3, 1845. tne son °* 
Anthony and Alice (Sayer) Wilkinson, both 
natives of England. His father was for many 
vcars engaged in successful stockraising and 





^L (%~^jc^, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



275 



dairyfarming in Yorkshire, where John, his son, 
grew to manhood and received his early educa- 
tion, lived with his parents and aided in the 
support of the family until he had reached the 
age of twenty years. From that time until he 
was twenty-six he worked for wages on differ- 
ent farms in Yorkshire and at the age of twen- 
ty-six married, and engaged in stockraising and 
farming on his own account in the neighbor- 
hood of his birthplace, being interested in both 
cattle and sheep. He remained in this industry 
until 1882, when he came to America, going 
first to the vicinity of what is now the town of 
Ansley, Neb., where his brother, Anthony, then 
largely interested in sheep growing, at that 
time maintained his residence. There he re- 
mained until 1887, when he brought a small 
band of sheep into Wyoming, settling near 
Archer, but afterward removing to ■ Spring 
Creek and to the ranch where his son, James 
R. Wilkinson, now resides.' In 1897 Mr. Wil- 
kinson established his home at his present resi- 
dence at Pine Bluffs, and in 1899 ne purchased 
a fine ranch here, on which he made extensive 
improvements, enlarging the house and erect- 
ing new barns and buildings until he has now 
one of the most comfortable and best equipped 
country residence properties of the entire state. 
From small beginnings his holdings have 
grown until he now owns and controls one of 
the largest and best paying stock enterprises of 
the west, being the owner of about 60,000 acres 
of land in Wyoming, besides a fine stock farm 
in Hall county, Neb. Since coming to America 
Mr. Wilkinson has steadily devoted his energies 
to sheep and woolgrowing. On January 12, 1871, 
at Yorkshire, Eng., he was tinited in marriage 
with Miss Deborah Pratt, a daughter of James 
and Ann Pratt, natives of Yorkshire. Her 
father was a prosperous farmer and stockraiser 
and resided in Yorkshire unfil his death. The 
mother also there lived her life and died at the 
old home. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson were 
born eight children, Alice A., James R., Agnes, 
Isabelle, Margaret, Dora, Elizabeth J. and Ada 
L. Mrs. Wilkinson passed away on May 13, 
1896, having been in the best sense a helpmeet 

17 



to her husband, assisting him in the building up 
of their fortune and having raised and educated 
an interesting family of children. She was in- 
terred in the city of Cheyenne, and both herself 
and husband were members of the Protestant 
Episcopal church. Politically Mr. Wilkinson 
is affiliated with the Republican party and takes 
an active interest in all matters affecting the 
public welfare, although in no sense a politi- 
cian. Still bearing in affectionate recollection 
the memory of the land of his nativity, one of 
the most admirable characteristics of the Eng- 
lish-speaking race, he is yet a loyal and pa- 
triotic citizen of the land of his adoption, firm 
in the conviction that it offers larger rewards 
for industry and manly .endeavor than any other 
land in the world. 

GEORGE B. PARDEE. 

Born and reared in California, a pioneer 
of Wyoming in 1881 and having passed his 
whole life in this part of the world, George 
B. Pardee, the prominent liveryman, enterpris- 
ing commercial factor and leading citizen of 
Thermopolis, is altogether a Western product. 
For nothing is he indebted to the East, edu- 
cation, training, habits, tastes or methods of 
thought, except so far as is incident to the close 
communication now obtained between every 
part of our country and every other part, for 
he was born on December 22, 1854, in Cali- 
fornia, whither his parents, R. S. and Abbie 
Pardee, natives of Pennsylvania, came in the 
great modern Argonautic expedition of 1849. 
He grew to man's estate and received his edu- 
cation on his native soil, when he was twenty- 
one years of age leaving the parental home- 
■ stead to seek a new section where his individual 
hopes might grow and flourish and his enter- 
prise and thrift might win success. He went 
to Oregon and locating in the Harney coun- 
try, began stockraising and farming, which he 
followed for some years in that country, but 
his operations were interrupted by the Ban- 
nock Indian War of that section, in which he 
bore a conspicuous and gallant part. From 



276 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



there he went to the Salmon River country of 
Idaho and from there to Montana. In 1881 
he came to Wyoming and took up his residence 
on Grey Bull River. He again started a stock 
industry and conducted it in that locality until 
1890, then came to Owl Creek and took up 
land whereon to continue his stock business, 
but in 1899 sold out and removed to Thermopo- 
lis. Here in 1902 he initiated his present enter- 
prise in the livery line and he has built the busi- 
ness up to large proportions and furnished him- 
self with all the necessary appliances for it, his 
horses being good, and his carriages, buggies, 
and other properties of the most modern pat- 
terns, superior quality and always in condition 
for service. His stables are commodious and 
well ventilated, while every attention is given 
to sanitary conditions and other precautions 
necessary to secure the best results and give 
his patrons full satisfaction. Mr. Pardee is a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and also of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He is an enterprising and progres- 
sive citizen, one of the substantial aids to be 
depended On whenever an effort is to be made 
towards securing any new element of com- 
mercial, social or educational force in the com- 
munity. A western man in every sense, he 
believes in the West and is willing to back his 
faith in it with his energy and capital to aid in 
developing her resources and establishing in- 
terests of every kind in every line of productive 
activity. 

SPENCER EUGENE PHELPS. 

One of the rising lawyers and mining men 
of Carbon county, Wyoming, and one who is 
doing much to develop the resources of this 
section of the state, is Spencer Eugene Phelps, 
whose address is Encampment. A native of 
Iowa, he was born at McGregor, on January 
14, 1870, the son of Moses L. Phelps and Erne- 
line E. Phelps, the former a native of Maine 
and the latter of Ohio. His father removed his 
residence in early life from Maine to Wiscon- 
sin and there engaged in lumbering, but subse- 



quently removing to Iowa, where he continued 
in the same pursuit. He made his home in the 
latter state for a number of years and was suc- 
cessful in his business operations, but having 
an opportunity to dispose of his business and 
property in Iowa to good advantage, he did 
so and removed to Nebraska, where he again 
engaged in the same business, and again met 
with success. Some years ago he retired from 
active life and is now residing in Nebraska, en- 
joying the ease and comfort so well earned by 
his long life of activity and success. Spencer 
E. Phelps grew to manhood, in Iowa, his na- 
tive state, and acquired his early academical 
education in the schools of McGregor, which 
he attended until he had attained to the age of 
twelve years. He then attended the high school 
at Randalia, Iowa, for a number of years, after 
which he entered the Gibbon Collegiate Insti- 
tute at Gibbon, Neb., and pursued a thorough 
course of preparatory study at that institution and 
being graduated in the class of '89. He then 
matriculated at the Wesleyan University of 
Nebraska, took a full course at that leading in- 
stitution of learning, and was graduated there- 
from with the class of '94. Desiring to thor- 
oughly prepare himself for his chosen profession 
of the law, he then went to Chicago, where he 
entered the law department of the Lake Forest 
University and, completing the full two years' 
course in one year, was graduated in 1895, be- 
ing then admitted to the bar of the Supreme 
Court of the state. Returning to the city of 
Shelton, Neb., he was there admitted to the 
Nebraska bar and entered upon the practice 
of his profession. He remained here, engaged 
in a successful legal practice for five years and 
by that time he had acquired mining interests 
in Wyoming which promised so well that he 
disposed of his business and property in Shel- 
ton and removed to Wyoming, where he es- 
tablished himself at the city of Encampment, 
one of the growing mining and commercial cen- 
ters of southern Wyoming, and in March, 1900. 
opened a law office at that place. His mining 
interests, however, required so much of his time 
and attention that he associated with himself 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



277 



in his legal business, Charles E. Winter, for- 
merly an attorney of Omaha, Neb., under the 
firm name of Phelps & Winter. The firm does 
a large and successful business and are among 
the leading attorneys of that section of the 
state. On October 7, 1807, ^ r - Phelps was 
united in marriage, at Sioux Falls, South Da- 
kota, with Miss Hermae Sterrett, a daughter 
of Alonzo H. and Amelia Sterrett, natives of 
Pennsylvania, and now highly respected resi- 
dents of Sioux Falls. The domestic life of 
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps is a very happy one, their 
home being a center of a gracious and generous 
hospitality. Fraternally, Mr. Phelps is af- 
filiated with the Masonic fraternity and with 
the Order of Modern Woodmen of America, 
and he takes an active interest in the fraternal 
life of the community. His mining interests 
have grown to large proportions and promise 
to make him one of the wealthy men of that 
section of the state. He is the secretary and 
treasurer and a large stockholder of the Calu- 
met Mining and Milling Co., which owns valua- 
ble property five miles south of Grand Encamp- 
ment, about one mile east of the Kuntz-Chat- 
terton property. He is also the secretary and 
treasurer of and a large stockholder in the Co- 
operative Mining and Milling Co., with mines 
located nine miles southwest of Encampment. 
The Elk Mountain Mining and Milling Co. is 
also one of his enterprises, being the secretary 
and treasurer of that company and largely in- 
terested in its stock. The property of this com- 
pany is situated on Elk Mountain, about thirty- 
six miles from Encampment and seventeen 
miles southeast of Walcott. It is now shipping 
ore from this property and the returns are high- 
ly satisfactory. He also has other important 
interests, being one of the foremost mining men 
of that section and the owner of the fine build- 
ing in which the office of his firm is located, the 
first building erected with a brick foundation 
in the city of Encampment. In addition to its 
law business, the firm of Phelps & Winter repre- 
sents several of the leading fire insurance com- 
panies of the country, conducting an extensive 
business in that line. Mr. Phelps is one of the 



progressive, energetic and successful young 
men of southern Wyoming, doing much to de- 
velop the resources of that rich section of coun- 
try and to attract the attention of outside capi T 
tal. Public spirited, enterprising, yet safe and 
conservative, he is a business power in the com- 
munity and is destined to become an important 
factor- in the future history of that portion of 
Wyoming. 

FRED PORATH. 

The great and progressive Prairie State, Illi- 
nois, once the faraway frontier in the westward 
course of civilization, but now the busy, produc- 
tive and commanding empire of the Mississippi 
Valley, the home of an all-daring, all-enduring, 
all-conquering people, has contributed of her 
teeming millions many men of enterprise, in- 
dustry and skill to the settling and the convert- 
ing into states of the Great Northwest, helping 
to transfer the pioneer activities of the army 
of industrial progress which once camped upon 
her own fruitful soil to the undeveloped and al- 
most boundless domain on either slope of the 
Rocky Mountains and among the number who 
have borne her name to credit and her influence 
to worthy ends in the farther West, must be 
mentioned Fred Porath, a well-to-do and enter- 
prising farmer and stockman of near Bighorn, 
Sheridan county, Wyoming. His life began in 
Illinois on April 29, 1877, his parents, Charles 
and Bertha Porath, having settled in that state 
on their arrival in this country from Germany, 
where thev were born and reared. There he 
grew to manhood, received a limited education 
in the public schools and learned to use his 
head and his hands to advantage in the struggle 
for supremacy among men. When he was ap- 
proaching his legal majority, he heard the voice 
of the farther West calling for volunteers to aid 
in subduing her wild conditions to systematic 
fruitfulness and joined the detachment of her 
recruits then on the march to the Black Hills 
of South Dakota. There he engaged in mining, 
thereafter in 1896 coming to Wyoming, locat- 
ing near Newcastle and for six years in that 



2/8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






vicinity he applied his service to others and to 
his own advantage, rapidly learning the lessons 
of thrift and skill required in the sheep industry. 
In 1902 he took up. his residence in Sheridan 
county on land he took up for the purpose, and 
began farming. His ranch near Bighorn, in the 
extent and character of the improvements he 
has made and the state of cultivation to which 
he has brought it, gives evidence of the dili- 
gence of application he inherited from his Ger- 
man ancestry and of the enterprise he has de- 
veloped in America. In 1902 Mr. Porath was 
married at Sheridan to- Mrs. Verlinna Valen- 
tine, also a native 'of Illinois, like himself a 
pioneer in Wyoming. He has not sought pub- 
lic notice or political preferment, but has given 
his energies to the faithful discharge of the 
daily duties of his life, thereby rendering his due 
measure of service to his kind and his com- 
munity. But he has ignored no enterprise for 
the advancement of the county in which his lot 
is cast and has given in his quiet way the ex- 
ample and the incentive to be found in the life 
of a good citizen. Fraternally, he is connected 
with the Knights of Pythias and takes an earn- 
est interest in the welfare of the order and the 
proceedings of his lodge. 

MRS. SARAH ELIZABETH REEL. 

Alexander H. Reel, (deceased) was in his day 
one of the most enterprising and daring of the 
oldtime drovers and cattledealers that ever 
crossed the American desert. He was born in 
Jacksonville, 111., in 1837 an d m the early sixties 
left his native state and engaged in freighting 
from Omaha, Neb., to Salt Lake City, Utah, via 
Denver, Colo., and finally located in Cheyenne, 
Wyoming, where for thirty-three years he made 
his headquarters as a cattledealer and drover, 
making twenty-one trips from Omaha to Salt 
Lake City and fighting Indians all the way. His 
escapes from death were many and a record of 
his desperate and sanguinary conflicts with the 
bloodthirsty and treacherous wild men of the 
plains, and with the almost equally bloodthirsty 
white desperadoes of the same region, would oc- 



cupy a greater space than can be here afforded. 
On his settling in Wyoming permanently Mr. 
Reel took up a desert claim six miles southeast of 
La Barge P. O., Uinta county in 1890, and there 
his death took place in October, 1900. He was 
one of the most prominent Democrats of the ter- 
ritory and state of Wyoming, and did as much as 
any man in his day to bring the territory within 
the sisterhood of the states. Being exceedingly 
popular, he was elected to every office within the 
gift of his constituents, notwithstanding that he 
was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. His intellect 
and personal magnetism seemed to overcome all 
opposition on the part of his adversaries and vic- 
tory seemed to find an inevitable restingplace on 
the standard of his party when he bore it aloft. 
Thirteen times was he chosen to represent the 
people in the lower house of the State Legisla- 
ture, and twice was he sent to the Wyoming State 
Senate, and had his life been prolonged he 
would, beyond a doubt, have ascended to still 
higher positions within the gift of Wyoming 
citizens, for his election was ever a guarantee of 
an honest, capable and faithful discharge of every 
duty pertaining to the office. He always en- 
deavored to be of service to his fellow citizens, 
and in the less prominent but useful offices of a 
member of the Cheyenne city council and mayor 
of the city, he acquired a most enviable reputa- 
tion. Of German descent, he possessed all the 
tenacity of purpose which characterized his 
father, Alexander Reel, who was a native of 
Virginia and a true descendant of the sturdy 
Teutonic race. His widow, Mrs. Sarah Eliza- 
beth Reel, still resides on the Reel homestead 
east of La Barge, where she is managing in a 
most capable manner the estate which is now her 
property. She was born in Missouri and was 
married to A. H. Reel in 1869, being a daugh- 
ter of Edward and Ibby (Strong) Davison, the 
former of whom was a native of Kentucky. Ed- 
ward Davison was one of the early pioneers of 
the West, having proceeded to California in 
1849 a "d he died there in 1850. regretfully 
mourned by the very many warmhearted friends 
whom his genial temper and other manly qual- 
ities had closely drawn to his side. Mrs. Ibby 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



279 



(Strong) Davidson was also born and married 
in Kentucky, and after the death of Mr. Davi- 
son she married Mr. George Manning and died 
in Colorado in 1871 in the faith of the Christian 
church, of which ,she had long been a consistent 
and prominent member, her remains being in- 
terred at Monument, Colo. She left to mourn 
.her loss eight children. Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth 
Reel is mother of two sons, Hector Sidney, (who 
went to Florida in the winter of 1902-3 for his 
health and there died in St. Augustine on Jan- 
uary 4, 1903,) and Charles Alexander. 

GEORGE REDMAN. 

If extensive travel and varied employment 
gives experience in the affairs of life, George 
Redman, a resident of Green River, Sweetwater 
county, Wyoming, is one of the best posted 
men in the West. He was born in Germany in 
1843, a son °f Michael and Maria (Russman) 
Redman. The father, a son of Jacob and Mary 
Redman, a farmer by vocation, served the usual 
length of military service in the Prussian army 
and died in 1841 at the early age of thirty-eight 
years, in the faith of the Catholic church, his 
remains being interred in Bavaria, of which 
country his wife was a native and where she 
died at the age of thirty-two, also in the same 
faith. George Redman was but two years of 
age when he was bereft of his mother, and he 
was then placed in charge of a guardian, Andrew 
Kusdsfes, with whom he lived on a farm until 
he had attained the age of seventeen years, 
when he went to Lor and learned the baker's 
trade. Thirty months later he went to Witts- 
burg, Bavaria, and worked at his trade for two 
months, then went to Bamberg, where he 
wrought one year, then was in Baden for one 
more year and then for seven years he was in 
Swinefurt. In 1867 he came to the United 
States and for two years was occupied at his 
trade in Cincinnati, Ohio ; then he passed one 
month in Platte Center, Neb., and came to 
Wyoming, whence after two weeks in Cheyenne 
he returned to Cincinnati, staying there one 
year and coming back to Wyoming, he located 



at Bryan and there followed railroad work for 
three years. From Bryan Mr. Redman came 
to Green River and opened a saloon, which he 
successfully conducted ten years, and then en- 
gaged in ranching on Henry's Fork for one 
year, thence returning to Green River and 
opening a bakery and general store, which he 
conducted for ten years, when he entered the 
employ of the Union Pacific Railroad and work- 
ed for that company until the strike of 1894. 
The enterprising Mr. Redman then went to 
Rock Springs and opened a boarding-house, 
which he prosperously conducted two years, 
and then came back to Green River, where he 
has worked for the Union Pacific ever since. 
He was united in marriage in 1873 with Miss 
Mary Wartmann, a native of Bavaria, Germany, 
but this lady was called from earth about 1899 at 
the age of fifty-seven years, being in the faith of 
the Catholic church, and she left to mourn her 
loss, five children beside her husband, namely, 
Mary, Mrs. Frank Motch ; George, Jr. ; Louisa ; 
Clara; Rosa. George Redman is naturally a 
man of great energy and a good citizen, and in 
1901 he served on the United States grand jury. 
In politics he is a Republican, but has never 
sought public office, and the family is highly es- 
teemed by their neighbors, with whom they 
live in quiet and friendship. 

DAVID H. REESE. 

David H. Reese, proprietor of the Star Val- 
ley Hotel at Afton, Uinta county, and of the 
livery and feed-stable attached thereto, the lead- 
ing enterprise of its kind in the town, has had 
a varied experience, being essentially and whol- 
ly a product of the Northwest. He was born 
on November 25, i860, at Logan, Utah, where 
his parents, David and Martha (Eynon) Reese, 
have lived since 1857. They came to Utah from 
Wales, where they were born and reared, in 
1853. Tbe father built the first house in what 
is now the city of Logan, and the mother was 
the first white woman of that vicinity. The 
elder Reese also built the first house of enter- 
tainment of Logan, the Reese Opera House, 



280 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and by his public spirit and enterprise gave 
such an impetus to the growth of the place as 
to make its progress sure and continuous. 
Both are now passing the evening of their lives 
in the city where their labors have abundantly 
fructified around them, secure in the high re- 
gard and esteem of the entire community. Mr. 
Reese's mother, grandmother of David H. 
Reese, nee Ann Hopkins, followed her son to 
Utah in 1864 after the death of her husband. 
David H. Reese was one of five children, of 
whom all but one are living. He was educated 
at Logan and Provo, Utah, attending the Brig- 
ham Young Academy for a short time at the 
conclusion of the public school course, and then 
engaged in range riding for a number of years. 
He first came to Wyoming in 1879, driving cat- 
tle through the territory and passing over sev- 
eral uninhabited tracts where large and pros- 
perous cities now stand. He also railroaded for 
several years, and in 1887 he entered the employ 
of the U. S. government at Ft. McKinney, after 
six years of faithful service there being trans- 
ferred to Fort Custer in Montana and being in 
the same employment at that post for two or 
three years. He was next engaged for a short 
time in the electrical construction and supply 
business in Butte, from there went to Mont- 
pelier, Idaho, and conducted a grocery store 
in that town until 1898, when he came again to 
Wyoming and worked at various occupations 
at Afton and Kemmerer until 1901. Among 
the things he did during this time was to assist 
in the construction of the Bell electric line be- 
tween Glencoe and Oakley. In 1901 he took 
up land at the junction of John Gray's River 
and the Snake River. This he has greatly im- 
proved and raised in value, making it one of the 
most desirable in the neighborhood. He also 
owns real-estate at Auburn and Kemmerer in 
Wyoming and at Logan in Utah, and has some 
stock on the ranges. As proprietor of the Star 
Valley Hotel he has made an excellent reputa- 
tion as a boniface of wisdom and skill, with a 
full and accurate knowledge of the human ani- 
mal, man, and the proper means of catering to 
his comfort. His hostelry is excellent for the 



town and has a wide popularity among those 
modern knights errant, the commercial tour- 
ists, who seek its entertainment whenever they 
come this way, and with the public generally. 
In fraternal relations Mr. Reese is connected 
with the Order of Eagles, holding his member- 
ship in the lodge at Kemmerer. He was mar- 
ried at Miles City, Mont., in 1895, to Miss Gus- 
sie Greisenbeck, a native of Chicago and a 
daughter of William Greisenbeck, a prominent 
butcher. Their only child, David H., died in 
infancy, and the mother died in October, 1897, 
and was laid to rest at Logan, Utah. In 1898 
Mr. Reese contracted a second marriage, being 
then united with Mrs. W. D. Rimes of Paris, 
Idaho, where the marriage was solemnized on 
May 24. ■ The second Mrs. Reese was the wid- 
ow of W. D. Rimes, and the daughter of George 
and Celestia (Greene) Davis of Auburn, and by 
her first marriage she had three children, John 
R., Myrtle and Lillie. She is a model land- 
lady, ably and industriously seconding her hus- 
band's efforts to make their hotel a good one, 
and supplementing them with care, diligence 
and attention. 

WILLIAM H. RHEIN. 

In many parts of America the thrifty and 
resolute German has left his mark as a pro- 
ductive and improving force, first in the older 
states and later in the new ones, as the tide 
of immigration has steadily advanced toward the 
setting sun. A scion of this race, who has con- 
tributed substantially to the progress and de- 
velopment of two great states in the American 
Union, is William H. Rhein of Lander, the third 
mayor of the town and one of its most esteemed 
and useful citizens. In the old German city 
of Reading, Pa., he first saw the light of day 
on November 5, 1850, his parents, Henry R. 
and Emma R. (Swartzwelder) Rhein were 
Pennsylvanians, being persons of consequence 
and standing in their community, where the 
father was an industrious cabinetmaker and a 
skilled accountant. After years of usefulness, in 
Reading, he transported his family across the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



281 



Alleghanies and a part of the great Mississippi 
Valley to Burlington, Iowa, where he worked and 
prospered, and, in 1887 died. There the mother 
is still living, secure in the respect and esteem of 
all who know her, being more than seventy-five 
years old. Their son, William, was one of seven 
children, three of whom are still living, the 
others being his sister Susan and his brother 
John E. Rhein, who has been treasurer of Des 
Moines county, Iowa, continuously for sixteen 
years. William was educated in the public 
schools of Burlington, Iowa, and after leaving 
school learned the trade of a tinner. In the 
spring of 1880 he removed to Denver, Colo., 
and there passed nearly four years, working at 
his trade during the winter months and pros- 
pecting in the summer. In the autumn of 1883 
he changed his base of operations to Cheyenne, 
Wyo., and after three years of diligence at his 
trade came to Lander and opened a business 
enterprise as a partner and the foreman for 
Messrs. Arp & Hammond of Cheyenne. Since 
then Mr. Hammond has retired from the firm. 
The establishment is one of the largest and 
best stocked hardware and grocery emporiums 
in the Northwest, a special feature of its busi- 
ness being a department of machinery, which 
is justly celebrated for its comprehensiveness 
and completeness. The home of this progres- 
sive commercial entity is a large brick building, 
furnished and equipped with all the latest appli- 
ances, so arranged as to afford the greatest con- 
venience for the proper display and handling of 
its wares. Mr. Rhein, although devoted to his 
business and desirous of achieving the largest 
and best results in it, does not allow it to en- 
gross all of his time, for he gives a due share 
of attention to social matters and public affairs, 
seeking recreation from the sterner duties of 
life in the pleasing embraces of the fraternal 
orders. He was the instigator and one of the 
charter members of Lander Lodge, No. 10, 
Knights of Pythias, and is also actively identi- 
fied with the Uniform Rank of the order, and is 
at present one of the trustees of the lodge. He 
is also an enthusiastic Freemason, being a 
member of Wyoming Lodge, No. 2, having 



been the high priest of the local chapter and 
the eminent commander of Hugh de Payert 
Commandery, No. 7. On February 14, 1884, 
he was married in Burlington, Iowa, with Miss 
Eliza W. Mercer, a daughter of William and 
Sarah Mercer of that city. They have one 
child, Horace W. Rhein, and both are active 
members of the Episcopal church. 

THOMAS H. ROBERTS. 

Thomas H. Roberts, a prominent merchant 
and stockman of Afton, Uinta county, Wyoming, 
was born on Dcember 4, 1852, at Derby, Derby- 
shire, England, from whence his parents, Samuel 
and Mary (Peat) Roberts emigrated to the 
United States in the early sixties and in 1866 
came across the plains to Wyoming by ox teams. 
Thomas was the oldest of their children, and 
received the greater part of his education in the 
district schools of his native land, after his ar- 
rival in America began his apprenticeship to the 
printer's trade, and after completing it worked 
at his trade on the Deseret News of Salt Lake 
City for more than twenty years, thus enlarging 
a scholastic education which had necessarily been 
limited and insufficient. In 1889 he gave up print- 
ing and engaged in mercantile business in com- 
pany with his brother, Arthur. The partnership 
continued seven years when it was peaceably dis- 
solved, and since then Thomas has been conduct- 
ing the business alone. He carries a large and 
varied stock of general merchandise, well-selected 
and up-to-date in every respect, and does a thriv- 
ing business. He is also interested in a leading 
way in the stock industry, and owns a fine ranch 
near Auburn, and is at this writing, building a 
large creamery near Afton, Wyo. In business he 
is energetic and progressive, in public local af- 
fairs active, enterprising and broad-minded and 
in social and church work influential, popular and 
effective. While not seeking official station of 
any kind, his administrative ability and genius 
for affairs have made him school trustee and 
treasurer for the district in which he lives and 
also a member of the Afton city council. In all 
these positions he is proving the wisdom of the 



282 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



choice, rendering satisfactory service. At Salt 
Lake City, on September 22, 1873, Mr. Roberts 
was united in marriage with Miss Sidonie Bunot, 
a native of Switzerland and a daughter of Joseph 
and Adelaide (Perrenoud) Bunot, who emigrated 
to Utah in 1862. The father was of French an- 
cestry and the mother of Swiss. Mr. and Mrs. 
Roberts have had thirteen children, nine of whom 
are living. The living are : Edgar T. and Carl, 
both married and living at Afton, and Ernest P., 
Frank, Haworth, Florence, Grace, William and 
Clarence, living at home. Those deceased are 
Samuel and Joseph, twins, the latter dying in 
infancy and the former being killed at the age of 
thirteen at Salt Lake City, Mabel, who died at 
Afton aged eight years and Albert, who died 
here aged two years. In every branch of the 
good work of their church Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
take an active part and the force of their in- 
fluence and activity is felt all along the line. Mr. 
Roberts is president of the Stake choir and con- 
ducts its affairs with excellent judgment and 
discrimination. Here, as. in his own business 
and his official positions, he is wise, vigorous, 
progressive and conscientious, impelled by a 
sense of duty and guided by discretion and 
breadth of view. 

MARCELLUS L. SAWIN. . 

The pioneers of the great United States in 
the northwest were heroes in war, privation and 
adversity of every kind, and princes in prosper- 
ity, whether or not fame has blazoned their names 
abroad or courtly habiliments have clothed them'. 
They endured whatever befell them with courage, 
they accomplished whatever they undertook with 
a good measure of success, they recognized 
every proper man as a friend and brother and 
treated him as such, sharing with all who were 
in need what they had for themselves and per- 
mitting no one to be in want while supplies were 
obtainable for themselves. This is written in 
the past tense, for the race alluded to has well 
nigh past away, and the conditions of life are 
altogether different from what they were when 
the oldtimer held sway in every section. Fate 



has spared some of them yet to give to their fel- 
lows of a later day the benefit of their narratives 
of times past and the force of their impressive 
examples, although they claim no superiority, but 
are as modest about their worth as they were 
resolute in periods of peril in showing it in 
action. To this class of fast-fading heroes and 
men of mighty conquests belongs Marcellus L. 
Sawin of Sheridan county, Wyoming, who has 
reached the limit of human life as fixed by the 
sacred writer, but is still preserved in vigor and 
good spirits to see the fruits of his time of 
strenuous activity blooming and flourishing 
around him. He was born in Adams county. 111., 
on March 15, 1833, and .in that state his parents, 
Isaac and Elizabeth (Paine) Sawin were early 
pioneers. He was a native of New York and she 
of Ohio. They reached Quincy at the very be- 
ginning of its history and built the first house in 
the town. There the father engaged in mercan- 
tile business and farming until 1842, when they 
removed to Brown county, Kan., where the 
father died in 1857, on his farm. The mother 
survived until 1890. In 1849 Isaac Sawin went 
to California, his son Marcellus accompanying 
him and in that country of golden sands they 
remained one year. Mr. Sawin of this review 
looks upon this trip as one of the most valued 
experiences of his life, for they went across the 
plains with ox teams, returning by the Isthmus 
of Panama. They had a perilous trip down the 
Sacramento 'River in a pirogue, passing through 
the Giant's Causeway and barely escaping with 
their lives. They were warned by an Indian on 
the river's bank that there was danger ahead, 
but did not realize what terrible danger they were 
encountering until they were on the brink of a 
roaring cataract, which they passed over safely, 
but they saw several dead bodies lodged in the 
brush below and learned afterwards that nine 
men had there lost their lives a few days before. 
Marcellus L. Sawin was educated principally 
in the schools of Galesburg, 111., and accompany- 
ing his parents to Kansas when he was twenty- 
one years old assisted his father on the farm until 
the death of the latter. He then personally took 
charge of the farm for his mother and long con- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



283 



ducted its operations. In 1859 he was drawn 
unto Colorado by the Pike's Peak excitement. 
Denver then being but a city of tents. In 1865 
he made his home near Golden City, Colo., and 
carried on a farm for five years. For the 
next ten years he was engaged in his favor- 
ite pursuit of cultivating the soil near Fort 
Collins in the same state. In 1880 he came 
to northern Wyoming and located on a ranch 
on Prairie Dog Creek four and one-half miles 
east of Sheridan, where he lived and worked 
as a farmer and fruitgrower and also raised 
stock until May, 1902. He then sold the place 
and is making for himself another home wherein 
to pass the evening of his days in peace and 
pleasantness after all his toil and trials, and in 
the midst of the scenes and associations which 
have been hallowed by his fruitful labors. Agri- 
culture has not solely occupied his energies, for in 
various fields of industrial endeavor he has made 
his mark, being at the present writing secretary 
and treasurer of the Sheridan Commercial Co., 
a wholesale and retail mercantile corporation. 
He was married at Fort Collins, Colo., on Decem- 
ber 31, 1876, to Miss Clara J. Barlow, a native of 
Massachusetts and a daughter of James and 
Sarah (Stone) Barlow, also natives of that state 
and early settlers and prosperous farmers of 
Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Sawin have five chil- 
dren, Elizabeth, Franklin O., Bertha, Alice and 
Laura. Mr. Sawin has always been a zealous 
Republican, active at all times in the local affairs 
of his county and in the general politics of the 
state and nation. He stands high in the esteem 
of his neighbors and acquaintances, and is held 
in cordial regard as one of the best citizens of his 
section, a fine type of the real oldtimer. 

EDWARD T. ST. JOHN. 

Having been one of the pioneers of western 
Wyoming and among the early arrivals in the 
state, reaching Laramie when there was but 
one log building in that now prosperous city, 
Edward T. St. John has seen the growth and 
development of this promising commonwealth 
from a very humble beginning to its present 



substantial and expanding prosperity and has 
contributed his due share to the gratifying con- 
ditions that now obtain. It was on January 
12, 1844, in the state of Indiana, then practically 
as undeveloped as Wyoming is now, that his 
life began, where his parents, Edward T. and 
Percis (Sampson) St. John, natives of New 
York, had settled soon after their marriage and 
they were there living the life of comfortable 
farmers when in 1852 the father crossed the 
plains to California, engaged in mining with 
moderate success and remained on the Pacific 
coast until his death in 1894. Of his six chil- 
dren two are living. Edward T. was attending 
the public schools in Illinois when the Civil 
War broke out, and although he was less than 
eighteen years old, he promptly enlisted in de- 
fense of the Union, becoming a member of Co. 
I, Tenth Illinois Cavalry, on October 26, 1861, 
serving in this regiment until December 31, 
1864, and during his service he confronted the 
unrolling columns of a determined foe on many 
a hard-fought field. When he was mustered 
out he engaged in mechanical work for a year 
in a shop in Illinois and then came west, locat- 
ing in Wyoming in 1868 and passing a year 
teaming in Laramie, when, as has been noted, 
there was but one log building in the town. 
From there he came to the South Pass mining 
district and followed mining two years. In 
1872 he removed to Lander and began a suc- 
cessful career as a farmer and stockraiser, 
which is still in progress on his two ranches 
near the town, one comprising 260 acres of 
superior hay and grain land and the other six- 
ty-five acres adjoining the town on the south- 
east. Mr. St. John is a member of Thomas A. 
McCoy Post, G. A. R., and has served his peo- 
ple in various public capacities, notably as dep- 
uty sheriff of the county. During his tenure of 
this office he assisted in a dangerous and skill- 
ful arrest of a noted band of Black Hills high- 
waymen and robbers, and in their safe conduct 
to secure and proper custody. He was married 
at Lander on July 16, 1877, to Mrs. Elizabeth 
Bowman, widow of John Bowman, and a Mis- 
sourian bv birth. They have had five children, 



284 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of whom four are living, Edward A . married 
and a prosperous farmer of Fremont county, 
and Dee, Percis B. and Addison A., living at 
home. By her first marriage Mrs. St. John had 
two children, Zada, now the wife of S. A. Bith- 
ell, and Franklin, both residents of Fremont 
county. In addition to his ranch business Mr. 
St. John conducts a thriving mercantile busi- 
ness on Main street in the city in one of the 
numerous business properties belonging to him. 

ELI SAXTON. 

We take little heed of the passage of time 
when our memory reverts to those whom Prov- 
idence in inscrutable wisdom has connected 
with our lives and destinies for a series of years, 
and then suddenly calls them away from places 
of fina'ncial trust and management, where their 
services seemed invaluable, from social posi- 
tions of the noblest character, where their lives 
and actions were daily inspiring new hopes, new 
ambitions and new endeavors for the upraising 
of humanity, from cherished homes, where their 
loyal tenderness, helpfulness and affection were 
exercising their noblest powers in the comfort 
of their families and in their potent influence 
in raising their children in the fear of the Lord. 
The long, far-reaching distances of many years 
is covered in an instant and we are with the 
dear departed once more and in their presence. 
The late Eli Saxton of Almy, Wyoming, was 
one of that class and in the preparation of this 
volume it seems most fitting to include a brief 
record of the man, his attainments and his per- 
sonal relations, that something may be pre- 
served in durable form to hand his name down 
to coming generations as an example of the 
good qualities we have heretofore mentioned. 
He was born in Derbyshire, England, on Feb- 
ruary 2, 1846, the son of Thomas and Rebecca 
(Slater) Saxton, the father being born in 1822 
and the mother in 1827, both coming of families 
that for many generations have occupied Eng- 
lish soil. Brought up to habits of industry and 
thrift and educated as well as the exigencies of 
the period afforded, Mr. Saxton early became 



interested in the doctrines of the Church of the 
Latter Day Saints and accompanied a party to 
the promised land of Utah in 1864. He here 
became identified with coal mining, with which 
he was prosperously connected in Utah until 
1883, when he made his home at Almy, Wyo., 
continuing the same vocation until 1888, when, 
purchasing a ranch, he passed his closing years 
in the development of his rural home. He was 
not spared long to enjoy communion with 
Mother Nature in this agreeable occupation, 
as his death occurred on October 8, 1890. Dur- 
ing his residence in Utah he was often called to 
be a soldier in the fierce Indian wars of that 
time, and bore himself most valiantly in this 
hazardous service. He possessed a deeply re- 
ligious nature and was a highly valued worker 
in the ranks of the Mormon church, aiding and 
fostering its religious and beneficent work. His 
marriage with Miss Martha H. Moore, a daugh- 
ter of Wright A. and Helen (Palmer) Moore, 
a most estimable lady, whose exertions in the 
care of her family and in the practical duties of 
life have caused her to receive the universal 
praise of the community. She was born in 
Cache county, Utah, in 1864, of parents who 
were among the earliest English emigrants to 
Utah. She maintains her residence on the 
homestead ranch and manifests a truly western 
hospitality. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sax- 
ton are ten in number : Thomas W., Uilate M., 
deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Eli B., deceased; 
Elijah B., Philip R., Angelo M., Eli M., Wright 
T. and Helen, deceased. 

GEORGE W. SCOTT. 

Born and reared at Georgetown, District of 
Columbia, on the banks of the historic Poto- 
mac, where the life of the nation centers, and 
which was during the Civil War an almost un- 
broken line of battle, having served his country 
in the signal corps and weather bureau in many 
places, George W. Scott of this service and an 
artistic photographer at Lander, has a wide 
and varied experience. His birth occurred on 
March 21, 1854, a son of John and Sarah C. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



285 



(Bingey) Scott, the father a native of Washing- 
ton, D. C, and the mother of New Jersey, the 
father being a prominent merchant in the Fed- 
eral City, where he died in 1897 at the age of 
eighty, his wife having preceded him to the 
grave in 1863, when she was but thirty-si-x. Of 
their eight children, but two are living, John T., 
an honored official in the National Museum at 
Washington, and George W., who was edu- 
cated in the public schools of the District of 
Columbia, and with a course of business train- 
ing at Duff's Commercial College at Pittsburg, 
Pa. Later he worked in the glass factories at 
Pittsburg, making good wage's, although he 
was but fifteen years old, and learned the paint- 
er's trade, at which he worked for five years. 
He then joined the U. S. signal service, and 
after passing through its school of instruction 
he was stationed successively at Pittsburg, 
Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Duluth, 
Bismark, N. D., Fort Bennett and Deadwood, 
S. D., where he quit the service and engaged 
in the photograph business in 1883. He passed 
four years in the business in that city, and then 
reentering the signal service was stationed at 
Omaha for seven months and thereafter at 
Deadwood until that station was abandoned in 
1888, when he was sent to Bismark, then to 
Fort Yates, N. D., for three }^ears, and from 
there in 1891 to reopen the abandoned station 
at Yankton and take charge of the weather bu- 
reau at that place, where he remained three 
years, going thence to Des Moines, Iowa, for 
a short time and finally in 1894 coming to Lan- 
der as the head of the bureau of that brisk 
young city. Soon after coming here he started 
a photographic business and leased the tele- 
graph line and has conducted both of these es- 
tablishments almost continuously since then. 
He has the only photograph gallery for the pat- 
ronage of Lander and many miles of adjacent 
territory, and by his skill and attention to busi- 
ness has secured a large and profitable trade. 
He is a progressive and enterprising man, earn- 
estly devoted to the welfare of his country, and 
finding its best security in the proper adminis- 
tration of local affairs, in these he takes great 



interest. He is president of the city board of 
education, an officer in the National Guard of 
the state, being the captain of Co. B, and the 
popular observer of the Lander weather bureau. 
He belongs to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen in Yankton and to the Woodmen of 
the World in Lander. On January 12, 1885, 
he was married at Deadwood with Miss Kittie 
A. Wilson, a daughter of James A. and Sarah 
M. (Edwards) Wilson, natives of Michigan. 
They have five children, Lee E., George E., 
James, Ruth A. and Lew. Both parents are 
active members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and Mr. Scott is a gentleman of prop- 
erty, a progressive and enlightened citizen, a 
faithful and capable official, an accomplished 
artist, the family being welcome additions to 
all social circles. His residence on Lincoln 
street is one of the comfortable and attractive 
homes of the town. 

JAMES S. SIMPSON. 

Born and reared in the farther west and 
studying and following at different times various 
pursuits, James S. Simpson, now of Jackson, 
Uinta county, illustrates in his career and char- 
acter the wonderfully fruitful conditions of life in 
this part of the country and the versatility of the 
American mind, which can mold a shapely des- 
tiny out of any plastic environment that fate may 
fling around it. His life began at Denver, Colo., 
on July 26, 1875, a son of John P. and Marga- 
ret S. '(Sullivan) Simpson, early settlers in the 
state of whom more extended mention is made 
in the sketch of their son, William L. Simpson, 
on another page of this volume. James S. 
Simpson began his education at Loveland and 
Denver, Colo., and finished it at Lander, Wyo., 
where he rode the range, studied law and phar- 
macy and was deputy-postmaster. During his 
residence in Lander, intervening between his 
range-riding and his permanent removal to the 
Jackson Hole country, he attended school, studied 
law one winter, that of 1892-3, and in 1894 
and 1895 studied pharmacy. Later, in 1896 
and 1897 he was the assistant postmaster 



286 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 






under S. A. L. Reuter, his brother-in-law, for 
nearly nine months. Between his school life and 
his connection with the postoffice his services 
were in demand as a highly capable and respon- 
sible guide. In 1889, when he was but fourteen 
years old he first came to the Wind River country 
and there rode the range with cattle. In 1893 he 
came to Jackson Hole and since his permanent 
residence here has acted as guide for hunting 
parties, an occupation which is agreeable to him 
and in which he still engages. In 1897 he took 
up the place of 240 acres of good pasture and hay 
land on which he lived until recently and de- 
voted the greater part of his energies to its de- 
velopment and improvement. He also owned a 
house and ten acres of land in Jackson, and gave 
to both properties the care of a judicious owner, 
until his sale of all, excepting one acre near the 
townsite, on which he has a nice building spot. 
On March 12, 1899, he married Miss Edith M. 
Younger, a native of Kansas but reared in Indi- 
ana, where her parents, William and Dora M. 
(Dowdy) Younger, were born and are now liv- 
ing. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have one child, their 
daughter Helen May. 

GEORGE H. SMITH. 

George H. Smith, member of the firm of 
Slane & Smith, that conducts one of the leading 
mercantile enterprises in the town of Ther- 
mopolis, Fremont county. Wyoming, is a typi- 
cal pioneer, having all the characteristics of the 
class in his make-up, and of all its daring and 
achievement to his credit. He came to Wyo- 
ming when it was a portion of Dakota, before 
any continued or systematic lines of survey or 
civilization had been established within its bor- 
ders. The frontier and the frontier life was 
to his taste, and he cheerfully relinquished cul- 
tivated society for the opportunity of having 
communion with its wild forms of nature. And 
here he has remained continuously since his 
first arrival in t868, identifying himself with 
the advancing development of the section and. 
content with the pleasures and comforts which 
it affords, seeks no renewal of his former con- 



nection with the outside world. For twenty- 
six years he has not seen a railroad nor cared 
for a glimpse of the crowded East with all its 
boasted triumphs of art and taste and progress. 
He was born in Germany in 1839, and when he 
was twelve years old he went to sea as a cabin 
bov, rising there by merit to the position of 
able seaman, and for ten years he was at the 
mercy of wind and wave, going to almost even- 
part of the world. In 1861, at the beginning 
of our Civil War, his vessel was blockaded at 
Xew Orleans and soon after he enlisted in the 
Thirty-first Louisiana Infantry, C. S. A. He 
remained in the service until his capture at the 
battle of Jonesboro, being then taken to Chi- 
cago and was confined until the close of the war. 
When he was released in 1865 he came west to 
Utah and remained there until 1868. In that 
year he came to Wyoming and, locating at 
South Pass, engaged in mining for a short time. 
From there he removed to near the present 
site of Lander, taking up land and starting in 
stockraising and farming. This enterprise he 
continued until 1877, when he moved to Fort 
Washakie and conducted a dairy farm until 
1880. The next ten years were passed on Owl 
Creek in farming and stockraising. In the hard 
winter of 1886 he lost heavily, but still con- 
tinued his operations until 1890. in the mean- 
time carrying on a merchandising business and 
serving as postmaster at Embar. In 1890 he 
took charge of a hotel at Lander and conducted 
it for two years, then lived on a ranch at Red 
Canyon until 1897. when he took up his resi- 
dence at Thermopolis and. in partnership with 
Air. Slane, opened the business they are now 
conducting. Air. Smith owns the block in 
which this store is conducted and other valuable 
property in the town, being much esteemed as 
one of the community's most substantial and 
enterprising citizens. He was married at Lander 
in T875 to ATrs. Lin C. Fairfield, a native of 
Ohio. In his eventful career he has had many 
a brush with the Indians, at times has had diffi- 
culty to get off unhurt, but through all dan- 
gers and privations he has stuck to the frontier. 
helping greatly to make the state of Wyoming 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



2S7 



what it is today. Seeking no prominence or 
honors for himself, he is yet at the front in be- 
half of any improvement to the town or county, 
always willing to give time and effort to se- 
cure its safe and healthy establishment. Such 
men are the bone and sinew of a community, 
the ones on which it must rely for enduring life, 
activity and its real growth. Though others 
may be the architects they are the real builders 
of towns and states. 

HYRUM SMITH. 

The chronicles of the Mormon church, if 
they were published, would show examples of 
heroic endurance, arduous struggle, unquailing 
courage, unyielding self-reliance, inexhaustible 
resourcefulness, and most triumphant success of 
every kind, equal to those of any other people 
in human history. To this great organization, 
which firmly planted its advancing foot in the 
wilderness when driven from the boundaries of 
civilization by the mailed hand of unreasoning 
persecution, there setting up its altars and es- 
tablishing its homes, carving a new dominion 
of surpassing excellence out of the most un- 
promising conditions, belongs Hyrum Smith, 
now of LaBarge, Uinta county, Wyoming, and 
in his life and work he exemplifies its sterling 
and most commendable traits. His life began 
at Salt Lake City on February 22, 1853, whither 
his parents, W. J. and Mary A. (Frear) Smith, 
had come from England, their land of their nativ- 
ity and the home of their ancestors, among the 
first settlers in Utah. They were prominent in 
church work, the father being an officer in the 
councils of the church for many years, and they 
had ten children, of whom six are living. 
Hyrum Smith has the usual experience of coun- 
trv boys on the frontier — a limited attendance 
at the public schools of his neighborhood, 
plenty of work to do on the farm and at other 
occupations, and the expanding aspirations in- 
cident to a new and undeveloped territory. On 
leaving school he engaged in the sheep industry 
in his native state for fifteen years, then, in 
1889, came to Wyoming and bought the place 



on which he has since resided near LaBarge. 
It consists of 1,000 acres of good hay and graz- 
ing land, and has been well improved for the 
purposes of the stock industry, in which he is 
extensively engaged. Until the spring of 1902 
he had an average of 1,000 head of cattle, but 
then sold them and turned his attention to 
raising horses, which he is still doing on an 
ascending scale and with promise of abundant 
success. On January 31, 1888, at the great 
Mormon metropolis, Mr. Smith and Miss Susan 
Garrett were united in marriage. She was born 
in England, and in 1866 accompanied her par- 
ents, William and Maria (May cock) Smith, to 
the United States, from the Atlantic coast 
where they landed coming to Utah, crossing 
the plains by means of ox teams, and experi- 
encing the apprehension and risking the dan- 
gers, if not actually suffering the horrors of at- 
tack by wild beasts and wilder men. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith have four children, Jean L., Quest, 
Grace and Pearl. 

HON. ROBERT SMITH. 

To present in connected detail the leading 
facts in the life of one of Wyoming's distin- 
guished men and throw light upon some of his 
more prominent characteristics is the task in 
hand in order to place before the reader the 
following brief biography of Hon. Robert Smith 
of Rock Springs. Since 1873 he has been ac- 
tively identified with the political and industrial 
history of the state, winning a conspicuous place 
in public affairs and impressing his strong per- 
sonality upon the community where for a quar- 
ter of a century he has been a forceful factor in 
directing thought and molding opinion. He 
is descended from a long line of sturdy Scotch 
ancestors and inherits many of the sterling vir- 
tues for which that people have long been 
noted. His father, Robert Smith, was born in 
the Highlands of Scotland, where during the- 
greater part of his life he had charge of a large 
landed estate near the place of his birth. He 
possessed excellent qualities of head and heart, 
enjoyed distinctive prestige as an intelligent, 



288 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



energetic man of affairs and died in 1865, when 
sixty years of age. He was a son of James 
Smith, also a native of the Highlands and a 
farmer by occupation. Barbara Abercrombie, 
who became the wife of Robert Smith, Sr., and 
the mother of Hon. Robert Smith, was the 
daughter of John Abercrombie, a farmer and 
sheepraiser, who lived and died in Scotland. 
Robert Smith of this review was born on May 
1, 1848, in Aberdeen, Scotland, and spent the 
years of his childhood and youth on his native 
heath. After receiving a preliminary education 
in the schools of Braemar and Banff he entered 
the academy at Fordyce, Banffshire, from 
which he was graduated in 1864 and immediate- 
ly thereafter accepted a position with the pub- 
lishing house of William McKenzie, Glasgow. 
After remaining in that gentleman's employ for 
two or three years he resigned his position and 
went into the shipping house of Hutchinson & 
Brown, with which he continued three years, 
leaving the firm while holding the responsible 
position of cashier. Mr. Smith next went to 
London, England, where for four years he held 
the position of correspondent with the firm of 
Sir Charles Price & Co. Severing his connec- 
tion with that company he decided to go to 
America, and in 1873 he left the old world and 
in due time reached his destination, proceeding 
direct to Uinta county, Wyo., where he ac- 
cepted the position of cashier with the Rocky 
Mountain Coal and Iron Co., having headquar- 
ters at Almy. He continued in that capacity 
about three years, when he went to Salt Lake 
City and engaged in silver mining in the Stock- 
ton district, but did not long remain there, re- 
turning to Wyoming in the latter part of 1877. 
In 1880 Mr. Smith entered the field of journal- 
ism by starting at Green River the Sweetwater 
Gazette, a weekly paper devoted to local and 
state interests. The venture proved successful 
and within a comparatively short time a large 
number of subscribers were secured, also a lib- 
eral advertising patronage. The Gazette soon 
became the official organ of Sweetwater county 
and was a recognized power in local and state 
politics. It continued its periodical visits under 



the original caption until 1887, when the plant 
was moved to Rock Springs, fifteen miles east 
of Green River, in the same county, the name 
being changed to the Miner, and as such it has 
since been published under the able manage- 
ment of Mr. Smith. The Miner has come rap- 
idly to the front as one of the strongest and 
best edited local sheets in the state, and is an 
ardent exponent of the principles of the Repub- 
lican party. Neither time nor pains have been 
been spared to make it a welcome visitor to its 
patrons, and its editor and publisher easily 
ranks with the most successful newspaper men 
of the West. He has long been recognized 
among his contemporaries as possessing ability 
of a high order, wielding a polished and trench- 
ant pen, being thoroughly informed upon the 
political history of parties and familiar with the 
great questions of the times, national and inter- 
national. His editorials have now wide pub- 
licity, while upon all matters of controversy he 
is considered a formidable though courteous 
antagonist, never stooping to personal attacks 
nor resorting to anything savoring of undig- 
nified journalism. Mechanically, the Miner is 
a model of neatness and typographical art, and 
as the office is well supplied with the latest mod- 
ern appliances, the plant has become one of the 
most valuable newspaper properties in this sec- 
tion of the country. Through the medium of 
his paper and otherwise, Mr. Smith has long 
been a potent force in state politics. In 1S75 
he served in the lower house of the General 
Assembly and in 1887 represented Sweetwater 
county in 1 the Territorial Council. His record as 
a lawmaker justified his constituents in the wis- 
dom of their choice, as he succeeded in bring- 
ing about much needed legislation, prominent 
among which was the Mechanics' Lien Bill, 
introduced by him and passed principally 
through his efforts. He was one of the leading 
members of both bodies, took an active part in 
the general deliberations on the floor and made 
his presence felt on some of the most important 
committees. He was chief clerk of the house 
of representatives of the Seventh State Legisla- 
ture and honored bv the unanimous vote of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



289 



that body for the position. While deeply inter- 
ested in state affairs, Mr. Smith has not been 
unmindful of the claims which the community 
has upon its citizens. He has been an earnest 
worker for every enterprise that tends to the 
development of the social, educational and 
moral interests of the city and county and every 
measure having the public welfare for its ob- 
ject finds in him a zealous supporter and liberal 
patron. Being- a well-educated man, he has 
been especially interested in the matter of 
schools, realizing that intelligence generally 
diffused, is one of the state's most important 
safeguards. He has served several terms _ as 
school trustee and is at present clerk of the 
Board of Education. He has spared no ex- 
pense in providing for his children the best edu- 
cational advantages and personally looks after 
their intellectual development. The eldest of 
his two children, after completing his literary 
course, entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
where he is now finishing the fourth year of his 
professional studies. The younger, Georgina, 
made a creditable record as a student in the 
home schools and is a young lady of culture 
and varied attainments. Mr. Smith was mar- 
ried in 1879 to Miss Georgina Kidd, a daughter 
of George and Margaret (Sanderson) Kidd, 
all being natives of Scotland. George Kidd 
was a prosperous merchant in Glasgow and 
Mrs. Kidd's father was a seafaring man, who 
for many years commanded a vessel in Eng- 
land's merchant marine service. He con- 
tinued in this vocation until reaching the age 
limit, after which he lived in retirement to be 
quite an old man. Mrs. Kidd also lived to a 
good old age. Mr. Smith belongs to the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Benev- 
olent Protective Order of Elks, to the Mac- 
cabees and to the Woodmen of the World. 
His has been an active life, throughout which 
he has endeavored to live according to his 
highest standard of manly conduct. Few men 
in Wyoming are more widely known and none 
have shown themselves more worthy of the 
high esteem in which he is held. Although 



deeply engrossed in business affairs, Mr. Smith 
never carries them into the quiet atmosphere 
of the domestic fireside. As soon as he turns 
the door of his office, he throws aside all the 
cares and worries of the day and goes happy 
to a home comfortable in. its appointments and 
restfulness. There environed by the tenderness 
of family ties and for the time shut from the 
busy world without, he finds in his home, his 
books and the company of his friends the rest 
and pleasure which only very busy men know 
how to appreciate. 

FRANK SMITH. 

The third of the daring pioneers who first 
invaded the primeval wilderness of what is now 
Weston county, Wyoming, by his labors and his 
influence aiding largely in reducing the soli- 
tude to civilization and systematic productive- 
ness, holding in his own right 480 acres of its 
fruitful soil and having under lease a large ad- 
ditional acreage, on which he conducts a lead- 
ing cattle industry, Frank Smith, of the Stockade 
Beaver Creek region, has well earned the honor- 
able mention among the builders and makers of 
this state which it is our pleasure to here give 
him. He inherited from a long line of progres- 
sive ancestors a true pioneer spirit and enthu- 
siasm, his parents, Anthony and Rachel (Freel) 
Smith, having been among the first settlers in 
Warren county, Iowa, where he was born on 
April 6, 1853, both his father and his mother 
having been brought there by their parents in 
early life, and having been reared in that county 
when it was a part of the very far West. There 
the father, although a mechanic, followed farm- 
ing successfully until his death in 1861, and 
there the mother is passing the evening of her 
days, rich in recollections of what seems a re- 
mote past because measured by conditions rather 
than years, and realizing as none but actual ob- 
servers with experience can, the all-conquering 
spirit of American colonization. Mr. Smith re- 
mained with his mother, attending school and 
assisting on the farm until he was twenty years 



290 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



old. He then rented a farm in his native county 
and farmed it for four years. In 1877 he sold 
out and removed to Nebraska, taking up a pre- 
emption in Buffalo county in that state. After 
three years of varying success as a farmer there, 
he again parted company with his land and came 
to his present location on Stockade Beaver 
Creek, making his home for a while with J. H. 
Freel on the ranch adjoining the one which he 
now occupies himself. He at once went - to 
freighting and put his energies to work in the 
line of enterprise incident thereto, hauling sup- 
plies to various towns in the hills for two years. 
In the spring of 1882 he located on his present 
ranch, ten miles northeast of Newcastle, and 
since then has devoted his entire time to ranch- 
ing, and improving his property, increasing its 
boundaries, developing its resources, making it 
comfortable and complete as a home, and placing 
its products, both animal and vegetable, on the 
market in a way that has brought them high ap- 
preciation and him gratifying returns. He saw 
almost the beginning of civilized man's estate in 
the section, being the third to settle there and he 
is the only survivor of these who began its in- 
spiring history. When he "stuck his stake" on 
the banks of the creek, Laramie county extended 
along the entire eastern boundary of the terri- 
tory from Colorado to Montana. On March 3, 
1874, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with 
Miss Josephine Freel, a native of Warren 
county, Iowa, where the nuptials were solem- 
nized, and where her parents, J. B. and Margaret 
(Portez) Freel, were prosperous farmers and 
pioneers. Mrs. Smith did not hesitate to walk 
life's dangerous way with him into the wilder- 
ness and has contributed her share to the growth 
and improvement of the section in which they 
live. He is a Republican in politics, serving his 
people as county commissioner in 1892 and 1896. 
Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias 
and the Woodmen of the World, holding mem- 
bership in lodges of these orders at Newcastle. 
In addition to his ranching and cattle interests he 
has valuable holdings in oil properties with the 
Rattler and the Custer City oil companies. 



J. ANSDELL LOVATT. 

It was at a very troublous time in our history 
that the gentleman whose name stands at the 
caption of this reiew came into the world. He 
was born on March 21, i860, when all the ele- 
ments of public sentiment North and South were 
in preparation for the most disastrous . and mo- 
mentous civil war of human annals, when even 
the most hopeful looked forward to the outcome 
of the storm-darkened skies with fear and trem- 
bling. It is not to be supposed however that this 
circumstance dominated his life, for that, in the 
main, has been peaceful and its contests have 
been along the lines of productive industry. Al- 
most before "manhood darkened on his downy 
cheek" the wounds of that war were healed 
through a better fraternal feeling than had ever 
before prevailed between the sections. J. Ans- 
dell Lovatt is a native of Long Island, 
N. Y., whither his honored parents, William and 
Elizabeth (Ramsden) Lovatt, came directly from 
their native England and from whence 
they crossed the plains in 1861 to Utah. 
In that then very remote and almost unknown 
country the father worked at his trade of boiler- 
making, and there, in Salt Lake City, at the age 
of sixty-six years he died. There also the mother 
died at the age of fifty-five. Ansdell was the 
third of their six children, and was reared and 
educated in the Mormon metropolis-. After 
leaving school he engaged in teaming in Utah 
and followed this line of activity until 1882. In 
that year he came to Wyomnig and, locating in 
what is now Fremont county, worked for three 
years in the mines at South Pass. He then again 
engaged in teaming and contracting, with that 
vicinity as headquarters until 1890, when he lo- 
cated on his present ranch ten miles northeast of 
Newfork. This now consists of 320 acres of 
good meadow land and he owns another of the 
same size five miles southwest of Newfork. On 
these fine ranches he raises a large number 
of superior Hereford and Shorthorn cattle, 
with immense crops of hay. Both are. well 
improved, as to buildings and other appli- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



291 



ances for their proper purposes, and both 
are being brought to an advanced state of 
cultivation by skillful husbandry and the ener- 
getic application of the best modern methods of 
agricultural work. Mr. Lovatt is an extensive 
shipper of cattle to the eastern markets and his 
brand is well-known in all the eastern stock- 
yards. The Newfork country was new to civi- 
lization and culture when he came into it and 
what it is now is due in large measure to the in- 
telligent and progressive ideas he, and others 
like him, have put into vigorous activity in the 
community. Nothing of value to his section 
escapes his attention or long waits for his active 
assistance. It is to such men as he that Wyo- 
ming, one of the youngest of the states, owes 
so much of her progressiveness and advanced 
state of commercial, educational and social de- 
velopment. In fraternal relations he is connected 
with the order of Elks, holding membership in 
Rock Springs Lodge, No. 103, and takes great 
interest in the meetings and growth of the order. 

THOMAS SNEDDON. 

This gentleman is one of the most expe- 
rienced coal miners in the state of Wyoming, be- 
ing the efficient superintendent of the Diamond 
Coal and Coke Co., of Diamondville. He was 
born on October 13, 1855, in Fifeshire, Scotland, 
a son of Robert and Janet (Harrower) Sneddon, 
the former of whom was born about 181 5, a son 
of John and Margaret (Hunter) Sneddon, and 
was a school-teacher. Robert Sneddon was a 
leader among the miners in his native land, was 
also a great lover of his home and a consistent 
member of the Mormon church. He died in 
Scotland on June 16, 1876, sixty-one years old, 
but his wife survived until September, 1890, when 
she also died in Scotland at the age of seventy- 
four years. Thomas Sneddon received his edu- 
cation in Scotland, attending the public schools, 
at Oakley, Fifeshire, and was twenty-five years 
old when he came to the United States and first 
located at Almy, Uinta county, Wyo., where he 
was engaged in coal mining for fourteen years. 



He then came to Diamondville and opened up the 
mines here in September, 1894, as the mine fore- 
man and in September, 1898, he was elected 
superintendent, which is his present position, 
the duties of which he performs in a manner al- 
together satisfactory to all concerned. Mr. 
Sneddon has also been honored by being elected 
vice-president of the First National Bank ar 
'Kemmerer. In politics Mr. Sneddon is a Repub- 
lican and in 1890 was elected to represent his 
people in the lower branch of the State Legisla- 
ture, having been on the school board for twelve 
years, also serving as mayor of Diamondville for 
three terms and also as a member of the mining 
board, first as a practical miner and then as the 
superintendent. On December 31, 1877, M r - 
Sneddon married in Oakley, Fifeshire, Scotland, 
Miss Christina Newton, a daughter of John and 
Margaret (Murray) Newton, and to this mar- 
iage have been born eleven children, Margaret, 
now postmaster of Diamondville ; Robert, time- 
keeper for the Diamond Coal and Coke Co. ; John, 
who died at the age of sixteen months ; Janet ; 
Christena Cecilia ; Thomas ; Jane ; Mary ; Eliza- 
beth and Ruth. The parents are members of 
the Church of Latter Day Saints, and are steady 
going, upright citizens, and Mr. Sneddon is 
possessed of all the sterling qualities that inva- 
riably characterize Caledonia's children, being sa- 
gacious, industrious and conscientious in the dis- 
charge of his duties, and standing high in the 
esteem of the company, as well as in the respect 
of the company's employes. Such men as Mr. 
Sneddon constitute the factors that build up the 
prosperity and elevate the character of the com- 
munities when they cast their lot in a new 
country, and to such hardy pioneers too much 
credit cannot be awarded. Mr. Sneddon greatly 
appreciates the benefits to be derived from prop- 
erly applied industry and discriminating skill in 
and knowledge of his calling, and favorably com- 
pares the compensation given in this country 
with that in the old country for the same class 
of labor and knowledge. He is well satisfied 
with America and the country is well satisfied 
with Mr. Sneddon. 



292 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



JOHN T. SNOW. 

One of the most widely known and popular 
ranchmen of Laramie county, Wyoming, and 
who has resided in the Platte River Valley since 
1878, John T. Snow was born December 27, 1852, 
in Barren county, Kentucky, a son of William 
and Mildred (Penick) Snow, both of old Ken- 
tucky stock and well-known families in the Blue 
Grass state. The father was a carpenter by trade 
and in 1859 removed from Kentucky to Texas, 
locating then near Paris, where he worked at his 
trade and later at farming, which latter vocation 
he followed until his death which occurred 
in 1863, in Lamar count}', Texas. Mrs. Mildred 
Snow still survives and makes her home with 
her son, John T. Snow. John T. Snow received 
his early education in Lamar county, Tex., there 
continuing to reside with his family and working 
also at various occupations until 1872, when he 
came northwest to Idaho with a drove of cattle 
and located on the Snake River for over a year, 
riding the range, the following year he returned 
to Texas and worked on his mother's range an- 
other year, then, in the spring of 1875, he came 
from Texas to Wyoming, again driving cattle, 
and on reaching Cheyenne went into the employ 
of the Cray ton Cattle Co.. with which he re- 
mained until March, 1878. Later in the spring of 
this year he entered the employ of the Pratt & 
Ferris Cattle Co., on their Platte River ranch and 
rode their range until September, 1883. In the 
spring of 1884, Mr. Snow took up land on the 
Cottonwood and engaged in the cattle and horse 
business on his own account and in the fall of 
1888 he purchased his present ranch on the Raw- 
hide, eleven miles from the Platte River, and 
in the spring of 1889 to °k U P bis residence 
on this property, which has since been his 
home, and where his cattle and horses have 
since occupied his attention. He has been re- 
markably successful in stock-raising, has now 
about 1,000 acres of land devoted to this 
purpose and is clearly regarded as one of the 
largest and most prosperous cattleraisers of the 
valley. His ranch is a model one, perfect in 
every respect, and bis dwelling is one of the 



finest in the section. Mr. Snow was married on 
December 20, 1882, near Fort Laramie, Wyo., to 
the amiable Miss Elizabeth McGinnis, a native of 
Illinois, and a daughter of John and Catherine 
(Mullens) McGinnis. The late John McGinnis 
was also a stockman and came to Wyoming from 
Omaha, Neb., in 1875. He indefatigably prose- 
cuted the business and met with continuous suc- 
cess until his death in 1880, his remains being in- 
terred at Fort Laramie. His widow now makes 
her home at Lusk, Converse county, Wyo. J. T. 
Snow was one of the first settlers on Rawhide 
River and is consequently one of the best known 
ranchmen in the valley and for miles around. 
His name stands above reproach and he is looked 
up to by his neighbors for that kind of advice 
which his long experience in the neighborhood 
enables him to give. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat, but not a bitter one, allowing to all the 
privilege of holding opinions with the same free- 
dom they, exercise in breathing the air of the sur- 
rounding mountains. 

JOHN W. STOXER. 

John W. Stoner, leading merchant and the 
postmaster of Cokeville, in Uinta county. Wvo- 
ming, is a native of "Maryland, my Maryland," 
where he was born on Xovember 1, 1837, his 
parents being John and Mary (McFerran) 
Stoner, Pennsylvanians by nativity and pros- 
perous farmers not very far from the Maryland 
line. The parental lineage runs back to Colo- 
nial days in this country, three brothers of the 
family then coming to America from Germany. 
There were eight children born to the house- 
hold of Mr. Stoner's parents, of whom he was 
the fifth in order of birth, and seven are now 
living. He was educated in the district schools 
of Maryland and Pennsylvania, finishing his 
course at an advanced institute in the latter 
state. He began life for himself as a farmer in 
his native state and also taught school. In 1861 
he made a trip to California by the Isthmus of 
Panama, and soon after his arrival removed to 
Nevada. In 1865 he went to Montana and 
mined in that territory until T877. His success 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



293 



in mining was only moderate and a short time 
later he took up his residence at Soda Springs, 
Idaho, settling a few months thereafter at 
Cokeville, Wyo., where he has ever since re- 
sided. In 1878 he started the mercantile enter- 
prise which he is still conducting and has been 
in charge of it continuously from its inception. 
Thus for a quarter of a century he has lived 
among this people, contributing to the devel- 
opment and advancement of their country and 
growing strong in their good will and esteem. 
He has kept in vigorous action the sterling 
qualities of thrift, industry, integrity and com- 
mon sense which he inherited from a well-to-do 
ancestry, noted wherever they were known for 
plain and upright manhood. In 1881 he was 
appointed postmaster and has held the office 
continuously since that year except during the 
Cleveland administrations, when he resigned. 
This office he consents to hold only because he 
can thereby be of service to the people of the 
town. Other political positions, he steadfastly 
refuses to take, although he is somewhat firm 
and zealous as a Republican. Mr. Stoner's 
store is a model of completeness, convenience 
and tasteful arrangement. His stock of gen- 
eral merchandise is large and well selected and 
so disposed about the commodious rooms as 
to be easy of access and inspection, and to pro- 
claim its merits to the best advantage. He is 
also extensively interested in the stock industry, 
owning 4,200 acres of land in a body, which is 
well improved and makes one of the finest 
farms in this county. Here he has large herds 
of registered Durham and Hereford cattle and 
many horses of superior breeds. His herds are 
undoubtedly among the best in the state. In 
addition he owns the townsite of Cokeville, a 
valuable residence in the town and considerable 
stock in the 'bank at Montpelier, Idaho, of 
which he is the vice-president. In fraternal re- 
lations Mr. Stoner affiliates with the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the 
lodge at Evanston, of which he has been a 
member for twenty-seven years. On April 5, 
1892, he was married in Maryland to Miss Nan- 
nie Fogder, a native of that state, a daughter 



of Cortip and Sarah (Geiser) Fogler, also 
Marylanders of German ancestry. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stoner have two children, Roscoe F. and 
Sarah. The experience of this gentleman is an 
oft told tale in the history of the Great West. 
He came to this section of the country when it 
was unsettled, unsurveyed, and uninhabited by 
white men, and began his residence in it by 
trading with the Indians. He has seen it yield 
rapidly to the commands of civilization, speedily 
assuming fertility and comeliness at its behest, 
and bringing forth with abundance for man's 
enjoyment whatever is useful, nourishing and 
valuable. And it is much to his credit that the 
results are due in large measure to his own 
diligence and enterprise and the activity of 
the developing forces which he has set in mo- 
tion and kept in active operation. 

WALTER HERSEY THAYER. 

The civilization which the Pilgrims of the 
Mayflower brought to America was that of the 
highest, and wherever we find descendants from 
its prominent families we may safely assume 
that they stand for all that represents integrity, 
intelligence, public spirit, indomitable persever- 
ance, unstinted energy and all correct business 
methods, and in the ancestry of Mr. Thayer we 
find three of the very earliest of the Old Colony 
people, while he was born at the quaint and 
beautiful old town of Beloit, Wisconsin, the 
date of his birth being September 12, 1861, and 
his parents Isaac H. and Eliza (Cooper) Thayer, 
the father a native of Brickfield, Me., and the 
mother of Paris, in the same state. The ma- 
ternal great-grandfather was born in Plymouth 
of good Colonial stock, the paternal grand- 
father tracing back to the Thayers of Bristol 
county, Mass., but passing all of his life in 
Maine. He was a farmer and a soldier in the 
War of 1812, and his widow, born a Hersey, 
long drew a pension on account of his services. 
In this connection we will state that a maternal 
uncle of Mr. Thayer, William K. Cooper, is now 
receiving a pension for, his services in the Civil 
War, in which two of his brothers also served, 



294 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



while an elder brother received such injuries 
during his military services in the Mexican War 
that he died soon after his return to his home. 
A number of the Thayers did loyal service in 
the Union ranks in the Civil War, and the 
father, Isaac H. Thayer, manifested great musi- 
cal talents and early left Maine for Massachu- 
setts, where he devoted much time to music, in 
fact continuing to do so throughout his life, and 
becoming a band master. After some years' resi- 
dence in the Old Bay State and other years 
passed in traveling he was for some years lo- 
cated in the merchandising of boots and shoes 
at Beloit, Wis., thereafter removing to Ionia, 
Mich., where in association with George S. 
Cooper, he was prosperously engaged as a 
merchant for twenty years, then retiring and 
coming to Wyoming, where he took up the 
present home ranch of his son, Walter, and 
made it his residence until his death in Octo- 
ber, 1892. Walter H. Thayer, the eldest child, 
after his graduation from the high school at 
Ionia, Mich., in the class of '80, engaged in 
pedagogic work in Ionia for one year, then was 
for three years conducting a grocery trade in 
Ionia, after which he started westward, ultimately 
locating in Wyoming in association with his fa- 
ther in the stock business, their ranch being situ- 
ated eight miles southeast of Glenrock, on Hut- 
ton's and Batt's Creeks, and extending to Box 
Elder Creek and containing 2,000 acres of 
patented land, they controlling through leas- 
es and in other manner about 10,000 acres. To 
this property the title has now entirely accrued 
to Mr. Thayer, who is very rapidly adding to 
the improvements thereon and possessing val- 
uable adjudicated water-rights, he is from year 
by year extending the amount of land under 
irrigation. His ranch is known as Cannondale 
and is a very attractive place, having good 
buildings and a truly homelike apppearance, 
which is further advanced by the genial and un- 
obtrusive hospitality which is everywhere in 
evidence. Mr. Thayer is prominent among the 
stockgrowers. His favorite breed of cattle is 
the Black Polled Angus, but as it is not possi- 
ble to raise that stock on the range, where there 



are so many varieties, and maintain its purity, 
he devotes his attention to Herefords, of which 
he is running 500 head, annually, however, in- 
creasing the number, and having a choice band 
of horses, and he has recently introduced a fine 
strain of running stock. Among the most pro- 
gressive and valuable citizens of the state, Mr. 
Thayer must be classed, for in all public mat- 
ters and private improvements he manifests the 
same qualities of calm, clear judgment, execu- 
tive ability and wise discrimination that have 
brought him such success in his business. ■ In 
matters political he acts and votes with the 
Republican party, while he holds fraternal re- 
lations with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, the Woodmen of the World and the Free- 
masons. The marriage of Mr. Thayer and Miss 
Rosa Wilkins, a native of England, and daugh- 
ter of Enos Wilkins, Esq., of Devises, Wilt- 
shire, England, occurred on December 27, 1898. 
They have two winsome daughters, Minnie 
Belle and Mabel Jeanette. The parents of Mrs. 
Thayer were long connected with the raising of 
flowers and with the florists business in Eng- 
land and acquired a reputation of marked value 
in that connection. 

HENRY TISCH. 

A pioneer of three states and a fine type of 
the German-American citizen, Hon. Henry 
Tisch is one of the leading residents of Wheat- 
land, Wyoming. Now retired from active busi- 
ness pursuits and enjoying in the evening of his 
well-spent life the ease and comfort to which 
his many years of industry and business activ- 
ity justly entitle him, he is still associated in 
business with his sons, and his heart is as 
young and his ambitions as keen for his chil- 
dren and for the welfare of the "community in 
which he and they reside as in the days of his 
young manhood. A native of Germany, he was 
born in the Province of Oldenburg, on Febru- 
ary 9, 1831, the son of Joseph and Christiana 
(Klee) Tisch. both natives of the Fatherland. 
His father was a mechanic in the old country 
and after his emigration to America in 1851 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



295 



continued the same trade. The family settled 
first in the city of New York, where they re- 
mained until 1854, when they removed to the 
state of New Jersey, the father still working as 
a mechanic. In 1855 the family removed to 
Wisconsin, establishing their new home in the 
county of Manitowoc. Here the father died 
on February 10, 1881, the mother having passed 
• away on July 31, 1866, and the old people lie 
buried side by side in the county of Manitowoc. 
Henry Tisch grew to man's estate in Germany, 
acquiring an education much more thorough 
than falls to the lot of most young men. After 
completing his school education he learned a 
trade, which he followed in the state of New 
York and afterwards in New Jersey. In 1852, Mr. 
Tisch left his parents in New Jersey and came 
to Mishicott, Wis., then a new and unsettled 
community, and there purchased a farm as a 
home for his parents, who in 1854 removed to 
their new home in Wisconsin. Upon arriving 
there Mr. Tisch formed a business partnership 
with his brother and they opened a general 
store at Mishicott, which they conducted with 
success for a number of years. Subsequently 
he was engaged in teaching school in that vi- 
cinity for three years, later becoming the en- 
gineer of a large sawmill, where he remained 
for some time. On August 21, 1862, during 
.the great Civil War, he enlisted in the Twenty- 
seventh Wisconsin Regiment and was engaged 
in active service with that regiment from the 
time of enlistment until the close of the war. 
He was in many engagements, was often under 
fire, but fortunately escaped without sustaining 
serious injury. Upon being mustered out of 
the service he returned to his former occupation 
of teaching. Soon after he was elected to vari- 
ous, positions of trust and honor in the city of 
Mishicott, in all of which he served with credit 
and distinction. In those years he took an 
active and leading part in the public affairs of 
that section of the state, being one of the prom- 
inent leaders of the Democratic party. In 1873 
he removed to Kewaunee, Wis., there engaged 
in the hardware business for seven years, and 
during- this time he was nominated and elected 



to the responsible position of register of deeds 
of that county, holding that office for six years 
continuously, being elected each term by in- 
creased majorities, showing his great popular- 
ity. In 1886, in association with his son, Otto, 
who is now associated with him in business in 
Wheatland, he established a German newspa- 
per in the city of Kewaunee, which they con- 
ducted for about one year, then disposed of the 
plant and in 1889, they removed to Nebraska, 
where they settled in the town of Crawford and 
engaged in merchandising. They continued in 
this business for two years and sold their busi- 
ness to good advantage and returned to Ke- 
waunee, where they remained until 1894, when 
they again returned to Crawford, and later Mr. 
Tisch, in company with his sons, Otto and 
Henry, came to Wyoming, where they settled 
in the city of Wheatland, then in its infancy as 
a business community, there erected a store 
building and engaged in the drug business, in 
which they have ever since been interested. 
After successfully establishing this business 
Mr. Tisch left it in charge of his sons and re- 
turned to Crawford, Neb., where he remained 
until 1897, when he returned to Wyoming, pur- 
chasing a ranch about nine miles south of 
Wheatland and engaged in raising cattle and 
horses with marked success until the spring of 
1 901, when he rented his ranch property and 
moved his home to the city of Wheatland, 
where he has since maintained his residence. 
Here he has a comfortable home, and while he 
still remains as the senior member of the old firm 
of H. Tisch & Sons, which transacts a large and 
successful business in drugs, he leaves its act- 
ive management to his eldest son, Otto, who 
has carried it on with conspicuous ability since 
the doors were first opened in 1894. Mr. Tisch 
is also the owner of large tracts of real-estate 
in Wheatland and vicinity and owns the brick 
block in which the drug store is located. In this, 
business his sons, Otto, Henry and Erwin, are 
all interested, and are rising and successful 
young business men of that fine section of 
the country. On April 6. 1866, at Mishi- 
cott, Wisconsin. Mr. Tisch was united in mar- 



296 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



riage with Miss Alma Manger, who was a na- 
tive of Germany, and a datighter of Henry 
and Laura (Miller) Manger. The parents of 
Mrs. Tisch emigrated from their native Ger- 
many in 1852 and settled first on a farm near 
Mishicott, Wis., and soon after they removed 
to the city of Mishicott, where the father was 
a tanner until his death in 1872. The mother 
is still living and resides with a daughter in 
Kewaunee, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Tisch have had 
six children, namely, Amelia, their eldest child, 
died January 10, 1870, aged three years ; their 
second child, who died at the age of three days ; 
Otto, Henry, Erwin, who are all engaged in 
business with their father at Wheatland, and 
the youngest daughter, Hattie, who died on 
June 3, 1894, aged sixteen years. The little 
daughter, Amelia, is buried in Mishicott, Wis., 
and Hattie is buried at Crawford, Neb. Mr. 
Tisch is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, 
being a member of the lodge at Wheatland, and 
also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
of the same place. He is a member of the 
order of the Sons of Herman at Kewaunee, 
Wis,, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
Otto Tisch, the eldest son of Henry Tisch and 
his successor and chief manager in business 
matters, was married on February 3, 1892, at 
Crawford, Neb., to Miss Minnie G. Thompson, 
the daughter of a prominent resident of that 
place. They have two children, Hazel and Ray- 
mond. Otto Tisch was one of the first men to 
erect a building and engage in business in 
Wheatland and he has had much to do with 
the building up of the city and the surrounding 
country. His courage, confidence in the future 
of this section of the state and his business sa- 
gacity and public spirit, have contributed largely 
to the settlement and improvement of the com- 
munity, attracting capital and men of enter- 
prise. He has built up, in association with his 
brothers, a large and successful business, which 
is constantly increasing. It is largely to the 
efforts of such men that the young state of 
Wyoming owes her present prosperity, as well 
as her future promise. They are among the 
foremost of the progressive young business 
men of the state and are sure to be heard from. 



JOSEPH M. WELCH. 

There is scarcely any class of men or any 
phase of human life which is not served at some 
time or other by a good livery stable. It waits 
upon the needs of the commercial tourist, read- 
ily helps the hurried man of business, pours 
out its sweat for the political orator, favors the 
votary of pleasure, gives opportunity to the 
love-sick swain, and attends with becoming so- 
lemnity the burial of the dead. To all these and 
others Joseph M. Welch has gracefully minis- 
tered since 1899, when he opened the excellent 
livery and feed stables he now conducts, which 
he has greatly popularized by his excellent ap- 
pliances for the business and his enterprising 
and obliging service in the use of them, for he 
not only exhibits a knowledge of the require- 
ments for present needs but a determination to 
keep the establishment up-to-date and always 
in the front rank. He was born in Tuscarawas 
county, Ohio, on April 13, 184S, the son of 
Joseph and Caroline (Shamel) Welch, also na- 
tives of Ohio, where the father was a prosperous 
miller until 1854, when he removed with his 
family to Illinois and was there engaged in the 
milling of flour until his death. The mother 
died when her son Joseph was eleven years old 
and two years later he left home to begin the 
battle of life for himself, then coming west by 
wagon to Oregon in 1876, and after working for 
years at various occupations in divers places, 
he engaged in freighting from The Dalles to 
the John Day country and on to the Malheur 
agency, continuing this enterprise for three 
years. The next two he passed in the same 
work in Idaho and from there came to Lander 
and drove stage for two years, going to Ari- 
zona in 1881 and working there until 1891, when 
he returned to Lander and after farming and 
raising stock for eight years, he sold out in 
1899 and started the livery business, into which 
he has since put the most of his time and 
energy. He still owns, however, a farm located 
about a mile and a half east of the town, on 
which he raises a good quality of horses and 
cattle. In 1890 he was married in Lander to 
Mrs. Fosephenia Dollard, the wife of Mr. Mark 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



297 



Dollard and a daughter of David and Euphemia 
Sartin, natives of Missouri. By her first mar- 
riage Mrs. Welch had four sons, John, James, 
Edward and Charles, and by the last, has four 
sons and one daughter, Joseph M., Leo E., 
Alonzo William, Agnes B. and George H. 

WELTNER BROTHERS. 

Among the most extensive and progressive 
stockgrowers in the state of Wyoming are the 
Weltner Brothers, J. C. and Frederick, whose 
ranch is located on the Prairie Dog, three miles 
east of Sheridan. They conduct their business 
on a very large scale and according to the most 
approved methods in every way, having their 
ranch of 1,400 acres equipped with every appur- 
tenance desirable for its purposes, and the part 
of it which they have under cultivation has been 
brought to a high state of fertility and fruitful- 
ness. They were born in Pennsylvania, J. C. in 
1856 and Frederick in 1852. While they were 
yet young their parents removed the family home 
to Iowa, and there the brothers grew to manhood 
and were educated. In 1879 they came together 
to Leadville, Colo., where they remained four 
years engaged in the water business. In 1883 
they settled in Wyoming on portions of the land 
they now own and at once started a vigorous en- 
terprise in the stock industry, handling cattle 
principally. Their business has prospered and in- 
creased with rapid strides and by constant accre- 
tions, and has grown to enormous value. Their 
herds are for the most part pure-bred Herefords. 
They are close students of the stock industry and 
are judicious in the application of what they 
read and observe concerning it and conducting 
their operations on scientific principles and with 
systematic industry the results of their efforts 
are commensurate with their outlay of time, tal- 
ent and intelligence. Their ranch comprises, as 
has been noted, an extent of 1,400 acres, and 
they have in addition 7,000 acres of leased land. 
The place is one of the most majestic in its sweep 
and variety of feature in this part of the coun- 
try, and the home which they have erected on 
it is one of the attractions of the neighborhood. 



It is much to the credit of these gentlemen that 
they have built up by their own enterprise and 
skill an industry of such magnitude, and much 
more to their credit that they have set in motion 
forces which have enabled and are enabling oth- 
ers to do something of the same kind. But it 
must also be noted that they have been identified 
in a leading and most serviceable way with every 
good project for the improvement of the com- 
munity, omitting no effort on their part needed to 
aid in giving life and spirit to every movement 
for advancement which they have deemed worthy 
of vitality. Such as they have brought out the 
tremendous commercial, industrial and manufac- 
turing forces of the immense Northwest into 
vigorous and productive activity and guided 
all of its political and moral agencies forward 
along the lines of healthy and enduring prog- 
ress; and such as they are entitled of all men to 
honorable mention in any record of the achieve- 
ments and the aspirations of the progressive 
men of the state in which they live. 

HON. LEWIS C. TIDBALL. 

Successful in business, prominent in politics 
and highly esteemed socially, the conditions of 
life would seem to be altogether favorable for 
Hon. Lewis C. Tidball, who lives on the oldest 
settled ranch on Soldier Creek, it being a fine 
property and located three and one-half miles 
northwest of Sheridan, Wyo. He was born on 
June 25, 1848, in Muskingum county, Ohio, 
being the son of Andrew B. and Eliza (Gil- 
keson) Tidball, both natives of Pennsylvania, who 
settled in Ohio in early days and were prosper- 
ously engaged in farming there, not far from 
Zanesville, until 1864, when they removed to 
Illinois. After six years of successful farming in 
that state they took another flight toward the 
sunset, locating in Jasper county, Mo., where 
they still followed farming until their death, that 
of the father occurring in 1889 and that of the 
mother in 1890. Their son Lewis taught school 
in Illinois, then followed his parents to Missouri 
where he worked on the farm, taught school 
and attended the high school at Carthage, then 



298 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



he, in the spring of 1874 entered the law-office 
of Mr. Hamilton at Carthage and read law for 
four years. His father, being a great politician 
of the ultra Democratic kind, his son Lewis came 
into politics by inheritance. In 1876 he broke 
away from the paternal party and joined the 
new "Greenback" organization, casting his first 
vote (and the only one in his township) for 
Peter Cooper, the presidential candidate of that 
party. He then entered vigorously into the 
Greenback movement in Missouri, but in 1879, 
owing to the great excitement concerning Lead- 
ville, Colo., he took the mining fever, leaving 
Missouri before he was admitted to the practice 
of law, later being admitted to the bar at Sheri- 
dan, Wyo., although he never practiced. He 
first went to Mexico but remained only a year. 
From that country he went to Leadville, Colo., 
but remained there also but a year. In 1881'he 
settled in Gallatin county, Mont., and there en- 
gaged in farming and in the raising of stock for 
two years. In 1883 he closed out all his in- 
terests in Montana and then removing to Sheri- 
dan county, Wyo., took up the ranch on which he 
now lives, which is the oldest in ■ this section of 
the state, it having been first settled on by the 
P. K. Co., by whom it was used as a stage 
station on the line between the terminal of the 
Northern Pacific and Rock Creek on the Union 
Pacific Railroad, their old stable and stag"e-house 
being still in good preservation, notwithstanding 
the flight of time and the tempests that have 
swept over them in their lonely and deserted 
condition. Other buildings have been erected for 
the needs of the ranch, which is now highly im- 
proved, well cultivated, and made as homelike as 
thrift, good taste and the circumstances of the 
case will admit. It is a very desirable property, 
and the historic name it had as a place of en- 
tertainment has not suffered or been obscured 
under the management and control of its present 
hospitable and genial owner. The principal busi- 
ness which Mr. Tidball conducts here is raising 
stock in which he is very successful, his product 
being kept in good condition and holding a de- 
servedly high rank in the markets. Mr. Tid- 
servedlv hisrh rank in the markets. Air. Tid- 



March 6, 1881, to Mrs. Jennie (Kelly) Kimmel, 
a native of Iowa. She is a women of splendid 
attainments, having very extensive social rela- 
tions, and she is held in high esteem by all who 
know her, being regarded as one of the leading 
intellectual women in northern Wyoming. She 
is now the president of the Woman's Club 
of Sheridan. They have four children, Lewis C. 
Jr., Jean V., Vernon M. and Benjamin W. The 
two oldest sons are attending the Wyoming Uni- 
versity, and they are regarded as the leading 
students of that splendid educational institution. 
In politics the head of the house affiliated with 
the Populist party and gave it good service, both 
as a worker in the ranks and in responsible official 
stations, for he was elected to the State Legis- 
lature on its ticket in 1892, and his ability and 
knowledge of affairs were so well established in 
the belief of his associates that he was chosen 
Speaker of the House in his first term. In 1896 
he was again elected to the Legislature, and in 
the ensuing term more than sustained his repu- 
tation as a capable and farseeing legislator, ren- 
dering his constituents well appreciated service 
and doing excellent work for the interests of the 
state in a general way, While in the Legislature 
the first time he first introduced an amendment 
to the state constitution which provided for the 
"Initiative and Referendum" but it then failed to 
pass. In his last term he was the first one in the 
State Legislature to urge the passage of the 
"free-textbook" measure which later became a 
law and has given more satisfaction than any 
other law ever passed. In the Legislature of 
1897 he advocated the building of free bath- 
houses at the hot springs of Thermopolis by aid 
of the state and his plan was then laughed at, but 
in 1903 the state actually commenced the erection 
of three of the same free bath-houses he then ad- 
vocated. In 1894 Mr. Tidball was made the 
Populist candidate for governor of Wyoming and 
he wrote the following plank in the Populist 
platform of that year. "Demanding that the 
Federal government should build reservoirs in 
the arid regions to hold the waste water for irri- 
gation," the very first demand of the government 
in that line ever written. After the dissolution 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



299 



of the Populist party Mr. Tidball entered the 
Socialist movement and is now regarded as one 
of its leaders in northern Wyoming. Mr. and 
Mrs. Tidball have a fine city residence in Sheri- 
dan, where they now reside, for Mr. Tidball and 
his two oldest sons have entered the newspaper 
field. His newspaper is called The Independent 
Press. In politics it is an uncompromising 
Socialist publication, but in addition to politics, 
he is trying to make it a newspaper of high stand- 
ing with the intelligent aid of his gifted wife and 
the assistance of his two bright sons. 

WILLIAM J. WERNLI. 

One of the leading business men and prop- 
erty owners of the new town of Encampment, 
Wyoming, William J. Wernli, is also a pioneer 
of that enterprising place. He is a native of Wis- 
consin, born in the city of Oshkosh, on January 
5, 1856, the son of Jacob and Anna Maria 
(Steiner) Wernli, both natives of Switzerland. 
The father came to America in 1855, and estab- 
lished his home in Oshkosh, where he continued 
to reside for a number of years, and then re- 
moved his residence to Waupaca. Here he be- 
came the capable principal of the city schools, 
and later being elected the county superinten- 
dent of Waupaca county. He made his home 
at that place for about five years and then he 
removed to Milwaukee, and there held the po- 
sition of the principal of the public schools 
of the second ward of that city for two years, 
thereafter removing his family to Platteville, 
Wis., where he was elected as assistant principal 
of the first state normal school which was lo- 
cated at that place. He continued here for two 
years and then went to Galena, 111., where he 
founded the Northwestern Normal College, of 
which he was the principal and manager for 
five years. He then disposed of his Galena 
property and made his home in Chicago, 111., 
where he retired from professional labors and 
successfully engaged in the wholesale and retail 
book and stationery business for two years. He 
then sold his business to advantage, and went to 
Lemars, Iowa, where he purchased a section of 



land and engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
his death in 1901. During a portion of his res- 
idence here he was principal of the city schools 
and also the county superintendent of public in- 
struction. Being a man of wide information and 
of high standing as an educator, his services 
were in constant demand as a lecturer before 
teachers' institutes. He was highly esteemed by 
all classes of his fellow citizens, and was deeply 
mourned by a large circle of friends and rel- 
atives. He had been twice married, and left a 
family of thirteen children. William J. Wernli 
was the eldest child of the family and attained 
to manhood in his native state of Wisconsin and 
in Illinois and Iowa and receiving his education 
in the schools of those states remaining at home 
until 1879, when he became the secretary and 
chief bookkeeper of the Plymouth Roller Mill 
Co., at Lemars, Iowa. He remained in this po- 
sition for ten years, then removed to Rapid City, 
South Dakota, and engaged in a prosperous busi- 
ness as a grain and produce dealer for two years, 
and then returned to Lemars, where he embarked 
in the sale of farm implements, later dispos- 
ing of that business and removing to Correction- 
ville, Iowa, after residing at Lemars for some 
three years, he engaged in the milling business. 
He was burned out one year later and lost every- 
thing. Again returning to Lemars, he engaged 
in real-estate and insurance until 1898, when he 
removed to the vicinity of Encampment, Wyo., 
and there occupied himself in prospecting and 
mining for about two years, passing through 
some very trying experiences and on one oc- 
casion he and his family came near perishing in 
a severe storm which suddenly overtook them 
in the mountains. In 1900, he purchased the 
Fairchild stock of hardware at Doggett, Wyo., 
and removed it to Encampment, where he erected 
a small building and engaged in a small way in 
the hardware trade. By hard work, perseverance 
and business enterprise he has gradually built 
up an excellent trade and has extended his opera- 
tions until he is now the owner of one of the 
largest mercantile establishments in his section 
of the state. Originally his store building was 
only sixteen feet square, and hs> resided with his 



300 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



family in small apartments at the rear of his 
store. Now he occupies a fine store building, de- 
voting twenty-four feet by seventy to his hard- 
ware department, and forty-eight by sixteen to 
his drygoods department, the second story being 
occupied by the Masonic order as a lodge room. 
He carries a large stock of merchandise, has a 
constantly increasing patronage and is one of the 
substantial merchants of his section. He is also 
the owner of large warehouses in connection 
with his mercantile business. He attributes very 
much of his success to his wife, who by her ad- 
vice, counsel and assistance has materially aided 
him in all of his plans and undertakings and has 
been most loyally a helpmeet in the fullest sense 
of the word. In November, 1879, Mr. Wernli 
wedded with Miss Belle M. Stough, a native of 
Iowa and a daughter of Calvin P. Stough, a 
prominent business man, who was long engaged 
in the furniture business in Lemars, and was a 
leading factor in the commercial life of his city 
and county. Now retired from active business 
pursuits he is residing at Galena, Kan. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Wernli have been born two chil- 
dren, Winnie B., wife of G. E. Heber, of Im- 
perial, Calif., and Laura M. Fraternally, Mr. 
Wernli is affiliated with the Freemasons as a 
member of the chapter at Encampment. He takes 
an active part in local political affairs and is the 
city treasurer of Encampment. Besides his other 
business enterprises, he is largely interested in 
mining, being the secretary of the Moon Anchor 
Copper Mining Co., and of the Rambler Mining 
Co., both of which give promise of being valuable 
properties. He is one of the foremost men of 
his county and is progressive and prominent in 
all measures calculated to benefit the city of his 
residence, or to develop the resources of the sur- 
rounding country. 

JAMES M. WHITNEY. 

This gentleman is one of the most exten- 
sive stockraisers and dealers in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, and has risen to his present emi- 
nence in this line 'entirely through his personal 
efforts. He was born on August 14, 1856, in 



Marion county, Iowa, a son of H. C. and 
Elvira E. (Sheldon) Whitney, the former being 
a native of Massachusetts and the latter of 
New York. Both parents were taken to Ohio 
when children, there attaining maturity and 
were there married, from Ohio removing to 
Marion county, Iowa, in 1851, being among 
the pioneers of that section of the country. In 
1866 the family removed from Iowa to Kansas 
and located in Montgomery county, where the 
father followed farming until 1874, when the 
family home was made in Del Norte, Colo., 
where the father passed away a week later, on 
July nth, 1874, and was there buried, the 
mother also dying in Colorado on August 
3, 1876, while on a visit to a daughter and 
her remains were also interred at Del Norte. 
James M. Whitney was educated in Mont- 
gomery county, Kan., and later accompanied 
his parents to Colorado, from whence after the 
father's death the mother and the three sons 
came to Wyoming and located in Cheyenne, 
where James M. again attended school for a 
few months. Another son, Frank S., had been 
living in Cheyenne ever since the town had 
started, engaged in the transfer business, so 
that the mother was not altogether among 
strangers. She, however, at once took up a 
ranch on Crow Creek, eighteen miles west of 
Cheyenne, and on this ranch the three brothers 
conducted stockraising until the mother's death. 
In 1878 James M. Whitney came to Laramie 
county and in 1880 went into the employment 
of T. A. Kent, then proprietor of the ranches 
now owned by Mr. Whitney. In 1883 he left 
the range and engaged with G. A. Draper, 
wholesale grocer of Cheyenne, with whom he 
remained until January 1, 1884, shortly after 
which date he began running a road ranch for 
the Teschemacher & Billier Cattle Co., on Lara- 
mie River, where L T va is now situated, in 1887 
he took entire charge of the Uva business of 
this firm, managing their hotel and store until 
1892. when the firm sold out. Mr. Whitney 
next bought 480 acres of the land formerly 
owned by T. A. Kent, lying on the Laramie 
River, one mile west of Uva, and entered into 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



301 



the stock business. By diligence, good man- 
agement and ability he has increased his hold- 
ings until he is now one of the principal cattle- 
men of his section of the country and the 
owner of the ranch on which he was formerly 
an employe. He was joined in matrimony on 
January 17, 1883, at Cheyenne, with Miss 
Elizabeth Bon, a native of Nebraska, being a 
daughter of Stephen Bon, one of the' oldest set- 
tlers of Cheyenne and also father of Stephen 
(Jr.) and Frank Bon, shoe-dealers of that city. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Whitney were born two chil- 
dren, Stephen H. and Frank, but the mother 
was called from earth on June 13, 1887, her 
remains being interred in Cheyenne. The sec- 
ond marriage of Mr. Whitney took place on 
February 12, 1890, at Denver, Colo., with Annie 
(Bills) Stewart, a native of Tennessee. Fra- 
ternally, Mr. Whitney is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of the World, affiliated with Camp 
No. 5,449, of Wheatland, and politically he is 
a member of the Republican party, in which 
he is an active and energetic worker, but has 
always declined all solicitations to become a 
candidate for office. As a citizen, Mr. Whitney 
is broad minded and public spirited, and en- 
joys the respect of the entire .community and 
as a business man he probably has not an 
equal in Laramie county. 

MARTIN WILLADSEN. 

One of the progressive and successful men 
of foreign birth who have made their mark in 
the business world of Wyoming, is Martin Wil- 
ladsen, a resident of Granite Canyon, one of 
the prominent stockmen of that section. He 
was born in Denmark, on April 4, 1859, the 
son of Willads and Mary (Bentsen) Willadsen, 
both natives of that country. His father fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming in Denmark 
but in 1883, emigrated to America in company 
with his son, Martin, and other members of 
his family, and established his residence on a 
ranch near the place now owned and occupied 
by Martin and there engaged in cattleraising 
up to the time of his death, which occurred in 



1892. The mother' passed away in February, 
1902, and both were buried in Cheyenne. Mr. 
Martin Willadsen grew to man's estate and re- 
ceived his school education in Denmark, where 
he remained with his parents until he had at- 
tained to the age of twenty years, and p then 
engaged in farming operations for himself until 
1883. At a 'family conference held in 1882 
it was determined that the entire family should 
emigrate to the New World, and therefore. in 
that year the mother and. her son Anton took 
ship and sailed away to establish a new home 
beyond the sea. Soon after arriving in America, 
they proceeded to the territory of Wyoming, 
and subsequently the father and other mem- 
bers of the family followed them, and in the 
spring of 1883, Mr. Willadsen took up his pres- 
ent ranch on Lone Tree Creek, about twenty- 
one miles west of the city of Cheyenne, and has 
since remained there, prosperously engaged in 
cattleraising. He has met with marked suc- 
cess and is one of the solid business men and 
substantial property owners of his section of 
the state, where he was one of the earliest set- 
tlers. He is now the owner of some 3,000 
acres of fine land, improved, well fenced, and 
irrigated, with large herds of cattle on Lone 
Tree Creek and also on Crow Creek, with ample 
barns and buildings. By his industry, thrift, 
economy and attention to business the ambi- 
tions of his boyhood in Denmark have been 
more than realized, and he is rapidly accumu- 
lating a handsome fortune. Before coming to 
this country he united his fortunes in happy 
marriage with Miss Anne B. Jensen, a native 
of Denmark, one of the playmates of his child- 
hood, a daughter of Anders and Anne (Ander- 
sen) Jensen, both natives of that country. Mrs. 
Jensen's father was a lifetime farmer in Den- 
mark, dying in 1865. Of the nine children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Willadsen seven are surviving, 
as follows : Anders, Knud, James, Julia, Ma- 
rius, Andreas, Stevens. The other ones who 
have died are : Henry, who passed away on 
October 17, 1901, at the age of five years; 
and Henri, who died on May 21, 1902, at the 
tender age of five weeks. The family are 



302 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



members of the Lutheran church, being reg- 
ular attendants and devoted adherents of that 
faith. In all good work in the community 
where they reside, they are among the fore- 
most. Politically, Mr. ' Willadsen is identified 
with. the Democratic party, although he is not 
a strong partisan, and makes it his practice 
to support the best men for public office. He 
is called one of the most liberal minded and 
respected citizens of his section of the state. 

ALLEN WILLIAMS. 

The strength and resourcefulness of the 
American character has often been remarked up- 
on and wondered at. No danger daunts it, no 
difficulty deters, no toil intimidates. Whatever 
the emergency of the moment requires is fur- 
nished as if by spontaneous action and always 
meets the requirement in a masterly way. And 
when long endurance or application is demanded, 
that also is furnished to the last degree, unless 
mental alertness supplies an easier and more 
profitable way around the labor and sacrifice in- 
volved. Perhaps no reason for this universal 
readiness and commanding adaptability is more 
potent than that found in the cosmopolitan char- 
acter of our population. Every civilized country 
under the sun has sent brain and brawn to make 
and mold this people and in the very multitude 
of counselors and capacities may reside our 
greatest safety and power. From the picturesque 
and historic Province of Nova Scotia came Allen 
Williams, now of near Hamilton, Sheridan coun- 
ty, Wyo., one of the representative, progressive 
and substantial citizens of that section of the 
state. In that Canadian province for generations 
his family had lived and flourished, there his 
immediate parentage, Patrick and Mary (Wal- 
lace) Williams came into being, achieved a cred- 
itable career as energetic and prosperous farm- 
ers, and in the fullness of time were laid to rest 
in their native soil, the mother dying in 1892 and 
the father in 1901. There Allen also was born, 
his life beginning on March 28, 1859, and there 
he lived until he was eighteen years old, attend- 
ing the schools of the neighborhood, and looking 



forward to a life-long career in his native heath. 
But for him the elements had arranged a differ- 
ent destiny. About the time of his leaving school 
and being confronted with life's responsibilities 
and a world of hope and aspiration, but of toil 
and struggle no less, his attention was earnestlv 
drawn to the unusual opportunities for individ- 
ual effort and advancement in the Great West 
of the United States, and he determined to there 
seek his fortune. He did not, however, im- 
mediately come hither, but for a number of years 
gave attention to various lines of industry in oth- 
er parts of the country. But in 1877 he made 
the final and decisive move, for on April 16, 
of that very same year, he arrived in Wyoming, 
stopping for a very short time near Chevenne, 
then a straggling village baptized into be- 
ing only a few short years before, and with 
all of its now acquired destiny to win. He 
lingered there until fall and came to Powder 
River in Johnson county, and from his rude but 
comfortable headquarters on its banks freighted 
and hauled wood in the vicinity until spring. 
During the next five years he was actively en 
gaged in freighting and hauling lumber, wood 
and other commodities, now from Rock Creek 
to Fort McKinney, anon between Rawlins and 
White River, again to Laramie City or Buffalo, 
always busy with his hard work, always willing 
to endure the exposure, always looking forward 
tc an easier life and better compensation for his 
labor. In 1883 the opportunity for this came 
his way and he seized it with alacrity. He filed 
on a portion of the ranch he now occupies on 
Big Piney Creek, twenty-two miles northeast of 
Buffalo, and near the present town of Hamilton, 
settled on his claim and at once began improving 
the land, making a comfortable home for himself, 
and building up a cattle industry for his future 
business and support. In this aspiration he has 
succeeded admirably. His ranch has been in- 
creased to 320 acres and fashioned into comeli- 
ness and fertility, while his stock industry has 
expanded into very gratifying and profitable pro- 
portions. He has risen to consequence also in 
the estimation of his fellow men and become 
one of the most respected and influential men 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3°3 



of his part of the county, with a potent voice in 
its politics as a Republican, but not an active 
partisan, and with an earnest desire and a con- 
stant readiness to be of service to every good 
enterprise undertaken for the benefit of the com- 
munity. On April 8, 1891, at her home in the 
county, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Wino- 
na Condit, a native of Iowa, but for one year 
previous to her marriage a resident of Wyoming. 
They have three children, Claude, Jennie and 
Ethel. 

MRS. MINNIE WILLIAMS. 

The general liberalizing of thought and ele- 
vation of women due to the free institutions ot 
America have opened to the gentler sex man}- 
lines of intellectual and physical activity which 
through all the previous centuries were closed 
against them ; and one of the striking justifica- 
tions of the movement is found in the case of 
Mrs. Minnie Williams, the receiver of the U. S. 
land-office at Lander, whose management of the 
important public position to which President Mc- 
Kinley appointed her in December, 1898, has 
given general satisfaction and been productive 
of appreciated movements in administration. 
Mrs. Williams was born at Frewsburg, Chautau- 
qua county, New York, a daughter of William 
F. and Emily (Thornton) Tinkcom, also natives 
of New York. Her father was a blacksmith, 
progressive and public spirited, who, after suc- 
cessfully prosecuting his chosen occupation for 
years in his native state, came to Montana as 
head blacksmith for the large mines at Red 
Lodge in Carbon county. In the state of his 
adoption his breadth of view and interest in pub- 
lic affairs gave him local distinction as chair- 
man of the board of county commissioners for 
a long time. Prior to making his home in Mon- 
tana - he followed his vocation at Fort Dodge, 
Iowa, in a leading way. He was a son of Water- 
man and Harriet (Thayer) Tinkcom, natives of 
Massachusetts who removed to western New 
York in its early history, while yet the Indians 
and wild beasts held sway in that section and 
gave them and their neighbors many thrilling 



adventures and hair-breadth escapes from violent 
deaths. Mrs. Williams's mother, Emily R. 
(Thornton) Tinkcom, was a daughter of Albert 
and Mary (Green) Thornton, both scions of 
Revolutionary families, the father being a direct 
descendant of Matthew Thornton, one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, while 
in the genealogy of the mother the Boltwoods 
of Boston mingled with the Greens of Rhode 
Island. Mrs. Williams was educated in the pub- 
lic schools at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and after com- 
pleting her course she engaged in teaching in 
that state. On April 25, 1878, she married with 
Marion Williams, a son of John C. and Lydia 
(Pierson) Williams, the latter a daughter of 
Rev. Pierson, one of the first Quaker preachers 
in Iowa. The Williamses were natives of Ohio 
and among the first settlers in Iowa. Mr. Wil- 
liams is an engineer by occupation, and has been 
in charge of important work in Iowa and also 
in Wyoming. In 1891 he came to Wyoming and 
settled in the Big Horn basin where he took up 
land and began operations in the cattle business, 
running principally graded Herefords and having 
control of 5,000 acres of land. Like his wife he 
always takes an active interest in public affairs 
and gives to the advancement of the community 
the fruits of his best thought and energy. He 
belongs to the Woodmen of the World. Mrs. 
Williams has been identified with the Women of 
Woodcraft since its organization in Lander hold- 
ing the position of Guardian Neighbor for two 
years. In addition to his regular occupation he 
superintends the improvement of their extensive 
property at Cody and elsewhere, while Mrs. Wil- 
liams gives her undivided attention to the ad- 
ministration of her office. They have had three 
children, Frank M., cashier of the bank at Cody, 
and Clarence A., who are living, and Donald C. 
who died at the age of four years. 

ROBERT WILSON. 

One of the most skilled and expert black- 
smiths of Rawlins, Wyoming, is Robert Wil- 
son, who in his early, active and practical days 
usually held the position of foreman, but he 



3°4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



has now virtually retired from the exertions of 
the trade. He was born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, in 1838, a son of John and Sarah (Davis) 
Wilson, both also natives of Yorkshire. John 
Wilson was born in 1810, being a son of Rob- 
ert and Sarah (Fearnley) Wilson, the latter of 
whom was a. daughter of Sergeant Fearnley of 
the battle of Waterloo fame. Sarah (Davis) 
Wilson was born in 18 12 and died in 1870. John 
Wilson 'survived until 1849. He had held dur- 
ing nearly all his life, the very responsible po- 
sition of manager of the silkmills at Boothtown, 
and he and his wife were firmly attached to 
the established Church of England and to their 
home. They were the parents of four children, 
of whom Robert is the only living represen- 
tative. He acquired his education in England 
and there also learned his trade of blacksmith. 
He came to America in 1867, stopped for a 
short time in Montreal, Canada, and then went 
to Toronto, where he was employed as inspect- 
or of rollingmills for the Grand Trunk Rail- 
way for two years. After a short stay in Ham- 
ilton he came to the United States and passed 
one year in a navy yard in California, whence 
he went to Omaha, Neb., and for one yea'r was 
in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad ; 
then was employed in railroad work at Ter- 
race for a short time, after this coming to 
Wyoming, where he worked at Laramie for 
the Union Pacific for four years. Mr. Wilson 
came to Rawlins, which has since been his 
home in 1876. For twenty-five years after hi? 
arrival he held the very responsible position of 
foreman, but is now so financially situated that 
he can live in comfort without further labor. 
He was married in Omaha, Neb., in 1870, to 
Miss Elizabeth Cherry, daughter of Blain and 
Catherine Cherry, natives of Ireland who had 
settled in Ottawa, Canada, and were employed 
in farming. In politics Mr. Wilson is a Re- 
publican and quite popular with his party. He 
has served with great credit to himself as a 
justice of the peace for two terms, but he is 
not a chroitic office-seeker. In Masonic circles 
Mr. Wilson is quite prominent, having held the 
elevated position of grand master of the order 



of the state of Wyoming, subordinately, he is 
a charter member of Rawlins Lodge, which 
he has served as worshipful master for four 
terms. He owes his present comfortable po- 
sition in life entirely to his own industry, tem- 
perate habits and upright course in life ; and the 
respect in which he is held by his fellow cit- 
izens is simply an acknowledgement of merits 
manifested in his every word and act. 

HENRY Z. YODER. 

Henry Z. Yoder, of Meriden, Wyoming, is 
a native of Holmes county, Ohio, born there 
on January 18, 1844, the son of David and Bar- 
bara Yoder, the former a native of the same 
state, and the latter of Pennsylvania. His pa- 
rents were farmers in Ohio until 1869, when 
they moved to Johnson county, Iowa, where 
they continued in the same pursuit during the 
remainder of their lives, the mother dying in 
1886 and the father in 1887. Henry Z. Yoder 
remained with his parents, assisting his father 
in the management of the farm until 1872. when 
he engaged in farming for himself not far from 
their residence in Iowa. Here he remained 
with varying success for ten years. In 1882, 
desiring to better his fortunes, he started on a 
trip through the West looking for a suitable lo- 
cation to engage in the stock business. Arriv- 
ing in the city of Cheyenne in the summer of 
that year, he there remained until the following 
spring, when he visited the Bear Creek sec- 
tion of Wyoming, and took up a ranch, and 
immediatelv engaged in the raising of cattle and 
horses. By hard work and careful attention 
to business, he extended his operations from 
year to year, and built up a prosperous and 
successful business. In 1899, he disposed of 
all his interests at this' place to Mr. Mullen and 
removed to his present home ranch on Bear 
Creek, which he had purchased in 1890. It 
is situated about twenty-seven miles east of 
Chugwater, Wyo.. and is one of the best lo- 
cations possible for a stock ranch. Here he 
has successfullv continued in his business of 
stockgrowing, and now owns a fine property. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



305 



having 560 acres of patented land, most of 
which is irrigated, together with adjacent range 
and 800 acres of leased lands, on which he 
grazes his herds. On May 6, 1884, Mr. Yoder 
was united in marriage in Washington county, 
Iowa, to Miss Sarah A. Luke, a native of Ohio 
and a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Mettler)- 
Luke, both natives of Pennsylvania. Emi- 
grating from their native state when young to 
Ohio, the parents followed there the occupa- 
tion of farming for some years, but in 1862, 
they moved to Iowa, settling first in Johnson 
county, where they continued in the same pur- 
suit, and later they removed to Washington 
county, where the father is still residing, the 
mother having passed away in July, 1891. Mr. 
and Mrs. Yoder have two children, Mary E. 
aged seventeen years, and Ollie K., aged four- 
tee.n years. The family belong to the Method- 
ist Episcopal church, and take a deep interest in 
church and charitable work. Mr. Yoder gives 
his political allegiance to the Republican party, 
and is actively interested in public affairs, being 
one of the substantial .and most respected citizens 
of his section of the state. 

JOSEPH YOUNG. 

Among the men who have nobly contrib- 
uted to the development and prosperity of 
Wyoming, none occupy a more exalted place 
in the hearts of the people or have been more 
earnest or conscientious in their efforts to pro- 
mote the public welfare than Joseph Young, 
whose success in the business world has only 
been surpassed by his personal popularity. He 
is a native of England, where he was born on 
August 3, 1844. His father, also by name 
Joseph, was born in the West Indies, but 
lived in England from his childhood until his 
removal to the United States in 1866. By oc- 
cupation he was a farmer and as such met with 
fair success both in England and this country. 
On coming to America he settled in Illinois 
where he made a specialty of stockraising until 
his death in 1879. He was a most amiable and 
agreeable gentleman, a great lover of family 



and home and he spared no pains to instil into 
the minds of his children the principles of 
moral rectitude, which bore fruitage in correct 
deportment and upright conduct. The paternal 
grandfather was Joseph Young, who passed his 
life in the West Indies as an overseer of large 
plantations owned by wealthy parties. He died 
in the Indies and left to his descendants the 
heritage of an honorable career and a worthy 
name. The maiden name of the mother was 
Ann Turner ; she was born in Westonzoyland, 
Somersetshire, England, and is still living, hav- 
ing reached the ripe old age of eighty-two 
years, her home being at this writing in Kan- 
kakee county, 111., and, with the exception of 
blindness with which he has been afflicted for 
some years, she retains in a fair measure her 
physical and mental powers. To Joseph and 
Ann Young were born sons and daughters, 
namely : William ; Albert ; Charles E. ; Joseph ; 
Susan, wife of C. Holmes ; Sarah T. ; Eliza J. : 
Mary ; Elizabeth, and Lucy ; of whom all but 
Charles are living. Joseph Young, of this re- 
view, received his early education in the schools 
of his native place and at the age of twenty-two 
accompanied his parents to the United States. 
During the seven or eight years following his 
arrival he was associated with his father in op- 
erating a meat market and at the expiration of 
that time he engaged in the same business up- 
on his own responsibility. After remaining in 
Illinois until April, 1877, he came to Wyoming, 
locating at Rock Springs, near which place he 
subsequently purchased a ranch and engaged 
in sheepraising. From that time to the present 
day Mr.< Young has devoted his time largely 
to the sheep business, meeting with a financial 
success such as few stockmen attain. For 
sixteen years he was also identified with the 
commercial interests of Rock Springs, running 
a large general store in partnership with Tim- 
othy Kinney, the firm becoming widely and fa- 
vorably known throughout a very extensive 
region. He personally superintended his differ- 
ent business interests and brought them to a 
very flourishing condition. In various ways he 
was brought in close touch with the people of 



so6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING.. 



Sweetwater county, and he enjoyed their im- 
plicit confidence, his dealings being such as to 
give them the highest opinion of his intellect 
and honor, a reputation of which he feels justly 
proud. Possessing rare business qualifications, 
he rose step by step from comparative obscu- 
rity to affluence, achieving his success by per- 
sonal application of well directed industry and 
successful management. Mr. Young has long 
been one of the leading political workers of 
Sweetwater county and in recognition of his 
services to his party as well as by reason of 
his fitness for the place, he was elected by the 
Republicans in 1884 and reelected in 1886 to 
the office of sheriff. He discharged his official 
functions in an able and praiseworthy manner 
and at the expiration of his term of service re- 
tired with the good will of the people, irrespect- 
ive of political ties. He proved a fearless and 
conscientious public servant and, by bring- 
ing a large number of the criminal class to 
the bar of justice, did much to check the preva- 
lent evils and inspire a wholesale respect for 
law and order. Mr. Young has been called by 
his party to other positions of honor and trust 
and in all his record fully met the expectations 
of the public. He served several years as a 
justice of the peace, was also a member of the 
board of county commissioners for one term 
and as a member of the local board of edu- 
cation he was untiring in his efforts to build up 
the school system of Rock Springs and increase 
its efficiency. Some years ago Mr. Young sold 
his ranch near Rock Springs but still has much 
valuable property in the city and throughout 
the state, also owning real-estate of value in 
Cheyenne, Green River and Salt Lake City, 
with grazing lands in various sections of the 
West and farm property in Illinois. He is in 
independent financial circumstances, being the 
possessor of a sufficient fortune to enable him 
to pass the remainder of his life free from care 
or anxiety, being one of the wealthy men of 
Wyoming, while every dollar in his possession 
has been earned by his own efforts and by 
honorable business methods. He makes his 
home in Salt Lake City, though retaining his 



citizenship in Rock Springs, where he passes 
a considerable part of his time. He was mar- 
ried in 1885 to Miss Clara Matthews, daughter 
of Samuel and Lena Matthews, and is the fa- 
ther of two sons, William Lee and Joseph, the 
latter deceased. He is a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity and of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and in both organizations he 
has filled important official stations. His life 
has been a practical exemplification of the sub- 
lime teachings of these orders, and his straight- 
forward course as a business man is without a 
flaw, his career as an official above suspicion 
and his every relation with the world has been 
marked by a spirit of rectitude, characteristic 
of the high minded, courteous gentleman. 

HEWITT M. YOUMANS. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of 
Schoharie county, New York, where he was 
born on February 19, 1845. He is the son of 
Nathaniel P. and Olive (Porter) Youmans, both 
natives of the Empire state. His father fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming in Schoharie 
county, and was the son of James and Aline You- 
mans, both of whom were natives of New York 
state. The subject of this personal mention was 
the eldest of a family of nine children, two of 
whom are still living. During his childhood his 
parents removed their residence from New York 
to the state of Ohio, and still later to Wisconsin, 
and he received his early education in the public 
schools of those different states. Compelled by 
circumstances to leave school before he had ar- 
rived at man's estate in order to assist in the 
support of the family, he secured employment as 
a farm hand in the vicinity of his boyhood's home, 
and for a number of years was engaged in that 
pursuit. In the year 1863 he enlisted as a mem- 
ber of Co. G of the Second Regiment of Minne- 
sota Cavalry, in which he served up to the 29th 
clay of December, 1865, when he received an 
honorable discharge and was mustered out of 
the service. During this time he was engaged 
for the greater portion of his term of service in 
fighting the Sioux Indians in Minnesota and 




jflfc 09^ 




f^lg^ryfit ytC , ffy (724^)0 cvn± 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



307 



Dakota, and was in many engagements, although 
he never sustained any serious injury. After 
leaving the military service he followed the com- 
bined occupations of farming and stockraising 
for a number of years, and in 1877 cam e to the 
then territory of Wyoming, where he engaged 
in the business of hunting and trapping. Sub- 
sequently, he took up a ranch near the present 
site of the town of Dubois, Wyoming, and also 
located a desert land claim on Horse Creek. He 
continued here for a number of years and met 
with considerable success. He disposed of his 
ranch property recently to good advantage, and 
formed a partnership with George Y. Hays, for 
the purpose of engaging in general merchandis- 
ing at Dubois, Wyo. Mr. ' Youmans is an en- 
terprising and public spirited man, who has had 
an extended and varied experience in the western 
country and on the frontier, and may be called 
one of the pioneers of Western Wyoming. He 
has contributed largely to the building up and 
development of the resources of his section of 
the state, and is held in high esteem by all classes 
of his fellow citizens. 

J. DANA ADAMS. 

Go where you will the trader and the money 
changers are there and must be, or no extended 
or consecutive civilization is possible without 
them. It is one of the inevitable conditions of 
human life that men shall aggregate in societies 
and there must be mediums and centers of ex- 
change among them. The men therefore who 
plan, organize and conduct such enterprises, who 
gather the commodities of the marts together, 
whether they are the merest necessaries on the 
far frontier or all the products of art and fashion 
in the metropolitan centers, do actually in their 
measure bridge the chasms between men and 
are essentially benefactors of mankind. To this 
class belongs J. Dana Adams of Sheridan, presi- 
dent of the Sheridan Commercial Co. and active 
manager of its enormous general merchandise 
business with headquarters at Sheridan, who was 
born on December 21, 1842, in Maine, a son of 

19 



Henry K. and Margaret F. (Webb) Adams, the 
former born and reared in Massachusetts and the 
latter in Maine. Mr. Adams was educated and 
reached years of maturity in his native state, and 
in 1862 came west to Marshalltown, Iowa, and 
there began a mercantile career which is pictur- 
esque in its variety of feature and its uniformity 
of success. His beginning was the humble one 
of a minor assistant and salesman, but with 
the self-reliance and energy of his nature, he 
also carried on an independent ' business of 
his own by purchasing and also shipping to 
Chicago on commission various articles of 
produce. Tiring of this business he then en- 
gaged in farming for a few years, and in 1872, 
realizing that the opportunities for this line of 
industry were better in the farther West, he came 
,to Colorado and, locating in Larimer county, car- 
ried on an extensive stock business. In 1881 he 
took up land near Sheridan, Wyo., on which he 
continued his farming and stockraising industry 
until 1892, then returned to mercantile life, or- 
ganizing the Sheridan County Commercial Co., 
of which he was the general manager for ten 
years. In 1902 the company was reorganized and 
came forth as the Sheridan Commercial Co. with 
Mr. Adams as its president and manager. This 
corporation conducts a large department store, 
carrying all kinds of merchandise, and in the 
number and completeness of its features and 
volume of its business it is one of the most ex- 
tensive and important establishments of its kind 
in the state. In connection with the enterprise 
is a product exchange which also does a large 
and profitable business. But while thus giving 
close and persistent attention to his commercial 
business, Mr. Adams has not neglected his stock 
interests for he owns 920 acres of superior land 
near Sheridan, running large herds of thorough- 
bred Galloway cattle. Mr. Adams was married 
in Iowa in 1872 with Miss Dora D. Brannan, a 
native of Wisconsin. They have three children, 
Henry K., Mary H. and Josephine D. Mr. 
Adams is a member of the Old Settlers' Club of 
Sheridan, identified also in a leading way with 
every effort for the improvement of the town and 



3 o8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



county. He is essentially patriotic, views with 
alarm every attempt to invade the principles he 
believes in in national legislation or policy, and is 
always outspoken and vigorous in opposition to 
them. So firm were his convictions against the 
policy of free silver in the national campaign in 
1896 that he compiled a chart on the money ques- 
tion which was used as a textbook all over the 
country in that campaign, being a concise and 
cogent statement of the issues of the contest, 
analyzing clearly and forcibly the Democratic 
and Republican platforms, and drawing deduc • 
tions therefrom in connection with financial his- 
tory that seemed irresistibly conclusive. Mr. 
Adams is one of the best informed men in the 
state on financial questions, and was able to pre- 
sent his subject with a wealth of learning and a 
force and grace of diction that gave his chart 
especial value and made it unusually pleasant 
as well as very valuable reading. It at once 
became a classic in Republican circles, hold- 
ing firm place in the popular regard today, 
although the logic of events has long since con- 
firmed the wisdom of its conclusions. Its prep- 
aration was a labor of love for its author, for he 
is not a' violent partisan nor an office-seeker, and 
he wrote from a strong conviction of the rig-ht- 
eousness of his views and a keen sense of duty 
in proclaiming them. 



HON. H. C. ALGER. 

Among the illustrious public men of Wyo- 
ming who have stamped the impress of their 
character and personality, not only on the busi- 
ness, political and social circles of the im- 
mediate locality of their residence, but upon 
those of the whole state, none is entitled to 
greater consideration than that distinguished 
gentleman, Hon. H. C. Alger, the representa- 
tive banker of Sheridan. He comes of the best 
American lineage. The "History of Plymouth 
county, Mass.," says that ''Thomas Alger, the 
first of the name in tins country, was one of 
three men of that name who settled in New 
England during the seventeenth century. The 
exact time of his arrival is not known, but it 



was some time previous to 1665, as at that 
date we find him at Taunton, Mass., near the 
Three Mile River, a stream flowing through the 
eastern part of Taunton. On November 14, 
1665, he married Elizabeth Packard, a daugh- 
ter of Samuel Packard of Wymondham, Eng- 
land, who with his wife and child came to 
America in 1638 in the ship Diligent, and set- 
tled in Hingham, then Bridgewater, Mass." 
Other authorities give the date of the immigra- 
tion of the first American Alger as 1636, and 
this seems substantiated. From that early pe- 
riod the family has been connected with the 
highest life of the country, every generation 
furnishing men unusually prominent in every 
domain of the country's prosperity. The battle 
rolls of the Revolution contain their patriotic 
names as do those of every war in which this 
nation has been a contestant, the Spanish- 
American War producing that of Hon. Russell 
M. Alger, one of this family, as the occupant 
of the eminent position of Secretary of War. 
Everywhere and under all circumstances the 
family has rendered conspicuous and patriotic 
service in all lines of public and private enter- 
prise and generosities, each succeeding genera- 
tion maintaining well the record of its predeces- 
sors. It has intermarried with the best blood 
of New England, the Ames, the Morse, the 
Russell, the Howard, the Brewster and the 
Parker families among others, all feeling pride 
in this relationship. Hon. Horace C. Alger, 
was born in Lowell, Mass., on April 15, 1857, 
a son of Edwin A. Alger, Esq., and Amanda 
M. Buswell, his wife, the father being a native 
of New Hampshire and the mother of Vermont, 
the maternal grandfather Morse having taken 
part in the battle of Bunker Hill. Edwin A. 
Alger, after his academic education became a 
student of law, locating upon his admission to 
the bar in the bustling manufacturing city of 
Lowell, where for long years he maintained 
high rank both in his profession and in citizen- 
ship, holding prominently and capably most im- 
portant offices and commissions, representing 
bis wealthy city with great acceptability on the 
war commission of the state during the momen- 
tous era of the Civil War. Two uncles of Mr. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



309 



Algety were killed at Malvern Hill, Va., while 
bravely fighting in the Union armv. Two of 
his cousins served with credit through long en- 
listments in the same period of contest. Mr. 
H. C. Alger received the educational advantages 
of classic New England, being graduated from 
Harvard University in the class of 1879. The 
sphere of commercial activity and finance at- 
tracted his attention and, soon after his grad- 
uation, he came westward in the interests of an 
eastern commercial house, after a year passed 
in Iowa coming to Montana and Wyoming. In 
the spring of 1885 he came to Sheridan, 
Wyo., becoming identified with the Bank of 
Sheridan as its cashier, here being connected 
with that important element of the commercial 
activity of this section, the firm of E. A. Whit- 
ney & Co. In 1893 the Bank of Sheridan was 
merged with the First National Bank of Sher- 
idan, and in this new and more important mon- 
etary institution, Mr. Alger was the efficient 
vice-president. His business qualities had early 
been manifest to the people of his county, who 
manifested their appreciation of his ability by 
electing him as county treasurer, their trust 
being amply verified by his most capable ad- 
ministration. Thereafter he was engaged in 
varying activities until the close of the nine- 
teenth century, real-estate and irrigation enter- 
prises being among the number. On September 
20, 1 90 1, he opened the doors of the new State 
Bank of Sheridan as its cashier and now holds 
that connection with the bank, his financial skill 
and momentary reputation adding largely to its 
prestige. Eminent as an energetic and far-sight- 
ed financial operator and the inceptor and 
inaugurator of large industrial propositions 
and public improvements, Mr. Alger has been 
equally conspicuous as a statesman, publicist 
and political leader, besides in an unusual de- 
gree being a director of thought and a molder 
of opinion. An active Democrat, he was elected 
to the state legislature in 1895. He served with 
great acceptability for two terms as mayor of 
the city of Sheridan, while in 1898 he was placed 
in candidacy for the high office of governor of 
'the state, and after a closely contested cam- 



paign showed a very complimentary vote at the 
polls, but failed of an election. Mr. Alger has 
touched every link of the fraternal chain of 
Freemasonry up to the Thirty-second degree 
and occupies an exalted place in the order of 
Knights of Pythias and also in the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, of which he was a 
charter member of the local lodge. In all the 
relations of life he is an unostentatious gentle- 
man, of fine physique and mental endowment, 
who possesses the warm friendship of the lead- 
ing men of the state' by reason of his numerous 
good qualities and character. No public or 
private benefaction or enterprise, will ever 
languish from his non-support. 

MRS. MARY F. ALSOP. 

One of the pioneer women of Wyoming, 
whose late husband, Thomas Alsop, was one of 
the leading frontiersmen and pathfinders of the 
western plains and also one of its leading and 
prosperous stockgrowers. Mrs. Mary F. Alsop, 
whose postoffice is Laramie, Albany county, 
by her courage, devotion and her earnest and 
practical sympathy was a very great sustainer 
arid assistant to her husband who always took a 
very prominent part in the early settle- 
ment of Wyoming and was one of the earliest 
pioneers in the cattle industry on the Laramie 
plains. He was a native of England, born in 
1836. His parents emigrated from their native 
country when he was five years old, settling in 
the state of New York, where his father William 
Alsop was a prosperous farmer. He grew to 
manhood in the Empire State and there acquired 
his education and remained with his parents, 
occupied in farming operations on the home farm. 
In i860 he determined to seek his fortune in the 
far West, and came to the territory of Wyoming, 
then on the extreme western frontier and hun- 
dreds of miles farther west than railroads had 
been constructed. From Wyoming he went to 
Salt Lake City, Utah, remained for a short time, 
and then returned to New York. But his spirit 
of adventure and enterprise was too strong to 
permit him to remain contented in New York 



3io 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and in 1864 he again came west, at Omaha ac- 
cepting a position with a large outfit, engaged 
in transporting freight overland from Omaha to 
Salt Lake. He remained in this occupation for 
some time, his business leading him frequently 
over the section of Wyoming which afterwards 
became the scene of his stockgrowing industry, 
and he was the first person to note the superior 
advantages of the country in the vicinity of Lara- 
mie as a cattleraising locality. Leaving the em- 
ploy of the freighting company he settled on the 
Big Laramie River, about eight miles from Lara- 
mie City, and entered upon the business of rais- 
ing cattle and horses. He met with conspicuous 
success in his undertakings and soon engaged 
extensively in raising horses, cattle and sheep, 
and for many years was one of the largest oper- 
ators in that section of the western country. He 
continued to reside at his orginal settlement on 
the Big Laramie until 1882, when he removed 
to the Little Laramie River, where the present 
ranch property of Mrs. Alsop is situated, and re- 
mained there until his death which occurred in 
1889. He was truly one of the leading stockmen 
of Wyoming, being the owner of thousands of 
cattle, horses and sheep, and he made a specialty 
of raising the finest grades of Shorthorn and 
Durham cattle. Politically, he was a stalwart 
Democrat, and ever took an active and foremost 
part in public affairs, although he never sought 
or desired public office. He consented to ser/e 
the people for a number of years on the board 
of county commissioners, but he steadfastly re- 
fused to accept any other political office, pre- 
ferring to devote his entire time and attention to 
the care and management of his extensive busi- 
ness interests. During the early days of Wyo- 
ming he was ever at the front in the advocacy 
of every measure for the benefit of the commu- 
nity or the state. He was a great hunter and 
plainsman, and his experiences during the fron- 
tier days being of a varied and interesting char- 
acter. His father resided in New York up to the 
time of his death in 1895, when he was eighty- 
three years old. In 1871, Thomas Alsop was 
united in marriage in Dcs Moines, Iowa, to Miss 
Alan- F. Bringolf, who was born in Missouri 



in 1848, the daughter of Jacob and Mary (Hop- 
kins) Bringolf, the former a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and the latter of Indiana. Her father re- 
moved his residence in early life from his native 
state to Missouri and later to Iowa, where he 
engaged in farming in which he also continued 
until his death which occurred in 1889. He was 
the son of Melcher Bringolf, a native of Holland. 
The mother of Mrs. Alsop passed away on 
April 5, 1865, at the age of forty years, being the 
daughter of Daniel and Hester (Duncan) Hop- 
kins. The Hopkins family were allied to the 
Polk family, of which President James K. Polk 
was perhaps the most distinguished member. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Alsop four children were born, 
John D., Marie L.. William J. and Thomas J., 
all now living and the country home of the fam- 
ily, situated about fifteen miles west of the city 
of Laramie, is widely noted for its hospitality, 
as . well as its picturesque surroundings and its 
many evidences of comfort and refinment. 

DAVID ANDERSON. 

The sons of Scotland inevitably make their 
mark in whatever part of the world they may 
happen,' through the mutations of time and 
travel, to cast their lot, and the able gentleman 
whose name opens this biographical record is 
no exception to the rule. David Anderson, 
the contractor and builder at Evanston, Uinta 
county, Wyoming, was born in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, on January 2, 1853, a son of David and 
Margaret (Ferguson) Anderson, the former of 
whom was born in 1797 near the city named, 
where he was reared a farmer. The father died 
in Glasgow, December 31, 1852, a devout mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church, his remains 
being interred at the little village of Chryston. 
Mrs. Margaret (Ferguson) Anaerson was a 
daughter of James and Margaret (Connel) Fer- 
guson, who were also farming people. James 
and Margaret Ferguson were married in 1810, 
and were probablv born about T774. The 
mother, Margaret Anderson, died on December 
21, 1884, in Glasgow, where her remains were 
interred in ]anefield cemetery. David Ander- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3" 



son was the youngest in a family of three boys 
and three girls, who all had the advantage of 
a solid education in the excellent public schools 
of Glasgow. After quitting school, young An- 
derson learned the trade of a joiner, after 
which he engaged in the manufacture of fur- 
niture in Glasgow for about five years, and a 
few years later, in 1885, came direct to Evans- 
ton, Wyo., and at once entered upon the career 
of contracting and building which he has since 
carried on with eminent success, many of the 
finest buildings in Evanston and the surround- 
ing country being the result of his handicraft. 
Mr. Anderson makes many judicious ventures 
in real-estate, principally in city lots, on which 
he erects buildings adapted to business or 
dwelling purposes and is the owner of some of 
the finest edifices of Evanston. He was united 
in marriage, in Evanston, on December 21, 
1894, with Miss Annie B. Black, an adopted 
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Ferguson) 
Black, which union has been blessed with four 
children, namely : David and Elizabeth (twins) 
born November 4, 1895, but of these. Eliza- 
beth died at the age of five months; John B., 
born June 14, 1897; Margaret, born March 16, 
1900. The parents are members of the Presby- 
terian church, to the support of which they are 
munificent in their contributions and in which 
faith they are rearing their children and them- 
selves strictly adhere. When Mr. and Mrs. An- 
derson came to Evanston, John Black, an 
adopted brother of Mrs. Anderson, had been a 
resident of the city for over a year, acting in 
the capacity of bookkeeper for Blyth & Fargo; 
but he was called away from earth on Novem- 
ber 24, 1894, and his mother on the 28th day 
of December 1895, the remains of both being 
interred in Evanston. The Anderson family is 
. classed with the pioneers of the city, being 
highly esteemed for many personal virtues. 

MRS. LOUISA M. BAILY. 

A highly respected resident of Centennial 
Valley, Albany county, Wyoming, Mrs. Louisa 
M. Baily, is there conducting a large and success- 



ful business in ranching and cattleraising. She is 
the widow of the late Jason D. Baily, a prosper- 
ous cattleman of Albany county for many years, 
but who passed away in 1894, at the age of for- 
ty-five years, he being a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and also the son of Humphrey and Fi- 
lena (Davis) Baily, both being natives of that 
state. During his youthful years the parents 
of Mr. Baily removed from Pennsylvania 
to Iowa, where they engaged in farming. Here 
he grew to man's estate and received his early 
education in the public schools. He .continued to 
reside in the state of Iowa until 1873, when he 
disposed of his property in that state and re- 
moved to the city of Laramie, Wyo., and ac- 
cepted a posititon in the shops of the Union Paci- 
fic Railroad, and continued there employed until 
1879, when he purchased ranch property near 
Sheep Mountain which he occupied about four 
years. He then disposed of that property and 
took up a homestead in Centennial Valley, where 
he continued to reside up to the time of his de- 
cease, and where Mrs. Baily now resides. He 
was successfully engaged in the stock business 
during the remainder of his life, and left a large 
estate to his widow and children. In politics he 
was a stanch member of the Republican party 
and an earnest advocate of the principles of that 
political organization, although he never sought 
or desired a public office, preferring to devote his 
entire time and attention to the care and 
management of his private business interests. 
But he conceived it to be the duty of every 
American citizen, under our form of govern- 
ment, to interest himself in the conduct of 
public affairs to an extent sufficient to guar- 
antee the safe and economical carrying on of 
public business. He was a very progressive, en- 
terprising and useful citizen, and his prema- 
ture death was a serious loss to the state and 
he was deeply mourned by his family, his busi- 
ness associates and fellow citizens. Mrs. Baily 
was born in 1858, in Illinois, a daughter of Ash- 
bell and Almeda (Vining) Mapes. Her father 
was a native of Ohio, and was engaged in the 
occupation of farming. He moved to Henry 
county, 111., when a young man and was married 



3 I2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



there, and later in life he removed his residence 
to Kansas, where he continues in agricultural 
pursuits. Her mother, a native of Pennsylvania, 
died in 1901 at the age of sixty-two years. Mrs. 
Baily's paternal grandfather was William Mapes 
and her grandmother was Sarah (Messenger) 
Mapes, both natives of the state of New York, 
and well-known citizens. The ancestors of Jason 
D. Baily were among the earliest of the pioneer 
settlers of Pennsylvania, being members of the 
colony of Friends which first began the civiliza- 
tion of the Keystone State. Mr. and Mrs. Baily 
were united in marriage at Laramie, on Decem- 
ber 2, 1877, and six children were born to bless 
their home life, Edwin, Philena, Myrtle, Susan, 
Joel J., deceased, and Emily. The family is one 
of the most respected in the section of country 
where their home is situated. Mrs. Baily is car- 
rying on the business along the same successful 
lines as those pursued by her husband, and is 
meeting with corresponding success. Her ranch 
is one of the best managed properties in Albany 
county and is being added to each year. She 
deserves great credit for the ability she has dis- 
played in the care and management of her prop- 
erty and in the careful education of her children. 

HON. NAT. BAKER. 

Among the prominent and well-known men 
of Wyoming, is the mayor of the thriving city 
of Lusk, Hon. Nat. Baker, who comes of old 
Southern stock, a native of Plantersville, Texas, 
where he was born on June 17, 1859, the son 
of Isaac B. and Jane Pinxton Baker, both na- 
tives of Alabama, his paternal grandfather be- 
ing Isaac Baker, and his maternal grandfather. 
Lucien Pinxton, both well-known and prominent 
citizens of Alabama. His grandfather Baker 
removed from Alabama to Texas many years 
ago, where he became the owner of an exten- 
sive plantation and a large slave-holder, and 
permanently resided. The father of our sub- 
ject continued to reside in Texas, following the 
occupation of planter and merchandising, being 
the father of five sons, of whom Hon. Nat, Raker, 
the third one, grew to manhood in his native 



state and received his early education from 
private tutors and the neighboring schools. 
Subsequently he matriculated at the Bailey 
University, at Waco, Texas, and pursued a 
course of study at that institution. Having had 
the misfortune to lose his mother when he was 
but two years old, and his father when he was 
but ten, after he had completed his education 
he removed to the city of Sherman, Texas, 
where he was employed as the deputy clerk of 
the district court for a short time, then joining 
the stampede to the new mining camp at Lead- 
ville, Colo., which was attracting adventurous 
spirits from all sections of the country. He 
remained at Leadville but a few days and re- 
turned to Denver, where he became the ticket 
agent of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad 
and the Atchison, Topeka and Sante Fe Rail- 
road. He continued in these positions for about 
three years, and then engaged in contracting 
for tin, slate and galvanized-iron roofing. In 
this business he met with success for about two 
years, when he sold out to good advantage and, 
in January, 1886, came to Lusk, Wyoming, and 
engaged in merchandising and stockraising. 
He continued in these pursuits with marked 
success up to 1895, when his stock interests had 
grown to such proportions as to require his 
entire time and attention, and he disposed of 
his mercantile holdings and has since devoted 
his energies to the care and management of 
his live stock business. In February, 1884, 
Mayor Baker was united in marriage with Miss 
Eliza Dunnica, a native of Missouri, and to 
their union had come two children, Nat, Jr., and 
Leona J., and their home life was a notably 
happy one until death called for Mrs. Baker 
on January 9, 1899. Fraternally, Mr. Baker 
is affiliated with the Masonic order, is a mem- 
ber of the lodge at Denver, Colo., being also 
a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He takes an active interest in pro- 
moting the fraternal and social life of the com- 
munity and is always foremost in acts of char- 
ity and public spirit. For many years Mayor 
• Baker has been considered one of the leading 
public men of Wyoming, In 1890. after the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3 J 3 



admission of the territory as a state, he was 
elected a member of the first legislative as- 
sembly of the state, discharging the important 
duties of that position with such ability and dis- 
tinction that he was reelected in 1892. He 
was one of the leaders of the House during his 
entire term of service, trusted by his party as- 
sociates and respected by the opposition. In 
1892, he was prominently mentioned as a can- 
didate for the governorship of the state, and 
his following among the people is second to 
that of no man in Wyoming". Many measures 
of useful legislation now on the statute books 
of the state witness to his industry and devotion 
to the public interest. His enterprise and pub- 
lic spirit have done much to build up and de- 
velop the state's resources and few have con- 
tributed more to its settlement. The people 
owe him a debt of gratitude which they are 
more than willing to pay and they will not fail 
in the future to confer upon him suitable dis- 
tinction. He is now serving his second term 
as mayor of the city of Lusk, and his admin- 
istration has been marked by success, substan- 
tial growth and improvement to the city. He 
is one of those rare public officials whose ser- 
vices to the welfare of the general public can 
illy be dispensed with. 

SAMUEL BLACKHAM. 

One of the oldest and most respected citi- 
zens of Evanston, Wyoming, and a pioneer 
frontiersman, Samuel Blackham, was born in 
Stockport, Lancashire, England, on September 
28, 1834, a son of Samuel and Martha (Robin- 
son) Blackham. The father was born in Stafford- 
shire, England, in 1800, and died in 1873 at 
Stockport, where he is also buried. He was a 
blacksmith and the son of another, blacksmith, an- 
other Samuel, also buried at Stockport, who 
lived to be ninety-three years of age. His wife, 
grandmother of Samuel of Evanston, was Lucy, 
born in Staffordshire and buried in the same 
place. Martha (Robinson) Blackham was born 
in Lancashire, England. She was a Mormon 
and came to Salt Lake City, Utah, whither she 



brought her family to America in 1856, leaving 
her husband in England. Her father was 
James Robinson, and she died in 1889 at the 
age of eighty-two and is buried at Moroni, 
Utah. Samuel Blackham of Evanston went to 
work in the mills of England at sixteen years 
and continued to be there employed until he 
reached the age of twenty-one, when he came 
with his mother to America. While she went 
to Salt Lake City he stopped at Laramie, Wyo., 
working for the government the first winter. 
In the spring he went to Leavenworth, Kan., 
and in 1858 to St. Joseph, Mo., in the vicinity 
of which place he remained two years, and here 
in i860 he married, then moving to Allegheny 
City, Pa., to work at the trade of stone masonry 
which he had learned in America. In 1862 he 
went to Salt Lake City and remained six years, 
and afterwards was in Kaysville, Utah, for two 
years. He first came to Evanston in 1870, being 
engaged in mining for some years, but after- 
wards and ever since he has followed his trade 
as a stone-mason. He has occupied his present, 
prettily situated and attractive home continu- 
ously for the past thirty- two years. In poli- 
tics Mr. Blackham is a Democrat, and at pres- 
ent he is the constable of the town. He was 
its first marshal, and has held the position of 
special deputy for the county for sixteen years. 
He is an Odd Fellow and a charter member of 
the first encampment founded here. As al- 
ready noted Mr. Blackham was married in i860. 
Mrs. Blackham was formerly Mary A. Lamb, 
a daughter of Alfred and Mary A. (Crew) 
Lamb, being born in Lancashire, England. She 
came to the United States with her parents in 
1853, and she is qualified by birth and breeding 
to be the wife of a pioneer. Her father when 
a lad came home one day to find his stepmother 
beating his little sister, who was sick at the 
time. He interposed and struck his stepmother 
and this so angered his father, a wealthy and 
titled gentleman of London, that he disinherited 
Alfred, whom he, however, sent to college. On 
finishing his course the boy still refused to 
apologize for his earlier conduct to his step- 
mother and the father then cast him off. There- 



3H 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



upon the youth started out for himself in the 
world, his brothers, Benjamin and James, leav- 
ing home with him. At the junction of the 
streets in the great city of London the three 
brothers shook hands and parted, each taking 
a. different road, but hoping that the fates might 
some time bring them together again. James 
became a colonel in the army and Benjamin a 
sea captain, but he has never since seen Benja- 
min. He has never forgotten the harsh con- 
duct of his father and stepmother, nor can he 
ever forgive the unjust treatment he received. 
Alfred Lamb was married in England to Mary 
A. Crew, a woman cast in the finest of heroic 
molds, ever ready to help the needy, and a fa- 
mous nurse of the afflicted. She nursed in 
County Manchester during the cholera epi- 
demic and in London when the black fever was 
raging there. She and her husband nursed each 
other in turn when the plague overtook them. 
Mr. Lamb came to America in 1853 and left 
his family at Mineral Point, Iowa, and went to 
L T tah to there make a home for them, but he 
was a Quaker and could not tolerate the be- 
liefs and practices of the Mormons, and so 
started back alone to his family at Mineral 
Point, having only his gun. A hardy and de- 
termined man, he shot his living on the way 
through the wilderness, across which he had to 
travel. Coming to the Platte River with its 
treacherous quicksands, he pinned up a note 
saying that if he succeeded in crossing safely he 
would pin another announcement to that effect 
on the opposite bank, but if he failed to cross 
successfully he asked the finders of the first note 
to warn his wife and children not to come to 
a fate so detestable as. awaited them in Utah. 
He, however, succeeded in reaching his family 
safely after his hard and perilous journey. So 
incensed was he against the Mormons that he 
destroyed the records of his property locations, 
which were in the center of what is now the city 
of Ogden. From Mineral Point, Iowa, Mr. 
Lamb went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he en- 
gaged in the shoe business. Later he moved to 
Kansas City and still later to Evanston, Wyo., 
where he remained until his death, which oc- 



curred in 1873, at the age of eighty, his wife dy- 
ing in the same year, aged seventy-three. Both 
are buried in Evanston. Mr. and Mrs. Black- 
ham, of whose forebears we have tried to give 
some account, find their chief delight at home. 
Mrs. Blackham is a purely domestic woman and 
both, as parents, have a family in which they 
may well take both pride and joy. The children 
have numbered twelve : Samuel, Mary, Eliza- 
beth, Benjamin, Rosetta, Lydia, Lucy, Martha, 
Alfred, Olive, Thomas and Dolly, and nine sur- 
vive : Martha, Alfred and Dolly having passed 
away. The girls are not only the pride of their 
parents, but the joy of all that know them, hav- 
ing that lively, cheery disposition that brings 
gladness wherever they may be. Their father 
is among the oldest pioneers in this section, 
and yet a hale, hearty, well-preserved man. 

PHILIP H. BATH. 

A prosperous ranchman and stockgrower 
of Albany county, Philip H. Bath, whose ad- 
dress is Mandel, Wyoming, was born in New 
York City, in 1859, the son of Henry and Cath- 
erine (Fisher) Bath, well-known and highly re- 
spected residents of that metropolis. He grew 
to man's estate at Laramie, and received his 
early education in the public schools of that 
vicinity. When he had completed his educa- 
tion and attained to the age of twenty-one years 
he entered upon the business of ranching and 
stockgrowing in Albany county. 'Starting with 
onlv 160 acres and a small band of cattle, he has 
gradually increased his holdings, both of land 
and cattle as well as horses, until he now is the 
owner of a fine ranch comprising about 1.200 
acres of land, well fenced . and improved, with 
suitable buildings and appliances for the carry- 
ing on of successful stockraising operations and 
having large bands of both horses and cattle. By 
hard work, perseverance and close attention to 
all details of his business, he has built up a 
profitable enterprise which is rapidly assuming 
extensive proportions. In 1882 Mr. Bath was 
united in marriage with Miss Anna Puis, a 
native of Germany and a daughter of Carl 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3*5 



and Lucy (Stenes) Puis, both natives of the 
Fatherland. The father of Mrs. Bath was 
born in 1834 and died in 1897, being buried 
at Leigh, Neb. Her mother passed away 
in the year 1886, and is buried in Germany. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bath have five children, Mabel, 
Caroline, Irene, Henry P., and Beatrice, and 
their home is especially noted for its generous 
and genial hospitality. As a stanch adherent 
of the Democratic party, Mr. Bath is a loyal 
supporter of the principles and candidates of 
that political organization, although he is in 
no sense an office-seeker, having often de- 
clined to accept political honors tendered him 
by his party. The management of his large 
and fast growing business requires his entire 
time and attention and the only public office 
which he has ever been willing to hold is that 
of postmaster of Mandel, Wyoming, a po- 
sition he is now occupying. Fraternally, he is 
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, taking a deep interest in all its 
fraternal work. Mr. Bath is one of the solid 
and substantial business men and property 
owners of Albany county and one of its most 
respected citizens. In his stockgrowing opera- 
tions he takes especial pride in the breeding of 
fine Shorthorn cattle and Clydesdale draught 
horses, owning a large number of the most val- 
uable animals of his section of Wyoming. He 
is one of the foremost men of his county and 
has done much to promote its advancement and 
develop its resources. 

HON. ELMER T. BELTZ. - 

One of the most efficient public officials of 
Wyoming, whose management of the Laramie 
postoffice has given him a reputation extend- 
ing far beyond the limits of his state, Hon. El- 
mer T. Beltz, was born in Bedford county, Pa., 
on July 19, 1861, the son of Adam and Naomi 
(Gordon) Beltz, both natives of the Keystone 
State. His father followed the occupation of 
a tanner and was one of the most highly re- 
spected citizens of Bedford county. At the 
time of the breaking out of the Civil War he 



was among the first in his county to respond 
to the patriotic call of President Lincoln, en- 
listing in Co. E, One Hundred and Thirty- 
eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, and in his very 
eventful service in the Army of the Potomac, 
he participated in many engagements during 
the early years of the war, and at the battle of 
Cold Harbor, Va., in June, 1863, he was killed 
in action, patriotically giving his life to his 
country. When his son, Elmer, was five years 
of age he was placed in the Soldier's Orphan 
School of Pennsylvania, and there received a 
thorough education, being graduated from the 
institution at the age of sixteen. He then ac- 
cepted a position as an apprentice for the pur- 
pose, of learning the milling business, remain- 
. ing' in this service for four years, then he en- 
gaged in the mercantile business at Spring 
Hope, Pa., for one year and met with consid- 
erable success. During this time he received 
an appointment as postmaster of that place 
from President Garfield, and it was a source of 
much regret to the people of Spring Hope when 
he decided to remove from that state, but be- 
lieving that business conditions would be more 
favorable in the country farther to the west he 
disposed of his property and business and came 
to Nebraska. Here he established his home at 
the town of Edgar and engaged in loaning 
money and handling live stock. In 1884 he dis- 
posed of his business to good advantage and re- 
moved to Laramie, Wyo., where he entered 
upon the real estate and insurance business, in^ 
which he has since" been interested. After com- 
ing to Laramie he filled a position as a railway 
mail clerk for a period of one year, his duties 
requiring him to run between Cheyenne, Wyo., 
and Ogden, Utah, and Huntington, Ore. In 
June, 1898, he received the appointment of 
postmaster of Laramie from the late President 
William McKinley, and he has since given the 
greater portion of his time to the discharge of 
the duties of that important office. During 
his incumbency of that position he has thor- 
oughly reorganized the business, adding con- 
siderably to the working force, and also mater- 
ially improving the efficiency to the public. 



316 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



The letter-carrier service and also the system of 
free rural delivery have been so highly improved 
upon as to bring his management of the 
Laramie postoffke to the especial attention of 
the postoffke department, and to occasion 
very much favorable comment throughout the 
country. Special agents have been sent to 
Laramie to receive instructions in the methods 
of work inaugurated under the direction of 
Postmaster Beltz, with a view to adopting a 
similar system in other places. Politically, he 
has ever been a stanch member of the Repub- 
lican party, and for many years he has been 
one of the most active and trusted leaders of 
that political organization in Wyoming. He 
is an eloquent advocate of the principles of 
Republicanism, believing they are for the best 
interests of the country, and he is ever foremost 
in the promotion of measures calculated to ad- 
vance the interests of the party. Enterprising 
and deeply interested in the public welfare, he 
is held in high esteem by all classes of his fel- 
low citizens, without reference to party affilia- 
tions, and is one of the most valued citizens 
of his section of the state. In 1882, at the city 
of Cumberland, Md., Mr. Beltz was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Hounihen, a native 
of that state, where her parents were long well 
known and .highly respected. They have one 
son, Warren E. Beltz, a young man of fine 
ability and much promise. The home of Mr. 
Beltz is a popular gathering place for his politi- 
cal and personal friends, and he takes pleasure 
in dispensing there a generous and genial hos- 
pitality to all. No man enjoys a wider popu- 
larity, and if he so desired, there are few places 
within the gift of the people that he might not 
attain. Fraternally, Mr. Beltz is affiliated with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the 
Order of Red Men and with the Modern AVood- 
men of America, and has an active interest in 
the fraternal life of the city of Laramie. In 
all works of fraternity and charity, he takes a 
foremost part, being unfailing in his assistance 
of movements for the public good. No man 
in Albany county has a record more deserving 
of public commendation. 



GEORGE BOLLN. 

Conspicuously identified with the mercantile 
and public interests of Converse county, and 
having seen a great diversity of life in this new 
country of his adoption, George Bolln, the pro- 
gressive and up-to-date merchant of Douglas, 
Wyoming, deserves a place in any volume pur- 
porting to treat of the "Progressive Men of 
Wyoming." Mr. Bolln was born on September 
16, 1847, m the ancient maritime city of Ham- 
burg, Germany, which lies so picturesquely on 
the banks of the Elbe, the son of Joachin Bolln 
and Catherine (Heitman) Bolln, both being na- 
tives of Hamburg and of sterling old German 
ancestry, devoting their lives to agriculture in 
their native land. After his education at the 
gymnasium and other excellent schools of 
Hamburg, Mr. Bolln learned the baker's trade 
in his home city, emigrating, however, in 1876, 
and coming almost immediately after his arrival 
in America to Cheyenne, thence soon going to 
the Black Hills for a year, and, in the expressive 
language of the West, "going broke." Return- 
ing to Cheyenne, he gave three years in that 
city to the baking business, thereafter driving 
forty cows from Cheyenne to Leadville, Colo., 
and starting a dairy business, which he sold 
four months later, while subsequently at Chey- 
enne he purchased 210 steers and heifers, and 
within a year all of this stock but three were 
stolen. This insignificant remainder, with a few- 
horses he possessed, he sold and secured em- 
ployment in a hotel, at the end of six months 
leasing the hotel, conducting it with financial 
profit for three years, then selling all of his 
property, furniture, etc.. and removing to Fort 
Fetterman, where he purchased the mercantile 
establishment of Altaian & Co., carrying on at 
this place until 1888 a brisk and profitable trade 
in general merchandise. In the last named year 
he removed his stock to Douglas, purchased 
one of the store buildings he now occupies, and 
bas since been engaged in the sale of general 
merchandise at both wholesale and retail, his 
business attaining wide scope and importance, 
beinsr numbered araoiF the leading;- mercantile 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



317 



houses of the entire county. Here Mr. Bolln 
now has two large stores with a frontage of 
fifty feet, one' being devoted exclusively to the 
drygoods trade and the other to his groceries, 
hardware, crockery, etc. Mr. Bolln has two 
capacious warehouses, one being 100 feet in 
length, and carries a large stock of all the goods 
suitable to the representative patronage he en- 
joys. In 1900 he invested in sheep, and from 
his ranches of about 500 acres on the Platte 
River he runs a fine band. A staunch Demo- 
crat in political faith, he has been an efficient 
worker in his party, his eligibility for official 
station being distinctly recognized by his elec- 
tion for two successive terms as a member of 
the board of county commissioners, serving 
with conceded ability for one term as chairman- 
of the board, while in the city he has held the 
office of councilor and mayor to the satisfac- 
tion of the most critical and to the advancement 
of the city's best interest. In 1894 he was the 
nominee of his party for state treasurer, but 
owing to the exigencies of the campaign was 
not elected, although polling a handsome vote. 
He was one of the organizers of the First Na- 
tional Bank of Douglas and a member of its 
directorate. On April 1, 1887, occurred the 
wedding ceremonies uniting Mr. Bolln and Miss 
Pauline Muegel, a native of Bohemia, and the\ 
have two winsome children, Henry and Esther. 
Their hospitable residence is a fine brick struc- 
ture, modern in style and architecture, and here 
this worthy gentleman delights in entertaining 
his numerous friends. Mr. Bolln is affiliated 
fraternally with the Odd Fellows and is con- 
sidered as one of the leading citizens of Doug- 
las, being public spirited and generous to a 
high degree and one of the most progressive 
and successful citizens of the city. 

WILLIAM BOYCE. 

Prominent among the progressive and well- 
to-do early settlers of Wyoming, who have ac- 
cumulated handsome fortunes in that country 
of great business opportunities, is William 
Bovce, a resident of Box Elder, in the county 



of Laramie. Born on April 15, 1854, he is a 
native of County Armagh, Ireland, and the son 
of William and Mary (Orr) Boyce, also natives 
of that county. His father was a farmer m the 
old country up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in September, 1883, the mother having 
passed away in 1862, and both lie buried in the 
sod of County Armagh, Ireland, near the scenes 
of their lives' activities. William Boyce grew 
up in his native county, receiving schooling 
there until he had attained the age of fifteen 
years, when he went on a visit to relatives in 
America, who were residing in Franklin county, 
Mo. Arriving there in 1869, he secured employ- 
ment in a large vineyard with a view to acquir- 
ing a practical knowledge of the winemaking 
and grapegrowing business, which was then 
a great industry in that section. He continued in 
this employment for five years, thoroughly famil- 
iarizing himself with that business, and in 1874, 
desiring to see more of the country further west, 
he accepted a position with a government sur- 
veying party, with which he came to the then ter- 
ritory of Wyoming. Here he remained during 
the summer and passed the winter at Camp 
Robinson, in the following spring going to 
Cheyenne. Accepting employment on a ranch 
owned by Henry G. Hay, on Lone Tree Creek, 
he remained there for eighteen months, acquir- 
ing a good knowledge of stockraising. In 1876 
he resigned, his position, to engage in business 
for himself and came to the section of coun- 
try where he now resides. Here he bought out 
the right of a party who was then occupying 
the land constituting a portion of his present 
ranch, and made a government filing upon it 
in his own name, subsequently purchasing it 
from the United States. This property is sit- 
uated on Box Elder Creek, about twenty-eight 
miles west by south of the city of Cheyenne. 
He also owns a considerable tract of adjacent 
land in Colorado, his residence being only 
about one-fourth of a mile north of the state 
line. Since that time he has made his residence 
continuously at this place, and has been en- 
gaged in the combined vocations of dairying, 
gardening and cattleraising. He has been very 



3i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



successful, being now the owner of over 4,200 
acres of the finest stock land in that section, 
with over 200 acres under cultivation of grains 
and vegetables. His gardening and dairy 
departments have grown to very extensive propor- 
tions, and he finds a profitable market for all 
his produce in all of those lines in the city of 
Cheyenne. His cattle are among the very best 
grades in the state, those used in his dairy 
being of high graded Shorthorn Durham stock, 
and his range stock being most thorough-bred 
Herefords. He has always found that the better 
grades of stock pay a higher return on the in- 
vestment, than those of a lower type. On No- 
vember 14, 1879, Mr. Boyce was united in wed- 
lock at the town of Marble Hill, Bollinger coun- 
ty, Mo., with Miss Salina Mayer, a native of 
that state and a daughter of Alfred and Louisa 
Mayer, the former being a native of France and 
the latter of Germany. The father of Mrs. 
Boyce was a watchmaker and jeweler, who for- 
merly resided in Memphis, Tenn., and subse- 
quently removed his residence from that city to 
the town of Bollinger, in Missouri. After a 
residence of some years in the latter place ho 
again returned to Memphis, where he remained 
up to the time of his death in 1872. He is 
buried in that city. The mother passed away 
at the home of her daughter in Box Elder in 
1891, and is buried at Virginia Dale, Colo. 
Eight children have blessed the union of Mr. 
and Mrs. Boyce, Louisa, William A., Edward 
A., Alice G., Emelia, Lee, Hattie and May, all 
of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Boyce are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and active participants in all church and charity 
work. Fraternally Mr. Boyce is affiliated with 
the Order of Modern Woodmen of America, 
being a member of the lodge at Cheyenne. 
Politically, he is identified with the Republican 
party, and for many years he has taken a prom- 
inent part in the local councils of that part}'. 
He has never held public position, or had desire 
for office, although he has been often solicited 
by his friends and neighbors to become a can- 
didate for important positions. His private 
business has fully occupied his time and atten- 



tion and satisfied his ambition, and his energy 
and good judgment are fast building up one of 
the most substantial and best paying properties 
in the state, while his successful career and 
sterling traits of character have won for him 
the highest respect and esteem of all who know 
him. 

JAMES B. BOYER. 

There is scarcely any occupation among the 
handicrafts that engage the industry of man 
more important or more pressing in continuous 
necessity than that of flourmilling ; for what- 
ever other elements of happiness may be at 
hand, the requirement for bread is as old and 
as universal as the human race. And those who 
contribute in supplying this demand in good 
quality and measure, especially where the con- 
ditions are more or less unfavorable, must be 
reckoned among the benefactors of mankind. 
It is gratifying to make specific mention of one 
of the most successful and useful of these peo- 
ple in this record of the life and achievements 
of James B. Boyer of Wheatland, one of the 
progressive men of Wyoming and a potential 
force in its development and progress. He is- 
a native of that part of the Old Dominion which 
now forms the great state of West Virginia, 
having been born in Upshur county in 18C3. 
His parents were W. C. and. Eliza (Queen) 
Boyer, natives of the same locality, where the 
father was a millwright and followed his trade 
until just before his death in Parkersburg on 
June 13, 1899. His wife survived him a year, 
dying in 1900. Their son, James, was educated 
in the public schools of his native state, com- 
pleting his course at Parkersburg, where he 
remained until he was nineteen years old. In 
1882, hearkening to the voice of the awakened 
West calling for volunteers in the great army 
of industry she was gathering to develop and 
make fruitful her mighty domain, he came to 
Lincoln, Neb., and there entered the employ 
of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad as a 
surveyor. His work covered much of Nebraska 
and Kansas and occupied three years in time. 
In 1885 he left the service of the railroad com- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



319 



pany and, locating at Cawker City, Kan., went 
into the flourmilling- establishment of the Jack- 
son Bros. Co. at that point and remained there 
nine years, learning the business thoroughly 
in every detail, constructive, mechanical and 
financial. In 1894 he removed to Plainville, and 
in partnership with the Burrough Brothers, 
built large mills and carried on a very active 
business, laying an extensive scope of country 
under tribute to its expanding volume and con- 
stantly increasing its gratified patronage. In 
1897 he sold his interest to his partners and 
came to Wheatland, Wyo., where he erected the 
mill he now owns and conducts, one of the best 
in the state in character and completeness of 
equipment, and he does the leading business of 
that section of the country in its line. At 
Cawker City, Kan., on June 19, 1889, he was 
united in marirage with Miss Ida M. Blanken- 
ship, a native of Missouri. They have four chil- 
dren, 'Stella, John, Emil and Stacy. Mr. Boyer 
is energetic and zealous in several fraternal or- 
ders, being a Woodman of the World, a United 
Workman, with a membership at Stockton, 
Kan., an Odd Fellow in the lodge at Wheatland 
and a Freemason, affiliated with Wheatland 
Lodge at Wheatland, Royal Arch Chapter and 
the Consistory of the Thirty-second degree, Scot- 
tish Rite, at Cheyenne. In politics he is a con- 
sistent Republican, and although averse to 
public life, allowed himself to be elected county 
commissioner of his county in November, 1900. 

JOHN N. BRIGHT. 

This respected retired stockraiser, having 
a ranch located twelve miles west of Fort Lara- 
mie, and situated on the Laramie River, al- 
though a resident of that section for only three 
or four years, is widely known and exceedingly 
popular. He was born in Franklin county, 
Ohio, on September 13, 1846, a son of Rev. 
Jesse D. and Rebecca (Vinrick) Bright, natives 
of Pennsylvania. The father was a minister of 
the Methodist church for forty years and at 
various times was stationed in different middle 
and eastern states, being recognized as a zeal- 



ous, ardent and eloquent expounder of the Gos- 
pel and a pious Christian. He had been living 
near Independence, Kan., about three years 
when his untimely death was caused by a run- 
away accident on July 3, 1872, to the unspeaka- 
ble grief of his family and of a large circle of 
warm-hearted friends. The remains of the un- 
fortunate divine were sadly lowered into their 
last resting place in the consecrated earth at- 
tached to the house of worship in which the 
flock over which he had presided in life paid 
their devotion, and deep and bitter was the 
mourning at his loss. His widow did not long 
survive him, but passed away in 1877 and was 
buried in Linn county, Kan. John N. Bright 
was educated in Illinois and Kansas and, as his 
father had a farm near Independence, Kan., 
John N. aided in the cultivation of this until 
he went to Missouri and engaged in farming 
near Sedalia on his own account in i865. He 
prospered fairly until 1869, when he returned 
to Kansas and entered a homestead in Mont- 
gomery county, cultivated it until 1878, and 
then went to the lead mines in the southeastern 
part of the state, thence he crossed the line into 
Colorado, where he engaged in mining for 
about three years. In February, 1883, Mr. 
Bright came to Wyoming and settled on his 
present ranch and embarked in cattleraising, 
in which he did a large business until the fall 
of 1899, when he turned over its management 
to his two sons, who have proved to be worthy 
successors of their father. Mr. Bright, how- 
ever, keeps a general supervision over the af- 
fairs of the ranch, passing his leisure hours at 
his model home in Hartvillle. He has been a 
good business man in every sense of the word, 
and has valuable real-estate. Besides his resi- 
dent property, he owns several lots in Hart- 
ville, which he does not fail to turn to good ac- 
count, and his ranch of 360 acres bids fair soon 
to become increased in its dimensions, as his 
sons continue to prosper. John N. Bright was 
married on November 18, 1866, in Georgetown, 
Mo., to Miss Frances A. Barnes, a native of 
Missouri and a daughter of Joseph and Mary 
G. (Coy) Barnes, who came from their native 



320 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



state of Tennessee to Missouri in a very early 
day. Joseph Barnes was a loyal Unionist and 
served in the Seventh Missouri Infantry during 
the Civil War and, after returning from the per- 
formance of his duty in the military service of 
his country, he settled down in Cedar county, 
Mo., and engaged in farming until called away 
by death in November, 1870. His remains were 
interred in the county in which he died ; his 
widow died in January, 1895, and was buried 
in Saline county, Mo. To the marriage of John 
N. and Frances A. Bright have been born six 
children, Delia, who died August 8, 1878, when 
but thirteen months old, and whose remains 
lie buried near Independence, Mo. ; Alta (Gard- 
ner) ; M. Rosa (St. Clair) ; Oba and Ora, twins, 
of whom Ova died October 16, 1881, when six- 
teen months old, and was buried beside her 
sister Delia. John N. Bright is a public-spirited 
citizen and a loyal Union man. In 1864 ne 
volunteered in the One Hundred and Forty- 
third Illinois Infantry to aid in defending the 
integrity of the nation, but served four months 
only on account of ill health, yet he has prompt- 
ly aided all measures of a local character de- 
signed to promote the welfare of the com- 
munity. 

N. S. BRISTOL. 

Prominent among the business men of his 
section of Wyoming is Mr. N. S. Bristol of 
Casper, who is closely identified with the inter- 
ests of the city and surrounding territory as 
merchant, banker and stockraiser. A man of 
keen discrimination, sound judgment and ex- 
ecutive ability, his excellent management and 
his personal popularity have brought to him 
success of more than ordinary character. The 
progressive and yet the conservative policy he 
has carried out in all his business plans and 
methods, commends itself to the people and 
tends to give him a large patronage in his 
mercantile trade. He docs not confine his en- 
ergies to this line, for he is an able financier and 
is also accounted a representative agriculturist 
and stockraiser, while in former years he 
evinced patriotism of a distinctive order by his 



gallant service as a Union soldier on Southern 
soil in the Civil War. Mr. Bristol wa§ born in 
Belvidere, 111., on August 27, 1843, his parents 
being C. C. Bristol, a native of Rochester, X. Y., 
and Augusta (Stowell) Bristol, who was born 
in Waitsfield, A'ermont. The wife of his pa- 
ternal grandfather was before her marriage a 
Miss Woodward, her paternal uncle being an 
aide-de-camp of General Washington in the 
Revolutionary War, while she attained the re- 
markable age of ninety-six years. The father 
of N. S. Bristol, born in 181 1, in 1829 went to 
Illinois during the exciting episode of the Black 
Hawk War, which continued until 1832, and 
there made his home at Belvidere, seventy-eight 
miles northwest of Chicago, where he acquired 
large landed estates and resided for over forty 
years, then migrating with two of his sons to 
Nebraska, where he died in 1874 at the age of 
seventy-seven years. N. S. Bristol was the old- 
est child of the family and his youth was passed 
at the Belvidere home of his parents. On July 
25, 1862, his loyal nature responded to his coun- 
try's call for soldiers, and he enlisted in Co. J, 
Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, and he gave most 
faithful and unremitting service until he was 
honorably discharged in September, 1865, his 
army life taking him down the Mississippi to 
Columbus, Memphis, Jackson, Vicksburg, Xew 
Orleans, the Red River Expedition, being pres- 
ent at the fall of Vicksburg, and at the taking 
of Natchez. Participating in most of the his- 
toric battles and engagements of the Army of 
the Mississippi, they were with General Stur- 
gis, when at Guntown, Miss., they had their 
most desperate engagement, over 600 men go- 
ing into action and only seventy men and one 
commissioned officer coming out, all the others 
being killed, wounded and imprisoned. They 
were after this in pursuit of General Price from 
Arkansas to Cape Girardeau, Mo., taking 
prominent action in the great defeat of Price 
at Warrensburg, thereafter being at Nashville 
and in pursuit of Hood's army, then again at 
Xew Orleans and thence at Mobile Bay, where 
they aided in the capture of the city, performing 
great feats of endurance and exhibiting the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3 21 



valor and soldierly qualities of the finest sol- 
diery of the world, from Mobile going north- 
ward and on to Springfield, 111., for muster-out. 
In the greatest war of many centuries Mr. Bris- 
tol and his comrades acquitted themselves as 
bravely and performed as valuable a service as 
any other of the organizations of the Union 
army. On returning to civil life Mr. Bristol 
engaged in merchandising at Ripon, Wis., for 
two years, on September 17, 1867, marrying 
with Miss Sarah A. Cloyd, a native of Chicago, 
and then removing to Belvidere, 111., where he 
remained until 1872, when he migrated to 
Boone county, Neb., where for the long period 
of fourteen years he was busily and profitably 
engaged in the buying and selling of grain and 
in the sale of agricultural implements, being 
prospered in his undertakings, which also in- 
cluded farming and stockraising. In 1885 he 
changed his residence to Hay Springs, Neb., 
where he was in the grain and livestock busi- 
ness until 1888, when, in the month of March, 
he located in Casper, Wyo., as a merchant, still 
continuing his profitable business operations 
in Nebraska, to which an elevator has been 
added. From his coming to Casper Mr. Bris- 
tol has been a conspicuous figure in the business 
activities of the community and his influence 
has largely extended into the progress of the 
brilliant young city. In 1891, by the admis- 
sion of W. A. Denecke as a partner, the mer- 
cantile house became N. S. Bristol & Co., while, 
as Mr. Bristol is an equal partner in the bank 
with Mr. Denecke, the banking firm is W. A. 
Denecke & Co. In this city Mr. Bristol intends 
to make his home, and at this writing is erect- 
ing a residence commensurate with his idea of 
home comfort, that will be a valuable addition 
to the many attractive homes of the place. In 
company with his son, Elmer J., Mr. Bristol 
■owns a large ranch in Deuel county, Neb., 
where they now have 1,500 head of superior cat- 
tle, Herefords being their favorite breed, and 
they also have on this place about 20 head of 
standard-bred Clydesdale horses. Mr. Bristol 
does not allow political strife or ambition to 
draw him from legitimate business. He is a 



loyal Republican, however, supporting the prin- 
ciples and candidates of his party with the same 
earnestness shown in all things in which he en- 
gages, and for six years he has been one of the 
regents of the State University of Wyoming. 
Fraternally he is actively interested in the Grand 
Army of the Republic and has ascended the lad- 
der of Masonry to the Thirty-second degree 
of the Ancient Scottish Rite. The father of 
Mrs. Bristol, John Cloyd, was a native of Eng- 
land and came to America when a young 
man, at once locating in Troy, N. Y. Afterward 
he moved to Michigan, where he was mar- 
ried. He died in Nebraska. The children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Bristol are Elmer J. of Ne- 
braska,. Lilly E., wife of C. H. Townsend, a 
merchant of Casper, and Harry C, who- remains 
at the paternal home. 

CHARLES E. BUELL. 

No man's destiny and not even his occupation 
can be predicted with certainty in our free re- 
public with its boundless wealth and variety of 
opportunity. Many a one has left his home in 
the thickly settled sections and plunged boldly 
into the wilderness, with no thought of doing 
more than finding opportunity and perhaps for- 
tune for himself, and has become by force of cir- 
cumstances the founder of a town, the builder 
of a county, the leader of a people. Such as 
this has been in some measure, the history of 
Charles E. Buell, who came from his native state 
of Wisconsin to Wyoming in 1878, and the next 
year located where Buffalo now stands. He 
helped to found and name the town and erected 
the first house built within its limits, the build- 
ing now occupied by the Transportation Co., 
which he erected for the Trabing Bros. Mr. 
Buell was born in Bloomfield, Wis., on July 25, 
1855, the son of William I. and Frances M. 
(Matthews) Buell, natives of New York and 
Ohio. The father is still farming in Wisconsin, 
where the son was educated and grew to man- 
hood. In 1878 he came west to Laramie City, 
Wyo., and a year later removed to Johnson 
county, working in both places at his trade of 



322 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



carpenter, which he had learned in his native 
state. In his new location he found plenty of 
work at his trade although the facilities for 
doing it were lacking in many respects. The 
first building in the town, already alluded to, 
was built from foundation to roof and fully com- 
pleted without the use of a nail. Mr. Buell 
worked a year for the Trabing Bros., after 
which he built what is now the Occidental Hotel 
and opened it to the public. When the next 
spring came he took a partner in the business in 
the person of A. J. McCrea and for years there- 
after the hostelry was conducted under the firm 
name of McCrea & Buell. The latter finally sold 
his interest to Mr. McCrea and settled on a 
ranch he then owned on Shell Creek, which he 
had taken up as a homestead, and was the first to 
be taken up in the county. Here he prospered 
as a farmer and stockgrower until 1893 when a 
disastrous fire burned him out and compelled his 
removal to another ranch he owned. A little later 
he located on the one which he now occupies and 
which is known as the Somnesburger ranch. In 
all he owns 640 acres of excellent land, com- 
prising a desirable variety of meadow and range, 
and on this he raises cattle, horses and sheep in 
considerable numbers of superior quality. He is 
an enterprising and progressive citizen, fully 
alive to every chance to advance the interests of 
his community, and with the requisite public 
spirit to secure the acceptance and proper use of 
the chance. On October 17,- 1882, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Jennie B. Herrick, a 
native of Wisconsin, in which state the marriage 
occurred. They have had five children, Helen 
E., the first white child born in Buffalo; Mabel 
G. ; Frances L. ; Clarence, deceased ; Miles W. 
Mrs. Buell's father, Miles Herrick, a native of 
Xew York, is dead. Her mother, Lutheria Her- 
rick, resides in Buffalo. 

HON. LAWRENCE R. BRESNAHEN. 

One of the leading business and public men 
of the state of Wyoming, Hon. Lawrence R. 
Bresnahen, who has been four times mayor of 
the city of Chevenne, was born at Clummell, Ire- 



land, in 1850. When he was seven years of age 
his mother, together with the family, came to 
America in the hope of bettering their condi- 
tion in the New World, the father having died 
in Ireland when our subject was a child. Upon 
their arrival in this country they settled at 
Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., where Mr. Bres- 
nahen attained man's estate and received his 
early education in the public schools. When he 
was sixteen years of age, impelled by the spirit 
of adventure, he left school to make his own 
way in the world. Bidding farewell to the 
scenes of his childhood and early manhood he 
set out with a young man of about his own age 
with whom he had attended school to seek his 
fortune in the far West. Going first to the fron- 
tier town of Julesburg, Colo., then at the height 
of its prosperity, he secured employment with 
Moore & Stanton in a meat market. In 1867 
he purchased the business from his employers, 
and in November removed the establishment to 
Cheyenne, Wyo., establishing himself there in 
business and erected one of the first buildings 
in that place. By his industry, perseverance and 
careful attention to his business he rapidly built 
up an extensive and profitable trade, and soon 
came to be looked upon as one of "the leading 
business men of that section of the country. For 
thirty-five years he has been engaged in active 
business and financial affairs in Cheyenne and 
the country tributary to that city and has been 
one of the most important factors in the build- 
ing up of the town and in laying the foundations 
of the commonwealth of \\ yoming. No man 
has done more for the advancement of Cheyenne 
or to promote the growth and development of 
the territory and state of Wyoming. Foremost 
in every enterprise, progressive and public spir- 
ited, loyal to every interest of the city of his 
residence and the state of his adoption, he is 
one of the most prominent men of Wyoming 
and enjoys the gratitude and esteem of all 
classes of his fellow citizens. In 1875 ne was 
elected to the council of the Fourth Territorial 
Legislature and made a highly creditable record 
in that position. In 1S76 he was elected mayor 
of the city of Chevenne. This was a most im- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3*3 



portant year in the history of that city, for it 
was the year when the patent for the town-site 
was issued by the United States and the place 
was just beginning to outgrow its proportions 
and characteristics as a frontier town. It was 
largely through the able, far-seeing and unre- 
mitting endeavors of Mayor Bresnahen that 
the city waterworks plant was completed and 
became the actual property of the municipality. 
He was selected as one of the able commit- 
tee of twelve to prepare the new city charter for 
Cheyenne in 1878, immediately after its adoption 
being elected again to the office of mayor, run- 
ning on both the Democratic and Republican 
tickets, showing the esteem in which his services 
to the public were held by all classes of the peo- 
ple. At the expiration of this term of office he 
was again elected to the same position without 
opposition. He performed the duties of the 
office with ability and distinction, and to the en- 
tire satisfaction of his constituents of all parties. 
At the time of the construction of the state cap- 
itol building Mr. Bresnahen was the chairman 
of the commission having charge of the matter 
and took upon himself the duties of superintend- 
ent of construction. While the east and west 
wings of the capitol building were being erected 
he gave the greater portion of his time to the 
supervision of the work, greatly to the detri- 
ment of his private interests. No sacrifice was 
too great for him in what he conceived to be - 
the conscientious discharge of his duty to the 
people of the state, and it was largely due to 
his efforts, his practical business ability and his 
untiring devotion to the thorough supervision 
of the details of the work that such a perfect 
building was secured for the uses of the public 
business of the state. In recognition of the great 
service which he had thus rendered to the state, 
the state capitol building commission, at a meet- 
ing held in Cheyenne on January 17, 1888, unani- 
mously adopted the following resolution, which 
was ordered spread upon the records of the 
commission: "Resolved, That the commission 
desires to place itself on record as being grate- 
ful in the highest degree to L. R. Bresnahen, 
20 



the chairman and superintendent of construc- 
tion, for his zeal, energy and skill manifested in 
behalf of the capitol ; that to him the people are 
indebted in large measure for the thoroughness 
of the work performed on both the east wing 
and the west wing of said capitol. J. C. Baird, 
Secretary of the Capitol Building Commission." 
Such a record falls to the lot of but few 
men. In addition to his other large property 
interests in Cheyenne and else where, Mr. Bres- 
nahen is the owner of a fine stock ranch, com- 
prising about 2,000 acres of land, which is sit- 
uated a short distance from the city, and here 
lie is extensively engaged in handling stall-fed 
cattle. In this enterprise he has associated a 
nephew, Mr. Smith, as a business partner and 
they have met with marked success. In every 
field of activity, in business, in social life and in 
public station Mr. Bresnahen is one of the most 
prominent and successful men of his city and 
one of the most honored citizens of Wyo- 
ming. While he was mayor he had Judge Mc- 
Laughlin draw up, a bill to be forwarded to 
W. R. Steele, then the delegate to Congress, 
authorizing the city to purchase 640 acres 
of land about one and one-half miles west of 
Cheyenne, which is now very valuable, and 
forms the base of the water supply of the city. 
In 1876 he had reserved a large tract of land 
at the eastern part of the city, since then im- 
proved as Lake Minnehaha Park. In settle- 
ment with the railroad company in 1876 he ob- 
tained a deed to four blocks, now converted 
into the beautiful city park in the heart of the 
city and also of land for cemetery purposes with- 
out cost to the city. In 1891 and 1892 he built 
the Central avenue viaduct and Snyder street 
subway and completed the water system. All 
lands thus acquired are now very valuable, be- 
ing taken up years ago. These far-sighted oper- 
ations and labors show a rare and intelligent 
foresight, and generations yet to come will honor 
the memory of this wise philanthropist, who 
was mindful of their welfare before their lives 
began, planning their happiness with a thought- 
ful prevision that few would have possessed. 



324 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



LYMAN H. BROOKS. 

Beautifully located on the border of two 
great states of the American Union, Wyoming 
and Montana, with the murmuring waters of 
the romantic Tongue River winding about his 
ranch of 4,000 acres, comfortably housed in a 
fine modern residence recently built, whose 
architectural graces, convenient arrangement, 
complete equipment and its artistic adornment 
proclaim his good judgment and excellent taste, 
with the fruits of his enterprise and thrift bloom- 
ing and ripening around him and the benefits 
of his progressiveness and public spirit manifest 
in the commercial, educational and moral feat- 
ures of the community he has aided in building 
up, Lyman H. Brooks of Sheridan county, 
Wyo., can almost defy the frowns of fortune 
and feel secure in the prosperity that has 
crowned his labors and the general esteem he 
has won from all classes of his fellow citizens. 
He was born at Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, 
on May 5, 1856, the son of Dr. Samuel J. and 
Lucy (Mills) Brooks, the former a native of 
Stanstead, Quebec, and the latter of Lunen- 
burg, Vt. His paternal ancestors have been 
prominent in American history for generations, 
and have dignified and adorned every walk of 
life in their respective times and localities. 
Their original American progenitor, Thomas 
Brooks, came to this country in 1636 and set- 
tled near the present site of the city of Boston, 
and of his two sons, one located at Cambridge 
and the other at Worcester. - Lyman H. Brooks 
belongs to the Worcester branch of the family, 
and of the Cambridge branch the Rev. Phillips 
Brooks has been perhaps the most distin- 
guished religious representative. The Worces- 
ter Brookses continued to reside in that city, 
engaged in mercantile pursuits until the grand- 
father of our Wyoming ranchman removed to 
Sherbrooke, in the Province of Quebec, and 
there passed the rest of his life. His son, Sam- 
uel T. Brooks, was educated at Dartmouth Col- 
lege, N. H., and after his graduation entered 
the medical department of McGill University, 
Montreal, from which he was graduated with 



the degree of M. D. Practicing his profession 
at Sherbrooke until 1862, he removed to St. 
Johnsbury, Vt., and there continued a profes- 
sional career which was a credit to the family 
and a benefit to the community. His youngest 
brother, Edward, was for years a member of 
the Canadian parliament, and later was ap- 
pointed to a life position on the supreme bench 
of the Dominion. In 1894 the Doctor and his 
wife made their son a visit in Wyoming, and 
two years after he died at the age of seventy- 
two, leaving a family of four sons and three 
daughters. Lyman H. Brooks, the eldest of 
this family, was graduated from the academy 
at St. Johnsbury, Vt., and immediately found 
employment in the counting-room of the Fair- 
banks Scales Co. as paymaster. In 1880 he quit 
the hoary traditions, bustling activities and 
cramped conditions of his New England home, 
and journeyed westward to the boundless- 
wealth of material resources, commercial op- 
portunities and agricultural possibilities as yet 
undeveloped in the newer states of our great 
domain, and locating near the site of Sheridan, 
Wyo., formed a partnership with Frank H. Kil- 
burn for conducting the cattle business, he hav- 
ing purchased and brought with him from Colo- 
rado 100 cows for that purpose. They pitched 
their tents on the banks of the Tongue River, 
and their partnership lasted until 1889, when 
Mr. Brooks bought out the interest of Mr. Kil- 
burn in their properties. In the meantime, in 
1882, foreseeing that when a town was to 
be located in the neighborhood that Sheridan 
would be its nucleus, they purchased the old 
George Reid place covering that locality and 
also took up a homestead adjacent to it. 
making that their headquarters. At the same 
time they sold their cattle and Mr. Brooks en- 
tered the employ of the Scott & Hank Co. as 
bookkeeper, remaining there until 18S6, then 
becoming the manager for John Conrad & Co., 
whom he served in that capacity for three years. 
In 1889, when he bought out his partner, Kil- 
•burn, he also purchased the properties of Mr. 
McCrea, and formed a new partnership with 
Alf Diefenderfer, who had been McCrea's part- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3 2 5 



ner in the hardware business, and they continued 
to conduct business until 1900. In 1893 they 
bought a ranch and some stock on Tongue 
River and in 1900, when they dissolved partner- 
ship, Mr. Diefenderfer took the hardware and 
other mercantile interests and Mr. Brooks the 
ranch and cattle, having now 300 to 500 head 
of superior stock, principally Shorthorns and 
Herefords. While living and doing business in 
Sheridan Mr. Brooks took a leading part in 
the development of the town. He was the pro- 
moter of the electric light plant, installed in 
1894 and in which he was a heavy stockholder 
until 1902, giving also inspiration and valuable 
aid to other municipal improvements. He was 
one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce, 
in which he has still an important interest. On 
June 11, 1889, he was married with Miss Kate 
Ruth Ivey, a native of Wisconsin, whose father, 
John Ivey, died at his home at Mineral Point 
in that state, after which the family removed 
to Wyoming. Three children have blessed this 
union, Herbert Ivey and Ruth Sanborn, who are 
living, and Norman Mills, deceased, being one 
of the principal founders of the town. 

- JAMES H. BURGESS. 

Although but a recent acquisition to the bar 
of Wyoming, and not much more than free from 
the cap and gown of his graduation in law, 
James H. Burgess, county attorney of Sheridan 
county, is sufficiently far from shore to be under 
full sail in his profession, and has given abun- 
dant evidence of his capacity to steer his barque 
to its desired haven. He is a native of Nevada, 
born on June 16, 1876, the son of James H. 
and Jane (Pierce) Burgess, natives of Kentucky 
and early emigrants in 1851 to California, where 
for a number of years the father engaged in 
mining and then removed to Nevada, settling at 
Austin, where he followed the same vocation 
until his death in 1879. Two years later his 
widow married J. Wagoner, and removed with 
him to Wyoming. They made their home at 
Big Horn in Sheridan county, -and there the son 
James H. was educated primarily in the public 



schools. In 1896 he entered the State Univer- 
sity of Ohio and in 1900 was graduated from its 
academic or literary department, then began the 
study of law at Ann Arbor (Mich.) University, 
and was graduated from the law department of 
that institution in 1902. Returning to his Wyo- 
ming home he located at Sheridan and entered 
actively on the practice of his profession, and in 
the ensuing fall, that of 1902, he was elected 
county attorney on the Republican ticket, secur- 
ing a handsome vote and every assurance of the 
confidence and esteem of the people. Mr. Bur- 
g'ess is one of the best educated young men in 
the county, being also progressive and en- 
terprising, not only in his profession but in 
every other interest which engages his atten- 
tion. He earns the success that he is winning 
at the bar, by being a careful and diligent stu- 
dent of legal science and very painstaking and 
conscientious in conducting his cases. Feel- 
ing keenly his responsibility as the representative 
of his client, and as well the intellectual stimulus 
which the contest gives, he omits nothing that is 
available on his part to secure success. And yet, 
while recognizing that the law is a jealous mis- 
tress, he does not allow her to engross his whole 
time and energy, but seeks alike, as he has oppor- 
tunity, the pleasant recreations of social life and 
the sterner contentions of politics. He is socially 
a cultivated and entertaining gentleman, but in 
public affairs is unrelenting in enforcing his con- 
victions. He still makes his home with his 
mother and stepfather at Sheridan. In the Old 
Settlers' meetings and proceedings he takes an 
active interest as the secretary of their club. All 
indications bespeak for him a useful and a bril- 
liant future, socially, politically and, more than 
all, professionally. 

JOSEPH W. BYRNE. 

One of the leading, prosperous and truly 
representative ranchmen of western Wyoming 
is the one of whom we now write, Joseph W. 
Byrne, whose valuable and well-improved home 
ranch and residence is located on the Big 
Muddy, six miles south of Piedmont in Uinta 



326 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



comity, Wyo. He was born in Ogden, Utah, 
on August 26, 1855, the oldest child of Moses 
and ' Catharine (Cardon) Byrne, of whom in- 
dividual mention is made on other pages of this 
volume. Acquiring the foundation of a solid 
education in the common schools of Wyoming, 
he early engaged in practical business as a 
freighter, conducting this occupation for him- 
self and in the employ of others for four years. 
Seeing the great possibilities of stockraising in 
Wyoming, in 1881 he took up a desert claim 
of government land and engaged in ranching, 
in 1887, he made his permanent home on the 
school section, where he now resides, this he 
has finely improved and developed, adding to 
its acreage until his home estate contains three 
sections and a half. He also owns 280 acres 
located thirty miles north of Piedmont, and his 
whole landed possessions comprise about 3,000 
acres. His specialty in. stockraising has been 
horses, of which he has produced and owns 
large numbers, some of them being of the very 
finest strain. The wealth of Mr. Byrne's landed ' 
estate does not consist entirely in its agricul- 
ture and stockraising possibilities, for on his 
property is some promising and valuable oil 
territory. Always active in public affairs, Mr. 
Byrne's time and counsel has frequently been 
asked and given in matters relating to the pub- 
lic welfare. He has performed the duties of 
school trustee with conceded ability, while his 
fitness for the position, his energetic character 
and other qualifications has made him a nomi- 
nee of the Populist party for state senator and 
in' the election he received a very complimen- 
tary vote. At Aspen, Wyo., on September 30, 
1884, Mr. Byrne was united in marriage with 
Miss Winifred L. Mumford, a daughter of Hice 
and Robie N. (Washburn) Mumford, natives of 
Pennsylvania and descendants of old Colonial 
stock, active in its early history and the Revo- 
lutionary period of that commonwealth. Mr. 
and Mrs. Byrne have had seven children, of 
whom five are now living. Their names are 
C. Leslie, Cecil M., Lenora A. (died at the age 
of eleven years), Myrtle A., Ralph L., Cardon 
(died in infancy) and Joseph N. Mr. Byrne has 



shown great energy and wise judgment in the 
cultivation and improvement of the new lands 
he has purchased and developed and has be- 
come known as one of the leading stockmen of 
this section of the state. His sound judgment 
and common sense have been manifested in all 
departments of his personal affairs and also in 
those of public character with which he has 
been connected. Successful in business, happy 
in his family relations, with a large circle of 
friends who appreciate his many good quali- 
ties, Mr. Byrne's condition in life is enviable. 

HARRY BARTON CARD. 

One of the foremost business men of Con- 
verse county, an excellent type of the men of 
energy and progressive spirit who have been so 
largely instrumental in building up the western 
portion of the United States, Harry Barton 
Card was born on February 16, 1861, in Toledo, 
Ohio, the son of Thomas Card and Harriet 
(Burr) Card, the former being a native of 
Plainville, Ohio, and the latter of Madison, in 
the same state. His paternal grandfather, Piatt 
Card, was the first settler of Manhattan, now a 
suburb of Toledo, and was the promoter of a 
line of railroad to the former place before the 
city had been founded and it was then thought 
that Manhattan, instead of Toledo, would be the 
principal place of business. Piatt Card was one 
of the leading business men of northern Ohio 
and a large holder of real-estate. Thomas Card 
early entered the employ of the postal service of 
the United States, and has continued in that oc- 
cupation to the present writing, being now a 
trusted attache of the postoffice at Toledo and 
the oldest living employe of the P. O. Depart- 
ment of the United States. In the later nineties 
of the last century he was tendered a banquet by 
the leading business men and postal employes 
of Toledo upon the completion of fifty years of 
continuous service in the department. He is 
still active, one of the honored citizens of Toledo, 
and of Ohio. The mother of Mr. Card was a 
member of the famous Burr family, which has 
taken such a prominent part in American history, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



327 



and of which Aaron Burr was a conspicuous 
figure. Of the Card family, there were five 
children, Mr. H. B. Card and his twin sister, 
Ida Amelia, being the youngest members. His 
education was acquired in the public schools of 
Toledo, and owing to ill-health in the spring of 
1878, he left school, and removed to the then 
territory of Wyoming. Here he located in the 
city of Cheyenne, and accepted a position with 
the Union Cattle Co., with which corporation he 
remained the most of the time until 1886, when 
he came to the vicinity of Lost Creek, in what is 
now Converse county, and engaged in the cattle 
and horse business, continuing there until 1892, 
when he disposed of his interests and invested 
in sheep, making his headquarters in Manville, 
and carrying on his operations from that point. 
In 1900, he organized the Card Sheep Co., of 
which he was the vice-president and manager. 
This company under his direction has been very 
successftd, being now the owner of 2,000 acres of 
land adjoining the townsite of Manville and 
handling between 30,000 and 40,000 sheep. On 
April 25, 1888, Mr. Card was married with Miss 
Edith M. McLaughlin, a native of Illinois, a 
daughter of Charles McLaughlin, a native of 
Scotland. Mrs. Card comes of a long-lived race, 
her great-grandmother being still living at the 
advanced age of ninety-two years. To their 
union have been born four children, Nathaniel 
Forest, Iva May, Julia Elmira and Alma 
Stella, and all are living. The family home at 
Manville is noted for its genuine hospitality and 
their residence is the largest and finest in that 
section of the state. Fraternally, Mr. Card is 
affiliated with the Order of Modern Woodmen 
of America, and also with the Woodmen of the 
World. The family are active and prominent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
take a leading part in all work of religion and 
benevolence in the community where they reside 
and are held in the highest esteem. 

WILLIAM J. CASHIN. 

One of the most enterprising and successful 
merchants of Evanston, Wyoming, William J. 
Cashin, is a native of New York state, where he 



was born on Long Island in 1849, his parents 
being Michael and Margaret (Doheny) Cashin. 
The former was born in Wexford, Ireland, and 
came to America the year that William J. was 
born. He -engaged in the business of nursery- 
man, having been foreman of a nursery in Ox- 
ford, England, and he conducted it with success 
at Flushing, L. I., until his retirement about 
twenty years before his death, which occurred 
in March, five years ago, at the age of seventy- 
six. He was a man of broad views, refined 
tastes and courageous bearing. His politics 
were Democratic, but though often urged to 
stand for public office, he always refused. His 
wife, whom he married in Ireland in 1846 and 
brought to •America in 1849, survived only until 
1852, dying at the age of twenty-five. She was 
a very affectionate woman, wholly devoted to 
her home and family. Husband and wife were 
both devoted Catholics. William J. is the only 
survivor of their union, their other child, John 
B., having died young. William J. Cashin re- 
ceived his early education in Whitestone, L. L, 
and he later attended the academy at Flushing. 
After graduating he went into the wholesale 
house of John D. Lock & Co. and remained in 
it for fourteen years, and until the firm ceased 
to operate. Being then possessed of the high- 
est testimonials, the result of untiring devotion 
to duty, he went to Portland, Conn., and was 
given charge of a department of a wholesale 
house there. He remained in this employment 
for six years and then went to Middletown, 
Conn., and bought a nickel electro-plating- busi- 
ness, which he conducted with complete success 
for twelve years until, at the urgent request of 
the late J. E. Cashin of Evanston, Wyo., he 
came here on May 30, 1886, to become a part- 
ner in the business then conducted in two 
rooms. Under his able management this es- 
tablishment has grown into a mammoth de- 
partment store, carrying also a large line of agri- 
cultural implements. The firm is now Beeman 
& Cashin, the present Mr. Cashin's original 
partner having passed away. Mr. Cashin is a 
remarkably successful man of affairs, having 
varied interests. He is secretary of the Uinta 
County Natural Gas, Oil and Pipe Co., is in- 



$2l 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



terested in valuable oil properties in Wyoming, 
was one of the original stockholders of the old 
flouringmill, now abandoned because no grain 
was raised for it, has stock in several Utah 
mines and is one of the directors of the Ohio 
and Wyoming Oil Co., organized in Cincinnati, 
Ohio. In politics he is a Democrat. He held 
the office of coroner for two terms and he has 
several times been asked to stand for other of- 
fices ; but his business affairs are too engross- 
ing to permit his holding public office. He is 
a member of the fraternal order of the Macca- 
bees, of the Safety Fund and Insurance Co. of 
New York and of the Bankers' Alliance of Des 
Moines, Iowa. Mr. Cashin's family consists 
of his wife and these eight children : Edward 
J., assistant bookkeeper for his father's firm ; 
William J., a telegrapher for the Union Pacific 
Railroad ; Joseph ; Frank ; Alice ; Leo ; Norvall ; 
Roella. Mrs. Cashin was formerly Ellen Mc- 
Auliffe, a native of Portland, Conn., where she 
was married in May, 1889. She was born in 
1859, daughter of John and Abigail (Grandon) 
McAuliffe, both still living in Portland, where 
Mr. McAuliffe is now retired. They were na- 
tives of Ireland and came to the United States 
in 1845 an d settled in Portland. Mrs. McAu- 
liffe is a loving motherly woman, who has given 
untiring devotion to her family. 

CHARLES E. CARLSTRUM. 

Prominent among' the citizens of foreign 
birth who have contributed so largely to the 
building- up of the varied industries of the 
county of Laramie, Wyoming", is Charles E. 
Carlstrum, one of the leading residents of Pine 
Bluffs. He was born in Sweden, which has 
given so many men of the best type of citizen- 
ship to the American republic, on November 
4, 1861. He is the son of Carl and Annie (Sam- 
uelson) Carlstrum, both natives of Sweden, 
where tbe father was engaged in farming in the 
province of Smaland, and is still residing, fol- 
lowing the same pursuit. Charles E. Carlstrum 
grew to manhood and received his education in 
the schools of his native province, remaining 



with his parents until he had attained to the 
age of sixteen years, when he commenced serv- 
ing his apprenticeship to the trade of shoemak- 
ing, and he worked at this trade in Sweden until 
he was twenty-two years old. He then entered 
the army of Sweden and served for over one 
year, receiving his discharge in the fall of 1883. 
In the spring of 1884 he took ship for America 
to seek his fortune in the New World. He 
went first to the city of Holdridge, Nebraska, 
and there he secured employment at his trade 
and there remained for about one year. In 
May, 1885, he left Holdridge, Neb., and came to 
Wyoming, locating at Pine Bluffs. The pres- 
ent thriving community had then scarcely made 
a beginning, the only buildings erected being 
the railroad station and one or two small frame 
structures for temporary use. Securing em- 
ployment as a salesman in a store, he was en- 
gaged in that occupation until January 1, 1887, 
when he located a homestead about two miles 
north of Pine Bluffs and entered upon the busi- 
ness of raising cattle and horses. At the same 
time he opened a shoeshop at Pine Bluffs, and 
worked at his trade during a portion of the 
time, making his residence, however, on his 
homestead. In 1890 he removed his residence 
into the town, where he purchased a store 
building and then engaged in a general boot 
and shoe business. In 1895, having exceedingly 
prospered, he added a stock of merchandise to 
his line of boots and shoes and his operations 
have rapidly extended from year to year. In 
1900, his business had grown to such an ex- 
tent that he found it necessary to erect a new 
building to accommodate his increased stock 
and the large number of his patrons. His pres- 
ent store building, completed in that year, is 
a model of its kind, having every convenience 
for the carrying on of a large merchandising 
trade, and would do credit to a place much 
larger than Pine Bluffs. It is a monument to 
the enterprise and progressive spirit of Mr. 
Carlstrum. On October 27, 1891, at Cheyenne, 
Wvo., Mr. Carlstrum was united in wedlock 
with Miss Christiana Anderson, a native of 
Sweden and a daughter of Tohn and Charletta 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



329 



(Swansbn) Anderson, natives of that country. 
To this union three children have been born, 
Elvira L., Alfred E. and Hazel, and all are liv- 
ing. The family are members of the Swedish 
Missionary church and take an active interest 
in all works of charity and religion in the com- 
munity. Mr. Carlstrum is a staunch adherent 
of the Republican party and for many years 
has been prominent as one of the leaders of 
that political organization in his section of the 
state. In 1894 and 1895 he served the public 
as a justice of the peace, a position of great re- 
sponsibility and importance in a new commu- 
nity, giving the utmost satisfaction to the pub- 
lic. He declined a reelection, owing to the in- 
creasing demands upon his time and attention 
of his business interests. He also served for 
three years on the board of school trustees. 
During the entire time of his residence in Pine 
Bluffs and vicinity he has been one of the fore- 
most in working for the public welfare, and in 
contributing of his time and means to the up- 
building of the city and the development of the 
surrounding country. He is one of the oldest 
settlers now residing in Pine Bluffs and is one 
of the leading merchants of that part of Wyo- 
ming. In addition to his other property interests 
he is a large owner of real-estate, improved and 
otherwise, in Pine Bluffs and vicinity. To his 
efforts is due in large measure the present sub- 
stantial growth and prosperity of the city where 
he maintains his home, and he has the grateful 
appreciation and high regard of all of the citi- 
zens of the community. 

CHARLES F. CLARK. 

Viewed in the light of what he has accom- 
plished, Charles F. Clark, of Spring Valley, 
Uinta county, Wyoming, well deserves a place - on 
the honor-roll of successful and self-made men. 
By the dint of his native abilities, energy, perse- 
verance and thrift he has achieved a success of 
which he may justly be proud and attained to 
a position commanding the respect of all who 
know him. He was born in Manchester, Iowa, 



on July 15, 1871, a son of Dealton A. and Mary 
A. (Baker) Clark, who were natives of Illinois. 
Dealton A. Clark was a son of O. D. Clark, both 
parents being natives of Iowa and of English 
descent, and he is a brother of U. S. Senator 
Clarence D. Clark of Wyoming. The family 
however has been domiciled on American soil 
since the early Colonial days of New England, 
an ancestor being a veteran of the Revolutionary 
War and other members of the family have been 
participants in every war in which this country 
has been engaged. Dealton A. Clark and his 
brother, Dyer O., distinguished themselves by 
patriotic service in the Union army of the Civil 
War and Dealton was for some years in charge 
of the commissary department of his military 
division. Dyer O. Clark was seriously wounded 
in the service, and an uncle of Charles F. Clark, 
James Tisdale, was also a soldier of the Civil 
War, holding the commission of lieutenant. Mr. 
Clark was a bookkeeper and removed with his 
family to Wyoming in 1870, where he was mana- 
ger of the Union Pacific Coal Co.'s store at Rock 
Springs for a period of time and then was the 
head clerk of the establishment until his death, 
which occurred on May 15, 1890, at the age of 
forty-six years. Mar) r A. (Baker) Clark, is a 
lady of fine intellectual tastes and education, 
capably and efficiently filling the office of county 
superintendent of schools of Sweetwater county, 
Wyo. She is now residing at Rock Springs, 
Wyo., at the age of fifty- four years. Dealton 
A. Clark and his estimable wife were parents 
of five children, two sons and three daughters 
whose names we here produce in order of their 
birth, Charles F. to whom this review is particu- 
larly devoted ; Florence, now Mrs. Arthur M. 
Gildersleeve of Rock Springs ; an infant that 
died unnamed ; Harry D., of whom an individual 
sketch appears on another page of this volume; 
Mabel. Charles F. Clark received the educa- 
tional advantages of the public schools of Rock 
Springs, Wyo., and early was engaged in the 
adventurous life and occupation of riding the 
range on the Wyoming plains near Rock Springs 
for Nelson Morris, of Chicago, 111., and in his 



33© 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



employ he was satisfactorily engaged for five 
years. At the end of that time and service he 
became connected with "Tim" Kinney & Co., 
as clerk, continuing in this employ until 1896, 
when he went to Alma, Wyo., in the capacity of 
mine clerk for the Union Pacific Railroad and 
in 1901 he was transferred to Spring Valley, 
where he was engaged in the same capacity. Re- 
taining this position, giving good and valuable 
service, identifying himself thoroughly with the 
interests of his employers and becoming con- 
versant with the needs and requirements of the 
people of this section of the state, he established 
a business for himself in a line of merchandising, 
conducting a news, tobacco and confectionery 
stand, which he opened in February, 1902. ' He 
has shown wise and discriminating care in the 
establishment of this business and is enjoying 
a marked degree of success. He is a popular 
citizen and has a large circle of friends, being an 
active member of the Red Cloud Tribe No. 8, 
of Red Men, of Spring Valley. Mr. Clark was 
united in matrimony at St. Joseph, Mich., on 
July 24, 1 891, with Miss Ivy Henderson, a 
daughter of Porter A. Henderson. Her father 
was a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of 
Virginia, and after the death of the father the 
mother made her home in Norfolk in the Old 
Dominion. Mr. Clark is prominently identified 
with the Republican party and while actively in- 
terested in its campaigns, policies and elections, 
has steadfastly refrained from accepting any 
public or political office or trust, finding in his 
legitimate sphere of business ample scope for 
the exercise of his abilities. He is a man of 
a genial and social temperament, strongly at- 
tached to his friends, and in all his relations 
bears himself as a whole-souled, large-hearted, 
conscientious individual. He is progressive in 
his views on all subjects, and in whatever he en- 
gages works with a determination and a will 
which never fails to bring success. He has a 
strong, well-developed physique and with his 
cordial greeting, friendly demeanor and manly 
character commands universal respect. In deal- 
ing with his fellowmen his motto is invariably 
that expressed in the Golden Rule. 



A. D. CHAMBERLAIN. 

The intense intellectual energy and restless- 
ness of New England, after subduing its own 
region to fruitfulness, has been for generations 
implanting its ideas and principles, ever bene- 
ficial in the cause of civilization, upon other 
countries and sections of the world, especially 
the new lands of the Great West, and in this 
way it has been of immense advantage in set- 
tling, developing and building up this vast terri- 
torial domain of our great country, and there 
is scarcely any part of the Union where Yankee 
enterprise, thrift and capital has not been in evi- 
dence and New Englanders found as the direct- 
ing forces and leaders in its professional, me- 
chanical and industrial activities. A prominent 
example of this enterprising spirit is found in 
the record of A. D. Chamberlain, one of the 
leading citizens of Converse county. Wyo., 
where he has be^en prominently identified with 
many of the state's best representatives in en- 
terprises of "great pith and moment," and has 
conscientiously discharged important public 
trusts. He was born in the old town of Dal- 
ton, Mass., on June 25, 1841, the son of Albert 
S. and Martha (Mitchell) Chamberlain, natives 
of the same old town, although his grand- 
father, Ezekiel Chamberlain, was born in an- 
other ancient town, Colchester, Conn. The 
Chamberlains run back in New England history 
to the infant clays of the Massachusetts colony, 
members of its various generations being con- 
spicuouslv connected with its affairs of state, 
its operations in Indian, Revolutionary and 
other wars, while with the great manufacturing 
life of that section it has been closely inter- 
twined. The house in which our subject was 
born was erected by an ancestor in 1707. it hav- 
ing been in possession of the family from that 
period, a sister of Mr. Chamberlain being now 
its occupant. In this old mansion are treasured 
many relics of bygone days, antique articles 
whose history leads back to Revolutionary and 
earlier days, among them being a brace of pis- 
tols presented by General Lafayette to John 
C. Clark in consideration of his being a nephew 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



33i 



of his' intimate friend, Judge John Chamberlain, 
who was a particularly influential man in Mass- 
achusetts and especially active in the Colonial 
cause. The father of Mr. Chamberlain was a 
prosperous agriculturist and manufacturer, a 
highly respected citizen, who put himself in 
touch with all the events of the times, never 
leaving his native state. All of his three chil- 
dren are .living. A. D. Chamberlain had the 
educational advantages of the noted public 
schools of Massachusetts, thereafter devoting 
his attention to the paper manufacturing busi- 
ness, in which his father was largely interested, 
until the Civil War broke out, when he enlist- 
ed in the U. S. navy, serving through the entire 
Civil War and receiving an honorable discharge 
in April, 1865. From that time until 1881 he 
was engaged in the manufacturing of paper at 
Westhampton, Mass., thence coming to Wyo- 
ming and locating at Cheyenne and becoming in- 
terested in the stock business, in connection 
with A. R. Converse and Silas Doty, forming 
the firm of Chamberlain, Doty & Co., and- being 
the active manager of its operations until 1886, 
when, coming to Douglas as a pioneer, he 
transferred his energies to operations in lumber 
for three years and then engaged in unproduc- 
tive coal and gold mining, selling his interests 
in the Cheyenne outfit in 1893 and in 1895 en- 
gaging in the sheep business, which he still con- 
tinues. Mr. Chamberlain has been a positive 
force in public matters and political circles, po- 
sitions of decided trust and responsibility com- 
ing to him by reason of the confidence of the 
people and his particular aptitude for adminis- 
tration, and he served with dignity, integrity 
and conceded ability one term in the State Sen- 
ate of Wyoming, being elected to that high 
office in 1890, while in 1895 he was appointed 
register of the U. S. land office at Douglas by 
President Cleveland and reappointed by Presi- 
dent McKinley in 1900. He is especially promi- 
nent in Freemasonry, having been a member 
of that honored fraternity for over thirty-five 
years and attaining the Knights Templar de- 
gree and also the Thirty-second degree of the 
Scottish Rite. In every relation of life and offi- 



cial connection Mr. Chamberlain has stood for 
all that represents the best elements of civili- 
zation as a strong friend, a genial companion 
and -an efficient officer. In November, 1889, 
he was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Mc- 
Reynolds, a native of Nebraska, who presides 
over the family home with graceful dignity and 
a charming hospitality. 

M. RAVLIN COLLINS. 

A natitve of Iowa, born in Dallas county, on 
November 9, 1868, M. R. Collins is the son of 
Albert and Mary (Ravlin) Collins, the former 
a native of Madison county, N. Y., and the lat- 
ter a native of Chautauqua county in the same 
state. His paternal grandfather Emery Collins, 
was a native of the Green Mountain state, who 
removed in early life to New York, where he en- 
gaged in farming, in which he continued up to 
the time of his death. The father of Mr. Collins 
removed his residence from New York to 
Aurora, 111., in 1858. Here he resided until the 
breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted 
in the Chicago Dragoons, commanded by Cap- 
tain Barker, and for a time was a member of the 
body-guard of Gen. George B. McClellan. Sub- 
sequently he enlisted in Co. A, Thirty-sixth Illi- 
nois Regiment, one of the two companies of cav- 
alry connected with this infantry regiment. He 
saw much active service, participating in the bat- 
tles of Rich Mountain. Pea Ridge, luka, Corinth, 
Siege of Yicksburg, Pleasant Hill, and was en- 
gaged in many skirmishes. At the battle of 
Pleasant Hill his horse was killed under 
him and he had numerous other narrow es- 
capes from death. He was often promoted for 
gallantry in action and honorably discharged at 
the end of the war with the rank of captain. He 
then returned to his former home in Illinois, soon 
after removing to Dallas county, Iowa, when he 
engaged in merchandising, in which he con- 
tinued until 1874, when he sold out to good ad- 
vantage and returned to Illinois. He subse- 
quently moved to -Kansas, where he made his 
home until T882, when he established himself 
in Nebraska and resided there until T890, when 



332 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



upon the death of his wife, he joined his son, 
the subject of this review, at Lusk, Wyo., 
where he has since made his home. There were 
three sons and three daughters in the family, 
Mr. M. R. Collins being the eldest son. His 
early education was received in the public 
schools of Illinois, completing his education in 
the city of Aurora. He remained in Illinois un- 
til 1886, when he removed to Wyoming, locat- 
ing at Lusk, and became a clerk in a mercantile 
establishment, continuing m this position until 
1893, when he formed a partnership with Mr. 
Nat. Baker, the present mayor of Lusk, and 
carried on a large merchandising business un- 
til 1898, when he purchased the interest of his 
partner and organized the Collins & Snyder 
Mercantile Co., which operated successfully 
while it was in existence. In July, 1902, he 
purchased the interest of Mr. Snyder and in- 
corporated the Collins Commercial Co., which 
now occupies a large store-room and extensive 
warehouses in Lusk, and is one of the most suc- 
cessful mercantile houses in that section of 
Wyoming. He is also associated with his 
brother, E. A. Collins, in the firm of E. A. Col- 
lins & Co., which carries on an extensive lum- 
ber business in the same place. In addition 
to his other business interests, Mr. Collins is 
the cashier of the Bank of Lusk, giving the 
greater portion of his time to the active' man- 
agement of that solid financial institution. This 
bank is among the safest and most conserva- 
tive banking establishments of the state. Polit- 
ically, Mr. Collins is affiliated with the Dem- 
ocratic party and his popularity in his county 
is attested by his election on two occasions as 
a member of the board of county commisioners 
in spite of the fact that the county is largely 
Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of 
the Masonic order, having attained the Thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish Rite, also be- 
longing to the Woodmen of the World, ever tak- 
ing an active and leading interest in all mat- 
ters calculated to advance the social and fra- 
ternal life of the community. On November 6, 
1895, Mr. Collins was united in marriage with 
Miss Florence Jenks, a daughter of W. S. 



Jenks, who formerly had business interests in 
both Wyoming and Utah, and to this marriage 
one child, Florence, was born. Mrs. Collins 
passed away from earth on May 31, 1898. Mr. 
Collins is one of the most successful of the 
young business men of Wyoming and will be 
a prominent factor in the upbuilding of the 
commercial and industrial future of the state. 

JESSE M. CORNELISON. 

Born and reared amid the cattle ranges of 
eastern Texas and occupied in their leading in- 
dustry from his childhood there and elsewhere, 
Jesse M. Corhelison of Weston county, Wyo- 
ming, one of the prominent and successful cattle- 
men on Black Thunder Creek, may be said to 
have been born to his business and to have 
passed his life in acquiring the facility he shows 
in conducting it. His life began on December 
9, 1871, at Collinsville, Grayson county, Tex., 
where his parents, George W. and Mary E. 
(Rigen) Cornelison, the former a native of Ten- 
nessee and the latter of Alabama, had lived 
from their young married life. The father came 
to Texas when he was a child and, having been 
educated in Cherokee county, settled in Grav- 
son county when he was twenty-three years old 
and at once started business in the cattle indus- 
try. He remained there until 1901, when he re- 
moved to Oklahoma, and locating at Erick, 
continued stockraising operations, his wife hav- 
ing died in Texas in 1878. Jesse M. Corneli- 
son remained with his father until he was nearly 
of age, working on the ranch and attending the 
district schools as opportunity offered, in 1891 
going to the Indian Territory, there passing 
three years in the cattle industry. In the spring 
of 1894 he came to Cheyenne, Wyo., and fol- 
lowed the same business there until January, 
1896, when he brought cattle to Weston county 
and located them on the celebrated O. S. ranch, 
at the junction of Black Thunder Creek and the 
Cheyenne River, one of the oldest and most 
widely known ranches of this section of the 
country. Here he has since carried on a thriv- 
ing business, raising both sheep and cattle, find- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



33.3 



ing the products of his farm holding a high 
place in the market and more and more es- 
teemed as he has improved their grade and 
quality. In 1900 he .bought a home in New- 
castle and has since then lived in that city, mak- 
ing frequent trips to his ranch. He owns about 
1,300 acres of land and has several sections 
leased in addition. Giving to his business in- 
telligent and studious attention, providing for 
its proper management and development every 
facility available, omitting no cost of time or 
energy necessary to secure the best results, he 
has steadily risen to leadership in the industry 
and easily maintains his supremacy. On Sep- 
tember 27, 1897, at Hot Springs, S. ■ D., Mr. 
Cornelison was united in marriage with Miss 
Carrie Wilson, a native of Iowa. Her parents, 
James and Melissa (Jackson) Wilson, being re- 
spectively natives of Iowa and Indiana. The fa- 
ther farmed in Iowa until 1890, then engaged in 
raising cattle at Hot Springs, S. D., for a 
year, after which he transferred his interests to 
Weston county, Wyo., and has since had a 
pleasant home on Black Thunder Creek, and 
carrying on an extensive business in sheeprais- 
ing. His wife died in 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Cor- 
nelison have had two children, Meryl, who died 
in infancy on April 23, 1901, and Carol M., who 
was born on February 16, 1902. Mr. Cornel- 
ison is one of the representative men of the 
county, being foremost in every enterprise for 
the improvement of the political, civil, mercan- 
tile and educational condition of the com- 
munity. He is a member of the board of 
county commissioners, elected in November, 
1900, as the candidate of the Republican party. 
Fraternally, he is connected with the Knights 
of Pythias, holding membership in the lodge at 
Newcastle. 

SAMUEL CORSON. 

Samuel Corson, the able, public spirited and 
prominent business man of Cheyenne, Wyo- 
ming, is a native of Scotland, and was born at 
Girvan, on June 16, 1857, being a son of Rev. 
William and Aitcheson (Dobbie) Corson. He 



attended the school of his native town and the 
Dumbarton Academy until he was sixteen years 
of age when he began clerking for the firm of 
John Orr Ewing & Co., cotton^ manufacturers 
at Glasgow, with which firm he remained for 
eight years. He was next with Handasyde, 
Dick & Co., an East India mercantile house, 
with which he remained two years, and then 
came to the United States, in 1883. Having 
been thoroughly trained in business habits and 
knowledge in his native land, Mr. Corson found 
no difficulty in securing a situation in this coun- 
try and was first employed by the Kansas City, 
Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad as a clerk in their 
office in Kansas City, Mo. He did not remain 
in the railroad office long, but resigned his po- 
sition and came to Cheyenne, where he entered 
the employment of the Union Mercantile Co. 
with which concern he has ever since been iden- 
tified as a stockholder and its secretary and 
treasurer. Being a shrewd, all-around business 
man, with a quick eye to perceive business 
openings as they offered themselves and a com- 
prehensive mind capable of grasping financial 
opportunities as rapidly as they were develop- 
ed, it may well be imagined that Mr. Corson is 
a busy man who does not permit the grass to 
grow under his feet. His political career has 
been an elevated as well as a useful one, typical 
of the character of the man. He has served 
three years as a Republican member of the 
Cheyenne city council and one term in 1895, as 
a member of the Wyoming House of Repre- 
sentatives, and as a member of the State Sen- 
ate in the sessions of 1897 and 1899, in both 
bodies making his mark as a wise and judicious 
statesman. In 1900 he was elected county com- 
missioner and was chosen chairman of the 
board, a position he still retains. Fraternally, 
Mr. Corson stands very high. He was "made 
a Mason" in Cheyenne Lodge No. 1, became in 
due course of service its worshipful master and 
later the grand master of the State of Wyo- 
ming, being also a member of Wyoming Chap- 
ter No. 1, Royal Arch Masons, of which or- 
ganization he was high priest for three consec- 
utive terms. He is also a past eminent com- 



3.34 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mander of Wyoming Commandery No. i, 
Knights Templar, is a Mystic Shrinef and has 
attained the Thirty-second degree of Scottish 
Rite Masonry. He was united in marriage at 
Girvan, Scotland, in 1888, with Miss Mary 
Gray and has a family of two children, Wil- 
liam A. and Samuel Corson, Jr. 

DALLAS R. COWHICK. 

The present age is essentially utilitarian and 
the man of action is everywhere in evidence. 
Theories look well on paper and have a 
musical sound when proclaimed from the ros- 
trum, but in the end it is practice that tells and 
it is activity by which social, commercial and 
industrial conditions are to be revolutionized 
and regenerated. The present day demands 
men of brain, as well as brawn, to direct and 
control wiselv and well the varied interests of 
the body politic. That such men are ever ready 
to respond to demands is attested by the re- 
markable advancement along all the lines of 
professional, industrial and commercial activity 
which has marked the recent development of 
our national domain, especially that part pop- 
ularly designated as the Great West. Here the 
evidence of the man of progress, enterprise and 
matchless energy is plainly apparent and it is 
to a consideration of such lives that this volume 
is especially devoted. Among the progressive 
men of Wyoming who have achieved, not only 
financial fortune, but public recognition for 
valuable services rendered the communities in 
which they reside, is the worthy gentleman 
whose biography is herewith submitted. Dai- 
las R. Cowhick is a native of Virginia, born at 
Ralls Mill, on June 20, 1848, the fourth of seven 
children constituting the family of William and 
Elizabeth Cowhick, natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and Ohio. The father was a 
merchant and miller, a man of no small con- 
sequence in the community in which he main- 
tained his home. The early life of Mr. Cow- 
hick was comparatively uneventful. Until the 
age of fourteen he attended the public school of 
his native place and then began working in his 



father's mill, where in due time he became an 
expert in the manufacture of flour. After 
working at this trade about five years under his 
father's direction he went to Bryan, Ohio, 
where for about fifteen years he had charge of 
the largest flouring mill in that part of the 
state. In June, 1880, Mr. Cowhick severed his 
connection with his employers at Bryan and 
went to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he en- 
gaged in the drygoods trade, conducting a large 
establishment with success and financial profit 
until 1898, when he disposed of his business in 
order to enter upon his duties as countv clerk 
and register of deeds to which offices he was 
elected that year. Mr. Cowhick had not been 
long in Cheyenne until he became actively 
identified with the public affairs of Laramie 
county as one of the leading Republican pol- 
iticians of this part of the state. It was par- 
tially in recognition of his sendees to the party, 
but more on account of his peculiar fitness for 
the position, that he was nominated and tri- 
umphantly elected to the county clerkship, the 
duties of which he discharged in a manner 
highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to 
the public until 1900, when he was reelected 
his own successor. His official record is with- 
out a blemish and as a public spirited man. 
deeply interested in whatever tends to benefit 
his city and county in a material way. he is 
easily a peer of any of his fellow citizens. In 
addition to the functions of his office Mr. Cow- 
hick has been intrusted with other responsible 
positions, among- which is that of treasurer of 
the local school board. In this capacity there 
pass through his hands every year about S30.- 
000 of school funds, in the proper distribution 
of which he has been most careful and exact, 
thus rendering an invaluable service to the edu- 
cational system of the district. To say that 
Mr. Cowhick is one of Laramit county's best 
and most representative citizens is small praise 
indeed. But words were never more fitly 
spoken than these and the statement will meet 
with unqualified endorsement by a wide circle 
of personal and business acquaintances and by 
the people of the county generally. A strong 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



335 



man of affairs; of pronounced ability and scru- 
pulous integrity, he has within a comparatively 
short time won for himself a place second to 
that of no other citizen of the county, to the 
good of which he has devoted some of the best 
years of his life. Mr. Cowhick has not only 
been interested in business and official affairs, 
but he has encouraged every enterprise for the 
social, intellectual and moral advancement of 
the community. He is an active member of the 
Methodist church of Cheyenne and for some 
years past has been the efficient superintendent 
of the Sunday-school. His religion is that broad 
and catholic spirit that refuses to be confined 
by denominational lines, consequently he is a 
friend of all churches and to the limit of his 
ability ministers to their prosperity. He holds 
fraternal relations with the Masonic order and 
Woodmen of the World, being a leading work- 
er in both organizations. He was married in 
1873 to Miss Mary F. Over, of Ohio, a union 
that has resulted in the birth of one son and 
two daughters, namely : Ora, Lariie and Glenn. 
The last named was for three years private sec- 
retary of Senator Warren at Washington City 
and is now taking a law cours; in Columbia 
College. He is a young man of strong men- 
tality and superior educational discipline and 
gives every promise of a useful and distinguished 
career. 

MRS. AGNES HEWITT. 

' All honor and reverence is due and is most 
heartily given to those courageous women who, 
daring all of the uncounted dangers of the West- 
in pioneer days, sacrificed the delights, comforts 
and amenities of life in the established commu- 
nities of long years of settlement, to aid in found- 
ing the new nations which have arisen in the 
Rocky Mountain region and the Pacific Slope. 
Of this number, no one is held in higher esteem 
or has done her part more bravely in the great 
contest between civilization and barbarism, than 
the admirable lady whose name heads this re- 
view, and who is now the truly hospitable 
hostess of the unique Harvey Hotel, at Mount- 



ain View, Wyo. It is with great pleasure that 
we herewith transcribe a very brief synopsis of 
her eventful life for the perusal of, coming 
generations and the present gratification of her 
numerous friends. Mrs. Agnes Hewitt was 
born near Wigdon, Scotland, on April 22, 1837, 
a daughter of Robert and Mary (McGill) Mc- 
Culloch both descended from families identified 
with Scottish history from time immemorial. The 
family was a prominent one, entitled to bear 
arms, and owning vast estates in past generations. 
The great-grandfather of Mrs. Hewitt, Robert 
McCulloch, was a sea-captain and his son, Peter, 
who married a Mary Brown, was a well-to-do 
farmer on his own land. Her father, a farmer, 
emigrated from his native land in 1865 and lo- 
cating in Montgomery county, Iowa, both par- 
ents resided there until their deaths, and they 
now await the resurrection in the little cemetery 
at Villisca. They were zealous Presbyterians, 
bringing up their children in the fear of the Lord. 
There were eight of these, and the five now liv- 
ing, met in reunion at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1900. 
Mrs. Hewitt acquired a solid education in the 
Scottish and English schools and came to the 
United States in 1855, where her first residence 
was made for three years in Connecticut. Here 
she met and married with her old schoolmate and 
quondam sweetheart in Scotland, William Har- 
vey, he being a son of James and Isabel Harvey, 
natives of County Wigton, the family having em- 
igrated thence in 185 1, locating in Rye, N. Y., 
where the father's death early occurred. Mr. 
Harvey was a contractor on the New York and 
New Haven Railroad, and in the fall of 1857 
he and his wife removed to Iowa and engaged 
in agriculture, where was the family home until 
the death of Mr. Harvey at Muscatine, on Octo- 
ber 23, 1873, at the age of thirty-three years. He 
left four children, Robert B., William H., George 
P. and Isabel J., now the wife of Archie Marches- 
sault, all married and living near their mother. 
On March 23, 1878, Mrs. Harvey contracted a 
second marriage with Avery C. Hewitt, a native 
of Virginia of old Colonial stock, his mother's 
■familv, the Averys, being among the first settlers 
of Massachusetts, and founders of the Connect!- 



336 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



cut colony, while Hon. Abram Hewitt, of New 
York, was a cousin. They continued farming 
operations in Iowa until Mr. Hewitt's death in 
1883, and in 1884 his courageous widow and 
family took up their westward march of hun- 
dreds of miles, over the dreary plains to Wyo- 
ming, she locating here 160 acres when the res- 
ervation was thrown open for settlement, being 
extremely fortunate in her choice as she has 
since sold much of it for townsite purposes, 
reserving, however, forty-two acres and two town 
lots for herself. By her second marriage she 
had one child, Ethel M., now Mrs. R. R. Ham- 
ilton of Smith's Fork, Wyo. Mrs. Hewitt has 
been a veritable mother in Israel all through 
her life. She has reared her children loyally 
and well, living to see them occupy responsible 
and creditable positions in society and in inde- 
pendent financial circumstances. To the weary 
"stranger within her gates" she has ever ex- 
tended a mother's kindness, and no one is more 
beloved or cherished than she in a large extent 
of country. That the autumn of her life may 
pass pleasantly and happily is the hearty wish 
of her numerous friends. 

HON. GEORGE W. CRESYYELL, M. D. 

The most successful and still rising young 
physician and surgeon of Buffalo, Johnson 
county, Wyoming, is George W. Creswell, M. 
D., who was born in Randolph, McLean county, 
111., on January 25, 1871, a son of William and 
Elizabeth (Thompson) Creswell, natives of 
Londonderry, Ireland, and the state of Virginia. 
William Creswell, the grandfather of Doctor 
George W., was the first of this family to come 
to America ; he settled in Quebec, Canada, 
where he passed the remainder of his life, his 
widow and her family subsequently removing 
to Illinois. William Creswell, the father, has 
long been engaged in the stock business, in 
which he has had experiencee in various states, 
being at present located in Crook county, Wyo., 
where he owns an extensive ranch and is 
still engaged in the cattle trade. Dr. George 
W. Creswell acquired his elementary education 



in the public schools of Bloomington, 111., and 
when fully prepared entered the Commercial 
College in the same city, from which he was 
graduated in 1891. Being thus well grounded 
in the principles and practices of business life, 
he entered the Northern Indiana University in 
the same year, took a full four years' course and 
was graduated from the medical department in 
1894. ■ He then entered Rush Medical College 
in Chicago, where he was graduated with hon- 
ors and at once entered upon the active prac- 
tice of his chosen profession in the commercial 
metropolis of the Prairie State, and for one 
year met with very flattering success. In the fall 
of 1898 Doctor Creswell, believing that the less 
crowded professional fields of the Far West 
offered inducements superior to those afforded 
in the densely populated cities of the East, 
where physicians "most do congregate," came 
to Buffalo, Wyo., to try his fortunes and here 
his success has been so satisfactory that he 
has seen no cause or reason to regret his de- 
cision, as his medical talents has been fully rec- 
ognized and his professional ability appreciated 
to the extent that unvarying success invariably 
enforces upon the general public or onlooking 
laymen. In 1901, Doctor Creswell took up an 
academic course of study in the postgraduate 
college of New York, thus adding to the med- 
ical erudition and experience he had acquired 
by his previous study and practice, which has 
been and still is of a general character. In 
politics Doctor Creswell is very active in his par- 
ty's counsels and extremely popular with its rank 
and file, as well as with his fellow citizens gen- 
erally. In rgoo he was elected to represent his 
district in the State Legislature of Wyoming 
and in 1901 was elected mayor of Buffalo, in 
both of which offices he gave unqualified satis- 
faction, as he performed their various duties 
with the tact of a practiced veteran. Doctor Cres- 
well was most happily joined in matrimony on 
January 19, 1902. with Miss June J. Holloway. 
of Buffalo, Wyo., a daughter of the late Henry 
Holloway, of Buffalo, Wyo. Doctor CresweTs 
outdoor practice extends all over Johnson 
countv, in addition to which his office practice 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



337 



is reaching- very extensive proportions. In ad- 
dition to the handsome income derived from 
this practice, the Doctor has a source of profit 
from a stock ranch in Crook county, m which 
he has a large interest. The Doctor takes a 
lively interest in the prosperity of his town and 
county and the progress of the state is to 
him a matter of commendable pride, and the 
result of his patriotism is that he has reached 
the very apex of public esteem. 

W. W. CROOK, M. D. 

No occupation among men brings more re- 
lief from human suffering, greater or more 
timely help in the hour of need, or more effec- 
tual solace in sorrow than that of the medical 
profession. And when its practitioner has ac- 
quired a thorough knowledge of the science by 
close and diligent study, and fortified that by 
intelligent observation and a large and accurate 
knowledge of human nature gained through 
mingling with men, he is indeed a public ben- 
efactor. And such is presented for the contem- 
plation of the readers of this work in the life 
story of Dr. W. W. Crook, of Cheyenne, who, 
thrown on his own resources early in life, 
learned self-reliance and knowledge of others 
and was strengthened for the later battles of 
his calling through the efforts then made for 
advancement. He was born at tne little rural 
village of Spillman's store, in Madison county, 
Ky., on October 20, 1836. Until he was twelve 
years of age the family continued to live at 
his birth-place, and then, by the laborious but 
inspiriting process of an overland journey with 
teams, removed to Buchanan county, Mo., 
and there he remained at home, attending 
school in the country as he had opportunity 
and assisting on the homestead as he was 
needed. In 1855 he began life's work for him- 
self, and in 1857 taught school at Easton, Kan., 
for five months, as a stepping stone to a 
higher place in the world than he then had. 
At the end of his tenure there he went to Chil- 
licothe, Mo., and after a thorough examina- 
tion secured a first-class certificate as a teacher 



and during the next three years he taught in 
the schools of Livingston county, Mo., at the 
same time making diligent use of his oppor- 
tunities for the study of medicine, although left 
in # this matter almost wholly to his own course. 
In the spring of 1861 he returned to Kansas 
for the purpose of prosecuting his medical 
studies, but the pressing need of ready re- 
sources made his progress slow and difficult, 
bringing him face to face with many unexpected 
dilemmas in his efforts. His resolute spirit and 
determined perseverance, however, triumphed 
over every obstacle, and in July of that year he 
settled at Council Grove, Kansas, "hung out 
his sign" and began the practice of medicine 
and surgery. His success was immediate and 
considerable, both in acquiring patients and in 
treating them, for his reputation was s'oon es- 
tablished as a skillful and progressive practi- 
tioner, the financial returns were of gratifying 
and helpful measure, and four years later he 
was able to pursue a regular course in medicine 
and surgery at the University of Iowa, then lo- 
cated at Keokuk, and was graduated from that 
institution with credit. The next ten years were 
passed in an active and representative medical 
practice at Doniphan, Kan., and in 1875 the 
Doctor removed his family to Wyoming, where 
he has since lived, settling at Cheyenne in 1877. 
Here he has grown into popular favor as a 
physician, ministering to the wants of a large 
and characteristic body of patients, and has be- 
come well established in public esteem a-s a 
citizen and a social factor. He is an active and 
zealous member of the American Medical As- 
sociation and at this writing (1902) the president 
of the Laramie County Medical Society, the lead- 
ing organization in the state in his profession. 
He is also a clear and forcible writer on pro- 
fessional topics and has contributed many in- 
teresting and instructive articles to the medical 
magazines and journals. On May 25, 1864, Doc- 
tor Crook was united in marriage with Miss Mi- 
randa H. Kirby, of Louisville, Ky. They have 
had six children, but all have died except the 
oldest daughter, Fannie Crook, now the wife 
of Dr. O. K. Snvder, of Cheyenne. In the local 






338 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



civil affairs of the community in which he lived 
the Doctor has always manifested an intelli- 
gent and influential interest, although not a 
partisan or office-seeker. He was elected the 
mayor of Doniphan, Kan., in 1870, and gaye 
the town a model administration. While hold- 
ing no official station since his arrival in Wyo- 
ming, he has been a factor of substantial ben- 
efit in the development and progress of his 
home city and county. 

HON. JAMES M. NEWMAN. 

One of the most popular men in Laramie 
county is James M. Newman, who is one of 
the county commissioners of Laramie county 
and whose residence is in the city of Cheyenne. 
He is one of the most progressive and enter- 
prising of the business men of that city. He is 
a native of the state of Wisconsin, born at 
Juda, in Green county, on January 25, 1854, the 
son of Jefferson J. and Lydia S. (Chadwick) 
Newman, both natives of Pennsylvania. His 
father long successfully followed the occupa- 
tion of farming and is now retired from active 
business pursuits, enjoying the ease and com- 
fort earned by his many years of industry and 
activity. Hon. James M. Newman, trie eldest 
of a family of eleven children, grew to manhood 
in his native state and received his early edu- 
cation in the district schools in the vicinity of 
his boyhood's home. When he had attained 
to the age of eighteen years he entered the 
Sellsby Business College of Janesville, Wis., 
and pursued a thorough course of business 
training at that noted institution, being grad- 
uated therefrom at the age of twenty-one years. 
When he had completed his education, he re- 
turned to his home in Green county and as- 
sisted his father in the work and management 
of the farm for about three years, then in 
March, 1879, having resolved to seek his for- 
tune in the country farther west, he came to 
the then territory of Wyoming and here ob- 
tained employment on the stock ranch of his 
uncle, James M. Chadwick, in Laramie county, 
and remaining there, acquired a thorough knowl- 



edge of the business there successfully con- 
ducted in two years. At the end of that time, 
he engaged in the feeding and sale of live stock, 
in which he continued with varying success 
for a number of years ; in 1889, he branched 
out into a real-estate, live stock and commission 
business, and continued thus employed for 
about two years, meeting with considerable 
success. In 1891 he disposed of his real-estate 
and commission business and purchased a livery 
stable, which he conducted for a number of 
years. Disposing of his stable to advantage, 
he formed a partnership with John P. Shafer 
and entered into the business of dairy farming, 
in which he is still largely interested. In this 
venture they have been very successful, and Mr. 
Newell is now counted among the solid busi- 
ness men and substantial property owners of 
Cheyenne. In addition to his dairy-farm prop- 
erty, he is the owner of valuable real-estate in 
and about Cheyenne, and is also largely in- 
terested in productive mining property in other 
sections of the state. In 1883 Mr. Newman 
was married in Wisconsin with Miss Clara E. 
LaBoard, a daughter of Peter and Phoebe La- 
Board, well-known citizens of that state and 
to this union has been born one child. Cecil 
Ray, a bright and promising young man, who 
gives promise of being a worthy successor of 
his father. The Newman home is noted for 
the genial and generous hospitality which they 
take pleasure in dispensing to their large circle 
of friends and acquaintances. Fraternally Mr. 
Newman is affiliated with the Masonic order, 
being a member of Cheyenne Lodge. A. F. & 
A. M., and a Thirty-second degree Mason of 
the Scottish Rite. lie is also a member of the 
Woodmen of the World and of the Ancient 
Order of the United Workmen, and takes an 
active interest in the fraternal and charitable 
life of the community. He is an active mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, foremost in all re- 
ligious and other work calculated to be of 
benefit to the people of his neighborhood. He 
is a stanch adherent of the Republican political 
party and an eloquent advocate of the principles 
of that organization, being one of its ablest 



i 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



339 



and most trusted leaders in Laramie county. 
In 1900 he was nominated and elected as a 
member of the board of county commissioners, 
and is now serving in that capacity. He has 
made a faithful and conscientious public official, 
discharging the duties of his responsible posi- 
tion in a manner creditable to himself and 
•highly satisfactory to the people and taxpayers 
of the county. He is held in high esteem by 
all classes of his fellow citizens, irrespective of 
party affiliations, and no man in the county has 
a larger following of warm personal friends and 
admirers. It is a remark often heard in Lara- 
mie count)- that further honors are in store 
for him, of which he is well worthy. 

JOSEPH DEAN. 

For long g-enerations has the trade of cot- 
ton spinning been handed down as an industry 
in certain families located in County Cheshire, 
one of the northwestern counties of England. 
Long established in this locality and intimately 
connected with this industry, has been the Dean 
family, of which Joseph Dean, the popular ho- 
tel proprietor and postmaster of Spring Valley, 
Uinta county, Wyoming, is the sole American 
representative. His parents were John and La- 
vina (Oldfield) Dean and his birth occurred in 
Cheshire, England, on March 21, 1854, and he 
was the youngest of three children. Orphaned 
by the death of both of his parents when he was 
a lad of about three or four years of age, he 
was reared by and made his home with his 
aunt, Harriet Oldfield, until his marriage in 
1875. Devoting all that could be spared of the 
early years of his life to diligent attendance at 
the government schools of Cheshire, where he 
acquired a good practical education, he then 
became connected with the carding department 
of a cotton mill, with whose operation he was 
connected for about eight years and until his 
emigration to America, which occurred in 1881. 
His first American home was at Garden City, 
Rich county, Utah, where he was engaged in 
agricultural operations for four years, remov- 
ing then to Alma," where he was employed 



around the mines for the same period of time. 
He then was placed in charge of the mining 
company's stock, holding this responsible po- 
sition until the fall of 1901, when he resigned 
of the hotel at Spring Valley, receiving also 
the appointment of postmaster of the Spring 
Valley postoffice in April, 1901. In conducting 
his hotel, as in all other labors that he has un- 
dertaken, he has spared no pains to place his 
business upon a high foundation and in this he 
has notably succeeded, having attained a high 
reputation as a genial landlord and a pleasant 
host which has gone out over a wide extent of 
country and has brought him a profitable pat- 
ronage. Mr. Dean was married in England on 
May 22, 1875, to Miss Mary J. Ingham, a 
daughter of Alfred and Margaret (Dow) Ing- 
ham. Her father, a native of England, was a 
son of John and Mary Ingham, and was a sta- 
tionary engineer, at which trade he passed many 
years. Her mother was born in Ireland and 
Mrs. Dean was the eldest of their family of nine 
children, two boys and seven girls, of which 
three of the children came to the United States. 
Her father died in England in 1894 at the age 
of sixty-six years, while her mother is still re- 
siding there at the age of seventy-seven. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Dean have been born ten chil- 
dren, their names in consecutive order of birth 
being : Alfred, died in England at the age of 
three years and three months ; Lavinia ; John 
I. ; Joseph ; Margaret E. ; James D. ; Edith V. ; 
Effie E., died in Alma at the age of eight years 
and two months ; Myrtle I. ; Hugh E. There 
are no more devoted adherents to the Church 
of Latter Day Saints than are the worthy sub- 
ject of this sketch and his family. He has in 
every way manifested a devout character and 
strong religious principles and these, united to 
marked executive business ability, has caused 
him to be elevated to the high office of bishop 
of his local church. In social relations and in 
the home circle Mr. Dean is a most genial com- 
panion, himself and wife dispensing a graceful 
and bounteous hospitality to the many numer- 
ous friends who esteem and honor both of 
these worthy people for their many winning 



340 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



traits of character. Fraternally, Mr. Dean is a 
valued member of the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, with which brotherhood he is affil- 
iated at Spring Valley and in which he has held 
the office of master workman. Mr. Dean has 
always takes a prominent part in public and 
educational affairs, and, while actively engaged 
in the management of his business interests, he 
has never shirked from the duties of citizen- 
ship and has often been entrusted with matters 
of great importance and official place and re- 
sponsibility, where the possession of true honesty 
and integrity was demanded, and in it he has 
never been found wanting. He is a very stanch 
supporter of the political doctrines ever incul- 
cated by the Republican party and has always 
been a strong defender of its principles, pol- 
icies and candidates, laboring with earnestness 
for its success in its campaigns and elections. 
When in the fullness of time the historian shall 
gather in the name of those who in their sep- 
arate spheres of life have wrought with earnest- 
ness successfully and well in the building up of 
a high moral and religious culture in this por- 
tion of the great American Republic, not low- 
est nor least in its importance will be the name 
of the venerable gentleman whose life we have 
just reviewed. He has a large concourse of 
friends who appreciate him for his sterling- 
worth, his ability and his numerous personal 
traits of high order. Conspicuous among these 
qualities, however, must be noted his devo- 
tion to his family and the care which he has 
given and is still giving to the rearing of his 
children to become useful and valuable citizens, 
being honored and reverenced by all. 

FRANK DENEBRINK, M. D. 

This eminent and prosperous young phy- 
sician and surgeon is a native of Wapello 
county, Iowa, and is now a resident of Sher- 
idan, Wyoming, where he has built up an ex- 
tensive and lucrative practice, being recognized 
as one of the most capable medical men of his 
years in the county and state. He was born on 
April 3, 1864, a son of Frank and Theressa 



Denebrink, natives of Westphalia, in Prussia, 
whence his paternal grandfather accompanied 
Napoleon on his disastrous expedition to Mos- 
cow, Russia, as a member of the Westphalian 
contingent of the French emperor's army and 
was one of the very few who returned ; later 
he became a member of the Prussian army un- 
der Blucher, to expel Napoleon from Prussian 
soil, being among the first to reach the field 
of Waterloo, while still later he served for a 
number of years in the Alexander regiment, the 
pride of Berlin. Frank Denebrink, father of 
the Doctor, was also a military man and served 
about fifteen years in the Prussian army, hold- 
ing the rank of captain. In 1861 he came to 
America on a furlough to improve himself in 
military science and tactics by making personal 
observation of the methods used in the Civil 
War then in progress, and was attached to Gen- 
eral Hancock's division. The American gen- 
eral became warmly attached to the Prussian 
captain, and Doctor Denebrink kas now in his 
possession a number of friendly letters the father 
received from General Hancock. Captain Den- 
ebrink eventually resigned his commission in 
the Prussian army and was appointed to an 
equally high rank in the Union army of Amer- 
ica and took an active and conspicuous part in 
all of the battles in which his company was 
engaged up to and including the battle of Get- 
tysburg. After the close of the war. Captain 
Denebrink settled in Iowa and engaged ex- 
tensively in farming until called away by death 
in 1879. Doctor Denebrink received his elemen- 
tary education in Iowa, and after due additional 
preparation was admitted to Prairie du Chien, 
(Wis.) College, where he took a full classical 
course of six years and was graduated in 1884; 
he then passed six months in study at the Wis- 
consin State University at Madison, and then 
went abroad to finish his medical studies, which 
he had already begun in America. He was 
graduated from the medical department of the 
University of Munich, Bavaria, in July. 1891, 
and almost immediately returned to America. 
Here he accepted the position of medical ex- 
aminer for the Burlington Railroad Co., which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



34i 






position he held until 1896, in the meantime 
being stationed at various points. The Doctor 
then came to Wyoming and settled in Sheridan, 
where he now stands at the head Of his pro- 
fession, having an extensive practice with the 
best class of citizens. His methods of treat- 
ment are well abreast of the times, as he is 
thoroughly posted in all modern discoveries in 
hygiene, chemistry, electricity, etc., keeping 
himself familiar through the best medical litera- 
ture of the day with the experimental practice 
of the leaders in the sciences, who are contin- 
uously seeking new processes for the ameliora- 
tion of pain and the more rapid bringing about • 
of permanent cures. The Doctor is medical ex- 
aminer for the New York Life Insurance Co., 
The Mutual Life Insurance Co., of New York, 
The Union Mutual Life Insurance Co., the 
Washington Life, The Northwestern Mutual 
Life of Milwaukee, also of the Etna and 
other insurance companies and his offices are 
among the finest and best fitted up of any in 
the city. Fraternally, the Doctor is a master 
Mason and a Knight of Pythias, and politically 
he is a Democrat. Doctor Denebrink was united 
in marriage in November, 1896, with Miss 
Myrtle Compton, of Spearfish, S. Dak., a de- 
scendant of one of the first families of Vir- 
ginia, while her grandfather was one of the 
earliest settlers of St. Joseph, Mo., where he 
owned a large estate. Two children have 
blessed the marriage of the Doctor and his 
wife and are named Francis and Gerald. 

SAMUEL DICKEY. 

An ex-sheriff and a prominent and worthy 
citizen of Evanston, Wyoming, and the young- 
est child of John and Margaret (Rutherford) 
Dickey, of Oxford, Pa., Samuel Dickey de- 
serves more than a mere mention in this work. 
His father was born in York, Pa., and lived 
there until Samuel was eight years old, being a 
butcher by trade. In 1854 he left Pennsylva- 
nia and went to St. Louis, Mo., and after va- 
rious changes finally located at Webster Grove 
and followed his business there as a butcher 



until his death in 1874 at the age of sixty. He 
was a Democrat in politics, a member of the 
Presbyterian church, a generous man and a kind 
father. His wife was a native of Ireland, born 
in 1814, who was brought when young to Ches- 
ter county, Pa., by her parents and here she 
married and became the mother of nine chil- 
dren, dying at the early age of thirty-six, be- 
ing a devoted member of the Presbyterian 
church. Samuel Dickey was born in 1847 at 
Oxford, Chester county, Pa. He got his early 
education in the schools of Missouri and in 
1863 he returned to Pennsylvania and enlisted 
in Co. F, Fifth Penn. Cavalry, serving in the 
Civil War until May 20, 1865, when he was 
mustered out at Richmond, Ya. He then re- 
turned to Missouri and again attended school 
for a short time until he went into the butcher 
business at Kirkwood, Mo., in which he re- 
mained until 1871, after which he came west 
to Fort Bridger, Wyo., where he was employed 
by Judge W. A. Carter, until 1874, when he 
came to Evanston and entered the employ of 
Crawford & Thompson, wholesale meat deal- 
ers, remaining in the meat business until ap- 
pointed deputy sheriff under Sheriff Pepper in 
1877, .serving four years as deputy under 
Sheriff Pepper, he was then himself elected 
sheriff in 1881 and served one term and he was 
also during this time and for eight years a 
deputy L T . S. marshal. At the expiration of 
his term as sheriff he went into the Union Pa- 
cific's office at Green River as a clerk for six 
months, when he returned to Evanston and 
went into the employment of the Neponce Land 
and Live Stock Co. After this he served the 
city of Evanston as marshal and then returned 
to clerking in the freight office of the Union 
Pacific here in 1890 and remained at it ever 
since, and in 1900 he was promoted to agent 
of the same road at Evanston. Mr. Dickey has 
always been an efficient officer, giving his best 
efforts to the work of his office. His interest in 
public affairs has been marked ; and he is an ex- 
tremely popular man with his acquaintances 
and constituents. He has been a member of 
the governor's staff as an aide under Governor 



342 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Barber, Ex-Governor Richards and" the late 
Governor Richards, being also chief clerk of 
the State Senate in 1899. He is a member of 
the Wyoming Consistory, A. A. S. R. of the 
Masonic fraternity and belongs also to the Mac- 
cabees. Mr. Dickey was married in 1867 at Web- 
ster Grove, Mo., to Emma Kalffus, a native of 
Baltimore, Md., a daughter of William and Su- 
san (Chandler) Kalffus; and five children have 
blessed the union : Mary, Lillian, Clara M., 
Robert and Samuel. Robert died in 1888 and 
Samuel in 1898. 

MAURICE P. DINNEEN. 

At one time the proprietor of the largest 
grocery house in the city of Cheyenne, Wyo- 
ming, which he conducted in partnership with 
an elder brother, William E. Dinneen, Maurice 
P. Dinneen, now deceased, was one of the most 
popular business men of the city as well as a 
highly esteemed citizen. He was born on August 
25, 1868, in Newman, Jefferson county, Kan., 
being a son of Maurice and Margaret Dinneen, 
natives of Ireland and the parents of four chil- 
dren, of whom Maurice P. was the youngest. 
He was educated in the public schools of Kan- 
sas and of Cheyenne, Wyo., to which city the 
family came in 1879, where the father at once en- 
gaged in stockraising in the vicinity. When 
the son, Maurice, had attained the age of 
eighteen years he relinquished school attend- 
ance and joined his father on the ranch, and five 
years later the family returned to Kansas, 
where Maurice P. again lived for three years, 
in 1889 coming back to Cheyenne, where with 
his brother, William E., he opened a small 
grocery in 1890. But their patronage rapidly 
increased (and they may be said to have done 
a thriving trade from the start) until the 
death of Maurice P., which occurred on March 
24, 1901, at which time they were doing the 
largest business in their line of any firm in 
Cheyenne, or even in the state, and since his 
lamented death the business has been prosper- 
ously continued by William E. Dinneen. In 
politics Maurice P. Dinneen was a stanch Dem- 



ocrat, and extremely popular with his party as 
well as with the general public. He was once 
nominated on the Democratic ticket for repre- 
sentative of his district in the state legislature, 
but with the rest of the ticket he was defeated 
by a small majority. He was president of the Jef- 
ferson Club and wielded a vast influence over 
the Democratic ranks of Cheyenne, and if his 
life had been prolonged he would surely have 
attained the high position for which he had 
once been nominated. In religion Mr. Dinneen 
was a devout and faithful member of the Ro- 
man Catholic church and affiliated with a num- 
ber of its socialities, chief among them was the 
order of the Catholic Knights of America, of 
the local branch of Avhich he was the president. 
He greatly enjoyed athletic sports and exer- 
cises of all kinds and as long as his health 
would permit he practiced them and for many 
seasons he was manager of the local base-ball 
club, being himself an expert player. In the 
social circles of Cheyenne he was ever a prom- 
inent figure, and his many virtues made him as 
popular in these as his paramount business 
qualifications did in mercantile affairs. His loss 
to the community is irreparable and is deeply 
mourned by his late fellow citizens, regardless 
of nationality, politics or religion. 

WILLIAM E. DINNEEN. 

An elder brother of the late Maurice P. 
Dinneen, whose life-record is made in the pre- 
ceding sketch, and in which the family geneal- 
ogy is given, William E. Dinneen was born in 
Kansas on March 11, 1861, the second of the 
four children that blessed th^ matrimonial 
connection of Maurice and Margaret (Williams) 
Dinneen. He attended the public schools of 
Kansas until he reached the age of eighteen 
years, when in 1879, he came with the family to 
Cheyenne, Wyo., and was employed here by the 
Pacific Express Co., for about four years, after 
which he engaged in the grocery business in 
partnership with his brother, Maurice P. Din- 
neen. This grocery trade soon afterward at- 
tained mammoth proportions, being now the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OE WYOMING. 



343 



most extensive in its line, not only in Cheyenne 
but in the state. The marriage of Mr. Din- 
neen was solemnized' in 1890, in Cheyenne, with 
Miss Katie Tiereny, this union being now 
blessed with five children, born in the follow- 
ing order: Roy, Maurice, Margaret, Willie and 
Annie. In religious thought the family are 
devout Catholics, in politics Mr. Dinneen is a 
sound Democrat, while fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of the Woodmen of the World and the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Socially 
Mr. Dinneen and wife mingle with the best 
circles of Cheyenne and the many amiable qual- 
ities and generous impulses of the parents are 
matters of unreserved laudation. In the fall 
of 1901 Mr. Dinneen purchased the livery busi- 
ness of J. M. Newman, one of the most ex- 
tensive in the state, consisting of two livery 
barns and one feed stable, having up-to-date 
turnouts and other first-class properties, which 
the traveling public appreciates. 

HON. E. R. DINWIDDIE. 

Hon. E. R. Dinwiddie, who represents Sher- 
idan county in the State Senate, is one of those 
substantial business men of Wyoming who give 
force and direction to the various productive 
activities of the state, and show forth in their 
manhood and achievements the fiber of which 
her people are made. He was born in Indiana 
on April 13, 1862, and on the soil of that great 
state he grew to man's estate and in her ex- 
cellent public schools he received his scholastic 
education which has been deepened, broadened 
and made practical by varied and interesting 
experiences among men. In 1883 he came to 
Wyoming and located a homestead, now a por- 
tion of his beautiful home on Tongue River, 
one mile south of Dayton. The ranch com- 
prises 1,400 acres, and he has in addition a large 
amount of leased land which furnishes abund- 
ant pasture, food and range for the large herd 
of high-grade cattle which he has on it, consist- 
ing of some 500 head, giving ample scope for 
the pleasant exercise of the faculties of his act- 
ive and resourceful mind, but the business is 



now so systematized as to relieve him from un- 
due attention to its details. He thus has free- 
dom and opportunity to devote his energies to 
other industries with which he is largely con- 
nected and to public affairs, in which he has 
always been deeply and studiously interested. 
His services to his party have been valuable 
and unremitting from his early manhood and 
have made him its leader in his county and po- 
tential in its councils in the state. He is a Re- 
publican and in 1892 was a delegate to the Na- 
tional Republican Convention. In 1900 he was 
elected to the lower house of the State Legis- 
lature, and at the end of his term, in 1902, was 
enthusiastically chosen to the State Senate. In 
the lower house his services to his constit- 
uency were valuable and conspicuous, for he ever 
met the requirements of his office with lofty 
integrity and manliness, exhibited in the dis- 
charge of its duties a knowledge, readiness and 
resourcefulness which fully gratified, but did not 
surprise his political friends, and compelling the 
admiration of his opponents. His record there 
gives earnest of what may be expected in the 
more exalted position to which he has attained. 
Senator Dinwiddie is identified in a leading way 
with almost every institution of usefulness in 
the community and in all he is an earnest and 
intelligent worker, counting no sacrifice of his 
personal interests where the general welfare is 
at stake. He was married at Sheridan in De- 
cember, 1893, to Miss Fanny L. Fulmen, a na- 
tive of Nebraska. They have one child, their 
daughter. Georgia. 

WILLIAM H. DODD. 

The genial and accommodating manager of 
the Antlers' Hotel at Newcastle is justly en- 
titled to the cordial regard of the traveling pub- 
lic and the high esteem of the .business world 
which he enjoys. He is essentially the archi- 
tect of his own fortune and in the struggle for 
supremacy has well learned the complicated 
structure known as human nature, his education 
being not so much the teachings of the schools 
as the development which comes from contact 



344 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



with real difficulties and the lessons taught in 
the hard but effective school of experience. He 
was born on April 16, 1863, at Stratford, On- 
tario, the son of Robert Fulton and Isabella 
(Sanderson) Dodd, of Scotch and Irish nativ- 
ity, respectively, who emigrated to Canada 
soon after their marriage and located near Gait, 
in the province of Ontario. The father was 
an expert cooper and followed the craft he had 
so successfully learned all his days, dying at 
Stratford on January 7, 1874. His widow sur- 
vived him fifteen years and died in Toronto in 
1889. Their family consisted of five sons and 
two daughters, William being the very youngest. 
He was limited in his attendance at school by 
the death of his father and when he was thir- 
teen years old was obliged to go to work as a 
packer in a flouring mill at one cent a barrel for 
his labor, which was also arduous and confining, 
but enabled him to earn about a dollar in a 
day of fifteen hours. In the fall of 1877 he went 
to Hastings, Neb., joining an older brother who 
was in business there, and during his residence 
at that place he was never without employment, 
being for a portion of the time an assistant in 
the office of the county clerk. In the spring of 
1885 he removed to Indianola, in that state, to 
accept a place as deputy county clerk and ab- 
stractor of titles, and on December 1, 1886, he 
went from there to Aurora as abstractor of 
titles in the employ of the Aurora Abstract & 
Investment Co., and after serving that company 
faithfully for six years he was deputy county 
clerk for two years. In February, 1896, he re- 
moved to Cambria, Wyo., and took charge of 
what was known as the Club House which he 
still conducts, and in August, 1902, in company 
with Meyer and August Frank, purchased the 
Antlers Hotel and organized the Antlers Hotel 
Co., which was incorporated with Mr. Dodd • 
as manager, a position which he acceptably 
filled from that time to the present. The Ant- 
lers is a first-class hostelry, equipped with mod-' 
ern devices for the comfort and welfare of its 
guests. It contains fifty well furnished rooms, 
is heated by steam and lighted by electricity, 
and is conducted with every consideration for 



the proper entertainment of those who find 
shelter beneath its roof. The building is of 
brick, two stories high with a basement under 
its ground floor, having ample sample rooms 
and good stabling attached. Being the leading 
hotel within a radius of many miles, it is very 
popular as a resort for all classes of proper 
people. Stately men and lofty ladies have trod 
its halls, the commercial tourist has been 
warmly welcomed to its comforts and repose, 
the business conference, the political caucus, 
the professional inquiry, shunning the sunlight 
of publicity, have found shelter within its walls, 
and "moist, merry men have used it for their 
mirth when they were festive." The enterprise 
lacks no personal attention from its genial and 
capable head, but his mind is of such a char- 
acter that no one interest can engage its full 
force, and he is accordingly connected with many 
other industries in a leading way. He or- 
ganized the Cambria Live Stock Co., in De- 
cember, 1898, and has been president of the 
corporation since its organization. It has a 
capital stock of $40,000 and does an. extensive 
business throughout a large scope of country. 
Mr. Dodd has also a deep and serviceable in- 
terest in public local affairs, having been the 
president of the school board during the last 
six years, in that position being of estimable 
service to the educational forces of the town. 
Every enterprise of value in which the welfare 
and advancement of the community are in- 
volved has his warm and helpful support. Fra- 
ternally, he is now connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America, the United Workmen 
and the Knights of Pythias. He was grand 
prelate of the last named in 1901 and has taken 
an active interest in all. ' On July 12, 1885, at 
Hastings, Nebraska, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Jennie G. Aken, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and daughter of Lewis and Elvira (El- 
lis) Aken, the former born and reared in that 
state and the latter in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. 
Dodd have had five children, of whom the only 
one living is their son, Frank Eugene. Those 
deceased are Arthur, Gertrude, Harriet and 
Fulton. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



345 



WILLIAM DOLAN. 

Among- the earliest of the pioneers of Wyo- 
ming, and among the most successful, also, was 
William Dolan, now deceased, but formerly a 
leading citizen of Pine Bluffs. A native of Ire- 
land, he was born in County Kildare, on March 
4, 1825, the son of Martin and Annie (Dunn) 
Dolan, both natives of the same country, where 
they lived until their deaths. William Dolan 
grew to man's estate in County Kildare, and 
received his early education in its schools. He 
remained at home with his parents until he had 
attained to the age of twenty-six years, but 
in 185 1 the misfortunes of Ireland, and the im- 
positions and persecutions practiced upon the 
people of that land by the ruling powers, com- 
bined with the reports which had come to them 
of the land of opportunity and freedom beyond 
the ocean, created a great exodus of the young 
Irishmen from the soil of their nativity to 
America, and William Dolan was among the 
number who came to the New World to seek 
their fortunes amid surroundings where polit- 
ical persecutions were unknown, and all men 
stood as equals before the law. Upon arriving 
in the city of New York he secured employment 
at various occupations until 1856, when he en- 
listed- in the U. S. navy in which connection he 
served for seven years, being in many engage- 
ments during the Civil War and was wounded 
at the taking of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay. 
His record was one of conspicuous gallantry 
and in 1864 he was detailed as one of the watch- 
men at an important naval station on the coast 
of Florida, where he remained until 1867, when, 
having married, he then resigned from' the naval 
service and with his family came to the city 
of Cheyenne, Wyo. This was during the con- 
struction of theUnion Pacific Railroad and he 
obtained a position in the construction depart- 
ment of that company, remaining in its em- 
ploy for about nine years. In 1875, he took up 
a ranch on the Muddy Creek, about nine miles 
southwest of Pine Bluffs, which he owned and 
occupied up to the time of his demise. This 



place he stocked with cattle and left them in 
charge of employes for about two years, remain- 
ing himself in the employ of the Union Pacific. 
In 1877 he resigned his position and removed his 
residence to the ranch, where he continued to 
reside until his decease, which occurred on 
September 14, 1895. On November 1, 1866, Mr. 
Dolan was united in wedlock at Warrington, 
Fla., with Miss Margaret Kerwin, a native of 
Ireland and the daughter of James and Mary 
(Hession) Kerwin, natives of the same country. 
Her father was engaged in farming in his na- 
tive land until 1847, when, after the death of his 
wife, he emigrated to the New World. Upon 
his arrival in America he made his home in the 
city of New Orleans, La., where, in 1853, he 
was taken ill and died on August 10 of yellow 
fever. Mrs. Dolan removed from New Orleans 
to Florida and made her residence in that state 
up to the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. 
Dolan had seven children, James, Mary E., 
William (deceased), John, Thomas, Edward 
and Joseph. The married life of this worthy pair 
was a very happy one and since the death of 
the husband and father, the widow and children 
have continued to carry on the business along 
the same lines as those pursued by him, and 
have met with the same gratifying success. The 
family own large tracts of land in Colorado, 
as well as the extensive holdings which they 
have in Wyoming, and are among the most 
prosperous and progressive of the citizens of 
Wyoming. They are devout members of the 
Roman Catholic church and take a deep in- 
terest in all works of charity and religion in the 
community where their home is located. No 
. worthy object ever goes from them .without 
substantial assistance. Public spirited, progres- 
sive, and industrious, devoted to the public wel- 
fare and loyal to the interests of their neighbor- 
hood, they are fine types of the best citizenship 
of the state. Mr. Dolan was a staunch adherent 
of the Democratic party, and ever took an 
active and leading part in public affairs. While 
never seeking political place for himself, he was 
devoted to his friends, and grudged no effort, 



346 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sparing neither time or money to serve them 
or to advance the cause of his party. He was 
a good man and an honored citizen, loyal to 
his friends, generous to his foes, having a pa- 
triotic interest in the public welfare. 

JOSIAH E. DULING. 

Born and reared on the wild Western fron- 
tier, spending his childhood among the Indians 
where he was the only white child in what is 
now the populous, opulent and progressive city 
of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and passing all of 
his subsequent life amid the excitements, the ar- 
duous struggles, the privations and the substan- 
tial triumphs of pioneer life, Josiah E. Duling of 
Newcastle, Wyoming, is essentially a product in 
all particulars of the advance guard of civiliza- 
tion and has been a potential armor wearer in its 
ranks. His life began at Fort Randall, S. D., on 
September 14, 1865, a son of Jefferson and 
Mary A. (Rook) Duling, the former a native of 
Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. The father 
was a prosperous farmer in Iowa when the dread 
alarm of armed resistance to the integrity of the 
Union in 1861 called him to the field in its de- 
fense as a member of Co. C, Sixth Iowa Cavalry-. 
Instead of going to the South to fight the Con- 
federate forces, he was ordered with his com- 
mand to the frontier in Dakota to aid in sup- 
pressing uprisings by the Indians, who had timed 
their hostilities opportunely when the armies of 
the country were supposed to be needed else- 
where. He was stationed at Fort Randall and 
various other places in this country until 1864, 
seeing much active service, and when mustered 
out was appointed posttrader at White Swan 
just across the Missouri from Fort Randall, 
holding this position until 1869 when he removed 
to Sioux Falls, then known as Fort Dakota, to 
carry the mails from that point to Yankton, S. D., 
and Luverne, Minn. He continued his residence 
at Sioux Falls until his death in May, 1873, then 
being killed in a cyclone. His widow passed 
the rest of her days there, dying in August, 1894. 
Josiah E. Duling remained in Sioux Falls with 
his mother until he was twenty vears old, attend- 



ing school and assisting in the work of the house- 
hold until he was seventeen, then he went to 
farming in the neighborhood on his own account 
and two years later engaged in freighting and 
dealing in horses. His was a necessary enter- 
prise in the section in those days, and its patron- 
age was correspondingly generous and profitable. 
Yet he felt that there were better opportunities 
and more desirable engagements farther west, 
and in 1885 he sold out and came to Sundance, 
Wyo., and giving himself up to the especial in- 
dustry of the country, rode the range with zeal 
and diligence for two years. In 1887 he and 
Fred N. Coates formed a partnership in a liverv 
business in Sundance, and after two years of suc- 
cessful operation there they also started one at 
Tubtown near Newcastle. In September, 1889, 
when the enterprise and the public spirit charac- 
teristic of the neighborhood laid at Newcastle 
the foundations of a new municipal entity, thev 
bought lots in that town and there began a 
livery business, the first of its kind in the place 
and now a leading one in a large scope of the 
surrounding country. The barn was the building 
which has since been remodeled and rebaptized 
into the more respectable and dignified capacity 
of a county courthouse. In 1892 Mr. Camplain 
purchased Coates's interest, and the firm was 
thereafter Duling & Camplain for a year, when 
Mr. Duling sold his interest to Mr. Camplain 
and inaugurated a hack line between Newcastle 
and Cambria, which he carried on for two years. 
In the meantime, in 1891, he was appointed a 
deputy sheriff of Weston county, in 1893 being 
reappointed. Three years later he was nomi- 
nated on the Republican ticket for sheriff, but 
although he received a large vote, he was unable 
to overcome the big adverse majority then in the 
county. In 1896 he sold his hack line and in 
1897 went to the Black Hills and there passed 
two years prospecting and mining near the town 
of Lead, S. D.. returning in 1899 to Newcastle, 
where he again entered the livery business in the 
building which he now occupies, and which he 
has continually used for the purpose from that 
date. He carries on a draying and transfer busi- 
ness in connection with the liverv, and has made 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



347 



of the .two the principal enterprise of its char- 
acter in this whole section of country. In politics 
Mr. Duling is an unfaltering- Republican and has 
always taken an active part in public affairs. In 
1900 he was elected county commissioner, and in 
May 1902 was chosen a member of the Newcastle 
city council. He is now serving in these two of- 
fices to the satisfaction of his large body of con- 
stituents and the people generally. On October 
19, 1893, at' Sundance, Wyo., he was united in 
marriage with Miss Luella Murphy, a native of 
Laramie, this state, and a daughter of Francis 
M. Murphy. Her father removed to the state 
from Iowa in 1858, having" been one of the first 
settlers, and for many years he was engaged 
in hunting and trapping and working at his trade 
as a blacksmith. He now lives on Beaver Creek, 
about six miles from Newcastle. Fraternally 
M r. Duling is a Knight of Pythias, holding mem- 
bership in the lodge at Newcastle. In his early 
life among the Indians he learned their language 
so that he could speak it fluently, and acquired 
facility in many of their sporting and athletic 
accomplishments. 

MRS. EMILY DURNFORD. 

This estimable, progressive and truly repre- 
sentative lady is the widow of George T. Durn- 
ford. a prominent and much beloved citizen of 
Evanston, who was greatly identified with its 
history and took an important part in its mak- 
ing. He was born in 1841 in Somersetshire, 
England, and there learned the trade of stone 
masonry. He came to the United States in 
i860, going to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he 
followed his trade for five years. Following 
this he lived for a time in Summit county, Utah, 
and then came to what is now the city of Evans- 
ton in the employ of a coal company, but soon 
became a contractor in his own line of work, 
and he was connected with the building of near- 
ly all of the brick structures of the town, thus 
making himself one of the most useful of its 
citizens. Mr. Durnford was a man of marked 
honesty and generosity, devoted to both home 
and country. He was well posted in the politi- 



cal affairs of his adopted country and a Demo- 
crat in his politics ; but he never sought and 
would not accept political office. He took a 
great interest in inventions and was ever ready 
to avail himself of their advantages in his busi- 
ness. He died April 22, 1900, and is buried at 
Evanston. He was married in 1865 at Salt 
Lake City, and besides his widow, he leaves the 
following sons and daughters: Helen A., now 
Mrs. Miller ; George T. ; Walter J. ; Curtis W. ; 
Emily J., now Mrs. Goodman; Florence E., 
now Mrs. Daily. Another child, Frank, died 
at the age of one year and is buried in Summit 
county, Utah. Mrs. Durnford is comfortably 
situated and she lives pleasantly in one of the 
comfortable suburban homes of Evanston. She 
was born on the Hudson River in Orange coun- 
ty, N. Y., the daughter of Ross R. and Helen 
(Curtis) Rogers. Her father was a native of 
New York City, a cabinetmaker by trade, and 
became one of Utah's early pioneers, crossing 
the plains with his ox team in 1851 and settling 
at Provo. There he became interested in saw- 
mills and furniture making, remained two years 
in Provo and then went to Iron county, where 
he was also interested in a mill and in a fur- 
niture factory. He was interested in mills in 
various parts of Utah, but he finally went to 
Arizona and lived at Hades Ferry, where he 
owned land which he took pride in improving, 
and he developed a fine orchard and also de- 
voted himself to stockraising. He died there 
in 1891. He was a Republican in politics and 
held a number of offices, being a member 
of a Masonic lodge and of the Mormon church. 
Mrs. Durnford's mother, Mrs. Helen Curtis, was 
born in 1821 in Danbury, Conn. She was mar- 
ried in New York City and died thirty years 
ago and is buried in Summit county, Utah. She 
also was a member of the Mormon church and 

a woman devoted to her home. 

\ 

JOSEPH W. FISHER. 

Eminent as a jurist and conspicuous as a 
soldier, the late Joseph W. Fisher was one of 
the most remarkable men that ever had a home 



348 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






in Cheyenne, Wyoming. His birth took place 
on October 16, 1814, in Northumberland, Pa., 
and he was the younger of two children born 
to Joseph W. Fisher, who was a native of Hol- 
land. Both parents died when Joseph W. was 
quite young and the future jurist was cared 
for by an uncle during his schoolboy days, 
which ended when he had reached the age of 
fifteen years, his attendance having been at the 
common schools. He then worked on a farm 
until he was eighteen, when he began clerking 
in a general store. At the age of twenty-one 
years he began business on his own account by 
opening a tailor and clothing establishment, 
which he conducted until 1848, but while thus 
engaged he devoted every spare moment to the 
study of law and was duly admitted to the bar 
and in 1848 he was elected as a Republican to 
the state legislature of Pennsylvania, and so 
satisfactory was his course while a member of 
that dignified body during the session to which 
he was first elected, that he was twice chosen 
to succeed himself. He then practiced law with 
eminent success until the breaking out of the 
Civil War, when, as he felt it to be his duty to 
take up arms in defense of the integrity of the 
Union, he enlisted, but before his company was 
ordered to the front he was elected its captain 
and by his request the company was christened 
the Cookman Rangers in honor of a popular 
Methodist minister in the neighborhood. The 
company was ordered to rendezvous at Harris- 
burg and the camp was named after Governor 
Curtin, who was an intimate friend of Captain 
Fisher, and it was also n'amed at the latter's 
request. His company was atttached to the 
Fifth Pennsylvania Reserves, in which regi- 
ment Captain Fisher was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant colonel before it started for the 
front. Among the battles in which the regi- 
ment took part was the great Seven Day's Fight 
before Richmond, Va., in which the colonel was 
killed and Lieutenant Colonel Fisher assumed 
command until placed in command, of the Third 
Brigade with the rank of brigadier-general, and 
in his service he was twice wounded and received 
his honorable discharge in 1865. During a 



furlough home, while still suffering from his 
wound, this gallant and courageous soldier did 
not lose sight of his country's cause, but or- 
ganized there the One Hundred and Ninety-fifth 
Pennsylvania Infantry, and his valuable serv- 
ices while in command of the Third Brigade 
are noticed in a most complimentary manner 
in the "Personal Memoirs of Gen. U. S. Grant." 
On returning from the army, General Fisher 
resumed the practice of the law, Which he fol- 
lowed with unprecedented success until 1868, 
when, his abilities having brought him prom- 
inently before the people, he was elected a 
state senator. In 1870, he came to Wyoming, 
having been appointed by President Grant an 
associate justice of the Supreme Court of 
Wyoming. After officiating at two terms of 
court he was made chief justice and occupied 
the bench with dignity and impartiality until 
he resigned in 1879, when he resumed his legal 
practice with unequivocal success, retiring in 
1890 on account of failing health, being sub- 
sequently elected prosecuting attorney. The 
marriage of General Fisher took place on Au- 
gust 16, 1836, at Milton, Pa., being united with 
Miss Elizabeth R. Shearer, a daughter of Maj. 
James R. Shearer, a patriot of the War of 1812, 
and his wife, Rebecca (Rupert) Shearer,, and of 
the eight children who crowned this union four 
are still living, viz. : Thomas M., an attorney 
at Seattle, Wash.; Tunis J., the present clerk 
of the district court of Cheyenne ; Harry L. and 
Sara M. The lamented death of Gen. Joseph 
W. Fisher occurred on October 18, 1900. in 
the faith of the Episcopal church. Fraternally 
he was a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, the Grand Army of the Republic 
and the Loyal Legion, and at his death passed 
away one of the brightest intellects and noblest 
souls that ever had an existence in Wyoming. 
Tunis J. Fisher, the sixth child in the family 
of Gen. Joseph W. Fisher, was born on Novem- 
ber 1, 1850, at Columbia, Pa., where he attended 
school until sixteen years of age, and then be- 
gan an apprenticeship at the printer's trade, 
at which he worked in Lancaster, Pa., until 1871. 
when he came to Wyoming and worked in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



349 



Cheyenne until he was appointed deputy sheriff 
and deputy U. S. marshal, which positions he 
held in the years of 1876, 1877, 1878, and in 1879 
was appointed clerk of the U. S. District Court, 
which office he held three years, he was then ap- 
pointed as deputy count}' treasurer of Laramie 
county, performing the duties with his usual abil- 
ity, unswerving, integrity and faithfulness until 
1895. In 1897, so exceedingly popular had he 
become, that he was elected clerk of the Dis- 
trict Court, being reelected in 1899 to succeed 
himself, receiving the largest majority of any 
candidate on the Republican ticket. Fraternally, 
Mr. Fisher is a member of the Elks and of the 
Maccabees, and is a wholesouled and public 
spirited citizen. He was married on October 
24, 1874, at Laramie, Wyo., to Miss Kate 
O'Brien. To this felicitous union have been 
born two children, Joseph W. and Loretta M., 
who are like their mother, ornaments to the so- 
ciety circles in which they move. 

THOMAS J. FOSTER. 

Thomas J. Foster of Sheridan is one of the 
highly respected citizens of Northern Wyoming, 
coming to his estate of worldly competence and 
the esteem of his fellowmen through severe 
trial, many hardships, great endurance and fidel- 
ity to. every duty. In knightly parlance he has 
"won his spurs" and worthily does he wear them. 
He is the son of a pioneer family of Ohio, where 
he was born on October 27, 1843*. His parents, 
Robert J. and Rebecca (CondiO Foster, were 
natives respectively of Ohio and Pennsylvania, 
and when they began their career in life on the 
soil of that great state it was little more than the 
primeval wilderness, still under the dominion in 
large measure of wild beasts and savage men, its 
luxuriance ungoverned, its wealth of productive- 
ness and hidden stores waste and unclaimed, and 
all the forms of civilization unknown to its hills 
and vales now so teeming with the fruits of cul- 
tivated life and so it was in Wyoming, when their 
son, Thomas J., came here in 1876, a veritable 
' pioneer of pioneers in this section, and one of the 
founders of the present greatness of the state. 



When Mr. Foster was five years old his parents 
removed to Missouri, settling in Holt county, 
and two years later his father was moved by the 
prevailing gold excitement to cross the plains 
to California, and the mother and children went 
to Ohio to await his return. In 1853 ^ e joined 
them there and they again took up their resi- 
dence in Missouri. For seven years they pur- 
sued the peaceful vocation of agriculture, and 
when in 1861 our land was darkened with the 
awful shadow of the Civil War, following their 
convictions both father and son joined hands 
with the Confederacy and enlisted in its arm}''. 
The father served until 1864, when he returned 
home and went to Montana. Mr. Foster re- 
mained in the service until the last flag of the 
Lost Cause came down at the surrender of Gen. 
Kirby Smith, and then returned to his neglected 
home in Missouri, soon after going back to 
Ohio. In 1868 he also made the long trip across 
the plains, seeking the newer land of promise, 
Montana, from whence after a short time he went 
to the Boise Valley, Idaho, and engaged in ranch- 
ing. In 1874 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Alice Davidson, a native of Iowa but reared 
in Oregon, and two years after his marriage he 
came with his family to Wyoming, passed two 
years at Laramie City and Cheyenne, engaged in 
freighting, and in 1878 returned to his ancestral 
vocation. Locating in what is now Johnson 
county, he took up land on the site of the aban- 
doned Fort Phil Kearney and went to farming 
and raising stock, remaining until 1901, serving 
in the meantime four years as register of the 
land-office at Buffalo. In 1901 he sold his ranch 
and took tip his residence in Sheridan, where he 
has a beautiful home, which is much sought as 
a center of refined hospitality and genial compan- 
ionship. Mr. and Mrs. Foster were the first 
actual permanent settlers in Johnson county and 
when they located on their ranch their nearest 
neighbors were on Powder- River, and also at 
Fort Custer, one place seventy miles distant and 
the other 180. It goes without saving that Mr. 
Foster has had many thrilling experiences with 
road agents and in every other form of danger. 
For an account of one adventure see the life of 



35° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



Frank Girard. He is a member of the Knights 
of Pythias and the Old Settlers' Club of Sheri- 
dan. The family circle contains in addition to 
Mr. and Mrs. Foster, their son, Ellery D., who 
is a skilled bookkeeper, and an adopted daughter, 
Vinnie. 

MEYER FRANK. 

One of the leading commercial factors and 
essentially a founder and builder of Weston 
county and its seat of government, the city of 
Newcastle, Meyer Frank now of that city is en- 
titled to the high place he holds in the confi- 
dence of the community and the regard of its 
people. His life began in Germany on Febru- 
ary 22, 1854, where his parents, Michael and 
Sarah Frank, passed their lives and where their 
families had been respected and esteemed for 
generations. He remained at home until he 
was sixteen years old, attending the public 
schools and absorbing the commercial spirit by 
close and studious observation of the business 
of his father, who was a prosperous grain mer- 
chant. In 1870 he came to America and joined 
an elder brother at Jeff ersonville, Ind., there 
obtaining a position as clerk and salesman in 
a store at the munificent salary of $6.00 per 
month, and his board. Subsequently he re- 
moved to a small town in Alabama and re- 
mained there about six years engaged in mer- 
cantile business. In 1882 he came to the Black 
Hills and secured employment in a mercantile 
establishment at Central City, S. D. Two years 
later he established the firm of Frank Brothers 
at Sundance, Wyo., which is still in active busi- 
ness and has grown with the needs and growth 
of the town to large proportions and firmness 
as a necessary institution in the community. It 
has been incorporated as the Ogden-Frank 
Mercantile Co., Mr. Frank being its vice-presi- 
dent. He is also A'ice-president of the Black 
Hills Live Stock Co., secretary and treasurer 
of the Weston County Live Stock Co., vice- 
president of the Wyoming Live Stock Co., vice- 
president of the Antlers Hotel Co. and the 
cashier and principal stockholder of the Bank 
of Newcastle, which he organized in t88g, with 



a capital stock of $10,000, that was increased 
in 1902 to $50,000. In politics Mr. Frank has 
been especially active, but not as a partisan, his 
efforts in public life being directed solely to up- 
building and developing the material, educa- 
tional, mercantile and social forces of the com- 
munities in which he has lived and giving their 
civil affairs a healthy and proper trend. He 
assisted in laying out the city of Newcastle and 
in organizing the county of Weston, and was 
the first treasurer of these respective municipal 
organizations, as county treasurer being ex- 
officio probate judge. In this capacity he sol- 
emnized the first marriage ceremony performed 
in the new county. He was county treasurer 
for three successive terms, and was mayor of 
Newcastle in 1900 and 1901. Having faith in 
the future of Sundance, he was an early and 
enthusiastic advocate of its progress, buying 
the first lot sold in the town site and erecting 
the first two business blocks within its limits. 
He was also a member of the convention that 
formulated the state constitution of Wyoming 
in 1889, and rendered valuable assistance in 
placing the new commonwealth properly in the 
company of her sisters and firmly on her feet 
for the career of honor, prosperity and patriot- 
ism which was plainly before her. In all the 
essentials of good citizenship and enlightened 
humanity he has been an example and an in- 
spiration, quickening with the touch of a master 
hand every impulse for good, and concentrating 
and energizing every element of civic power 
and progress. Among the many useful citizens 
of his county he stands conspicuous. 

JOSEPH HENRY FREEL. 

When the record of a human life is made up 
and sealed we should ask not whether it has been 
successful or unsuccessful according to a vulgar 
standard of success, whether broad lands have re- 
warded its toil or all has at the last been swept 
from its grasp. We should rather ask whether 
it has subdued and harmonized its erring pas- 
sions, has it been a true, genial and useful life. 
Tried even by this exacting standard, the late I. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



35i 



J. Henry Fred of Newcastle, Wyoming, whose 
untimely death, September 25, 1891, at the early 
age of forty-two, occasioned universal sorrow 
where he was known, is entitled to a high re- 
gard. He was born on April 4, 1849, in Warren 
county, Iowa, the son of James and Margaret 
(Portis) Freel, natives respectively of Ohio and 
North Carolina. They were farmers in Iowa, 
and their ashes repose under the sod of that great 
state. J. Henry Freel even as a boy exhibited 
great resolution of spirit and self-reliance, and 
at the age of eleven years left his paternal roof, 
making his way to Denver, Colo., and after 
passing a short time there, engaged for service 
with a freighting outfit traversing the wild and 
pathless stretches of Nebraska, Wyoming and the 
Black Hills country, the first enterprise of the 
kind known in those parts. The country was 
rugged and untrodden, the Indians were hostile 
and numerous and the freights were of great 
value at times. There were numberless adven- 
tures and many engagements with the savages 
in some of which Mr. Freel received wounds, 
the marks 'of which he carried to his grave. He 
continued his freighting operations however un- 
til the country opened up and became more set- 
tled, and then having outfits of his own made 
regular trips between Cheyenne and the Black 
Iiills. In 1878 he located a ranch in the vicinity 
of the Jenny stockade on Beaver Creek, and 
settling on it for the purpose of farming he 
gave his teams in charge to his brother who con- 
tinued the freighting business between Sidney, 
Neb., and Deadwood, S. D., he continuing as 
owner of the outfits and having an interest in 
the business until 1881 when he sold out and 
gave his attention entirely to his ranch and cattle 
industry. In those days the conditions of life 
and business were hard and trying. Road-agents 
were numerous and bold, the civil authorities 
being unable to restrain them, and the centers of 
population were few and it was far between 
them. The stages were held up almost every day, 
and the dangers of persons using them were 
greatly intensified as the value of their freight 
was increased. In 1878 the notorious Charlev 
Carey and his gang made the memorable hold-up 



of the Deadwood and Cheyenne stage when it 
had in custody a large amount of bullion, and 
the Vigilantes seemed either powerless in the 
presence of this band of outlaws or to be in col- 
lusion with it. Even on the ranch, where the 
only near neighbors Were wild beasts and the 
usual visitors were highwaymen, the nearest resi- 
dent white families being fifty miles distant, the 
days were full of excitement and the nights of 
apprehension. But the Freels worked on with a 
resolute purpose to make their venture good and 
as time passed beheld the natural ruggedness of 
the landscape melt away under the persuasive 
hand of intelligent industry which they had put 
in motion for the purpose, the*}' being the second 
permanent settlers in that portion of the state. 
Mr. Freel continued his ranching operations until 
his death, and was then laid to rest in the ceme- 
tery at Newcastle with every demonstration of 
popular esteem and affection. He was an ardent 
believer in the principles and policies of the 
Democratic party and, although never seeking or 
accepting official station of any kind, had an 
earnest and continuous interest in public affairs, 
which found expression in useful attention to 
the needs of the community and an intelligent 
guidance of its civic forces. On July 22, 1878, 
he was united in marriage with Miss Effie Hen- 
Ian, the nuptials being solemnized at Fort Lara- 
mie. Mrs. Freel is a native of Pennsylvania 
where her father, John C. Henlan was also born 
and was a merchant until 1884, when he removed 
to Shelton, Neb., and there was engaged in the 
furniture business until his death in November, 
1897. Her mother, nee Helen Goddard, was 
born in Paris, France, and in her infancy she was 
stolen from her home and brought over to the 
United States where she was brought up as an 
adopted child. She is now living in Colorado. 
Mr. and Mrs. Freel had five children, Bessie 
May, now Mrs. Bodey; Lucia Florence, deceased; 
Effie Edith ; John Henry ; Charles A. Since the 
death of her husband Mrs. Freel has resided in 
Newcastle, having leased her Beaver Creek 
ranch. She has a beautiful residence in the town 
and other property there besides interests in 
Nebraska which she inherited from her father. 



35^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



At a recent picnic of the old settlers of Crook 
and Weston counties she was presented with a 
chair as the oldest settler in the two counties. 
She is an active member of the Episcopal church. 

THOMAS FREANEY. 

The highly esteemed resident of Glendo, 
Laramie county, Wyoming, Thomas Freaney, 
is a native of Ireland, born in County Mayo on 
December 23, 1843, the son of Thomas and 
Winifred (Moran) Freaney, both natives of Ire- 
land, where the father followed the occupation 
of farming up to the time of his decease, which 
occurred in 1850. • His mother survived until 
1886, when she passed away and both are buried 
in their native county. Thomas Freaney grew 
to manhood in his native land and received his 
early education in the government schools. 
After he had completed his education, he re- 
mained with his parents, assisting his father in 
the work of the farm, until he had attained to 
the age of twenty-one years. He then went to 
Yorkshire, England, secured employment on 
a farm, and remained there until 1867, when he 
set sail for America. After his arrival in this 
country he remained for about eleven months 
in the state of New York, employed in farm 
work until June, 1868, then migrated to the 
territory of Colorado, where he settled first 
at Central City, but soon went to Boulder coun- 
ty, where he engaged in mining and cattlerais- 
ing. He met with success and in 1873 he re- 
moved his residence to Larimer county, near 
Fort Collins, where he purchased a ranch and 
engaged in farming and stockraising. He here 
continued in this pursuit until 1881, when he 
removed to the Horseshoe Creek country of 
Wyoming, where he located his present ranch, 
situated about ten miles southwest of Glendo, 
and still continued in the cattle business. He 
has been successful, steadily increasing his 
holdings of both land and cattle, and is now 
one of the prosperous stockmen and property 
owners of Laramie county. In 1899 he pur- 
chased the old road ranch, one of the former 
stao-e stations on the old overland trail to Cali- 



fornia, and one of the historic spots of this por- 
tion of Wyoming. He is the owner of about 
600 acres of land, having over 200 acres under 
irrigation, and all modern improvements for the 
successful carrying on of a general ranching 
and stockgrowing business, and is largely inter- 
ested in both horses and cattle. Mr. Freaney 
is a member of the Roman Catholic church and 
one of the most valued citizens of Laramie 
county. Politically, he is identified with the 
Democratic part}', but has never taken an act- 
ive part in political affairs. 

HARRY FULMER. 

The leading druggist of Sheridan and one 
of the prominent and representative men of the 
community, Harry Fulmer, learned wisdom in 
the hard school of experience, and was broad- 
ened, deepened and made resourceful by years 
of dangerous and difficult service as a stage- 
driver and foreman for a large cattle outfit. He 
is a native of Pennsylvania, that great hive of 
industry which has sent its active and produc- 
tive men into every part of this country, and 
was born on November 11, 1861, the son of 
W. F. and Rebecca (Michner) Fulmer, also na- 
tives of that state. When he was eleven years 
of age they removed to Omaha, Neb., where he 
lived until he reached the age of eighteen years^ 
then, in 1879, he came to Wyoming, a pioneer 
in truth and fact, and for five years engaged in 
stagedriving. In 1884 he stopped this line of 
action and took a position with the P. K. Cattle 
Co., in their service rising by merit to the post 
of foreman and filling it for a number of years 
with great satisfaction to the company. He re- 
mained in their employ eighteen years, resign- 
ing in 1902 to locate at Sheridan and engage 
in the drug business. His store is one of 
the attractive ones of the town and the con- 
venience of its arrangement and the disposition 
of its commodities makes it especially service- 
able and agreeable to its patrons, who may 
always feel sure of finding in it the best of every 
article of staple and standard drugs, patent 
medicines, toilet requisites, perfumes and rubber 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



353 



sundries, and other lines of goods allied by cus- 
tom with the drug business. The firm name is 
Fulmer & Suits, and the business is conducted 
on strictly up-to-date principles, as is every- 
thing Mr. Fulmer does 1 . In politics Mr. Fulmer 
is a steadfast Republican, having for many 
years been active in the service of his party. 
He was a member of the First State Legislature 
of Wyoming and has been forceful and influ- 
ential in party circles while not in office. He is 
not a narrow partisan, nor in any sense an of- 
fice-seeker, for he prefers the substantial wel- 
fare and advancement of the community to any 
party triumph and the post of private citizen- 
ship to any official station. He was married in 
1884, at Bighorn, Sheridan county, to Miss Ella 
Burgess, a native of California, who came to 
the county in 1880. They have three children, 
Alice, Wilbur and Harry. Mr. Fulmer holds 
membership in the Old Settlers' Club and takes 
an active part in its proceedings. His long 
residence in this section of the state and the 
wide range of experience he has had have made 
him generally known and given him an accu- 
rate and comprehensive knowledge of the sec- 
tion and its people. All his attainments are 
at the service of his fellows, and the esteem 
in which he is held is abundant evidence of the 
uprightness and the usefulness of his life, the 
genuine worth of his character and the agree- 
ableness of his manner. 

DANIEL EVERETT GODDARD. 

It has been well said that all human achieve- 
ments, all human weal and woe, all things with- 
in the mental ken, are but mirrored back from 
the composite individuality of those who have 
lived and that the accomplishments of the men 
of the present generation had "their germ and 
origin in the character of their ancestors. In 
entering up a record of the career of one who 
has played well his part in the great drama of 
life, and who has left the impress of a strong 
character upon the communities wherein his 
lot has been cast, it is always pleasant to note 
that he can trace his lineage to people of good 



parts, intelligent mentality and superior ability, 
so in writing of Mr. Daniel E. Goddard, who' 
is holding important office at Lusk, Wyoming, 
we gladly make record that his ancestry was of 
a superior order, being an old and cultured fam- 
ily of the great metropolis of England, where 
representatives of each generation have held 
honored positions in some branch of the world's 
great activities. Daniel Everett Goddard was 
born in London, England, on June 28, 1858, 
the son of Daniel E. and Elizabeth (Cockins) 
Goddard, the father being a native of Ipswich 
and the mother of Christ Church, Hampshire, 
where her father, Thomas Cockins,- was also 
born, the paternal grandfather, Daniel Hale 
Goddard, also having had his nativity in Ips- 
wich. He was employed in the Bank of Eng- 
land as a young man in a clerical capacity, 
and, after some years of service, he was trans- 
ferred to Bristol and was then the subagent of 
its branch bank, thereafter being promoted to 
be agent at their branch bank at Newcastle-on- 
Tyne, which exacting and responsible financial 
position he held with distinguished honor for 
twenty-five years and up to the time of his 
death. His son, Daniel E. Goddard, the father 
of our Wyoming- postmaster, also entered the 
service of the Bank of England as a junior clerk, 
and after successive promotions and forty-five 
years of most acceptable service, he was re- 
tired on a pension in February, 1901, and is now 
living" a retired life in his pleasant rural home 
at Wallington, in Surrey. His early intention 
was to become an analytical chemist, for which 
he thoroughly qualified himself by attendance 
and graduation from the celebrated Kings Col- 
lege University, thereafter entering the Jarrow 
Chemical Works, where he was in receipt of 
a fair salary, when at the request of his father 
he took the position offered him in the bank. 
He always maintained his interest in science, 
being a Fellow of the Royal Microscopical So- 
ciety and a Fellow of the Royal Society, both 
highly distinguished bodies of England. Daniel 
Everett Goddard was the eldest of the seven 
children of his father's family, and received a 
liberal education at Trinity College, Wallington, 



354 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



graduating therefrom in the class of '74, there- 
after passing the civil service examination and 
going out in the service of the British govern- 
ment to the Fiji Islands, where he remained for 
thirty months in pleasant employment in the 
custom-house department, enjoying to the full- 
est extent the very beautiful country and learn- 
ing the Fijian language. After his return home 
he concluded to emigrate to America, and six 
months thereafter was on his way to Kansas, 
where he located in Osborne county and en- 
gaged in the stock industry, continuing his resi- 
dence there until 1884 and meeting with suc- 
cess. Removing to Alton, Kansas, he there 
formed an association with C. C. Dale in the 
practice of law which continued for four years 
with satisfactory results. In 1888 he came to 
Lusk and here established himself in the real- 
estate and insurance business. In 1890 he was 
appointed U. S. land commissioner as a Re- 
publican and still continues in the incumbency of 
that office. In 1890 he was commissioned post- 
master, and, witn the exception of four years 
under Grover Cleveland's administration, he 
has held the office until the present time, and 
is also city clerk. Mr. Goddard was united in 
marriage with Miss Matilda Spain, a daughter 
of Bartholomew and Charlotte (Kebble) Spain, 
of Kent, England, on March 12, 1879. She de- 
scends from an old and influential family long 
resident in the beautiful, garden-like county of 
Kent, owning large estates there and also at 
Seven Oaks, England. The children of this 
union are Elizabeth W., wife of James S. Bons- 
velle, a rancher of Lusk; Daniel E., a promi- 
nent stockman of Lusk; Edith M., assistant- 
postmaster. The Goddard family have many 
friends, being intimately connected with all the 
affairs of the community, in which they occupy 
a high place in the regard of the people. Mr. 
Goddard is slightly interested in the stock busi- 
ness in company with his son and also transacts 
a large amount of real-estate business, being 
now the administrator of several large estates, 
and is the local representative of numerous 
leading fire and life insurance companies, hav- 
ing transactions of scope and importance in 



this line. Fraternally, Mr. Goddard is an Odd 
Fellow, his religious affiliations being with the 
Episcopal church, in which he has taken great 
interest from childhood, being then a chorister, 
while for the past two years he has had charge 
of the St. George's Episcopal church at Lusk 
as a lay reader, and here he has organized a full 
choral service, a vested choir of twenty-two 
voices. 

ERASMUS NAGLE. 

This once famous business man of Cheyenne, 
Wyoming, was born in St. Clairsville, Belmont 
county, Ohio, on October 30, 1833. a son of 
George and Elizabeth (Ewing) Nagle, both na- 
tives of Ohio and the latter a descendant of Rob- 
ert Ewing, the famous Scotch divine. Erasmus 
Nagle received his literary education in his na- 
tive town, where he resided until he had attained 
his majority, when he proceeded to Chicago, 111., 
where he graduated from Bryant & Stratton's 
commercial college and also learned the sad- 
dler's trade at Monmouth, 111., later becoming 
a traveling salesman, handling harness and sad- 
dlery for several manufacturers, next engaging 
in business on his own account at Central City, 
Colo., in the lumber business until 1868, thence 
coming to Cheyenne, where he became a partner 
in the grocery trade with M. E.Post, as Post & 
Nagle, but soon afterward secured control of its 
affairs on his own account, becoming one of the 
most extensive wholesale grocers in the then 
territory of Wyoming. He also largely invested 
in cattleraising in partnership with Charles Wolf- 
jen on Sybylle Creek. Mr. Nagle sold his in- 
terest in this cattle business in 1882. but up to the 
time of his death continued to be a heavy stock- 
holder in various cattle companies. In 1884 the 
Union Mercantile Co. was organized by the con- 
solidation of the three largest grocery houses in 
Cheyenne, those of Erasmus Xagle, of Pease & 
Taylor and Whipple & Hayes, and of this com- 
pany, which later absorbed the large grocery of 
George A. Draper. Mr. Nagle was the president 
until his death which occurred on January 24, 
1890. The sterling business qualities and prac- 
tic abilities of Mr. Nasrle were recognized in his 



I 




^-o 



ou**. 




PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



355 



pointments to positions of trust. In 1876 he was 
elected as one of the board of county commission- 
ers; serving in this position with exceptional abil- 
ity and fidelity. In 1881 he was tendered the 
nomination of delegate to Congress by a con- 
vention of the Republican party, but declined to 
accept it. He was however in that year appoint- 
ed one of the state penitentiary commissioners 
and was made chairman of the board. In 1886 
he was appointed as one of the capitol building 
commissioners and then became chairman of the 
commissioners during the construction of that 
beautiful edifice, and to its supervision he devoted 
much faitful service, for which the state owes 
him a debt of gratitude for his careful attention 
to details and thorough mastery of architectural 
knowledge could not have been well dispensed 
with. In 1886 Mr. Nagle began the construction 
of the most beautiful private residence of Chey- 
enne, for when fully completed, equipped and 
furnished, its cost approximated $50,000, being 
built of stone, its architectural elegance and fin- 
ished workmanship has rarely been rivaled in 
the largest cities. He was most happily united 
in marriage at Cheyenne, on November 24,, 1874, 
with Miss Emma Houseman, an accomplished 
daughter of Henry and Ellen Houseman, who 
were among the earliest settlers in Wyoming and 
well-known, being especially prominent in Chey- 
enne. To this felicitous union was born one son, 
George H. Nagle, who was born in Cheyenne, 
Wyo., on September 1,- 1876, and attended the 
public schools of his native city until he was 
fourteen years of age; next he' attended a pre- 
paratory school at Rock Island, 111., and then re- 
ceived the benefit of an Episcopal college. He 
then went to Europe with a competent private 
tutor, made the "grand tour," on his return to his 
native land attended school in California and 
also Wallace's Business College in Denver, Colo. 
At the age of twenty-one years, being then fully 
qualified for the task, George H. Nagle assumed 
full charge of the estate left by his father and 
also succeeded him in the presidency of the Union 
Mercantile Co., all the duties of which he has 
discharged most successfully. Fraternally, he 
is a "Mason of high degree," while politically he 



is a Republican and has served his party as a 
member of the Fifth Legislature of Wyoming. 
His marriage took place at Ogden, Utah, on 
March 19, 1898, being then united with Miss 
Mabel C. Yates, a daughter of Francis D. and 
Hattie (Brown) Yates, the father was born in 
Albany, N. Y., in July, 1846, a son of Richard 
Yates, a banker. After graduating from the 
Geneva (N. Y.) College, Mr. Yates came to the 
West, for a while lived in Denver, Colo., where 
he clerked in a trader's store for four years. He 
was then appointed by the U. S. Department of 
the Interior the Indian trader at Spotted Tail 
agency, where he served two years, and then was 
transferred to the Red Cloud agency, where he 
seved another term of two years. He then re- 
turned to Denver and became interested in mines 
in various parts of Colorado. He married Hattie 
F. Brown in January, 1875, at Cheyenne, to 
which union have been born two children, Mabel 
C, now Mrs. George H. Nagle, and Lillie M., 
now Mrs. A. T. Corey, her husband being one 
of the firm of Corey Bros., the well-kown rail- 
road contractors, who still have their residence 
in the East. 

ANDREW GILCHRIST. 

One of the leading men of Wyoming, one 
who did more perhaps for the development of 
its resources and to promote its settlement and 
growth than any other citizen, Hon. Andrew 
Gilchrist, late of the city of Cheyenne, was a 
native of Scotland, a fine type of that race which 
has written so large a page in the history of the 
world's progress and contributed in such large 
measure to the promotion of civilization. Born 
on March 4, 1844, in Ayrshire, Scotland, he was 
the son of Andrew and Catherine (Pollock) Gil- 
christ, both natives of the same country, where 
his father was one of the largest and most suc- 
cessful breeders of high-grade cattle in Scotland. 
He continued to reside there up to the time of his 
death, leaving his native country only once, when 
he came to America to visit his son, Andrew. 
For more than forty years the father was the effi- 
cient quartermaster sergeant of the English Yeo- 



356 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



men Cavalry, and he ever took great interest in 
military affairs. The subject of this sketch him- 
self served from the age of seventeen to nineteen 
years as a member of the Queen's Life. Guards. 
He grew to man's estate in Ayrshire, receiving 
his early education in the country schools, and 
remained with his parents until he had attained 
twenty-one years of age. In 1865, with no capi- 
tal except energy, ability and determination to 
carve out a successful career, he came to Amer- 
ica. Here he attended, as his means permitted, 
a business college situated near Hartford, Conn., 
for the purpose of acquiring a practical know- 
ledge of doing business in the land of his adop- 
tion, and subsequently he accepted a position 
at South Manchester, Conn., being the outdoor 
superintendent of Cheney Brothers, silk manu- 
facturers, remaining in this employment for five 
years, he then organized a colony in Connecticut 
and came to Greeley, Colo. He was chosen as 
the head of this colony and they purchased a 
large tract of land in the vicinity of Greeley and 
engaged in cattleraising. They also erected a 
sawmill, and manufactured lumber, continuing 
in that business until the spring of 1872. Mr. 
Gilchrist then entered upon the business of rais- 
ing cattle on his own account and continued in 
that pursuit until 1877, when he removed to the 
then territory of Wyoming. Driving a large 
band of cattle from his former range in Colo- 
rado, he took up land on Crow Creek, continued 
in the cattle business, and this was the beginning 
of his remarkable financial career in Wyoming. 
From the beginning he prospered, his habits of 
thrift, perseverance and industry enabling him 
to succeed where others failed. He added to his 
landed holdings until he became one of the 
largest landed proprietors in the western portion 
of the United States, owning vast tracts of many 
thousands of acres, on one occasion purchasing 
130,000 acres from the Union Pacific Railroad. 
He was one of the first among the stockmen of 
Wyoming to enter upon the improvement of 
the grades of cattle, importing large numbers of 
thoroughbred Herefords for that purpose, and 
was largely instrumental in bringing about the 
change from the inferior grades of range stock 



which were then handled in this portion of the 
West. During the early eighties he acquired a 
large interest in the stock of the Stockgrowers 
National Bank of Cheyenne, and was made a 
director of that institution. Subsequently, he was 
elected its president and, by his ability, business 
management and strong financial resources he 
conducted the institution through the years of 
financial distress and panic in Wyoming, it being 
the only banking house in the city of Cheyenne 
that did not close its doors during the financial 
crisis of 1886. Always enterprising, active and 
progressive, he was the first to conceive the idea 
of building up the city of Wheatland, and it 
was largely through his efforts that the change, 
so beneficial to all the people of that section of 
Wyoming, was brought about. Ever foremost 
in advancing the public welfare and in pressing 
forward all measures intended to be of advantage 
to the people or to develop the natural resources 
of the state, Jie never seemed to think of his 
own interests, working untiringly and very unsel- 
fishly for the general good. To his patriotic 
efforts, put forth at all times with an eye single 
to the advancement of the state he loved so well, 
the people of Wyoming owe him a debt of grati- 
tude which can never be fully paid. The future 
commonwealth, teeming with prosperity, the 
plains once barren now covered with happy 
homes and occupied by a population of thousands 
of well-to-do citizens, will be his best monument. 
To him, more than to any other man, will these 
results be due and all honor should be given by 
the men and women of Wyoming to the brave and 
far-seeing pioneer, whose clear vision caught the 
future possibilities of the state, and whose un- 
erring judgment enabled him to shape the con- 
ditions of his time so that generations yet unborn 
might reap the benefit of his intelligent efforts in 
tbeir behalf. All his life a Republican in politics, 
he gave of his time and means freely for the pur- 
pose of aiding Republicanism, believing that in 
so doing • he was best serving his state and 
nation. During his early residence in Wyoming, 
he served for several terms as a member of the 
Legislative Assembly, and much legislation of 
benefit to the state, and especially to the live stock 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



357 



industry, owes its origin to his wisdom and 
patriotism. Often solicited by his friends and 
part}- associates to accept positions of trust and 
honor in the gift of the political party with which 
he was affiliated, he steadfastly refused to be- 
come a candidate for any other place than that 
of member of the legislature, and during the 
latter years of his life he declined to serve in 
that capacity, for he was of the opinion that he 
could be of greater service to the people, and 
better promote the interests of the state, by re- 
maining a private citizen. He was always plan- 
ning some measure of great public benefit, seem- 
ingly without any reference whatever to his own 
personal interest, save as he might share in the 
prosperity common to all, and in his untimely 
death the people of Wyoming lost their greatest 
benefactor. On February 13, 1866, in Glasgow, 
Scotland, Mr. Gilchrist was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary Gemmell, a native of that city 
and a daughter of Archibald and Janet (Eadie) 
Gemmell, natives of Scotland. The father of 
Mrs. Gilchrist followed the occupation of farm- 
ing, and was never a resident of America, al- 
though he travelled here in search of health 
when a young man, both of her parents living 
and dying in Scotland. Among other important 
public matters with which Mr. Gilchrist was con- 
nected was the location of the state capitol, and 
he was largely instrumental in having it placed 
upon its present site in the city of Cheyenne. It 
is situated about one block from the residence 
now occupied by the widow of Mr. Gilchrist, 
which was erected by him in 1883. She is also 
the owner of a large block of land near her resi- 
dence, and of a fine stock ranch situated on 
Middle Crow Creek. Her husband left a large 
estate, now controlled by the widow, who shares 
in the high esteem in which Mr. Gilchrist was 
held by the people of Wyoming. 

DR. F. E. GODFREY. 

One of the leading professional men of 
Western Wyoming and one of the most prom- 
inent young men of the state in both business 
and political life, is Dr. F. E. Godfrey of Lan- 



der, Wyoming. His profession is that of den- 
tistry and he is one of the foremost of that pur- 
suit in the western country. The Doctor was 
born at Nevada, Mo., on March 5, 1876, a son 
of G. R. and Sarah M. (Calloway) Godfrey, both 
natives of Kentucky. His father was a drug- 
gist and broker and the son of a prominent citi- 
zen of the Blue Grass State. The family, which 
was of Scotch and English descent, was well 
known during Colonial days, and took an act- 
ive and leading part in the War of the Revolu- 
tion. Doctor Godfrey was the eldest of a fam- 
ily of three children, the others being named 
Lillian L. and Grover C. He grew to man- 
hood in his native state and received his ele- 
mentary education in the public schools of Ne- 
vada. Subsequently, he attended the Western 
Dental College at Kansas City and still later 
was graduated from the University of Tennes- 
see, in the dental department, he receiving there 
his degree in dentistry and also an honorary 
degree in surgery in 1898, being the youngest 
member of his class. Upon completing his uni- 
versity education he established himself at Ne- 
vada, Mo., in the practice of dentistry, but soon 
came to Lander, Wyo., where he has since re- 
sided, having been very successful in business 
and building up a large and constantly growing 
practice. He has large and luxurious offices 
in the Amoretti Building, over the postoffice. 
The mother of Doctor Godfrey was a direct 
descendant of Daniel Boone, and he has largely 
inherited the dauntless courage, industry and 
enterprise of that great pioneer. In addition 
to his professional pursuits, he has found time 
to give no little attention to business, and is 
interested in some promising oil properties near 
Lander, which are likely to bring him handsome 
returns. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the 
Masonic order, being a member of Wyoming 
Lodge, No. 2, and also of the 1 Eastern Star; 
he is also a member ox the Knights of Pythias, 
and vice-chancellor of the lodge at Lander. He 
is also a member of the Woodmen of the World, 
and takes an active and leading part in the 
social and fraternal life of the community. Pol- 
liticallv, he is identified with the Democratic 



353 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



party, and is one, of the most trusted leaders of 
that organization in Western Wyoming. In 
1900 he was elected as an alternate delegate 
from Wyoming to the Democratic national con- 
vention at Kansas City, and in the same year 
was a delegate from Fremont county to the 
Democratic state convention at Rawlins, Wyo. 
He has a large and enthusiastic following 
among the young men of the state, and is des- 
tined to become one of the leading factors in 
the future of the Democratic party of Wyom- 
ing. 

JOB C, GOODMAN. 

A native of Niagara county, N. Y., where 
he was born in 1852, his young life shadowed 
by the dark cloud of the Civil War, and removed 
from the home of his childhood to the wild West 
in his early youth, Job C. Goodman of Evans- 
ton, Wyoming, has seen much of change and 
adventure, and had opportunity to study man- 
kind and human characteristics in many longi- 
tudes. His parents were Elias and Sarah (Cook) 
Goodman, the former a native of Pennsylvania 
and the latter of the Mohawk Valley, N. Y. At 
the beginning of the Civil War the father en- 
listed in the Union army as a member of the 
Seventeenth N. Y. Heavy Artillery in the ranks. 
He saw active and arduous service, was a partici- 
pant in many important engagements, and at the 
end of the contest was discharged as a sergeant, 
having been promoted for meritorious conduct. 
After the war he engaged in contracting and in 
the line of this business removed to Hilliard, 
Wyo., in 1874. There he found profitable busi- 
ness in building flumes which occupied him for 
a year. He then removed to Evanston and con- 
tinued contracting until his death in 1895 at the 
age of seventy-two, from disabilities incurred 
in the war. Mr. Goodman's grandfather Good- 
man emigrated from Holland to Pennsylvania 
when a young man, and after a residence of 
some years there removed to Weston, N. Y., 
among the earliest settlers of that place. His 
wife was a native of Pennsylvania, but the ma- 
ternal grandfather, Seely Cook, was born and was 
reared in New York state. He attained promi- 



nence in politics and filled the office of justice of 
the peace for a number of terms. Mr. Goodman 
received his early education in the public schools 
of his native county, remaining at home until he 
reached his legal majority, then farming in New 
York for a year or two, thence he came to Wyo- 
ming, locating for a time at Green River and then 
removing to Evanston, where he engaged in 
raising cattle and sheep for a number of years, 
his family meanwhile residing in the town and on 
his ranch of 3,200 acres lying about twenty miles 
southeast. He has been intensely active and in- 
fluential in politics on the Republican side, and 
has rendered his party excellent service both as 
a private in the ranks and in the official stations 
to which he was chosen because of his sterling 
worth and superior ability. He was county 
assessor in 1899 and 1900 and in the fall of the 
latter year was elected county treasurer, assum- 
ing the duties of the office on January 1, 1901. 
His capability and fitness for the office were so 
manifest in his administration of the duties con- 
nected therewith that he was reelected in the 
fall of 1902 by an increased majority. He also 
takes great interest in church matters. He was 
married in 1871 to Miss Amelia Brewer, a native 
of New York and daughter of AYilliam and Eve 
(Nerber.) Brewer, and they have two children, 
Arthur D. and Albert. 

JAMES GRAHAM. 

"Canny Scotland" is very largely represented 
in the names of the progressive, industrious and 
highly successful men who have been interested 
and by their labors eminently useful in the de- 
velopment of the wild West into the highly pro- 
ductive and wealthy realm of civilization that, 
through their efforts, it has become. Among 
their number there is perhaps none other more 
worthy of individual mention than the prosper- 
ous James Graham, now of Willow Bank ranch, 
which is situated on Willow Creek, Uinta coun- 
ty, Wyo., one mile and a half east of the pros- 
perous town of Hilliard. Mr. Graham was 
born in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, on Feb- 
ruary 23. 1841], Ins parents being Robert and 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



359 






Janet (McLeod) Graham, both of whom were 
descendants of highly intelligent and respected 
families, identified for generations with the in- 
dustrial interests of that country. His father, 
a carpenter by profession, was extensively 
known and highly esteemed and died in Scot- 
land in 1876, at the age of seventy-six, his wife 
surviving him only by one year, when she, too, 
passed from earth at the age of seventy years. 
James Graham received a solid education in 
the Scottish public schools, supplementing this 
by an attendance at the night schools of Edin- 
burgh, where he took a thorough business 
course, while in the day-time he was pursuing his 
labors in the necessary business connected with 
his employment in a nursery. At the age of 
seventeen years he assumed the personal re- 
sponsibility of life for himself, and, after two 
years and a half of steady application to vari- 
• ous pursuits in Scotland, the attractions of 
the New World and its possibilities for suc- 
cess to active, energetic young men, induced 
his emigration to the United States. He 
crossed the Atlantic in 1870, stopped for a short 
time in New York state and then he took the 
long journey across the continent, making "his 
destination Rawlins, Wyoming. Here he became 
identified with the Union Pacific Railroad by 
entering its employ in the capacity of yard- 
master. His ability, good judgment and steady 
attention to the interests of the company soon 
caused his promotion to section foreman, which 
responsible position he held for eight years. 
Always desirous of improving his condition in 
life, and alert in securing a position of advance- 
ment, while performing the duties of his last 
named position he learned telegraphy, and from 
foreman on the road became the night opera- 
tor in the company's station at Carter. Soon 
becoming conversant with the duties of station 
agent, after a period of time passed as operator 
at Carter and Bryan stations, he became station 
agent at Bridger, where for three years he gave 
valuable and appreciated services to the com- 
pany. From Bridger he was sent to Aspen, 
where he was agent and also had charge of the 
watering tank until 190*1, when his relations 



with the company were amicably closed. One 
of the characteristics of a true son of Scotland 
is the desire to become the owner of a portion 
of real-estate on which to establish a permanent 
family home. This idea had been carried into 
practice by Mr. Graham some years before clos- 
ing his railroad life, and he had acquired 'the 
nucleus of his beautiful home, Willow Bank 
ranch, in 1887, and on this he established him- 
self in the raising of cattle and horses. He 
has added to his estate by subsequent purchases 
until he now owns in fee simple nearly 2,600 
acres of land and controls an extensive range. 
Here his persistent efforts and determined skill 
have developed a large and profitable business. 
In his catttle 'ranches he makes a specialty of 
Hereford stock, which he raises in large num- 
bers and of best quality, while some individual 
specimens of his horses are unexcelled in qual- 
ity by any stock in this section of the state. Mr. 
Graham has made many and valuable improve- 
ments on his ranch, bringing it into a high state 
of cultivation, with care and discrimination im- 
proving it with a special view of making it an 
ideal one in the line of agricultural industry to 
which he is devoting his attention. He has 
erected a commodious residence and all the 
outbuildings necessary to comfortably house 
and care for such of his. stock as he chooses to 
provide for in this manner. His agricultural 
and stockraising operations are conducted in 
such a manner as to bring in a very profitable 
annual return, and he is considered one of the 
representative stockmen of Western Wyom- 
ing. On May 9, 1877, Mr. Graham was mar- 
ried, with Miss Elizabeth Gordon, a daughter 
of James and Jane (Millroy) Gordon, natives 
of Scotland. Mrs. Graham was also born in Scot- 
land and came to this country in 1877. The 
family of Mr. and Mrs. Graham now consists 
of three children, one having died at the age 
of nine years. Their names are Jane M., now 
a successful teacher in the schools of Aspen, 
Wyo. ; Nellie, deceased ; Robert G. ; James H. 
With his usual energy of character Mr. Graham 
has attached himself to the fortunes of the Re- 
publican political party and has done much to 



3 6 ° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



aid and further its success in local, state and 
national affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Graham stand 
high in the estimation of the people of the com- 
munity, not only on account of their intelli- 
gence, zeal in public affairs and their many ad- 
mirable social qualities, but also from their 
great activity, which is manifested in their co- 
operation with and participation in all matters 
intended to improve the condition of that por- 
tion of the community with which they are con- 
nected. They have long been members of the 
Presbyterian church. Mr. Graham is one of 
those strong, self-reliant men, who, having been 
dependent upon himself since early youth, has 
come to regard ordinary obstacles in the way 
of his progress as mere trifles, *which vanish 
like shadows when attacked with zeal and de- 
termination. 

CHARLES GUILD. 

Wherever one goes in traveling over the 
broad extent of the American continent, the 
Scotch element appears prominently connected 
in its civilization with not only the learned pro- 
fessions, but also as leaders in large and ex- 
tensive commercial operations and industrial 
organizations and combinations of high order. 
The industry, thrift, sagacity and strong mental 
powers so characteristic of the Scottish race 
in its native land, are here developed to an ex- 
tent that causes it to dominate and take the 
leadership and to control the affairs that it is 
connected with and conduct them to gratifying 
success in every department of commercial ac- 
tivity. We are led to these reflections in con- 
templating the life of Charles Guild, now a resi- 
dent of Piedmont, Wyoming, who is not only 
a man of successful business undertakings, but 
deeply permeated with a highly religious spirit, 
is an honored and useful member of his com- 
munity and his church. He was born in Dun- 
dee, Scotland, on April 14, 1826, a son of James 
and Agnes (Gordon) Guild, representatives of 
families that for a long series of years have 
been identified with the old "land of the heather 
and the hill." His paternal great-grandparents 



were David and Isabel (Wanlass) Guild. David 
Guild became a weaver by profession and voca- 
tion and, as is customary in the old country, 
his son Charles (who married Margaret Smith) 
as well as his grandson James, became weavers, 
and this honorable vocation has been success- 
full)- and diligently followed for many genera- 
tions. Charles Guild, even when but a child, 
was employed in some of the departments of the 
weaving trade, by his industry here adding to 
the general earnings for the family support. 
As he was thus fully occupied he had little 
opportunity to acquire the needed education of 
the schools and books. He, however, became 
thoroughly conversant with all the details of 
his trade and was occupied in weaving in Scot- 
land until his emigration to the United States 
in 1854. Immediately upon arriving in the 
United States he took his course to Utah, 
where, with the same industry and conscien- 
tious fidelity to his work, he was engaged in 
weaving and farming for fifteen years in Ogden 
and Lehi. In 1868 the first survey of the Union 
Pacific Railroad was conducted, and Mr. Guild 
then came to Wyoming and located his home 
and family on the stage road, close to the toll- 
gate, four miles below Piedmont, which was 
their residence for about four years. When the 
town of Piedmont was located, the family re- 
moved thither and Mr. Guild established the 
first mercantile business of the town, which he 
successfully conducted until his buildings and 
stock of goods were destroyed by fire. Not dis- 
couraged by this ill-fortune, however, he at 
once turned his attention to ranching - , taking 
up a tract of government land in 1884, a portion 
of his present home. Since that time he has 
added to his landed possessions until in this 
ranch he owns 640 acres of valuable and highly 
productive land. This property he has largely 
improved and developed into one of the finest 
homes in this section of the state, and here he 
has erected a commodious residence containing 
twenty-three rooms. The necessities of the 
public seemed to demand that this residence 
should also be utilized as a hotel, and as such 
it has been popularly conducted by Mr. Guild 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



361 



to the satisfaction of his numerous patrons. In 
many directions the energies and business ca- 
pacities of Mr. Guild have been demonstrated. 
He was one of the founders and corporators of 
the Guild Land and Live Stock Co., of which he 
has held the office of president, and he also es- 
tablished upon a firm foundation and basis the 
Guild Mercantile Co. He has been a strong 
supporter of the Republican party and has 
taken a very active part in the affairs of the 
county, while he has performed the duties of a 
justice of the peace with conceded ability. Mr. 
Guild has been for many years a conscientious 
and valuable member of the Church of Latter 
Day Saints, active in its services and he is 
now filling the highly responsible office of elder 
of the church at Piedmont. At Ogden, Utah, 
on February 19, 1855, Mr. Guild was united in 
matrimony with Miss Mary M. Cardon, a 
daughter of Philip and Martha M. (Turner) 
Cardon. She was born in Piedmont, Italy. Her 
father was a native of France and her mother 
of England. They became residents of Utah 
in 1854, and there resided until their respective 
deaths which came at Logan. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles Guild have been born eleven chil- 
dren, eight are now living. They are Mary, 
wife of John Cross of Piedmont, where he is a 
merchant and holds the office of postmaster ; 
Charles - A., died in infancy at Slaterville, Utah; 
Joseph P., noted on other pages of this work : 
James H., engaged in stockraising; George T., 
also mentioned in another part of this volume ; 
John A., married and resides at Lyman, Wyo., 
where he is the popular postmaster and a mer- 
chant ; Lovina A., who died in infancy at Utah ; 
Emma, wife of Daniel Gambell, Union Pacific 
station agent at Carter, Wyo.; Ida E., wife of 
D. C. Swartsfager, Union Pacific station agent 
at Knight, Wyo. ; William 0., connected with 
merchandising at Lyman ; Katie A., a young 
lady of brilliant promise, who, after graduating 
at Brigham Young College at Logan, Utah, 
died at Piedmont, on November 23, 1898, at 
the age of twenty-two years and nine months, 
and was buried in the Guild cemetery on the 
Piedmont ranch. Favored with sons whose 



abilities were equal to the successful achieve- 
ment of the diversified kinds of business in 
which Mr. Guild is interested, he has practically 
retired from their operations and is enjoying 
the society of his numerous friends during these 
advancing years of his life. He has ever been 
a man of exemplary habits, kind-hearted, hos- 
pitable, generous to the needy, sympathetic with 
the suffering and diligent and faithful to all 
his trusts. He is gifted with a wonderful in- 
tuitive knowledge of mechanics and has in- 
vented a number of useful articles, notably a 
combination door lock which can be changed 
to 220 different combinations, and he has been 
successful as a logical sequence of the com- 
monsense, industry and capacity he has mani- 
fested during a long series of years. His wife 
has been truly a loyal helpmeet and they main- 
tain in their pleasant Wyoming home a gener- 
ous western Hospitality. 

ARTHUR MACDONALD GILDERSLEEVE. 

It is a fact patent to all that the character of 
a city or community depends largely upon the 
standing of its business men, their reliability, 
energy, integrity in contracts and agreements, 
together with the esteem in which they are held 
by the public. In many respects the city of 
Rock Springs has been fortunate in its citizens, 
many of whom have now not only a large share 
of public confidence in the immediate community, 
but much more than local repute in their various 
lines of activity. Among the city's substantial 
men of affairs no one is held in higher personal 
regard than Arthur Macdonald Gildersleeve, 
who, although young in years, has so im- 
pressed his personality upon the vicinity as 
to maintain the reputation of a representa- 
tive citizen. He is a native of Kingston, Can- 
ada, being a son of James and Julia (Rose) 
Gildersleeve, both parents being born and reared 
in that country. For a great number of years 
James Gildersleeve was a prominent barrister of 
Kingston and in addition to his profession de- 
voted considerable time to the marine trade, hav- 
ing: run a line of steamers on the Great Lakes to 



762 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



various points in Canada and the United States. 
He was a man of fine literary attainments and 
a profound scholar, when a young man being' 
graduated with honors from one of the principal 
educational institutions of his native country, 
after which he passed several years in studious 
traveling over various parts of the world, visiting 
the chief places of note in America and 
Europe, thus broadening his faculties and adding 
to the knowledge acquired in school and college. 
Mrs. Julia Gildersleeve was the daughter of I. 
N. Rose, one of the pioneer steamboatmen of 
Canada, a man widely and favorably known 
throughout that country and the northern por- 
tion of the United States. His home was in the 
town of Morrisburg, Canada, at which place the 
mother of Mr. Gildersleeve was also born and 
reared. Arthur Macdonald Gildersleeve was 
born on December 10, 1819, and received his pre- 
liminary education in the public schools of his na- 
tive city. The training was supplemented by a 
full literary course in Upper Canada College, 
Toronto, from which he was graduated with a 
creditable record at the early age of eighteen. 
On quitting college, Mr. Gildersleeve entered 
the Merchant's Bank of Canada as a clerk, and 
after filling various positions to the satisfaction 
of his superiors for five years, he resigned and 
came to Rock Springs, Wyoming, as the assis- 
tant cashier of the First National Bank, remain- 
ing with the latter institution about the same 
length of time with which he served his former 
employers, and becoming widely acquainted with 
the leading business men of the city and the 
country. At the expiration of five years of faith- 
ful, conscientious service he tendered his resigna- 
tion for the purpose of filling some large tie con- 
tracts which he had secured from the Union 
Pacific Railroad, and since that time has devoted 
his attention largely to mining and stockraising. 
It is a compliment worthily bestowed to speak 
of Mr. Gildersleeve as one of the progressive 
} oung men of a city noted for the high order 
of its business talent. He has led an active life 
but has always found time to devote to the 
social duties and public claims which every com- 
munity expects of its citizens. He is affable and 



pleasant in his relations with others, strictly con- 
scientious in the performance of duty, and, to 
a decidedly marked degree, enjoys the respect 
of the people of his home city, regardless of 
class or condition. He has a very charming 
household in Rock Springs, Wyo., which is pre- 
sided over with gentle dignity by the ladv 
in every respect duly qualified to be his com- 
panion and helpmeet. Her maiden name was 
Florence Adele Clark, daughter of Dealton and 
Mary (Baker) Clark, and the ceremony which 
made her Mrs. Gildersleeve was solemnized on 
September 29, 1898. She is a faithful and de- 
voted Christian and an active member of the 
Episcopal church and she has been a factor in 
the religious work of the city ever since she took 
up her residence therein. They have two chil- 
dren, Dorothy and Arthur. 

GEORGE T. GUILD. 

A quiet, unassuming man, with methodical 
business methods and also a sagacious and suc- 
cessful merchant, with original and profitable 
methods of operation, George T. Guild of Pied- 
mont, Uinta county, Wyoming, who has served 
as treasurer of both the Guild Land and Live 
Stock Co. and of the Guild Mercantile Co., 
especially deserves something more than a 
passing notice at the hands of the reviewer. He 
was born in Lehi, Utah, on January 5, 1863. 
the son of Charles and Mary M. (Cardon) 
Guild. For details concerning the ancestral his- 
tory of Mr. Guild we would refer the reader to 
the sketch of Charles Guild, appearing- in an- 
other part of this volume. George T. Guild 
received his education in the excellent public 
schools of L T tah. and then engaged in active 
operations in connection with the industries of 
the Guild ranch. For the last thirteen years, 
however, his mercantile tastes and ambitions 
have led him to become identified with the oper- 
ations of the Guild Mercantile Co.. particularly 
devoting himself to the affairs of the Piedmont 
store. Under his administration the business 
has been wisely and judiciously conducted and 
has met with srratifvinq- success, he retainin<'- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3^3 



the confidence of the public and a commensu- 
rate share of its business patronage. Mr. 
Guild has loyally supported the principles and 
policies of the Republican party, with which he 
has been connected since attaining his majority. 
but has not cared to leave the legitimate fields 
of business to seek the uncertain rewards of 
the struggle for political honors for himself. 
On December 28, 1892, Air. Guild entered into 
matrimonial relations with Miss Annie Swart- 
fager, who was born in Canada in 1868, a 
daughter of H. L. Swartfager, her parents being 
natives of Canada and of German descent, and 
Mr. Swartfager, surviving his wife, is now liv- 
ing in the province of Ontario, Canada. Two 
children, George Leonard and Leslie T., con- 
stitute the family of Mr. and Mrs. Guild. A 
keen observer of affairs, an extensive reader, 
Mr. Guild keeps himself fully abreast of the 
times in knowledge, and very intelligently dis- 
charges all of his duties as a citizen. An able 
business man, a warm-hearted friend and com- 
panion, he has the friendship and esteem of a 
wide circle of friends. 

THOMAS HALL. 

One of the rising young cattlemen of Lara- 
mie county is Thomas Hall, whose address is 
Glendo, Wyoming. A native of Ireland, he was 
born on January 17, 1872, in County Galway, 
the son of Edward and Martha (Sale) Hall, na- 
tives of that country. His father followed the 
occupation of farming in Ireland and at the 
present writing he is still engaged in that calling 
in his native land. His mother passed away in 
1888. and she lies at rest in County Galway, 
Thomas Hall grew to manhood in his native 
country and received his early academical train- 
ing in the public schools. After completing his 
education he remained with his parents assist- 
ing his father in the work of the place until he 
had arrived at the age of twenty-one years. He 
then determined to escape from the forbidding 
business conditions which prevailed in his na- 
tive country and to seek his fortune in America. 
He therefore, in company with other young 



men of the same age and ambition as himself, 
left his old home and his parents and set sail 
for the New World. Upon arriving in America 
he proceeded to Wyoming, where he visited his 
uncle, Patrick Hall, then residing on Horseshoe 
Creek, and secured employment at the latter's 
place for about one year. At the end of that 
time he located his present ranch, about three 
miles southwest of Glendo, on the Horseshoe 
Creek, Laramie county, and began to improve 
it as fast as his circumstances would permit. In 
the meantime, as his means were limited, he 
secured employment on cattle ranches in the 
vicinity during a portion of the time in each 
year until 1898, when he established his pre- 
manent home on his ranch, and has continued 
there ever since successfullv engaged in the 
cattle business. He has added to his acreage 
and is now the owner of about 400 acres of 
land, well fenced and improved, with about 
ninety acres under irrigation, having one of the 
best-equipped small cattle ranches in that sec- 
tion of the county. His industry and perse- 
verance are bearing fruit, as those sterling qual- 
ities of character always do, and he is making 
a success of his chosen occupation. He is a 
member of the Roman Catholic church and a 
highly respected citizen of the community 
where he resides. Politically, he is identified 
with the Democratic party and is a conscien- 
tious believer in the principles of that political 
organization, although never a candidate for 
public position. He prefers to give his entire 
time and attention to the care and management 
of his private business interests and his energy 
and ability are sure to win for him the success 
they deserve. Progressive, straighforward and 
faithful in the discharge of every duty as a 
neighbor and a citizen, he is held in high es- 
teem. 

W. F. HAMILTOX. 

The Hamilton family is an illustrious and an- 
cient one of England, Scotland and the north of 
Ireland, one authority telling us that it came from 
Normandy with AYilliam the Conqueror in 1066 
and is recorded in the Doomsdav Book as re- 



3 6 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ceiving valuable apportionment of English land 
from that monarch. The first American resident 
of the immediate lineage of W. F. Hamilton, 
now of Douglas, Wyoming, was his Scotch-Irish 
paternal grandfather, who, settling in Allegheny 
county, Pa., manifested the thrifty and manly 
qualities characteristic of his race and developed 
a fine estate from the tangled wilderness of his 
purchase. His son, W. R. Hamilton, on attain- 
ing manhood, married in his native county one 
of its fair daughters, Miss Annie Hamilton, bear- 
ing the same name, but not related unless in a 
very remote degree, who was also of Scotch-Irish 
extraction. Thereafter the young wedded pair 
made their home in New Bethlehem, Pa., where 
Mr . Hamilton was long engaged in farming 
operations and in merchandising, in a quiet way 
taking an interest in public affairs, never seek- 
ing official station or accepting office. His oldest 
son, Samuel, gave patriotic service for his coun- 
try in the Civil War as a member of the One 
Hundred and Third Penna. Infantry, being taken 
prisoner at Roanoke, and being confined for 
twelve months in the prison pen of Libby, the 
deprivations there endured so debilitating him 
that he was ever afterward unfit for duty, re- 
ceiving an honorable discharge at the termina- 
tion of his second enlistment. W. F. Hamilton 
was the fifth child of his parents and passed his 
youth as country lads of his day were wont to 
do, gaining strength and development in the farm 
labors of the parental homestead in the summer 
and attending the creditable public schools dur- 
ing their winter sessions, supplementing the in- 
struction there received by two years attendance 
at a college in Scio, Ohio, after which he re- 
turned home and was in the employment of his 
father until 1876. At intervals his time there- 
after was given to pedagogic work, in which he 
was quite successful, until 1879, when, to try the 
effect on his failing health, he came to Cheyenne, 
Wyo., and engaged in sheep husbandry for a 
vear. His health improving under the salubrious 
air and the conditions here surrounding him, 
Mr. Hamilton removed to the vicinity of Fort 
Laramie, continuing there until 1886 when he 
came to the site of the healthful little city of 



Douglas and was one of the pioneer inhabitants, 
being one of the first to raise a tent within its 
borders. Here he has since made his home and 
the headquarters of extensive stock interests, 
demonstrating by many ways his business ability, 
his devotion to the public weal and other char- 
acteristics which entitle his classification to be 
in the ranks of the city's best citizenship, and he 
has given great satisfaction to the people, not 
only as a private citizen, but also in his official 
station as one of the city government. He was 
one of the promoters and originators of the 
Platte Valley Sheep Co., to which he sold his 
ranch and sheep interests near Orrin Junction 
in 1894, thence transferring his activities to an- 
other ranch on the La Prele Creek, twelve miles 
from Douglas, and here he has instituted many 
improvements and a large amount of irrigation, 
and usually runs about 10,000 sheep. Oil has 
been discovered on this property and at this 
writing development work is being done, the 
prospect being good for an extensive pool of 
petroleum. Mr. Hamilton was particularly for- 
tunate in his marriage. On October 24, 1883, 
he wedded with Miss M. M. Vincent, a daughter 
of the Rev. Dr. G. C. Vincent, a prominent min- 
ister of the United Presbyterian church and 
the founder of the college of that persuasion 
located at New Wilmington, near Newcastle, 
Pa., where Mrs. Hamilton was carefully edu- 
cated. Their children are Martha. Artie B., 
George R., James and William. In their hand- 
some home an air of cultured refinement pre- 
vails, and a rare hospitality is extended to the 
numerous friends. 

FRANK HARRISON, M. D. 

The life of a country physician is full of 
toil and hardship, but it has compensation in 
the reflection that it is also full of benefaction 
to the community which he serves and that no 
effort in behalf of suffering humanity is thrown 
away. Among the prominent and highly es- 
teemed physicians of Evanston, Wyoming, Dr. 
Frank Harrison is in the front rank. He was 
born in 1842 at Toronto, Canada, the son of 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



365 



William and Mary (O'Connor) Harrison,' the 
former a native of England and the latter of 
Ireland. Both were brought by their parents 
to the New World in childhood, it being the 
desire to secure for them better opportunities 
than were afforded in their native land. The 
families settled at or near Toronto, where they 
prospered and reared their offspring. Doctor 
Harrison received his academic education at 
the public schools of his native country and be- 
gan his medical training at the Toronto Univer- 
sity. He continued it at St. Michael's Medical 
College in Toronto, and fully completed it with 
another two-years' course at Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College in New York City, and from 
which he was duly graduated on March 1, 
•1866. On March 1, 1865, he had ■ been ap- 
pointed a medical cadet in the service of the 
U. S. government, a class of officials which the 
government had created and to which under- 
graduates were admitted as assistant surgeons. 
His first assignment was on board the transport 
S. R. Spaulding, which conveyed sick and 
wounded soldiers to New Haven, Conn., where 
a military hospital was located. He remained 
at the hospital until November and the experi- 
ence he had there has been of invaluable serv- 
ice to him in his subsequent practice. Af- 
ter his graduation from Bellevue College he came 
to Denver, Colorado, at that time a city of 
not far from 4,000 inhabitants. He passed his 
first summer in the West in traveling and 
then came on to Cheyenne, following the rail- 
road in his professional work as far as 
Wasatch. He next went to the Sweetwater 
mines, there passed two years in the practice 
of his profession and then removed to Evans- 
ton, where he has been in an active medical 
practice for more than thirty years. At the 
first election held after his arrival the total poll 
of voters, men and women, numbered only 300. 
In politics Doctor Harrison is a Democrat and 
has been very active in the interest of the party. 
He has been honored with several places of re- 
sponsibility in public life, discharging the duties 
of all with fidelity, intelligence and zeal. In 1871 
and 1872 he represented Sweetwater county 



in the Territorial Legislature, and from 1876 to 
1880 was one of its county commissioners. In 
Uinta county he was probate judge for six 
years and county treasurer from 1884 to 1890, 
being also mayor of Evanston for three years. 
He is also a valued member of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, being very much esteemed as a 
leader in all of its meetings. On January 1, 
1875, he was united in holy marriage with 
Miss Mary A. Creed, a daughter of James 
Creed, a native of Illinois, and whose father died 
in 1896 at Clinton, Iowa, and the mother, whose 
maiden name was Egan, is still living, her resi- 
dence being at Dixon, 111. Doctor and Mrs. 
Harrison have four children, James F., Mary, 
Helen and Fred W. Doctor Harrison ranks 
high in his profession as a physician and sur- 
geon, as a close student and as an intelligent 
practitioner. 

GEORGE P. HARVEY. 

Born and reared in the healthful and in- 
vigorating atmosphere of the farm, gaining 
from its abundant out-of-door exercise full 
physical development and strength of muscle 
and thus being well fitted for active operations 
in any field that gave him opportunity to en- 
gage therein, George P. Harvey brought to 
Wyoming from his Iowa home when a youth 
the qualifications for winning success in the in- 
dustry he has chosen as his life work, and is 
bringing to bear in his labors a vigor of body 
and a clearness of mind that are certain every- 
where to win success of a high order. While 
his childhood and youth were passed in Mont- 
gomery county, he was born in Muscatine,. 
Iowa, on May 19, 1867, the son of William H. 
and Agnes (McCulloch) Harvey. Something of 
his parents and their ancestors is given on other 
pages of -this work in connection with the re- 
view of the active career of his elder brother, 
Robert B. Harvey, to which we must refer the 
reader. Receiving a good common-school educa- 
tion in the schools of Iowa, at the age 
of seventeen years, in 1884, Mr. Harey came 
to Wyoming and to Fremont county, where 



3 66 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 






he rode on the range for the Carter Cat- 
tle Co. under the competent instruction and 
direction of his mother's brother, Peter McCul- 
loch, the capable superintendent of the com- 
pany's extensive operations. Three years were 
there passed, Mr. Harvey rapidly assimilating 
the practical knowledge there afforded, then, 
coming to Uinta county in 1887, he here con- 
tinued in the employ of the same firm in the 
same capacity until the Fort Bridger Indian 
Reservation was opened for settlement, when 
he took up a homestead, an integral portion of 
his present ranch of 240 acres, and here he has 
conducted stock operations of pronounced im- 
portance and developed one of the pleasant and 
valuable homes of the section, all of his land 
being under ditch, furnishing an ample supply 
of water for all his purposes. Two years of 
his time were given to merchandising at 
Mountain View and in June, 1902, he opened 
a store at Carter, where he is now conducting a 
lucrative business. Mr. Harvey has recently 
embarked in the culture and breeding of Bel- 
gian hares, having quite a stock of registered 
animals. He is one of the substantial cit- 
izens of the county and has manifested in good 
measure the sterling qualities of head and heart 
of the intelligent and thrifty Scottish race from 
which he descends. Every demand on his time 
in public matters or private business has been 
fully met, every emergency has found him ready, 
every duty of good citizenship has been prompt- 
ly and fully performed, and he stands well with 
his fellow men. He married with Miss Hettie 
Hendrie of Mountain View, on April 30, 1894. 
She is a daughter of William and Sarah (Oder- 
kirk) Hendrie, the father being a native of Ohio 
and the mother of Indiana. Their home circle 
is brightened by a winsome daughter, Dora H. 

ALLEN W. HAYGOOD. 

The state of Wyoming, one of the youngest 
in the Union, but also one of the most pros- 
perous, most progressive and promising, owes 
much to the men of enterprise, daring, and in- 
trepid spirit, who during recent years have come 



from the eastern and the southern states, estab- 
lishing here new industries and laying strong 
and deep the foundations of the commonwealth. 
One of the most prominent of these men, now 
enjoying the quiet evening of a well-spent life, 
is Allen W. Haygood, whose residence is near 
Granite Canon, Laramie county. His native 
state is Georgia, as he was born in Montgomery 
county, December 4, 1835, the son of Appleton 
and Mary R. (Lovelace) Haygood, natives of 
that state. His father was for many years one 
of the most prominent of the oldtime Methodist 
Episcopal ministers of the South, one of the old 
circuit riders of Georgia, the degree of Doctor 
of Divinity having been conferred upon him on 
account of his distinguished services to the 
cause of religion and education in the southern- 
states. In 1 841 he removed his residence to 
Alabama, where he established himself in Ma- 
con county, and remained there as the pastor of 
the Methodist church up to the time of his 
death, which occurred in 1865. He was a most 
devoted adherent of the Confederacy- during 
the Civil War, for several years being the alert 
quartermaster of the Seventeenth Alabama 
Regiment of the C. S. A. The mother passed 
away in 1857, and both father and mother were 
buried in Alabama. Allen W. Havgood grew 
to manhood and received his early education in 
the public schools of Alabama, attending for 
some time the graded school at Chunnynuggee. 
In 1856, having arrived at years of maturity, 
he left Alabama and went to Kansas, where he 
took up land and engaged in farming about six 
miles southeast of the site of Topeka, the cap- 
ital of the state. Here, in addition to his farm- 
ing enterprise, he also engaged in carrying the 
mails under contract with the U. S. govern- 
ment. He was among the very earliest of the 
settlers of that section of the state and saw the 
second house erected in Topeka. Some of the 
first letters that found their way from civiliza- 
tion to friends then living on the extreme wes- 
tern frontier, were carried by him during those 
years. In 1862 he disposed of his Topeka in- 
terests and going to Leavenworth, then one of 
the chief outfitting points for overland travel. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



367 



he provided himself with ox teams and the nec- 
essary outfit and started on the overland trip 
to Central City, Colorado. He made the trip 
in safety, traveling through a country which 
was very dangerous to travelers, owing to the 
depredations of hostile Indians, disposed of his 
goods at a handsome profit, and returned to 
Kansas. In the spring of 1863, he engaged in 
freighting from points on the Missouri River 
to the different military posts of the West. This 
business grew to large proportions, was very 
profitable and he remained in it until 1868, when 
having an opportunity to dispose of it at a large 
profit, he did so and, associating himself with 
other parties, he established an extensive agri- 
cultural implement business in the city of At- 
chison under the name of Dennison, Haygood 
& Co., subsequently by a change of partners it 
became Robbins, Haygood & Co. This busi- 
ness was continued with great success until 
1 87 1, although Mr. Haygood was engaged in 
various other enterprises at the same time. In 
1868, he accompanied one of his ox trains into 
the territory of Wyoming, which at that time 
had only a few white settlers and was the fa- 
vorite residence of the wild Indian and the buf- 
falo, and took up land where the U. P. rail- 
road station now stands at Granite Canon, Wyo. 
Here he was engaged for some time both in 
cattleraising, and in contracting on the Union 
Pacific Railroad, the pioneer railroad of the 
West, and in furnishing supplies and materials 
to the construction department of that road. 
In 1871 he returned to Atchison, and disposed 
of his interest in the agricultural implement 
house, returned to Wyoming and continued in 
his contracting and cattleraising operations. In 
this he was very successful and remained at 
his ranch near Granite Canon until 1880, when 
he sold out at that place and purchased his pres- 
ent ranch property on Lone Tree Creek, about 
twenty-three miles west of Cheyenne, where he 
has remained since, still being engaged in cat- 
tleraising. Pie has been largely interested in 
horses, at one time being one of the largest 
stockmen in the western country and the owner 
of several thousand head of both cattle and 



horses, but he was obliged to dispose of a part 
of his holdings and limit his operations, owing 
to a lack of range. He now controls about 
1,600 acres of fine land, well fenced and im- 
proved, and has other property throughout the 
state. He still continues in the mail contract- 
ing, which occupied so much of his earlier life 
on the frontier in Kansas, and now controls the 
contract between Granite Canon, Wyo., and Vir- 
ginia Dale, Colo. On February 14, 1870, in the 
city of Atchison, Kansas, Mr. Haygood was 
united in matrimony with Miss Saphronia A. 
Bishop, a native of North Carolina and a 
daughter of John H. and Martha S. (Watson) 
Bishop, natives of that state. Her father was 
a merchant of Murfreesboro, N. C, and re- 
moved from that state to Kansas in 1856, set- 
tling in Tecumseh. He was there engaged in 
merchandising until 1862, when he moved to 
Atchison, continuing the same business there un- 
til 1873, then removing to Cheyenne, Wyo., 
where he was for many years actively engaged 
in trade, and where he and his wife are now 
(1902), carrying on a large millinery and supply 
business, occupying one of the first business 
houses erected there. To Mr. and Mrs. Hay- 
good eleven children have been born, eight of 
whom are living, namely : Henry R. ; Ada ; A. 
Wesley; Arthur L. ; Nora; Alzada ; Florence - ; 
Theodore. The deceased are Bertha, Walter 
and Mary. Mr. Haygood is affiliated with the 
Masonic order, being a member of Cheyenne 
Lodge. He was early "made a Mason" at Te- 
cumseh, Kan., in 1862, and in 1868, he took 
the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite 
in St. Joseph, Mo. He also belongs to the com- 
mandery of Knights Templar, No. 1, of Chey- 
enne, while Mrs. Haygood is a member of the 
Order of the Eastern Star of Cheyenne. Mr. 
Haygood has ever been identified with the 
Democratic party, and is prominent in its coun- 
cils, although never seeking honors at its hands. 
He has often been largely instrumental in as- 
sisting his friends to places of high distinction, 
but has always refused to become a candidate 
for any position, preferring to devote his time 
and attention to his extensive business inter- 



3 68 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ests. He is one of the most substantial busi- 
ness men and property owners of his section 
of the state, and is in the enjoyment of the high 
respect and esteem of the public. 

FERDINAND J. HEGGE. 

' One of the progressive young cattlemen of 
Laramie county, Ferdinand J. Hegge, whose 
address is Glendo, Wyoming, is a native of 
Germany, born in the province of Holstein on 
April 5, 1864, the son of Julius and Caroline 
(Sivers) Hegge, natives of the Fatherland. His 
father is still following the occupation of farm- 
ing in the province of Holstein, and the mother 
passed from life in October, 1899, and is buried 
in the province of Holstein, where her son, 
Ferdinand, grew, to man's estate, and received 
his early education in the government schools. 
When he had attained the age of seventeen 
years he set forth for the New World and upon 
arriving in this country he located at Lincoln, 
Neb., and secured employment with an uncle 
near that place and remained there for about 
one year. He then came into Lincoln, where 
he accepted a position in a grocery and kept 
busy in that trade until 1884, then he, removed 
to the western part of Nebraska, where he se- 
cured employment on a large cattle ranch that 
he might acquire a practical knowledge of that 
business. In that connection he rode wild the 
ranges of Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and the 
Indian Territory until 1889. He then gave up 
this occupation for the time being, and went 
east to Chicago, where he entered the employ 
of Christian Hauf in one of his large meat- 
markets in that city, and remaining there about 
two years, then coming to Wyoming to take 
charge of the cattle interests of his employer 
on Horseshoe Creek in Laramie county, and 
was one year the manager. In 1894 he resigned 
this position and secured a lease on a cattle 
ranch on Elkhorn Creek, where he carried on 
business for himself until 1896. Then relin- 
quishing his lease he took up his present ranch 
ranch on Elkhorn Creek, six miles northwest 
of Glendo, and has since been there occupied 



in successful cattleraising. He has added to 
his holdings, both of lands and stock, from year 
to year, and is now the owner of one of the 
finest ranches for the cattle industry in that sec- 
tion of the county. He has 640 acres of land, 
well improved, with good fences, and a large 
portion of it under irrigation, and is counted 
among the rising stockmen of that locality. 
On December 2, 1891, in Chicago, 111., Mr. 
Flegge was united in marriage with Miss Ella 
Avery, a native of Indiana and a daughter of 
Charles H. and Ruth (Weston) "Avery, the for- 
mer a native of New York and the latter of 
Indiana. Her father was long engaged in rail- 
roading in Indiana, being occupied in that pur- 
suit until his death in 1900. He was buried at 
Rossburg, Ind. Her mother now makes her 
home in the city of Newport, Ind. 

JOHN M. HENCH. 

Well may any man take pride in a worthy 
ancestry, and in keeping inviolate everything 
which exemplifies the sturdy and the honorable 
characteristics that rendered them of good re- 
pute and of value to the community, he indi- 
cates that he is a true scion of the ancestral 
stock, and will himself be found possessing a 
character distinct and clear in its individuality 
and showing the dignifying elements of gentle 
breeding. Mr. Hench is numbered in this cate- 
gorv and he has during his mature life been 
identified with affairs of importance and his 
career has ever been characterized by. upright- 
ness and integrity. He was born in Juniata 
county, Pa., on December 8, 1858, of a paternal 
ancestry for long generations connected with 
the maintenance of freedom in their native re- 
public of Switzerland, but domiciled in Pennsyl- 
vania from the Colonial days of that common- 
wealth, his parents. William and Jane (Mc- 
Laughlin) Hench, being natives of Juniata 
county, that beautiful and historic portion of 
their native state. The McLaughlins were of 
that resolute, independent Scotch-Irish stock 
which is ever noted for its intellectuality and 
brilliancy, the emigrant ancestor coming to 



/ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



369 



America before the American Revolution, in 
which members of the family participated. 
William Hench was a man of more than or- 
dinary education and mental powers and was 
engaged in civil engineering and architectural 
construction from his early manhood until re- 
tiring from business a few years since, among 
other enterprises aiding in and supervising the 
construction of some of the largest bridges in 
the state. He was a large-hearted person, a 
great believer in education and interested in all 
public affairs, particularly those of a local na- 
ture and appertaining to Juniata county. 
Eight children comprised his family, of whom 
the eldest, Samuel H. Hench, became an em- 
inent citizen of Fort Wayne, Ind., where he 
was for eight years the prosecuting attorney of 
his county, a member of the legislature for two 
terms, chief of the law department in the state 
comptroller's office for four years, judge of 
the criminal courts for seven years, and judge 
of the Superior Court for the very long term of 
twenty-three years. After a graduation from 
the excellent schools of Fort Wayne, John M. 
Hench began the reading of law under the 
superior tutelage of his brother, continuing in 
diligent application to his study until 1885, dur- 
ing a portion of this time acting as bailiff in 
his brother's office, and then, after a creditable 
examination, being admitted to the bar of the 
state, thereafter coming west, where he trav- 
eled for two years, then located in Kansas, but 
the climate not agreeing with him, he returned 
to the East, some time thereafter locating in 
Dixon county, Neb., where he was in active 
and successful legal practice for over ten years, 
holding the position of county attorney for 
more than four years with conceded ability and 
highly gratifying success. In January, 1901, Mr. 
Hench removed to Wyoming, establishing his 
home and office in the thriving young city of 
Casper, where his professional abilities and skill 
promptly met with recognition, a large and 
valuable clientage has already attached itself 
to him and he is now engaged in the full activ- 
ities of a very extensive professional practice. 
In the qualities connected with citizenship of 



the highest type, Mr. Hench stands exponent 
in his daily life and in the estimation of the 
people of the county, who render a clue meed 
of praise to both his standing as a man and 
as an attorney, prosperity coming to him as a 
result of this estimation. In political circles 
his counsel and active c ervices are given to 
the Republican party, and in the fall of 1902 he 
was elected prosecuting attorney of Natrona 
county. Fraternally, he is numbered with the 
Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen 
of America. On June 2, 1897, at Ponca, Neb., 
Mr. Hench and Miss Anna Rakow Avere mar- 
ried. She is the daughter of William Rakow 
of Dixon county, Neb., where she was born 
and where her father is a leader in agricultural 
and stockgrowing circles of the state. Their 
only child is Samuel M. Hench, a bright child 
of four years. 

C. F. JACKSON. 

A pioneer farmer's boy on the frontiers of 
two states, a soldier in the active service of his 
country during the Spanish-American War and 
now an enterprising and successful stockgrower 
and farmer, C. F. Jackson, of near Bighorn, 
has been tried by all phases of fortune and has 
not been seriously disturbed by any, exhibiting 
a readiness for every emergency, an adaptabil- 
ity to any condition, and a willingness to do 
the best he could under all circumstances. He 
was born in Page county, Iowa, on June 17, 
1868, and while he was yet a child his parents, 
Hon. W. E. and Amanda (Davis) Jackson, re- 
moved from that state to Kansas. After a 
short residence there they returned to Iowa, 
in 1880 followed the march of progress west- 
ward, coming to Sheridan county, Wyo., where 
their son grew to manhood and was educated 
in the public schools. When the clarion call 
to arms sounded in consequence of Spanish ag- 
gressions, he promptly volunteered as a mem- 
ber of Colonel Torrey's Rough Riders, and 
served throughout the war, experiencing much 
hardship and privation and performing his full 
share of arduous and dangerous duty in the 



37o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



field. After the war he returned to Wyoming 
and resumed, on his fine farm of 320 acres, the 
peaceful pursuits of agriculture and stockrais- 
ing, which he had begun before the war cloud 
enveloped our land. He raises both cattle and 
horses, being very successful and progressive 
at the business. His place is well adapted by- 
location and conditions to the industry and he 
has made it as attractive by its improvements 
as it was by its natural features, equipping it 
with every convenience for its purposes and 
providing it with a very comfortable and tasteful 
residence, which is one of the hospitable homes 
of his section of the county. Mr. Jackson was 
married in Sheridan county, Wyo., on March 
23, 1889, to Miss Ella L. Hayes, ■ a native of 
Missouri but for some years a resident of this 
state. They have four children, Pauline, Ed- 
ward, Charles and Jay L. T. Mr. Jackson is 
regarded as one of the enterprising and pro- 
gressive young cattlemen of the state, and has 
rapidly grown in public esteem as an upright, 
serviceable, broadminded and influential citi- 
zen, with years of usefulness before him in 
many lines of activity, local and general, and 
future distinctions awaiting him if he should 
care to have them. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican. 

ORSON GRIMMETT. 

Having lived almost his entire life far out on 
the frontier, and having crossed the plains four 
times when the trip was full of hazard and hard- 
ship, Orson Grimmett, one of the leading cit- 
izens of Lander, Wyoming, is very essentially a 
pioneer and path-blazer for the advance of civ- 
ilization. He was born in Birmingham, Eng- 
land, on March 5, 1850. a son of John and Sarah 
(Passey) Grimmett, also natives of England. 
The father was a ship carpenter who did an ex- 
tensive business in his line and in 1855 brought 
his family to the United States, following the 
banner of his religious faith into the western 
wilds, and locating in Utah. He was an ardent 
believer in the doctrine of the Reorganized 
Church of the Latter Day Saints, holding a very 
prominent place in its councils. In this coun- 
try, far from any need for his services in his ac- 



customed handicraft, he pursued the quiet and 
independent life of a farmer and stockraiser, for 
a while in Utah, then in Missouri, and later in 
Idaho, where he died in 1897, aged seventy 
years, his wife dying in 1881 at the same piacc. 
The fourth of their eight children, Orson Grim- 
mett, was educated in the public schools of the 
various places where the family happened to be 
living during his school age and when he was 
ready for the active pursuits of life he engaged 
'in mining in Utah, following that precarious, 
but stimulating occupation for seven years, then 
quitting it for the more promising and congenial 
field of stockraising, which he conducted in 
Idaho until 1878 and has since been actively en- 
gaged in near Lander, on his excellent ranch of 
440 acres on Squaw Creek, which is mostly good 
farming land. He has also a considerable body 
of leased land, all well improved for its pur- 
poses and in a high state of cultivation so far 
as is desired. He raises fine grades of horses 
and cattle, the products of his ranches having 
a high rank in the market. He also owns val- 
uable property in the city of Lander, including a 
profitable livery barn and a desirable residence 
on Main street, besides extensive interests in oil 
lands, the Garfield gold mine at South Pass and 
other mineral lands in various places. In pub- 
lic life he has had a creditable career, hav- 
ing been deputy sheriff, city marshal and sheriff 
of the county from 1885 to 1887 and again from 
1889 to 1 89 1. In 1887 he was nominated for 
a second consecutive term, and although the tide 
was strong against his party, he was beaten by 
onlv seven votes. At the expiration of his second 
term he retired to private life and has since giv- 
en his undivided attention to his business. He 
is a member of Lander Lodge. No. 10. Knights 
of Pythias, and of the uniform rank of the or- 
der, also belonging to White Mountain Lodge, 
No. 624. B. P. O. E., at Rock Springs. On No- 
vember 27. 1876. he was united in marriage with 
Miss Ella Barnaby, of Idaho, a native of Kan- 
sas, a daughter of Robert and Jane Barnaby, 
the former a Kentuckian by birth, and the latter 
a native of Ireland. They have had two chil- 
dren. Orson, who died in infancy, and Albion A., 
who is married and a resident of Lander. 



■ 










QjU^Ji^ ^^n^^^^^^LoC> 



ii 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



37i 



TRUMAN B. HICKS. 

One of the leading bankers and business 
men of the state of Wyoming, Truman B. 
Hicks, who for nearly twenty years has been 
the president of the First National Bank of 
Cheyenne, is a native of New York, where he 
was born at Caldwell, Warren county, on Sep- 
tember 25, 1844, a son of Westel W. and Cor- 
delia C. (Ketchum) Hicks, natives of the Em- 
pire State. His father was a merchant of 
Caldwell and a prominent citizen of that com- 
munity. Young Hicks grew to manhood in the 
state of New York, and attended the public 
schools of Caldwell until he had attained to the 
age of thirteen years. He entered the Lansley 
Commercial College, at Rutland, Vt., at twenty 
years of age and pursued a thorough course of 
business training at that institution, being grad- 
uated that year. He was later employed for 
a short time as a bookkeeper in his father's 
mercantile establishment, and then he was ten- 
dered a position as bookkeeper in the Second 
National Bank of Galesburg", 111., and came 
west for the purpose of looking into the mat- 
ter. Concluding to accept this position he re- 
mained there for about three years, then re- 
signing to become cashier of the First National 
Bank of Kewaunee, 111. He subsequently re- 
signed this place and removed to Chicago, 
where he accepted a position in the Third Na- 
tional Bank of that city. He remained in that 
bank five years and during the last year he 
was its assistant cashier, and earned a wide rep- 
utation as a successful banker. In 1878, he ac- 
cepted the position of assistant cashier of the 
First National Bank of Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
and established his home in the city of Chey- 
enne, where he has resided since that time. In 
1885 he was elected as president of the bank, 
a position which he has since held continuously, 
and in which he has shown himself to be one 
of the leading bankers and financial men of the 
western country. For many years he has been 
a prominent factor in the banking and business 
life of the territory and. state of Wyoming, hav- 
ing had much to do with building up her in- 

23 



dustries, developing her resources and laying 
upon a safe and conservative basis the com- 
mercial foundations of the commonwealth. No 
man has done more to promote and advance the 
business interests of Wyoming or to attract the 
attention of outside capital to the great re- 
sources of mine, forest and field. He is largely 
interested in the live stock business and for 
many years was president of the Converse Cat- 
tle Co., one of the largest owners of cattle in 
the West. He was president of the Business 
Men's Association of the city of Cheyenne, be- 
ing a public spirited citizen who takes active 
interest in the welfare of the city in which he 
maintains his home. For twelve .years he has 
served as a member of the school board of 
Cheyenne, and has given no little of his time 
to the service of the public without any com- 
pensation, or any expectation of reward, except 
the consciousness of having well performed his 
duty as a member of society. During his long 
residence in Wyoming he has been often so- 
licited by his friends and party associates to 
permit the use of his name for public position 
of honor and trust, but has invariably declined 
to do so, preferring to devote his time and at- 
tention to his extensive business interests. His- 
prominence and standing with the people of 
his state are such that he might appropriately 
aspire to any position within the gift of the 
people, if he so desired. He has entertained 
the opinion that he could be of greater service 
to the community and to his fellow men in a pri- 
vate station than in any public position, and 
his progressive and public spirited course for 
so many years has seemed to justify his judg- 
ment. Certainly the power which he has 
wielded for the advancement of the best in- 
terests of the community at the head of his 
banking house, has been much greater than 
that of any public official. While a resident of 
Galesburg, 111., on September 15, 1868, Mr. 
Hicks was united in marriage to Miss Augusta 
M. Beers, a daughter of Stephen D. and Ann 
Eliza Beers, well-known residents of that city. 
To them were born two children, Francis A., 
who died in 1894, and Anna C, now Mrs. 



372 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Ledru J. Brackett, who resides at West Rox- 
bury, Mass. Mrs. Hicks died in 1884 an d in 
1886 Mr. Hicks was again married, his second 
wife being Mrs. Clarence W. Converse, the 
widow of Amasa R. Converse. She also passed 
away, dying in September, 1899. Fraternally, 
Mr. Hicks is affiliated with the Masonic order, 
and is one of the foremost Masons of the 
United States. Few men are more advanced in 
the work of great fraternity or are held in high- 
er esteem by the members throughout the 
country. "Made a mason" at Galesburg, III., 
in 1866, the chapter and Knight Templar de- 
grees were conferred upon him after he had re- 
moved his residence to Cheyenne. He has 
served as right eminent commander of Wyo- 
ming Commandery No. 1, for two terms, and 
subsequently he was elected as right eminent 
grand commander of the Grand Commandery 
of Wyoming, serving in that position for two 
terms. In 1896, he took the Scottish Rite and 
Thirty-second degree in Wyoming, and in 1899 
he was made a Thirty-third degree Mason at 
Washington, D. C. In 1901, he was appointed 
deputy inspector general of Wyoming, and is 
now the treasurer of the four Scottish Rite 
bodies composing Wyoming Commandery No. 
1. The work which he has done to advance 
the cause of Masonry in the West has been of 
high value to the order and has met with due 
appreciation. Progressive and yet conservative 
as a banker and business man, an able leader in 
commercial enterprises, a promoter of large 
business enterprises and a safe adviser to his 
friends and associates, he is decidedly one of 
the foremost men of his state. 

HARRY E. HODGIN. 

It is with a high degree of satisfaction that 
the biographer takes up the life story of the 
gentleman whose name forms the caption of 
of this article, a man widely known as one of the 
honored citizens of Laramie county, Wyoming, 
and who, though comparatively young, has be- 
come prominently identified with the varied in- 
terests of the part of the state in which he 



lives. His well directed management of im- 
portant business interests and his sound judg- 
ment and keen discrimination have brought a 
large measure of prosperity and his career 
demonstrates what may be accomplished by a 
man possessing the ability to take advantages 
of opportunities. In all relations of life he 
commands the confidences of those with whom 
he has been brought in contact and this volume, 
devoted to Wyoming's representative men of 
affairs would be incomplete without a record 
of his life and achievements. Harry E. Hodgin, 
farmer and stockraiser, was born on November 
30, 1874, in Warren county, Iowa. His par- 
ents, David and Sarah (Hiatt) Hodgin were 
natives of Indiana and early settlers of Iowa. 
Moving to Warren county when that part of the 
state was a new and comparatively undevel- 
oped country, David Hodgin has passed all of 
his life as a blacksmith and farmer, and still 
pursues those vocations in the above county, 
where his good wife is also living. The direct 
subject of this review was reared on the Iowa 
farm and his early life was marked by no 
special incident worthy of note. He grew up to 
fill the requirement of earning his daily bread 
by honest toil, and as long as he remained at 
home contributed his share to the support of 
the family. His educational training embraced 
the common school course, but in subsequent 
life he has acquired in the school of experience 
a practical knowledge of business affairs such 
as colleges and universities often fail to impart. 
When old enough he assumed the responsibility 
of the farm's management in order that his father 
might work in the shop and in this way assisted 
his parents until he was twenty-two years of 
age. In 1895 he came to Wyoming, settling 
on the Wheatland Flats, about four and one-half 
miles west of the city of Wheatland, in Lar- 
amie county, where he took up land and turned 
his attention to stockraising and agricultural 
pursuits. By persevering industry he has re- 
duced his place to a successful state of tillage 
and, by adding substantial improvements from 
time to time, he made it one of the finest 
ranches in this part of the state. As a farmer 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



373 



Mr. Hodgin takes leading rank and he has also 
earned distinctive prestige as a raiser of cattle 
and horses, having a fine herd of the former 
and more than a sufficient number of the lat- 
ter for practical purposes. He has steadily ad- 
vanced from a modest beginning, and his ca- 
reer, since locating on his present farm, pre- 
sents a series of successes which bear evidence 
of his sound judgment and practical wisdom in 
business affairs. On October 27, 1897, Mr. 
Hodgin and Miss Hattie L. Argesheimer, of 
Pennsylvania were united in marriage in the 
city of Cheyenne. Mrs. Hodgin being a daugh- 
ter of John and Harriet (Wallace) Argesheimer, 
natives of Germany and Pennsylvania respect- 
ively. These parents moved from Pennsylvania 
to Missouri, thence in 1872 to Wyoming, set- 
tling first at Fort Laramie, where for some 
years Mr. Argesheimer was chief musician of 
the Third U. S. Cavalry stationed at that post. 
In 1879 he was transferred to Fort Russell and 
later accompanied his company to 1 Arizona, 
where his death occurred in 1884. Mrs. Arges- 
heimer now makes her home in Cheyenne. Po- 
litically, Mr. Hodgin is a pronounced Democrat 
but has never taken a very active part in po- 
litical or public affairs. His religious faith is 
represented by the Presbyterian church, of 
which body his wife is a consistent member. 
She has been her husband's valued assistant in 
business matters and is a woman of beautiful 
Christian character, possessing much more 
than ordinary mentality. Her life has been de- 
voted to good works and all who have the 
pleasure of her acquaintance are profuse in 
their praise of her many amiable qualities and 
sterling virtues'. She moves in the best social 
circles of the community and lends her influ- 
ence as well as material assistance to all worthy 
benevolence and is an active worker in the re- 
ligious congregation to which she belongs: 

HON. W. H. HOLLIDAY. 

The ofttold tale of pioneer life in the great 
Northwest of the United States, replete with 
thrilling: dramatic features, rugged with out- 



lines of hardship and danger, rich in tints of 
poetry and romance, and filled with alternate 
hope and fear, never loses its interest in the 
narration or grows stale on the fancy. Well 
may we challenge the history of all the past 
and invoke the heroism of all peoples and 
periods to match the daring, equal the achieve- 
ments, reach the height of endeavor or surpass 
the volume of good recorded to the credit of 
the army of axmen and trailblazers who opened 
the way for the march of civilization in this 
western world and for transforming a wilder- 
ness into a garden of the gods, laughing, clap- 
ping its hands and bringing forth in sponta- 
neous abundance everything brilliant, fragrant 
and nourishing. All honor to the pioneers in 
every section ! Whatever future generations 
may accomplish or create, they wrought nobly 
in their day and left a priceless heritage of ben- 
efaction, enduring pain and privation that 
others might enjoy peace and plenty, sowing in 
toil and tears that others might reap in glad- 
ness and smiles. One of this number whose 
invading footsteps were among the first in his 
section, and whose achievements are among 
the most substantial on business lines, through 
civic interests and in social circles, is Hon. W. 
H. Holliday of Laramie, who has been a leader 
of men, a creator of commercial industries and 
an impelling force in every relation of life. He 
was born on May 21, 1843, in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, a son of Eli and Mary Annetta (Bogart) 
Holliday, the former also a native of Hamilton 
county, Ohio, and the latter of Long Island, 
N. Y. The father was a prosperous farmer in 
his native county and in 1852 made a trip to 
California, going by boat to Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, and from there across the plains and 
mountains by teams to what was then the land 
of promise to all quarters of the globe. In 
1855 he returned to his home by the Panama 
route and in 1858 removed to Douglas county, 
111., later making his home in Jackson county 
of that state. In 1868 he made a visit to his son 
in Wyoming and while there prospected in 
Douglas Creek, now in the Keystone mining 
district, being among the first to become inter- 



374 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ested in mining there and the first recorder of 
the district. He died on November 22, 1868, 
near Sherman, Wyo., and two years later his 
family became residents of the territory. He 
was a gentleman of influence in business and 
social circles during his life and enjoyed the 
esteem of all who knew him. His father, John 
Holliday, in 18 10 took his family down the Ohio 
River by flatboat from Western Pennsylvania, 
whither he had moved from his native state, 
New Jersey, and settled about ten miles west 
of Cincinnati, which at that time was more gen- 
erally known as Fort Washington. It was on 
the far frontier, this family being among the 
early emigrants to the state. His wife, nee 
Mary Lynn, was born in Ireland in 1772, being 
a woman of heroic spirit, fit companion for a 
hardy pioneer in a most trying period of the 
history of the Middle West. William H. Hol- 
liday inherited from his parents the sterling 
qualities of character which have marked his 
long and successful career, these were devel- 
oped and trained by the exigencies of frontier 
life, and thus fitted by nature and training for 
vast undertakings, it was to be expected that he 
would build up, wherever he might locate, en- 
terprises of magnitude and importance. Con- 
ditions in the vast uncultivated domain of Da- 
kota, from which four or five mighty states have 
since been carved, were favorable for a master- 
mind, and Mr. Holliday was the man for their 
proper concentration and development. His 
education in the schools had been limited, but 
he had a goodly store of the worldly wisdom 
gained only from experience. Thus equipped 
for the contest, in 1865, when he was but twen- 
ty-two he boldly challenged fate into the lists 
against him and making his way to Denver 
overland with a freighting outfit he entered up- 
on active duty according to its call and worked 
away cheerfully in that region until 1867, when 
he came to Wyoming with a sawmill outfit, and 
soon after it was installed in the mountains near 
Sherman to manufacture lumber with which to 
build Fort Russell and carry on construction 
work along the line of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road. He remained in the sawmill business, 



managing mills for contractors, and for himself 
in contract work until 1870, and then, in com- 
pany with his brother Jethro T. Holliday and 
William R. Williams, he purchased an entire 
outfit and began independent operations on a 
scale of magnitude. From 'its inception this 
firm prospered and had orders for lumber often 
beyond their utmost capacity. A large portion 
of what was used in building Greeley, Colo., in 
its early days was here furnished by them, and all 
the surrounding country laid their facilities un- 
der tribute. In 1872 Mr. Williams retired from 
the firm and a year later Mr. Holliday pur- 
chased his brother's interest and, leaving the 
mills to the care of others, he took up his res- 
idence at Laramie to manage a lumber yard 
that they had previously established there and 
to look after the general interests of a business 
which was rapidly expanding. Since then his 
many commercial and industrial enterprises have 
grown to almost gigantic proportions through 
the skill of his management and the wealth of 
his resources in capacity, adaptability and tire- 
less energy. To lumber he added contracting 
and building, later furniture, to furniture hard- 
ware, and to hardware groceries and other lines 
of merchandise, also including farm implements, 
wagons, harness, machinery, etc., until it was 
deemed best to incorporate the business to give 
it proper breadth, firmness of foundation and 
flexibility of function. Accordingly in 1886 The 
W. H. Holliday Co., was formed with a paid-up 
capital stock of $250,000, and this corporation 
absorbed all the lines of mercantile enterprise 
with which Mr. Holliday was previously con- 
nected, including business properties valued at 
more than $100,000 and a number of dwellings 
in different parts of Laramie. In addition to 
its mercantile features, the company carries on 
a general contracting and building industry and 
has erected many of the finest business blocks 
and residences in the city. This immense com- 
mercial enterprise stands as an impressive mon- 
ument to the progressive and resourceful spirit 
of its founder and principal conductor, for 
while Mr. Holliday has had intelligent and cap- 
able partners and most valuable assistants in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



375 



his wofk, he has been and is the presiding 
genius, the real lord of the heritage. The main 
store building of the company is a three-story 
and basement block, 72x132 feet in dimensions, 
constructed of stone and brick at a cost of $30,- 
000. The carriage and implement repository is 
96x112 feet in size and two stories high; while 
the lumber yard, planing mill, etc., cover an 
entire city block of ground. From its or- 
ganization Mr. Holliday has been the president 
and managing head of the corporation, and to 
him must be attributed the remarkable expan- 
sion and continued success of its business. It 
is conceded that he is one of the most capable, 
far-seeing and prudent business men of the 
state, with a large sweep of vision, a knowledge 
of details and conditions and a readiness in re- 
sources that are not surpassed anywhere. Yet, 
although his commercial interests are enor- 
mous and exacting, they have not lessened his 
zeal or stayed his hand in behalf of the civil 
affairs of his community and the. proper ele- 
ments of public improvement and advancement. 
In politics he is an unwavering Democrat, loyal 
to his party, throug-h firm convictions of the 
wisdom of its policies and the correctness of 
its principles, and devoted to its welfare as the 
best guaranty of governmental good. Acting 
on such convictions, he has not hesitated to 
give to its counsels his best attention and to 
its service his best energies,. and has thus been 
as closely identified with the political history 
of the state as with its fiscal and industrial de- 
velopment. He was a member of the Terri- 
torial Legislature for ten years, of the lower 
house in 1873, and of the upper from 1875 to 
1879, an d again in 1884, serving as president 
of the body in the last term. At an election 
held in 1880 he and his opponent had an equal 
number of votes. In 1884 he was nominated 
for Congress, but was unable to overcome the 
large Republican majority in the territory. In 
1888 he was again elected to the legislature, 
and in 1892 was chosen to the State Senate for 
a term of four years. He afterwards resigned 
the senatorship for the purpose of accepting his 
party's nomination for the position of govern- 



or in 1894. Again the adverse majority was 
too great for him to overcome, although he 
ran far ahead of his ticket. In 1887 he was ap- 
pointed to represent Wyoming at a convention 
held at Philadelphia to provide for celebrating 
the centennial of the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, and in 1890 was 
chosen by a meeting of public spirited citizens 
at Cheyenne as one of a committee of two, 
Judge Samuel T. Corn being the other member, 
to go to Washington and assist Hon. J. M. 
Carey, the territorial delegate in Congress, to 
secure the admission of Wyoming into the 
Union as a state. From 1896 to 1900 he was 
a member of the National Democratic Com- 
mittee, and in 1896 did very effective work in 
the campaign which carried the state for a 
national Democratic ticket for the first time in 
its history. He has been for years a con- 
spicuous figure at all the conventions of his 
party, always aiding in guiding their delibera- 
tions and frequently presiding over them, being 
chosen with enthusiasm as president of the 
first Democratic state convention after the ter- 
ritory had donned her robes of statehood. All 
local interests, without regard to party have 
had his earnest and helpful attention. From 
1876 to 1878 he was a county commissioner and 
the president of the board. For a long time he 
was on the Laramie school board and for a 
number of years was its treasurer. He was 
also appointed by Governor Warren as a mem- 
ber of the first board of trustees of the Wyo- 
ming University. On May 5, 1865, at Fort 
Scott, Kan., Mr. Holliday was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emily R. Coykendall, a native 
of Wisconsin and a daughter of Orson and 
Maria (Hanchett) Coykendall. Her father was 
a native of New York who removed from that 
state to Ohio and afterwards to Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Illinois and last to Kansas, where he 
died in 1893. Mrs. Holliday was born in 1849 
and died in 1887. She was the mother of eleven 
children, of whom seven are living: Catherine 
F., married to Russell Butler, who is employed 
in one of the Laramie banks ; Guy R. and Al- 
bert E., who have immediate charge of the 






57< 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






hardware department of the Holliday company's 
business ; Lois A., married to Edward E. Fitch, 
chief accountant of the Holliday company ; 
Elizabeth C, married to Harry George, a news- 
paper man of Laramie; Ruth, a student at the 
Wyoming State University, and Margaret, at- 
tending the schools in Laramie. Mr. Holliday's 
second marriage occurred on February 20, 1897, 
when Miss Sarah E. East, a native of New Bed- 
ford, Ind., became his wife. She had been a 
teacher in the public schools of Wyoming for 
several years and they have two children, Mary 
Ethel and Helen. The life of Mr. Holliday has 
been full of activity, industry and usefulness to 
his kind. It has been conducted along lines of 
lofty rectitude, with a broad view and a consid- 
erate regard for the welfare, the rights and the 
enduring good of his fellow men and has been 
so ordered that his sterling worth and unswerv- 
ing fidelity to every duty have endeared him 
to all classes of the people, as well as bringing 
him an immense measure of success in business, 
a high standing in public esteem and approba- 
tion and a sure place in the affectionate regard 
of all who have experienced the inspiration of 
his presence or the bounty of his liberal nature. 

CHARLES W. HORR. 

Whether the causes of success in life em- 
anate from essential elements in the individual 
or are quickened by extraneous circumstances 
and influences it is difficult to determine with 
exactitude, but there can be naught but praise 
for the man who attains success by worthy 
means, commanding confidence and esteem by 
his integrity of character and honest endeavor. 
Such an individual is Mr. Horr, who merits 
place in this compilation as a successful rancher 
and stockraiser and as an honored citizen of 
Converse county, Wyoming. Charles W. Horr 
was born near Parkersburg, Butler county, 
Iowa, on May 28, 1864, the son of Recellus R. 
and Alena (Townsend) Horr. The grand- 
father Horr was of old New England stock and 
moved from Massachusetts to New York, 
where his son Recellus was born in the town 



of Denmark, Lewis county. The mother's 
Townsend ancestors migrated from Pennsylva- 
nia to Ohio in very early days, being among 
the first settlers of the state and her grand- 
father, Nathan Townsend, of English lineage, 
who was born in Pennsylvania, married in Ohio 
and there passed his days, holding conspicuous 
positions of public trust. Recellus R. Horr 
early went to Iowa and in 1859 there joined 
an expedition fitted out for a journey to Pikes 
Peak, later returning to Iowa, where he made 
his home, a pioneer settler. He was distinct- 
ively an active public citizen and worked hard 
for the election of Abraham Lincoln as pres- 
ident, voting for him and all candidates on the 
Republican ticket. His patriotism would have 
made him a soldier in the Civil War, but de- 
fective teeth caused his rejection. He died 
from an accident at the age of sixty-four years. 
Charles W. Horr was the eldest of the five chil- 
dren of the family and after his school life in 
Iowa was ended he came to Colorado and for 
a year was engaged in ranching on the Cache 
la Poudre River, thereafter, in March, 1883, 
coming to Wyoming, and entering the employ 
of J. H. Kennedy on the La Prele, remaining in 
that connection as a rangerider for six years, 
when, on February 20, 1889, he took unto him- 
self a wife, marrying Miss Uree D. Adamson^ 
a native of Iowa, whose father, Samuel Adam- 
son, was engaged in agricultural operations in 
that state. Immediately after his marriage, 
Mr. Horr purchased the relinquishments of a 
settler on his present home ranch, homesteaded 
it and engaged in stockraising on his own re- 
sponsibility. His location is a pleasant one 
on the La Prele River, 18 miles southwest of 
Douglas and now comprising 900 acres of 
deeded land, in addition to which he controls 
960 acres of leased land. The home ranch is 
almost entirely under effective irrigation aivl 
producing alfalfa and hay in abundance, while 
a comfortable residence, with substantial barns. 
sheds, corrals, etc., combine to make the prop- 
erty a model one for the purpose of carrying 
out the special branch of industry in which Mr. 
Horr is engaged, the raising of fine cattle of a 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



377 



superior quality, Herefords being his favorite 
breed and his herd showing some thorough- 
breds. With his surroundings and the pros- 
pects of cumulative success attending his care- 
ful and intelligent efforts, Mr. Horr can justly 
feel that "his lines are cast in pleasant places." 
He is a pronounced Republican in his political 
relations, belongs to the fraternal order of the 
Woodmen of the World, has held the office of 
school trustee for years, his family comprises 
three children, Bessie, Stewart and Ruth, and 
he is held in high esteem as a successful rancher, 
a courteous neighbor and friend and a valuable 
citizen. 

JOHN HUNTON. 

No better eulogium can be pronounced up- 
on a community or upon its individual members 
than to point out the work they have accom- 
plished. Theories look fine on the printed page 
and sound well when proclaimed from the plat- 
form, but in the end it is effort in the various 
lines of industrial activity which proclaims the 
man and benefits the world. This is essentially 
a utilitarian age and the man of action is every- 
where and very much in evidence. Such a man 
is John Hunton, the subject of this review, and 
as such it is both pleasant and profitable to con- 
template briefly his career and character. In- 
timately associated for many years with the 
business interests and industrial development 
of Laramie county and taking an active part 
in its public affairs, he has not been underes- 
timated by the people, who have learned to ap- 
preciate his true value as a potential factor with 
the body politic. It is well for any man if he 
can trace his family history to a substantial and 
creditable ancestry. In this respect John Hun- 
ton is peculiarly fortunate. He comes of two 
old and highly esteemed Virginia families, trac- 
ing his lineage in unbroken succession back to 
the sixteenth century on the father's side and 
to the early' part of the seventeenth century 
on the side of the mother. The Huntons are 
English and the family has been prominent in 
the public affairs of Virginia from Colonial 
times to the present day. Not only does the 



name occupy a conspicuous place in local an- 
nals, but a number of the Huntons appear to 
have achieved a state reputation by reason of 
distinguished service in various avenues of pub- 
lic life. Alexander Hunton, "father of John 
Hunton, was born and reared in Madison coun- 
ty and attained to high standing as a citizen. 
He spent all of his life in his native county and 
lived to be quite old, dying in February, 1898, 
at the age of eighty-six. Elizabeth Carpenter, 
wife of Alexander Hunton and mother of the 
one of whom we are now writing, was a native 
of the same county and state in which her hus- 
band was born, and survived him but a few 
months, departing this life in August, 1898. 
She was also eighty-six years old at her death, 
and, as already indicated, belonged to one of 
the oldest families in the county of Madison, 
being descended- from German ancestors. John 
Hunton is a native of Madison county, Va., and 
dates his birth on January 18, 1839. Like the 
majority of country lads he grew up familiar 
with the various details of farm labor and in the 
schools of his neighborhood acquired a good 
practical education. Nothing occurred to 
break the even tenor of his life until the na- 
tional atmosphere became murky with the ap- 
proaching clouds of Civil War, when he joined 
a local militia company which was ordered to 
Harper's Ferry during the celebrated attack on 
that post by John Brown. When the great 
struggle finally broke out he espoused the 
cause of the South, enlisting in Co. A, Seventh 
Virginia Infantry, with which he shared the for- 
tunes and vicissitudes of war until the Con- 
federacy went down at Appomattox. During 
his military experience Mr. Hunton took part 
in some of the most noted campaigns that 
marked that troublous period, participating in 
a number of the bloodiest battles of the war, in 
all of which his conduct was all that could be 
expected of a brave and gallant soldier. Among 
the more notable actions was that of Gettys- 
burg, where his regiment formed part of Pick- 
ett's Division, and it fell to him to follow that 
brave and chivalrous leader in one of the most 
gallant and fearless assaults in the annals of 



378 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



warfare. At the close of the war Mr. Hunton 
went west, stopping first in Missouri, thence a 
little later going to Nebraska. For about one 
year he was engaged in freighting across the 
plains and in the spring of 1867 arrived at Fort 
Laramie, Wyo., where during the ensuing four 
years he held the position of clerk of the post- 
trader. In 1871 he severed his connection with 
the fort and turned his attention to cattleraising 
at Bordeaux, on the Chugwater, where he had 
charge of a road ranch for about seventeen 
years, meeting with encouraging success the 
meanwhile. In August, 1888, he was appointed 
posttrader at Fort Laramie, and held that posi- 
tion until the fort was disbanded in 1890, when 
he purchased its various buildings from ' the 
government and engaged in general merchan* 
dising. He has remodeled several of the build- 
ings, and now uses for a residence a house for- 
merly occupied by one of the officers of the 
post, having converted the structure into a 
fine modern dwelling and supplied it with many 
of the comforts and conveniences of life. In 
addition to his local business he is engaged in 
cattleraising, owning a valuable ranch about 
ten miles west of his place of residence, which 
is well stocked and under his personal care. He 
also holds the office of U. S. commissioner for 
this district, and in connection with its duties 
and his enterprises already mentioned does quite 
a business. Being one of the oldest settlers 
in the vicinity of Fort Laramie, he is familiar 
with every part of Laramie county and is con- 
sidered an authority on all matters relating to 
its lands. He is consulted by parties desiring 
to locate in this section of the country and his 
advice and counsel have been of especial value 
in assisting homeseekers and those who come 
west for the purpose of engaging in cattlerais- 
ing and other lines of industry. Mr. Hunton 
was married in his native county and state on 
October 5, 1881, to Miss Blanche Taylor, a 
daughter of. John W. and Mary (Crawford) 
Taylor of Virginia. Like his own family his 
wife's people are also highly connected, having 
long been closely identified with the history of 
Madison county. Mrs. Hunton is of Irish de- 



scent and traces her lineage back to an early 
period in this country, and still more remotely 
to the beautiful Emerald Isle, from whence the 
family originally came. She is a lady of varied 
culture, a member of the Episcopal church and 
of the Daughters of American Revolution, and 
has faithfully cooperated with her husband in 
his various business enterprises. Mr. Hunton 
is a Freemason of high standing, having taken 
a number of degrees, including those of chapter 
and commandery. He is one of the most affa- 
ble and genial of men and his popularity is 
bounded only by the limits Of his acquaintance. 
Hospitable and generous, he is a typical west- 
ern man of the best class, and his influence has 
long been felt for good in the community where 
he lives. He is an extensive reader, a close 
observer and a deep thinker, and it is not too 
much to say that there are few as intelligent 
and well-informed men in the West. This state- 
ment is made advisedly, in view of the fact that 
he has one of the the largest and most care- 
fully selected private libraries in the state. 
When not otherwise engaged he spends his 
time among his beloved books, where, shut in 
from the world, he holds converse with the 
greatest and the wisest minds of all times and 
countries through the medium of their writings. 
He also keeps himself well posted on current 
events and upon the great questions and issues 
of the day he has decided opinions, which he 
expresses freely when occasion requires, al- 
though by no means of a contentious nature. 
He always has the "courage of his convictions" 
and, like men of his intelligence and strong per- 
sonality, is in a large measure a director of 
thought and a molder of public opinion. Few 
men in the county are as widely and favorably 
known and none stand higher in the confidence 
of their fellow citizens or have shown them- 
selves more worthy of the esteem in which they 
are held. In closing this sketch it is proper to 
state that no man in Wyoming is as well ac- 
quainted with the early history of Fort Lara- 
mie and its vicinity as is Mr. Hunton. This 
most famous of western posts forms an inter- 
esting part of the history of Montana 'and of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



379 



all this section of the Rocky Mountain region, 
and for many years it figured prominently in the 
annals of the nation. Mr. Hunton was a con- 
spicuous figure during the clays of its prosper- 
ity, witnessed with regret its abandonment, be- 
ing now the only one left to weave the thread 
of personal incident into the woof of its long 
and interesting history. 

CHARLES W. JOHNSON. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of 
Sweden, born in that country on March 20, 
1874, the son of Peter A. and Sophia P. (Lar- 
son) Johnson, also natives of Sweden, where the 
father followed the occupation of farming until 
1880, when, thinking to improve his condition 
in the New World beyond the sea, he left his 
old home in Sweden and came with his family 
to America. Here he first settled in Saunders 
county, Nebraska, where he engaged in farming 
and stockraising, which he continued until 1886, 
when he disposed of his property and removed 
his residence to Wyoming, where he took up 
land about two miles south of Pine Bluffs and 
immediately again entered into the raising of 
cattle. This he followed with considerable suc- 
cess until 1900, when he sold his cattle and 
other ranch property and removed to Pine 
Bluffs, and engaged in the livery business, in 
•which he has continued down to the present 
writing (1902). Charles W. Johnson attended 
the Nebraska schools and also those in the vi- 
cinity of Pine Bluffs, but at the age of twelve 
years he left school and secured employment in 
a store in Pine Bluffs, that he might acquire a 
knowledge of merchandising. Here he re- 
mained for about six months and then engaged 
himself on a ranch in the 'vicinity, where he 
remained up to 1890, when he was offered and 
accepted a position in the store of Mr. F. M. 
Peterson at Pine Bluffs, and was connected 
there with the merchandising business for five 
years. During this employment he studied te- 
legraphy during odd times, and in 1896, he se- 
cured a position as telegrapher at Archer, Wyo. 
Subsequently he was an operator at different 



points on the line of the Union Pacific in 
Wyoming, among other places having a posi- 
tion at Pine Bluffs. In the fall of 1897 he re- 
signed his position with the railroad company 
and accepted an offer to become the manager 
of the store of Mr. C. J. Gross at Grover City, 
Colo. He remained here, doing a general mer- 
chandising business, for about eight months, at 
the end of that time resigning this position for 
the purpose of engaging in business for himself 
at the city of Pine Bluffs, where he purchased his 
present store building and immediately put in 
a large stock of merchandise and embarked in 
merchandising. Shortly after this he received 
an appointment as postmaster of Pine Bluffs, 
a position which he has held since that time, 
being a successful, progressive and promising 
young business man, destined to become one 
of the prominent factors in the commercial and 
political life of that section of the state. In- 
dustrious, ambitious, with keen business ability 
and foresight, he is rapidly coming to the front 
as one of the leading business men of the 
county. On March 14, 1900, Mr. Johnson was 
united in marriage at Pine Bluffs to Miss Al- 
bertina L. Bloom, a native of Iowa, and a 
daughter of Carl M. and Christiana Bloom, na- 
tives of Sweden. Her parents are now living 
at Pine Bluffs, Wyo. Politically Mr. Johnson 
is a staunch member of the Republican party, 
one of the active leaders of the party in Lara- 
mie county. No one is more trusted in the 
party, and he is ever in the front ranks in the 
advocacy of every measure calculated to pro- 
mote its interests. Many positions of trust and 
honor have been tendered him during his resi- 
dence in Pine Bluffs, but he has usually de- 
clined to consider them, but he consented to 
become a member of the board of school trus- 
tees, is now serving in that capacity and is the 
treasurer of the board. He is also a notary 
public and he finds the latter position of con- 
siderable convenience. Mr. Johnson is an ex- 
cellent type of the self-made young business 
man, who has raised himself by his own efforts 
to a position of prominence and influence and his 
marked abilities will continue to be shown. 



3 '8o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



MART R. JOHNSTON. 

In making a brief record of the useful and 
successful career of the accomplished and skill- 
ful superintendent of the Wyoming Develop- 
ment Co., the largest and most important irri- 
gating enterprise in the state, which owes much 
of its success and growth to his efficiency and 
clearness of vision, the annalist cannot fail to 
note in his makeup qualities of natural endow- 
ment far more valuable to the man of practical 
affairs than the lessons of the schools. He was 
born at Dayton, Ohio, on November 17, 1857, 
the scion of old Irish families, whose names are 
glorious in the civil and military history of the 
Emerald Isle, from which land his grandfather 
came to the United States and settled in Mont- 
gomery county, Ohio, among its early pioneers. 
There he followed the peaceful and independent 
vocation of the patriarchs and reared a family, 
among whom was Thomas B. Johnston, the 
father of Mart R., who was a farmer and fruit- 
grower. While yet quite a young man he mar- 
ried Elizabeth Shellabarger, whose ancestors 
had come from Germany three generations be- 
fore, and added to the developing forces of the 
pioneers of Montgomery county. There Mrs. 
Johnston was born and reared, there she and 
her husband reared a family, several members 
of whom became distinguished in various lines 
of life and there he died in 1884 and she in 1899. 
Their son, Mart R. Johnston, passed his boy- 
hood in the manner usual with the sons of pros- 
perous farmers, and as soon as he was old 
enough he became his father's capable assist- 
ant in the farm work. When he was eighteen 
years old he left the homestead and making his 
way to Denver, Colo., was about to begin an 
energetic effort in the struggle for supremacy 
among men when a serious illness overcame 
him and delayed his beginning for a year. Up- 
on his recovery he was appointed deputy sheriff 
of Larimer county, Colo., and, after a year of 
official life, entered the employ of the Denver 
& Rio Grande Railroad as a rodman in the pre- 
liminary surveys for the road. In 1879 he left 
the service of this company to take a place with 



the U. S. government engineers, who had in 
charge the official survey of parts of Colorado 
and New Mexico, with whom he continued 
three months. His first work as a surveyor 
was done on the Larimer county, Colo., irri- 
gating ditch, on the part located in Jefferson 
county, and this was done in 1877. This prac- 
tical experience, together with close and 'ob- 
serving study, gave him easy facility in various 
branches of civil engineering. In 1881 Mr. 
Johnston returned to Dayton, Ohio, and there, 
on January 10, 1882, he was married to Miss 
Anna Miller, a native of Ohio, and a daughter 
of Abram and Lena Miller, emigrants from 
Pennsylvania. He settled near Dayton and en- 
gaged in farming and in raising stock, in which 
he was very successful. In February, 1888, his 
wife's health requiring a change of climate, he 
disposed of his property in Ohio and removed 
his family to Cheyenne, and from there, a few 
weeks later, to Wheatland, where he has since 
made his home. In November, 1888, he was 
appointed superintendent of the Wyoming De- 
velopment Co., an organization formed for the 
purpose of irrigating and fitting for cultivation 
and use as pasturage large tracts of barren 
land. The company began operations in 1884, 
and two years later the first water was run 
through the ditches, which had been construct- 
ed at great expense to the stockholders. Since 
then more than 60,000 acres of desert land have 
been reclaimed and made fruitful, rewarding the 
faith of the husbandman with rich annual crops 
of fragrant alfalfa and golden grain, furnishing 
room for hundreds of happy homes for thrifty 
immigrants and returning to the stockholders at 
the same time large dividends on their invest- 
ments. The great utility of this mighty enter- 
prise is due in a considerable measure to the 
executive ability and skill of the superintendent 
in conducting its affairs. It has become so 
popular and productive of good that active 
steps have already been taken to vastly increase 
the volume of its operations. The children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are Edna T. and Frank 
D., both of whom are living at Wheatland. Mr. 
Tohnston stands high in Masonic circles, hold- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



381 



ing membership in Lodge No. 416 at Wheat- 
land, and in the Royal Arch Chapter and Com- 
mander}', No. 1, Knights Templar, at Chey- 
enne. He is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine 
of Korem Temple at Rawlins, and has ascended 
the symbolic ladder of the Scottish Rite up to 
and through the Thirty-second degree. More- 
over he is a member of a lodge of Modern 
Woodmen of America at Wheatland, while in 
politics he is an uncompromising Democrat, 
who has given valiant and valuable service to 
his party in many a hard-fought local, state 
and national campaign. He has large private 
interests in the state, chief among them being 
a live stock industry conducted on a large and 
profitable scale on a ranch which he owns a mile 
south of the town. He has three brothers in 
Cheyenne, all of whom are prominent and suc- 
cessful. G. P. Johnston is one of the leading 
physicians and surgeons of the state, E. S. 
Johnston is one of the capital city's most enter- 
prising and successful merchants, F. D. John- 
ston is chief clerk in charge of the several di- 
visions of the railway U. S. mail service enter- 
ing Cheyenne. Each is a potential factor in the 
development and progress of the state. 

JOHN JONES. 

Among those to whom has come marked 
success in connection with the industrial activi- 
ties of Wyoming, there is no one more worthy 
of the prosperity which is his than John Jones, 
the honored subject of this review, who is not 
only one of the pioneers of the commonwealth, 
contending with the hostile Indians for its oc- 
cupancy, but also one who worthily wears the 
appellation of self-made, since he has depended 
upon his own exertions for his maintenance 
from early childhood, coming to America from 
his native England as a stranger in a strange 
land and here acquiring wealth through his 
life of industry and inflexible integrity and win- 
ning the confidence, esteem and friendship of 
the people with whom he has been thrown in 
contact. John Jones was born in Hereford- 
shire, England, on August 15, 1840, the son 



of Samuel and Ann Jones, who removed from 
their native land of Wales to the rich agricul- 
tural region of England, where they continued 
farming operations until their death. Mr. 
Jones was the youngest of nine children, and is 
now the sole survivor of the family. He re- 
mained in England until he was twenty-eight 
years old, engaged for the most part of the 
time in superintending brickmaking, as fore- 
man for a brother, who was largely engaged in 
filling construction contracts. In 1868 Mr. 
Jones left England for America, his first loca- 
tion being at Rochester, Minn., where for two 
years he engaged in farming, thence removing 
in 1 87 1 to Colorado, locating as a farmer and 
stockraiser between Greeley and Fort Collins, 
where he was successfully engaged until 1877 
when he came to Wyoming and located on 
Horseshoe Creek, practically having only the 
numerous Indians 'for his neighbors, and they 
not tnose of the most friendly kind. During 
the first winter of his residence there were many 
contentions between the rival races and three 
men were killed from- ambush by the Indians, 
on Horseshoe Creek. The next spring E. K. 
Reel's "bull team" outfit was burned and his 
foreman shot. Being ahead of the freighting 
wagons, the train was cut in two by the Indians, 
and the . wagons in the rear surrounded and 
later burned, the fight lasting for a day and a 
night. These instances will serve to indicate 
the conditions under which Mr. Jones passed 
the three years of his residence in that locality. 
Thereafter he removed to the Wagon Hound 
Creek, there maintaining his headquarters until 
1883, when he came to La Prele, making his 
base of operations at J. H. Kennedy's ranch, 
he ran his cattle on the then almost limitless 
range, continuing to be thus employed until 
1898, when, having acquired a splendid financial 
return for his earnest labors and deprivations, 
he sold his interests and retired from business, 
later passing some time in Colorado and in 
visiting other sections of the Great West and 
keeping free from all business until 1901, when,, 
tiring of having no definite object or occupa- 
tion, having been all of his life a most diligent 



382 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



worker, he purchased the George ranch, on the 
upper La Prele River, fifteen miles west of 
Douglas, and consisting of 960 acres, and again 
engaged in stockraising operations, which he 
is conducting with his oldtime vigor and suc- 
cess, usually running 500 head of Shorthorn 
cattle, and being a representative citizen and 
an honored pioneer. His ranch is a very avail- 
able one, having a large irrigation ditch and a 
large acreage of his estate being under effect- 
ive irrigation and noted for its crops of al- 
falfa. There is a commodious two-story dwell- 
ing on the ranch, with good barns and other 
outbuildings. 

CHARLES E. JUDSON. 

A leading stockman of Wyoming, who for 
many years was active in the commercial world 
in the city of Chicago and other eastern busi- 
ness centers, Charles E. Judson, whose resi- 
dence is at Mandel, Albany county, was born 
on December 21, 1843, at Plattsburg, N. Y., 
the son of Aaron and Sophronia (Mason) Jud- 
son, both natives of Troy, N. Y. His father 
was a leading Presbyterian minister of the east- 
ern portion of New York and who followed that 
profession up to the time of his decease, which 
occurred about 1852, at the age of thirty-nine 
years. He was buried in the city of his birth. 
The mother survived until 1879, when she, too, 
passed from earth at the age of seventy years, 
being the mother of three children. Charles E. 
Judson attained man's estate in his native state 
of New York and received his early education 
in her public schools. In 1857 he matriculated 
at Union College, at Schenectady, in that state, 
where he remained for four years, pursuing 
a full course of study at that noted institution, 
being graduated as a member of the class of 
'61. After the completion of his college course 
he went to the city of Savannah, Ga., to take 
charge of a contract to remove a large quantity 
of stores which had been wrecked during the 
Civil War and was sunk in the harbor at that 
place. He remained at Savannah and vicinity 
for about one and one-half years, then estab- 



lished his home in the city of Scranton, Pa., 
where he accepted a position as the secretary 
and treasurer of the Scranton Gas and Water 
Co., and continued in that business for twelve 
years. He was then advanced to be the man- 
ager and treasurer of the corporation and held 
that responsible place for several years. He 
then resigned his position and removing his 
residence to the city of Chicago, 111., he was 
there elected to the presidency of the Con- 
sumers' Gas Co. and held that responsible trust 
for about twelve years, when he accepted the 
presidency of the Lake Gas Co. and that of the 
Chicago Economy Fuel and Gas Co. Shortly 
after this he came to the then territory of 
Wyoming and engaged extensively in the land 
and cattle business, becoming the chief owner 
of the Empire Land and Cattle Co., one of the 
heaviest corporations operating in Wyoming. 
He has been very successful in the stock busi- 
ness, being now the owner of over 10,000 acres 
of land, well fenced and improved, and con- 
stituting one of the finest cattle ranches in that 
section of the state, with large herds of cattle, 
as well as of other extensive business interests 
in Wyoming. In 1877 Mr. Judson was united 
in marriage, in Pennsylvania,' with Miss Mary 
Black, a native of that state, and a daughter 
of Robert and Caroline (Perkins) P.lack, prom- 
inent residents of the city of Scranton. Her 
father was long engaged in business in that city 
as a drvgoods merchant and also as a coal oper- 
ator, being one of the leading business and finan- 
cial operators of his section of the state. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Judson one child was bom. Ro- 
berta, now deceased. Mrs. Judson is a superior 
woman, who has had much to do with the suc- 
cessful business career of her husband, for since 
his illness from partial paralysis, she has prac- 
tically assumed the entire management of their 
large property interests, and is conducting the 
business along the same successful lines as 
those pursued during former years. Mr. Jud- 
son is identified with the Republican party, and 
for manv years was one of the leaders of that 
political organization in Wyoming. During the 
period of his active life, he was often solicited 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



3S3 






by his party associates and friends to accept 
positions of trust and honor within the gift of 
the party in the state, but he invariably de- 
clined to hold public office, for which his ability 
and education so well fitted him. He is one of 
the most respected citizens of Wyoming, and 
the family hold a high place in the esteem of 
the community. 

ISIDORE KASTOR. 

A leading commercial man of Evanston, 
Wyoming, who was born. in i860, in Kaisers- 
lautern, Rhine Bavaria, Germany, his parents 
being Salomon and Babette (Alenberg) Kas- 
tor, Isidore Kastor well deserves the pen of 
the local historian. His father was born in 
1834 in Wattenheim, Germany, where he be- 
came a prominent merchant, and" was at one 
time a sergeant in the Bavarian cavalry, hold- 
ing that position for several years. He also 
served as a commissary in the Franco-Prus- 
sian War in 1870-71. He was an imposing per- 
sonage, of commanding figure and strong phys- 
ical makeup, but, better than all, a devoted hus- 
band and parent. He died at the age of fifty- 
eight and was buried at Kaiserslautern. Mrs. 
Solomon Kastor took that name by marriage 
at the age of eighteen. A domestic woman, 
caring only for her family, she is still living at 
Kaiserlautern, aged sixty, with her son, a 
brother of Isidore, who is in business there. 
Isidore Kastor was educated in German col- 
leges and he engaged in commerce at the age 
of sixteen and came to America at the age of 
twenty-two, and spending his first nine, months 
in mercantile work in New York. Thence he 
went to Pocahontas, Ark., and there was simi- 
larly employed for two years, after which he 
came to Evanston, Wyo., and started business 
for himself in a clothing and general store in 
December, 1885, and he has conducted it with 
signal success ever since. He is a wide-awake, 
up-to-date business man of genial personality 
and engaging manners, consequently of great 
popularity. In addition to his regular business, 
he is interested in several oil and mining prop- 



erties. He is affiliated with numerous fraternal 
bodies, being a member of the Masonic lodge 
of Evanston, also of the Scottish Rite Hall of 
Cheyenne, of the Woodmen of the World and 
the Modern Woodmen of America. He also 
holds the degree of Honor and is a member of 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was 
married in December, 1889, with Miss Fannie 
Lewis, a native of Germany and a daughter of 
Isaac N. and Sarah (Frank) Lewis. Her father 
was born in Kibarty, Prussia, and was formerly 
in business in Evanston, but is now in Salt 
Lake City. Mr. and Mrs. Kastor have three 
children : Louis, Selma and Shirley, and the 
family stands in most genial relations with the 
most progressive element of the community. 

ALFRED M. KEAS. 

Among the first to recognize the natural re- 
sources of this section of Wyoming and to 
cast in his lot with its people was Alfred M. 
Keas, now a prominent resident of the vicinity 
of Wheatland, one of the most successful farm- 
ers of Laramie county. Born on July 2, 1858, 
he is a native of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, 
a son of Michael and Catherine (Miller) Keas, 
natives of that state. In early life his father 
followed the occupation of farming in Mercer 
county, and subsequently he removed his resi- 
dence to Venango county, where he continued 
the same pursuit up to the time of his death, 
in 1898. He was buried in Cooperstown, in 
that county. The mother passed away in 1873, 
and lies at the side of her husband. Alfred M. 
Keas grew to man's estate in Venango county, 
Pa., and received his early education in its pub- 
lic schools. In early life he assisted his father 
in the work of the farm, and 5" T875 he began 
life for himself, at first securing employment 
from his brother, who was a farmer in Venango 
county, remaining in his employment for three 
years. He then left the farm and went to the 
oil regions, near Oil City, where he secured 
work and remained until the spring of 1878, 
when he went to Iowa and located in Craw- 
ford county for a few months, then going on to 



384 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Kansas. Here he took up land in the county 
of Rooks and engaged in farming, being one of 
the very earliest settlers of that county. He con- 
tinued in agricultural operations here until 1889, 
when he disposed of his farm and removed his 
residence to the city of Plainville, where he en- 
gaged in the livery business for five years. In 
the spring of 1894 he visited Wheatland, Wyo., 
on a trip of inspection, and having fully satis- 
fied himself as to the resources of the surround- 
ing country, he returned to Plainville, disposed 
of his property there, removed to Wheatland 
and purchased the ranch which he now owns, 
situated about five miles southwest from that 
place, on what are called the Wheatland Flats. 
Here he engaged in the business of cattlerais- 
ing with considerable success and by experi- 
menting he found that the raising of hogs was 
more profitable than cattleraising, and recently 
he has- been disposing of his cattle, and entering 
more extensively in the raising of hogs for the 
market. He has met with a marked success 
and has a fine farm, well improved, with suita- 
ble buildings, an excellent residence, and is 
counted one of the solid and substantial busi- 
ness men of his section. On April 18, 1880, 
Mr. Keas was united in marriage to Miss 
Addie M. Gentry at Plainville, Kan. She is a 
native of Missouri, the daughter of Henry C. 
and Mary (Gentry) Gentry, the former a native 
of Missouri and the latter of Kentucky, being 
a member of the well-known family of Ken- 
tucky Gentrys. Her father followed farming 
in Missouri until the outbreak of the Civil War, 
in 1861 being commissioned captain in a Mis- 
souri volunteer regiment of the Union army and 
served throughout the entire war in that capac- 
ity being in many engagements, but escaping 
without serious injury, he was mustered out at 
the end of the war. He then removed to Kansas, 
and established himself in the county of Wyan- 
dotte in farming. Here he remained until 1879, 
when he disposed of his property in that county 
and removed to Plainville, where here he still 
continued farming operations in the vicinity of 
Plainville until 1895, when he removed to Okla- 
homa Territory, whore he continued the same 



pursuit until his death in 1899. He was buried 
at Nora, in that territory. The mother of Mrs. 
Keas is still living and makes her home at the 
town of Nora. To Mr. and Mrs. Keas five 
children have been born, Charles, Arthur M., 
William O., Pearl M. and Minnie B., all are 
living and their home is notably one of the most 
comfortable and hospitable in their section of 
the state. Fraternally, Mr. Keas is affiliated 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and with the Modern Woodmen of America, be- 
ing a member of Wheatland lodges. Politically, 
he is identified with the Republican party, and 
takes an active and prominent part in public 
affairs, although never seeking or desiring posi- 
tion, his private business affairs fully occupying 
his time. By his industry, perseverance, good 
business judgment and management he is 
rapidly accumulating a competency. He stands 
high in the public estimation as a man of high 
character, thoroughly reliable and trustworthy 
in every relation of life. 

JOSEPH H. KENNEDY. 

One who perceived the wonderful possibili- 
ties for financial success in the undeveloped 
potentialities of stock-raising in "Wyoming and 
who has availed himself of them with good 
judgment and skillful discrimination, being now 
counted one of the leading stockmen of the 
section of the state where he has made and now 
maintains his home on the La Prele River on 
his productive ranch of 1,000 acres of eligibly 
located land, situated sixteen miles southwest 
from Douglas, Wyo., Joseph H. Kennedy well 
deserves more than a passing notice in a vol- 
ume treating of the Progressive Men of Wyo- 
ming. He was born on January 12, 1847, in Vir- 
ginia, where his ancestors on both paternal and 
maternal sides had lived for generations, and is 
the son of John and Jane E. (Strickland") Ken- 
nedy, the father dying at the early age of thirty- 
three years and leaving a family of three chil- 
dren. In 1856 the widow with her children re- 
moved to Iowa, having previously remarried, 
locating in Marshall county, the stepfather hav- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



38; 






ing been engaged in merchandising. Remaining 
at the Iowa homestead until 1872, the energetic 
spirit of Mr. Kennedy led him to make the long 
and dangerous journey across the plains to 
Colorado, where he located in Larimer county, 
and began his long career in connection with the 
live stock business and was prospered in his 
undertakings for the five years of his residence 
in that locality. In 1877 he removed to 
Wyoming, and to his present scene of opera- 
tions, in connection with others buying several 
squatters' rights and taking up other lands. 
Here they laid the foundation for operations of 
scope and importance, continuing in a cumula- 
tive business of prosperity for many years, Mr. 
Kennedy purchasing the interests of his part- 
ners in 1897 and 1900, thus creating his present 
ranch and holdings, having a large acreage, 
well-irrigated and yielding bounteous crops, 
especially of alfalfa, as Mr. Kennedy raises a 
large amount of this kind of hay, for he feeds 
his cattle during the winter months. Here he 
has erected, fine buildings, barns, sheds, corrals, 
etc., including an elegant residence of the latest 
style of architecture, modern in all respects and 
finished in natural oak and cypress and fur- 
nished with all modern improvements, including 
the latest methods of heating, lighting and sani- 
tation, it being one of the finest country resi- 
dences of the state. Mr. Kennedy entered mar- 
ried life on January 8, 1896, being united with 
Miss Josie Shockley, a native of Kansas and a 
daughter of A. D. Shockley, who, after passing 
a few years in Wyoming, is_ now maintaining 
his home in South Dakota. They have one son, 
John Albert. Mr. Kennedy is a representative 
citizen of Wyoming in the best sense of the 
word. His motto has been progress from the 
first, for starting with Texas cattle in his first 
adventure in the state, he has steadily advanced 
the quality of his herds, and has now some fine 
thoroughbred Hereford bulls and usually runs 
500 head of that celebrated breed. When they 
were on the public range they sometimes had 
7,000 head. He keeps thoroughly in touch with 
the development of the stock industry of the 
country through the best literature of the day, 



intercourse with leading stockmen and by affil- 
iation with the Converse County Stock Grow- 
ers' Association and the Wyoming Stock Grow- 
ers' Association. He is one of Converse coun- 
ty's strong men, having a large number of 
friends, while his political relations are with 
the Republican party. Clearly defined purpose, 
consecutive effort and practical ability of a de- 
terminate order are the qualities which have 
made Mr. Kennedy one of the leaders of the 
industrial activities of his section of the state 
and have brought to him the uniform esteem 
of his fellow men, his career having been one 
of well-directed energy, strong determination 
and honorable methods. 

RICHARD M. KENNEDY. 

A contributor in a leading way to the prog- 
ress of the various communities in which he 
has lived, always interested in the general wel- 
fare and progress of his county and state, it is 
eminently fit that Richard M. Kennedy, of John- 
son county, Wyoming, should now be the con- 
servator of the peace, government and dignity 
of the state, which as sheriff he upholds with a 
firm hand and a judicious exercise of his official 
powers. He was born in New York state on 
September 3, 1848, the son of Michael and 
Mary (Burke) Kennedy, who left their native 
Ireland early in life for the greater freedom, 
larger opportunity and more agreeable political 
conditions of the United States, were married 
in this country, and after spending a few years 
near the Atlantic seaboard came west to Iowa 
in 1854, when their son Richard was six years 
old. Here he grew to manhood, attended school 
and. from time to time assisted his father in his 
carpentry and building operations. In 1872 he 
made a trip to New Orleans, but soon sought 
aeain the Northwest, coming to Montana. The 
next year he located in Johnson county, Wyo., 
and began operations as a contractor and a 
dealer in timber. From 1882 to 1884 he served 
as deputy sheriff, during the next five years was 
an extensive dealer in real-estate, while in 1889 
he was again appointed deputy sheriff and. after 



3 86 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



serving two years, went to Portland, Ore., and 
passed the next two years dealing in real-estate 
in that city. He then again came to Johnson 
county, where he has since resided. In 1897 he 
was made one of the custodians of the U. S. 
forest reserve, and in 1900 was elected sheriff 
of the county as >a Republican. He was re- 
elected in 1902 and has since been adding to the 
excellent record in his official duties which he 
had previously made. He has been successful 
in business and owns valuable real-estate in city 
property and farm lands. He is also interested 
in mines of value and has very promising hold- 
ings in the Wyoming oil fields. In 1881 he was 
married to Miss Fannie Stroder, a native of 
Missouri, but at the time a resident of Buf- 
falo, Wyo. Both have hosts of friends and 
their home is a popular resort for them, being 
a center of gracious and refined hospitality and 
of intellectual and social intercourse. 

JOHN G. FIERO. 

John Gillispy Fiero, a prosperous and well- 
known citizen of Evanston, Uinta county, was 
born on November 16, 1836, in Ulster county, 
N. Y., amid the impressive scenes and sugges- 
tions of the Catskill Mountains, at the little 
town of Woodstock. His parents were Dr. 
John Gillispy and Mary (Hall) Fiero, whose 
family consisted of six children of whom five 
reached maturity, Mrs. Harriet Hyde, now de- 
ceased ; John G. ; Wright E. ; Mrs. Zemira 
Trombley ; Mrs. Margaret O. Stephens. Dr. 
Fiero died at the early age of thirty-six years, 
after a record of great credit and success as a 
physician and surgeon and after his death his 
wife, with her young children, removed to 
Mount Clemens, Mich., the home of her par- 
ents, where her husband had also owned prop- 
erty. Here she lived to the age of eighty-four 
years and at her death, in 1894, she was buried 
in the beautiful cemetery of this well-known 
city. She was a lady of excellent character and 
disposition, well-known and well-beloved, whose 
life was passed in good deeds. Her father, a 
prominent and successful physician and sur- 



geon, was a man of affairs and connected with 
numerous business enterprises. He married 
Olive Rich, a native of Connecticut of English 
parentage and both lived to old age, the Doc- 
tor being eighty-five and his wife eighty-seven 
at death. Among the industrial enterprises with 
which the Doctor was connected was a glass 
factory which he built and operated at Mount 
Clemens. John G. Fiero after leaving the 
academy at Mount Clemens, where he finished 
his education, was apprenticed to the ma- 
chinists' trade in the Detroit Locomotive 
Works and worked there until the shops closed 
during the panic of 1857. He spent the follow- 
ing summer in the U. S. Coast Survey on Grand 
Traverse Bay, Michigan, and after that worked 
at carpentry for some time. He was next en- 
gaged at the Canada oil springs drilling oil 
wells and in this line of work was a verv suc- 
cessful operator. In 1864 he entered the U. S. 
army as an engineer and was assigned to duty 
in the construction corps, building bridges, rail- 
roads and other necessary works. . In March. 
1865, he left the army and returned to his for- 
mer home in Michigan, thence in June of the 
same year he started west across the plains to 
prospect for oil in the service of a company 
which failed before he reached his destination. 
but nothing daunted by its failure, he came to 
Fort Bridger, Wyo., and became the pioneer 
oil prospector of the state, boring the first 
we'll within its limits, locating valuable oil fields 
and opening and operating them in partnership 
with the late Judge Carter of Fort Bridger. In 
1876 he removed to Evanston and beginning 
work as a carpenter became a builder and con- 
tractor in this line and also established a busi- 
ness in drilling and piping oil wells, being from 
his long and practical experience in this line 
of activity a master of it in every detail. Mr. 
Fiero has prospered in business, is securely es- 
tablished in the respect and esteem of his fel- 
lows and has rendered signal service to the 
various communities in which he has lived. He 
owns valuable property in Evanston, in Xorth- 
ville and in St. Louis. Mich. In politics he is an 
active and devoted Republican, standing by the 





'C^i. ,#. £&. 



Cj&W? 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



387 



principles and candidates of his party and ren- 
dering loyal service in all its campaigns. In fra- 
ternal relations he is a master mason, and be- 
longs to Evanston Lodge, No. 4, with which 
he affiliated to aid in its organization as a char- 
ter member. He is a Presbyterian 'in religious 
belief and an elder in his church. On October 
6, 1891, he was united in marriag-e with Miss 
Mary Landol Bowen, the marriage occurring 
at Nashville, Tenh., where she was born on 
February 3, 1863, the only child of James Lan- 
dol and Rachel (Kernell) Bowen. She is a 
highly educated lady, a graduate of Ward's 
Seminary at Nashville, Maple Hill Seminary 
and Doyle College, all celebrated educational 
institutions of Tennessee. In art especially she 
is richly endowed and has been very successful 
as a teacher, working directly from nature by 
the freehand system. Her work has had honor- 
able mention wherever it has been shown, win- 
ning high commendation at the Nashville ex- 
hibit. She is also prominent and active in the W. 
C. T. U. organization, having been the presi- 
dent of the local union at Evanston and its 
secretary for many years. She has good busi- 
ness qualifications and manages her estate with 
skill and judgment. Her property in Nashville 
is valuable, and she also owns 2160 acres of 
timber and prospective oil land in DeKalb 
county, Tenn., located about three miles from 
Smithville, the county seat, which is in the 
Pennsylvania-Texas oil belt. Mr. and Mrs. 
Fiero have a pleasant home at 398 Lombard 
street, Evanston, one of the attractive social 
resorts of the town, and a center of intellectual 
culture and genial hospitality. 

PETER J. KINNEY. 

The restless and productive energy of the 
Irish people proclaims itself, wherever they se- 
cure a footing, in the improvement of the sec- 
tion and the multiplication of the elements and 
evidences of civilization. Among the men of 
that gifted race who have been of especial bene- 
fit in developing the great Northwest and mak- 
ing it merry with the music of industrial prog- 

34 



ress and bright with the products of diligence 
and taste, none is more entitled to honorable 
mention than Peter J. Kinney of Newcastle, 
prominent in the annals of the town from its 
founding as a commercial and a civil force. He 
was born on Christmas day, 1861, in Boston, 
Mass., where his parents, Peter and Catherine 
(Norton) Kinney, had settled when in 1848 they 
left their native Erin and sought a home in the 
United States, and where they were profitably 
engaged in gardening until their deaths, that 
of the mother occurring in 1869 and that of the 
father in 1888. Mr. Kinney was educated at 
Brighton, a beautiful suburb of the New Eng- 
land metropolis, where he lived quietly with his 
parents until he was twenty years of age. In 
1881 he caught the Western fever and crossed 
the wide and lonely plains to Colorado, locat- 
ing at Fort Collins, where he went to work on 
a cattle ranch in that neighborhood, remaining 
six months. In 1882 he removed to Cheyenne 
and during the next three years rode the range 
and herded cattle in the employ of various com- 
panies. In 1885 he went to the Black Hills and 
settled at Spearfish, S. D., where he clerked in 
stores until 1889, in the meantime making a 
visit to his old home. In July, 1889 he came to 
what is now Weston county, W3^o., halting at 
Tub Town, three miles from where Newcastle 
now stands. This was then a virgin country, 
almost untrodden by the foot of civilized man, 
but it was not long before there was a healthy 
sprinkling of desirable settlers in its midst and 
at least one mining industry in vigorous 
growth. The Kilpatricks were then opening their 
coal mines and thereby attracting both labor 
and capital to the section. Mr. Kinney en- 
gaged in business at Tub Town until fall, and 
then, Newcastle being founded, he bought one 
of the first town lots sold within its limits and 
began a residence there which has continued 
until the present time. After three years passed 
here as clerk and salesman, he determined to 
make a start in business for himself. Accord- 
ingly, in 1892, he bought property and opened 
a liquor business in which he is still engaged. 
He prospered in this venture, and looking al- 



3 88 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ways to the best interests of the town and its 
people, in 1898, with his characteristic energy 
and public spirit, he put in an electric light 
plant, and has found it a much appreciated, a 
very serviceable and profitable improvement. 
He is now putting in a telephone system, for 
which the populace has longed and which will 
not only connect them with the rest of the 
world in a close and beneficial way, but will 
stamp the community as a progressive and up- 
to-date one, even in this day of colossal com- 
mercial enterprises. It is thus with Mr. Kinney 
all along the line of development and advance- 
ment. Scarcely any undertaking of pith and 
moment in the whole section of country to 
which he belongs has been without the quicken- 
ing impulse of his master hand or the guiding 
wisdom of his fertile mind. In addition to the 
stand for his mercantile business, his residence 
and the other property already mentioned, he 
owns valuable real-estate in the town and 
county and has interests elsewhere. In politics 
Mr. Kinney is an unfaltering Democrat, most 
active in the councils of his party and easily its 
most esteemed and astute local leader. In 1894 
and 1895 he served as a member of the Newcas- 
tle city council and in 1898 he was appointed 
mavor to fill a vacancy, serving eight months. 
In May, 1902, he was elected to this office for 
a full term and is now discharging the duties 
of his position with an eye single to the welfare 
of the community, but at the same time holding 
under due consideration the rights and interests 
of the individual citizen. On November 12, 
1896, he was married with Miss Ethel Bailey, 
a native of Iowa, but at that time a resident of 
Newcastle, where the marriage occurred. Both 
are members of the Catholic church. 

WILLIAM LANNEN. 

Among the younger generation of progres- 
sive and successful business men of the state of 
Wyoming, a prominent place must be given to 
William Lannen, who, a native of the county of 
La Salle, 111., was born on June 1, 1859, the 
son of David and Mary (Hunt) Lannen, natives 



of Ireland, and from them he inherits the ster- 
ling qualities of industry, pluck and persever- 
ance which have characterized the best people 
of the Irish race wherever their activities have- 
taken them. David Lannen, the father, was one 
of the earliest settlers of the western portion of 
the United States, being a pioneer of four states 
and taking a leading part for many years in lay- 
ing the foundations of civilization in those com- 
monwealths. Emigrating from Ireland in early 
life, he came to America and settled in the coun- 
ty of La Salle, on the Illinois frontier. Here he 
engaged in farming and remained for some. years, 
when he removed, in the fall of 1859, to Kansas, 
where he settled first near the site of the city of 
Topeka. Here he took up government land and 
engaged in farming. Later he purchased a 
larger farm in Franklin county in the same state, 
and moved his family to the new home. At 
this place he was occupied successfully for a 
number of } T ears in both farming and stock- 
raising, then disposing of his interests he estab- 
lished his residence in Osage county, where he 
continued, in the same occupations up to 1871, 
when, desiring to engage in the stock business 
upon a more extensive scale than the settled 
condition of the country permitted in Osage 
county, he sold his business to good advantage, 
and started with his family on an overland trip 
to the then territory of Wyoming, the winter of 
that year being passed in Colorado, where for 
a time he thought seriously of making his home, 
finally concluding to carry out his original inten- 
tion of going to Wyoming. In the spring of 
1872, he arrived at the vicinity of the present 
city of Cheyenne and took up a ranch on the 
overland trail, it being the same place now owned 
by his son, William, the trail passing immediately 
in front of where his residence now stands. Here 
he engaged in cattleraising, having brought from 
Kansas quite a fine herd of animals. He met 
with immediate success in his operations and 
as soon as the land was surveyed by the govern- 
ment, he laid claim to it and subsequently ac- 
quired it by purchase from the United States. He 
also purchased large tracts of land from the rail- 
road company and other parties, as his needs re- 



i ; 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



389 



quired, and his business was extended, until at 
the time of his death in 1891, he was the owner 
of over 12,000 acres. He was one of those 
practical, rugged men, having a keen business 
ability and indomitable resolution, who conquer 
all difficulties and carve success out of any con- 
ditions that confront them. Coming into the 
country in those early days when it seemed like 
a desert to those accustomed to the landscapes 
of the East, with green fields and waving trees, 
he saw the possibilities of Wyoming, had un- 
bounded confidence in the future and went to 
work with a will to build his home in the new 
West. By his efforts, his unfailing industry and 
his courage and perseverance in the midst of vi- 
cissitude, he changed the desert into a garden and 
saw his fortune grow from small beginnings un- 
til he became one of the most prominent stock- 
men of his state. Long before the close of his 
arduous and successful life the correctness of his 
judgment was vindicated by events and the bar- 
ren plains of Wyoming were covered with thou- 
sands of cattle, horses and sheep, and the sparsely 
settled community of his early life became an 
important state in the Union. He did much to 
build up Wyoming when a territory and when 
a state, and it was through the hardships and 
sacrifices of such men that the foundations of 
civilization here were laid strong and deep and 
the wa) r prepared for the generations which are 
to follow. A debt of gratitude which can never 
be paid is justly due to these hardy pioneers and 
builders of the great Middle West. Mr. Lannen 
passed away at the old home on May 7, 1891, 
loved by his family and friends and respected 
and honored by all, being buried in the city of 
Cheyenne. The mother survived until 1899, 
dying on January 19, of that year, being buried 
by the side of her husband. Working together 
in life, gathering a large fortune and raising an 
interesting family of children to comfort them in 
their declining years they are not separated in 
death. Both were devout members of the Ro- 
man Catholic church, ever foremost in all works 
of helpfulness and charity. Of their family of 
six children, the eldest, Mrs. Ellen Lannen Dial, 
passed away on February 15, 1901, at Ogden, 



Utah, aged fifty- four years ; Mrs. Julia Lannen 
Hinkston is now a resident of Ogden ; Edward 
died on January 27, 1881, at the age of twenty- 
seven years, and was buried in the city of 
Cheyenne ; Mrs. Mary Lannen Holt is the wife of 
Thomas D. Holt, one of the leading stockmen of 
Wyoming, residing at Hecla; William, the im- 
mediate subject of this review; Mrs. Katie Lan- 
nen Owen, now residing in Laramie, Wyo. 
William Lannen grew to manhood and re- 
ceived his early education in Wyoming. Leaving 
school when nineteen, he then took an active part 
in the management of the ranch and the stock 
interests owned by his father and continued in 
that employment until his father's death, hav- 
ing for several years previous to that time the 
control and entire charge of all the operations, 
carrying them on the lines formerly followed by 
his. father, and meeting with the same success. 
After the death of the father the estate was 
divided among the heirs and the home ranch, 
of some 12,000 acres, became the property of 
William Lannen. A considerable portion of this 
great tract is under irrigation and each year im- 
mense quantities of hay, both timothy and al- 
falfa, are grown, most of which is consumed on 
the property by the cattle belonging to Mr. Lan- 
nen, who is the owner of several large herds of 
, fine stock, confining his operations to cattle, and 
having both thoroughbred and graded Herefords, 
finding the latter the best stock for range cattle. 
It is a matter of historical interest that old 
Fort Walbach was formerly located on the home 
ranch of Mr. Lannen, the site being near his resi- 
dence, and the cellars of the post still remain. 
Several soldiers who in the pioneer days were 
killed by the Indians lie buried in the vicinity, 
and there are many evidences of savage and 
frontier life in the sparsely settled days of the 
country by white people. Even in recent years 
the Indians have been troublesome from their 
cattle stealing propensities, and the ranch has 
sustained quite serious losses from that source 
from time to time. On October 20, 1897, Mr. 
Lannen was united in marriage at the home of 
the bride's parents to Miss Matilda J. Tait, a na- 
tive of Wyoming, and the daughter of Robert 



39° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and Agnes (Finlayson) Tait, prominent resi- 
dents of that section of Wyoming, and they have 
one child, Erne Agnes. Politically, Mr. Lannen 
is a stanch member of the Republican party, and 
takes an active interest in all public affairs. Fre- 
quently he has been solicited by his neighbors 
and friends to become a candidate for public 
office, but he has consistently declined to do so, 
his private business interests fully occupying his 
attention and requiring all of his time. He is a 
progressive and popular citizen of that section of 
Wyoming where his home is located, admired 
and respected by all for his high character and 
ability as an enterprising man of business, and 
is destined to become one of the wealthiest men 
of the state. 

GORDON O. LATHAN. 

The oldtimers of Wyoming, as of the entire 
western country, are fast being removed from 
the stage of action, and the heroism and pathos 
of their lives are rapidly becoming a part of 
their country's history, but the scenes which 
have known them in the past and witnessed 
their deeds of valor and achievement on the 
frontier, will soon know them no more forever. 
Their numbers are steadily growing less, but 
what 'they accomplished in the settlement of the 
West will grow brighter as time goes on. 
Among those who have blazed the way in 
Wyoming, no one stands higher than Gordon 
O. Lathan, now a prominent resident of Iron 
Mountain, Laramie county. Coming into the 
territory at a time when the Indian and the buf- 
falo were practically the sole possessors of the 
land, he has watched its development and done 
his full share in the great work, from a condi- 
tion of barbarism to its present condition, as 
one of the most prosperous and progressive of 
the states of the American Union. Born on 
May 24, 1840, in Sandusky, Ohio, the son of 
Stanton and Lois (Small) Lathan, both natives 
of Massachusetts. Mr. Gordon O. Lathan in- 
herits the spirit of adventure from an ancestry 
ever forward in the van of civilization, his grand- 
parents being pioneers in New England, while 



his father was a pioneer and frontiersman of 
Ohio, Michigan and Iowa, who, settling in Ohio 
during its early days of settlement, there carved 
a home from the almost untouched forest wilder- 
ness before 1840. while later he was for fourteen 
years a frontiersman and a hunter in Michigan, 
in 1854 removing to Jackson county, Iowa, 
where he also continued life as a farmer. Here 
he remained until 1861, when he removed to 
Missouri, serving in the army of the Civil War 
as one of the home guard for four years. Sub- 
sequently he engaged in farming in that state 
until 1884, when he came to Wyoming, and 
made his home with his son, Gordon, for two 
years, then removed to Johnson county, where 
he owns a ranch and resides there with two of 
his children, being still (1902) an active man 
at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. The 
mother died in 1852, being buried in Genesee 
county, Mich. Gordon O. Lathan came to the 
then territory of Colorado in 1859, and engaged 
in prospecting and mining in Colorado, Utah, 
Arizona and New Mexico for about eighteen 
months, then established himself on a ranch on 
the St. Bravin River, near Boulder, Colo., and 
engaged in cutting hay and selling it in the 
mining camps until 1867, when he removed to 
Fort Laramie, Wyo., and entered the employ 
of the United States government at that mili- 
tarv post. Here he acted as hunter, scout and 
guide until 1868, when he went to Fort Halleck 
and hunted under contract from the Union Pa- 
cific Railroad for about five months. Return- 
irfer to Fort Laramie he hunted for the com- 
missary department of that post during the win- 
ter of 1868-69. In the spring he purchased a 
ranch on Horse Creek on the stage road be- 
tween Cheyenne and Fort Laramie, where he 
conducted a road ranch and stage station, and 
for four vears carried on his former business 
of hunting. Cheyenne was his chief market 
and, during the days that game was plentiful 
in the vicinity of his place, he found the occupa- 
tion a very remunerative one. In 1874 he took 
up the ranch now owned by Mr. McLaughlin 
on Horse Creek, and engaged in cattleraising. 
hunting, however, a portion of each year. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



39i 



Eighteen months later he disposed of this place 
and bought the Stone ranch, near his former 
place, and remained there until 1880, engaged 
in the profitable business of raising cattle and 
horses. Here he also did considerable hunting 
and also acted as guide for the officers at Fort 
Russell, being considered the most efficient 
guide in that section of the West and as having 
a better knowledge of the geography of Wyom- 
ing and of its game preserves than any other 
man on the frontier. In the spring of 1880 he 
disposed of his ranch and stock interests to 
good advantage and in the fall went to Florida, 
in the hope of recuperating his failing health. 
Here he remained for about eighteen months, 
during which time he owned and operated a . 
transfer line from the St. John's River to In- 
dian River, Fla. In the spring of 1883 he re- 
turned to Wyoming and in the fall took up his 
present ranch on Chugwater, about forty miles 
southwest of the city of Cheyenne. He has 
been continuously engaged here in the business 
of raising cattle and horses and has been very 
successful, having a fine ranch of over 2,500 
acres, well fenced and improved, with barns 
and buildings, and about 400 acres of the best 
hay land in that vicinity. He owns a large herd 
of cattle and many range horses, and is stead- 
ily increasing his holdings from year to year. 
Among the experiences of his early life which 
are full of historic interest, we will mention that 
he was a member of an' expedition sent out 
from Fremont, Neb., in 1859, against the Paw- 
nee Indians, who were on the warpath and com- 
mitting many outrages and depredations upon 
the settlers. Captain Hazen was in command 
. of the company and General Thayer was at the 
head of the expedition. They overtook and 
punished the Indians severely, capturing many 
prisoners and crushing the warlike spirit of the 
tribe, so that from that time they caused little 
trouble to white settlers. On April 27, 1870, 
Mr. Lathan was united in marriage at the city 
of Cheyenne, Wyo., to Miss Ellen Armstrong, 
a native of Otsego county, N. Y., a daughter of 
William and Eunice (Gibson) Armstrong, na- 
tives of that state. Her father was a stone- 



mason and contractor, who removed to Ohio, 
where he followed business with great success 
and died at Wakeman, Ohio, at the great age 
of ninety-nine years. Her mother also died at 
the same place in 1884 at the age of eighty- 
four years. Mr. and Mrs. Lathan have no chil- 
dren of their own, but have one adopted child, 
William McDonald Lathan, aged thirty-three 
years. They are members of the Christian church 
taking an active interest in all works of religion 
or charity in the community where they reside. 
Politically Mr. Lathan is a member of the Repub- 
lican party, and all of his life has taken an 
active interest in public affairs. The history 
of his life and experiences on the plains of the 
West during nearly half a century would have 
an absorbing interest and be of enduring value, 
for he is a pioneer of pioneers, one of that 
heroic band who conquered the West for civil- 
ization. 



DENNIS W. LEMAN. 



\ 



It is a most pleasing task to preserve for 
coming generations somewhat of the lives and 
activities of those who by their thrift, their 
ability and their wise development have laid 
and are laying the foundation stones of the 
prosperity of the state. A man of strong char- 
acter and one whose life has been of signal use- 
fulness, Mr. Leman, now of Converse county, 
Wyoming, well deserves our notice as a sterling 
and progressive citizen. He is of ancient- Eng- 
lish lineage and was himself born on July 31, 
1854, in the "tight little isle," his birthplace be- 
ing in* Gloucestershire, the son of James and 
Jane (Wilkins) Leman, both being natives of 
Somerset. The father was a fine representa- 
tive of the English farmer, intelligent, well-read 
and progressive. The sixth of the seven chil- 
dren of the family, when twenty years of his 
life had been numbered, Dennis W. Leman 
shook off the ties binding him to the land, of 
his nativity and sailed westward to try the op- 
portunities of obtaining a financial standing in 
the New World. Fortune has been his friend 
and he was wise in making his way across the 



392 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



great Mississippi Valley to the far West, his 
first stopping place being Denver, Colo., but 
in 1877 ne came to Wyoming and was for four 
years identified with ranching and cattle inter- 
ests on Wagon Hound Creek, following which 
employment he founded his permanent home 
at his present location by filing on a homestead, 
securing a desert claim and acquiring other 
land by purchase until his ranch now consists 
of over 500 acres, a portion of it being thor- 
oughly irrigated and producing alfalfa hay and 
grain in great abundance. His ranch is located 
on the La Prele River, twenty miles southwest 
of Douglas. Through his broad understanding 
of the principles underlying success in stock- 
raising, Mr. Leman has been successful, having 
an attractive and productive place, a commo- 
dious and conveniently arranged residence and 
an equipment of barns, sheds and other out- 
buildings, harmonious with and commensurate 
to the needs of his special branch of agricul- 
ture, the raising of superior cattle, and here he 
is giving personal attention and care to his 
large herd of thoroughbred and graded Short- 
horns, being considered one of the thoughtful 
leaders of the cattle industry, giving time and 
labor to the improvement of the stock interests 
of the state and taking part in the wise endeav- 
ors of the Converse County Stock Association 
and the State Association of Stockmen. In po- 
litical matters Mr. Leman gives support to the 
Democratic party, although not a partisan, he 
is active in his support of public matters of a 
local character and is numbered among the 
wide-awake and progressive men of the county 
and state, being well and extensively known as 
a representative citizen as well as a stockman. 
He takes great interest in educational matters 
and has given useful and acceptable service in 
various school offices. The potentialities of Mr. 
Leman's life were largely increased on Sep- 
tember 15, 1896, when he married with Miss 
Bessie Mills of Nebraska, a daughter of Favious 
and Louise (Copsey) Mills, who has been a 
most capable assistant in his far-reaching plans 
and activities, their family circle being enlarged 
by three charming daughters, Grace, Edith and 
Ruth. 



HENRY LESTER. 

It is not to the soldiery, with its pomp, pa- 
rade, glitter and clash of arms, not to the poli- 
ticians, with their naisy oratory, fiery declama- 
tions and invectives, that American liberty owes 
and will owe its preservation and perpetuity. 
These are but the foam and froth on the surface 
of a deep and powerful river, while the current, 
bearing on in strength and to safety the free in- 
stitutions of our land, is best typified by such 
a person as the one of whom we now write. 
The class of which he is a type will control 
the destiny of the country so long as right is tri- 
umphant and honor manifested in the transac- 
tions of men, for he is emphatically a man of the 
people and a representative man in all respects. 
Without parade, without noise, quietly and stead- 
ily, conservatively and consistently, he has ever 
aimed to know what was transpiring around him, 
and, knowing, to use his best judgment in choos- 
ing a course adapted to produce "the greatest 
good to the greatest number," yet ever dominated 
by that deep religious principle, which has come 
to him as a precious heritage from a long line of 
devout ancestors and makes him intensely loyal 
and useful to the church in which he holds an 
elevated position. Henry Lester, of Hilliard 
Flats, Uinta county, Wyoming, was born in Not- 
tinghamshire, England, on May 11, 1857, a son 
of Henry and Ann (Hankin) Lester. The 
father was a son of William and Mary (Brad- 
ford) Lester and the parental grandfather of the 
Wyoming Lester was a native of Sheephead, 
Derbyshire, England, and Mary Bradford Les- 
ter was born in Derbyshire. William Lester 
was a successful stocking manufacturer, which 
business he conducted for a long term of years, 
while Henry Lester, Sr., was an agriculturist as 
were his wife's' people. He is still living in Eng- 
land. The mother of Mr. Lester came of a long 
line of English agricultural forebears. She was 
born on July 22, 1830, and died on November 30, 
1898, in England. Of their ten children, four 
came to the United States and Henry was the eld- 
est son of the family. He received a comprehen- 
sive education in the public schools of England, 
for some vears in early life was engaged in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



393 



agriculture, following this with about three years 
labor in the coal mines. He then became 
an able seaman, soon, however, enlisting in the 
Royal Sherwood-Forest Second Battalion of 
the English army, in which he served with honor 
and credit for four years. Following this he 
learned the trade of lacemaking, but after two 
years of steady application to this sedentary occu- 
pation, in 1884, he emigrated to the United 
States, settling in Almy, Wyoming, where he 
was employed in the mines until 1890. Desiring 
to have a home of his own, and a place that 
would be a permanent habitation for his family 
for coming years, in 1890 he took up 160 acres 
of government land, a portion of his present 
very desirable ranch, to which he- has since 
also added 320 acres purchased from the rail- 
road, and eighty acres more of desert land. This 
land he has improved and developed to meet his 
necessities and requirements and here he is suc- 
cessfully engaged in extensive and profitable cat- 
tleraising. He is very public-spirited, being one 
of the school trustees and a person whose judg- 
ment and strength of character make him prom- 
inent in the community. He is financially con- 
nected with several extensive ditch companies, of 
which he is the president. On October 7, 1882, 
Mr. Lester was married in England to Miss 
Mary A. Powell, a daughter of James and Mary 
(Bebb) Powell, natives of Wales. The family 
of this worthy couple consists of six living chil- 
dren, one having been called away by death. 
They are James H. ; Mary ; Joseph ; William P. ; 
Evan Arthur, died on November 27, 1892, aged 
one year and ten months ; Walter L. ; Merle. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lester are faithful members of the 
Church of Latter Day Saints and Mr. Lester a 
second counsellor to the bishop and also super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. In political re- 
lations Mr. Lester is stanchly arrayed in the 
ranks of the Democratic party, using discrim- 
ination however in the support of candidates and 
not blindly following the dictates of any individ- 
ual. He is considered one of the representative 
citizens of the community and holds a high place 
in the regards of a wide circle of friends, and the 
hospitality of the Lester household is known 
throughout an extensive area. 



ERNEST E. LEVERS, M. D. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson affirmed that "a man 
is what his mother made him," yet, much of 
truth as there is in that statement, it does not 
express the entire truth, for bygone generations 
as well as parental influences are concerned in 
the building of the man. Physical characteris- 
tics, traits of individuality and mental tenden- 
cies have been transmitted and come down to him 
from a long series of ancestors, and, wherever 
these have believed in improving their own intel- 
lectual powers, in cultivating and developing a 
healthy and vigorous physical organism and in 
elevating their moral nature by watchful self- 
discipline, they were not only benefiting them- 
selves, but making it possible for distant gener- 
ations of their posterity to be the stronger, not 
only in body, but in the higher department of 
intellect, better fitted in every way to make a 
vigorous appearance upon the stage of life. So, 
in writing oLDr. Ernest E. Levers, it is well to 
consider that the energy of past generations is 
his also. Running back through several genera- 
tions of American ancestors residing in Ohio and 
Pennsylvania, both his parental and maternal an- 
cestral lines cross the Atlantic Ocean and are 
found connected with the great German Father- 
land for so many years that the memory of man 
knows nothing of any other origin. Many of 
the characteristics of the deep thinkers, brilliant 
scientists, and painstaking medical men and 
scholars of that leading nationality are shown in 
him and verify the reasoning we have presented. 
Ernest E. Levers, the popular physician and 
surgeon of Spring Valley, Uinta county, Wyo., 
was born in Stark county, Ohio, on April 21, 
1871, a son of William and Liew (Hassler) 
Levers. His paternal grandfather, David Lev- 
ers, a native of Pennsylvania, soon after his mar- 
riage became a pioneer farmer in the heavy for- 
est wilderness of Ohio, where, by his industry 
and persevering efforts through a long series of 
years, he transformed the face of nature and de- 
veloped a large extent of productive acres of val- 
uable land. Here he reared his children to be 
good, industrious and patriotic citizens, and at 
his death besides his material possessions, left 



394 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



them the precious heritage of an honorable name. 
His son William also followed agriculture in 
Ohio, and by his marriage with Miss Liew Hass- 
ler, also of German lineage, established a home 
to which came two sons and three daughters, 
the second one in order of birth being the subject 
of this sketch. Intensely loyal in his nature, 
when the storm of civil war burst over the coun- 
try William Levers became one of the soldiers of 
the Union and served with honor for two years 
in the 114th Ohio Volunteers. He and his es- 
timable wife are now living in Ohio, where they 
hold an honored place in the regards of the com- 
munity. The early educational discipline of Doc- 
tor Levers was obtained in the excellent public 
schools of Ohio, and, being a natural student and 
having a desire to become a thoroughly educated 
physician, he entered Heidelberg University, at 
Tiffin, Ohio, and took a full classical course of 
study at this reputable institution, graduating 
with the class of 1895. Having thus laid a solid 
foundation for the technical study of the sci- 
ences of medicine and surgery, he pursued his 
medical education at the Ohio Medical Univer- 
sity of Columbus, Ohio, and, acquitting himself 
with credit, was graduated therefrom as M. D. 
in 1898. His qualifications for a successful pro- 
fessional career were so marked, even in his col- 
lege days, that upon graduation he became in- 
terne in the hospital at Columbus, which position 
he successfully filled for one year, therein ac- 
quiring a practical experience that has since been 
of great value. Succeeding this service, deem- 
ing that the new West afforded opportunities for 
usefulness and profit that would be in accordance 
with his wishes, he came to Wyoming and was 
the house surgeon of the Wyoming General Hos- 
pital for six months, meeting with good success 
and acquiring a valuable acquaintance. In 1899 
he made his permanent residence at Almy, 
Wyoming, and established himself in the general 
practice as a physician and a surgeon and soon 
his abilities were manifested in the acquisition of 
a valuable circle of patrons coming from the 
representative families of that section. Here he 
was actively engaged in medical labors until 1901, 
when he removed to Spring Valley to become the 



local surgeon and physician of the U. P. Coal 
Co., which position he is now filling. He is also 
an assistant surgeon for the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, while an extensive and lucrative individ- 
ual practice has already been built up. Doctor 
Levers keeps himself fully in touch with the lat- 
est developments and discoveries and .is a close 
and thoughtful student along all lines of med- 
ical progress. He is a member of the board of U. 
S. Pension Examiners, of the state board of Med- 
ical Examiners and has held the distinguished 
office of president of the Wyoming Medical Soci- 
ety, of which he is an active member. Doctor 
Levers reads, travels and thinks. He is an in- 
tense radical in support of everything, in public, 
professional or private life, which has for its 
object the improvement, the development or the 
advancement of the community or the people. He 
holds advanced opinions on all subjects, can sup- 
port them ably and pungently with tongue or 
pen, and is active in all matters and particularly 
so in his support of the Republican party, in 
whose success he takes great interest. In the 
fall of 1902 he was a candidate of his party for 
the State Senate and was elected by a flattering 
majority. Fraternally, he holds membership in 
Evanston Lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M. Doc- 
tor Levers consummated a very fortunate matri- 
monial alliance, when in Columbus. Ohio, on 
December 29, 1899, he wedded with Miss Bessie 
M. Long, a lady of education and culture, a 
daughter of the Rev. M. DeWitt Long, D. D., 
and his wife Pauline (McCahoon) Long. Her 
parents were natives of Ohio, her father of 
German extraction and her mother of Scotch:. 
Doctor Long is now the venerated pastor of the 
Knox Presbyterian church of Omaha. Nebraska, 
where is his family home. Mrs. Levers is the 
possessor of a very musical voice, of great range 
and capabilities, being extensively known as a vo- 
calist. She passed the winter of 1901-2 in the 
cultivation of her voice in one of the best schools 
of voice-culture in New York City. Doctor and 
Mrs. Levers occupy a high place in social 
circles and have a large number of friends 
to whom they extend a charming hospitality. A 
strong friend and a kind neighbor. Doctor Lev- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



395 



ers is one of the most highly-valued citizens of 
the county of his home and worthily has the 
universal esteem and confidence of its leading 
men, both as a medical man, an official and as a 
citizen. 

GEORGE LORD. 

George Lord, a prosperous ranchman and for 
years an active business man of Sheridan, was 
born on September 30, 1861, in Clinton count}'. 
New York, the son of George and Jane (Hare) 
Lord, also New Yorkers by nativity. The fa- 
ther was a well-esteemed hotel man at Saranac, 
N. Y.. who while on a trip through Colorado in 
1884 died in that state, his remains being taken to 
his native county for burial. Some years later 
the mother followed her son to Wyoming and 
now resides at Sheridan. George Lord was edu- 
cated in the schools of his native county and in 
1878 came west to Omaha, then new and promis- 
ing, and went to work on a farm not far from the 
city. After some time, however, he took to rail- 
roading, working on the Union Pacific through 
Nebraska and Wyoming. His first advent in 
Wyoming occurred in 1880, when he had a run 
on the road between Rawlins and Green River. 
The next year gave up railroading and came 
to northern Wyoming with a herd of cattle, locat- 
ing them on what is now the site of Sheridan, 
attending them there, riding the range and look- 
ing after the interest of the business for eight 
years. In 1890 lie took up his residence and in- 
vested his money in property at Sheridan, and 
engaged actively in business. Since that time 
he has been more or less interested in real-estate 
and commercial business in the town, but in 1901 
he bought a ranch on Tongue River, eighteen 
miles northwest of Sheridan, and started a stock 
industry of considerable proportions. In the au- 
tumn of 1902 he sold both the stock and ranch 
and returned to Sheridan to live and look after 
his interests in the city. Here he has valuable 
properties and is again engaged in mercantile 
business. In politics Mr. Lord has always been 
a firm and faithful Democrat, serving his party 
well without seeking its honors or emoluments. 
He did however serve in the citv council of Sher- 



idan for seven years as a matter of accommoda- 
tion to the citizens and for the benefit of its best 
interests. In county and state politics his voice 
is potential in his party, and his knowledge of 
men and methods is much appreciated. Frater- 
nally he belongs to the Order of Elks, holding 
membership in the lodge at Sheridan. He was 
married on April 15, 1893, to Miss Louisa Bru- 
nig, a native of Illinois, then living at Buffalo 
in this state. They have three children, Edwin. 
Leo and Elinore. 

JOHN D. LOUCKS. 

In the rush and hurry of our workday life in 
America, it is not given to many men to leave 
an enduring record or substantial memorial of 
their work, however useful or important. John 
D. Loucks, of Sheridan, Wyoming, is an excep- 
tion to the rule, and has in the city of his resi- 
dence an enduring monument, for he is essen- 
tially the father of the town. It was he who laid 
out the city ; he. was its first postmaster, its first 
school director, its first mayor, its first news- 
paper founder and proprietor, and its leading citi- 
zen. The first election within its corporate limits 
was held at his house and at the origin of every 
feature of its existence he has been present with 
paternal and vitalizing force. He came to Wyo- 
ming in 1880, his native state being New York, 
and his life began there in November, 1845. 
His parents, Adam and Jane (Collier) Loucks, 
were also natives of that state and when he was 
one year old they removed to Michigan. Six 
years later they took another step westward to 
Marshall county, Iowa, where after years of use- 
ful and upright life as prosperous farmers they 
died. And there on the farm their son John lived 
and worked during youth and young manhood, 
attending the schools of the district as he was 
able, scooping up however, but a handful of the 
grateful, invigorating waters of knowledge as 
they danced and bubbled across his pathway. In 
March, 1863. when he was but seventeen years 
of age he enlisted in the Union army in Co A ; 
Sixth Iowa Cavalry, and in that command served 
during the Civil War. Its field of operations was 



396 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in the Northwest, where he saw dangerous ser- 
vice against the hostile Sioux who took advan- 
tage of the Civil War to rise against the Gov- 
ernment. He also helped to build Fort Rice 
and traversed the Yellowstone Valley and other 
portions of the farther West, at the close of the 
war returning to Iowa, where he passed some 
time in Sioux City. In 1872 he removed to Kan- 
sas, settled in Smith county, helped to locate and 
lay out Cedarville, but in 1873 sold his interests 
and returned to Iowa, where for seven years he 
conducted a brick- yard and a drug business in 
Bedford. In 1880 he made a round trip with 
teams from Bedford to Bozeman, Mont., and in 
188 1 he went by steamboat up the Missouri to 
Miles City. There he wintered and in the ensu- 
ing spring drove a team to the present site of 
Sheridan, Wyo. He took up preemption and des- 
ert claims on the Big Goose Creek, and soon af- 
ter his arrival, discerning there the promise of a 
growing settlement, with Mr. Rhodes he plat- 
ted and surveyed a townsite which the} 7 named 
Sheridan, and for the survey Mr. Loucks fur- 
nished the necessary means. He also bought a 
grocery store which Mr. Rhodes had been oper- 
ating, and enlarging its scope to include general 
merchandise, he carried it on for a number of 
years. For awhile his customers were almost 
wholly Indians, they were not unsatisfactory, for 
they paid for what they got and seldom created 
disturbance. Prices were high, trade was active 
and profits were good. Flour was ten cents and 
bacon and sugar each twenty-five cents a pound. 
Freights were also high, not less than five cents 
a pound from Rock Creek, Wyo. In 1888 he 
sold his business and disposed of the ground on 
which he had conducted it to the First National 
Bank of Sheridan and this corporation gave lots 
to settlers as an inducement to bring population 
to the town. Mr. Loucks retired to his ranch 
and busied himself with an active and interesting 
stock industry, conducting at the same time a 
flourishing furniture business in Sheridan. In 
1901 he built the Loucks block on Main Street, 
a fine two-story brick edifice, the first floor of 
which is occupied by stores, and the second by 



offices and the rooms of the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. This organization, which he 
was one of the leading spirits in forming and 
of which he is now the president, is practically his 
guest in the building, as he does not allow it to 
pay any rent. He owns much other property in 
the city and in 1902 sold his ranch and took up 
his residence in the young municipality he had 
founded. In 1882 he was appointed postmaster 
of Sheridan, and was obliged to walk fifteen 
miles to take the oath of office. He served until 
1885, being in the meanwhile elected school di- 
rector and mayor of the city. The last office he 
held for a number of terms in succession and, 
whether in or out of office, his interest in school 
matters never flagged. His first election as 
mayor was held at his own house, it being then 
the headquarters for every form of political and 
public activity in the community. In 1886 he 
was elected a member of the upper house of the 
Territorial Legislature and during his term of 
office had the satisfaction of securing the organ- 
ization of Sheridan county, with his town as the 
county seat. Mr. Loucks is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and 
was influential in organizing John Schuler 
Post. He is also very prominent in the benefi- 
cent and the evangelizing work of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and is prominent by 
influence and example in every charitable enter- 
prise in the community. In 1872, in Iowa he 
was married with Miss Annie Clark, a native 
of Pennsylvania, and they have three children, 
Annie, wife of C. W. Garbett, superintendent of 
the Wyoming Forest Reserve, Homer and Flor- 
ence, all being residents of Sheridan. Among 
the enterprises with which the public spirit and 
progressiveness of Mr. Loucks must be credited 
is the first newspaper published in Sheridan, the 
Sheridan Post, of which he was the founder and 
for years the proprietor. In reality, there is 
scarcely any element of advancement or means of 
improvement, any engine of commercial, educa- 
tional or moral development that has not been 
quickened by the touch of his tireless hand or 
broadened bv the force of his active mind. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



397 



DUGALD McCALLUM. 

As his name unmistakably indicates, the most 
extensive and successful lumber merchant in his 
part of the state, one of the leaders in this branch 
of commercial enterprise in the Northwest, Du- 
gald McCallum of Wheatland in Laramie county, 
is of Scotch ancestry, and his career proves that 
he has inherited the thrift, resourcefulness, self- 
reliance and productive power of his race and 
family. In 1844 his parents, Dugald and Isa- 
bella (McLarty) McCallum, emigrated from 
Paisley, Scotland, to Canada, then locating in the 
Province of Quebec, where the father engaged 
in farming until 1847. From thence he removed 
to Owen Sound, Ontario, and there followed the 
same pursuit until his death in 1878, his wife 
having died in 1862. Their son Dugald was 
born in Quebec, Canada, on November 18, 1845, 
the year after his parents came to the New 
World. He was educated in scholastic learning 
in the public schools of his native land and in 
morals and manners by his careful and conscien- 
tious parents. Reared to farm life, he learned 
early the dignity and importance of labor and 
while yet a youth made a full hand on the home- 
stead, where he remained as an employe until 
he was twenty-four, when he took charge of it, 
thus enabling his father to enjoy a needed rest, 
and soon after he purchased the place and culti- 
vated it until 1 87 1, when he sold it and engaged 
in the livery business at Kincardine, Ont., for 
two years. In 1873 he disposed of his livery 
and gave his attention to contracting and build- 
ing with headquarters at Kincardine. After four 
years of successful operations in this line he sold 
his outfit and came to Wyoming, locating at 
Cheyenne, beginning an active and prosperous 
bridge-building enterprise, which he conducted 
for the Union Pacific Railroad until 1880, during 
the next three years being employed in the car 
shops of the company. He then left the service 
of the company and soon was conducting a large 
and lucrative business as a contractor and builder 
at Cheyenne, and to his credit in this capacity 
are many of the best buildings in the city. In 
1888 he sold out his business and became man- 



ager of the Cheyenne Lumber Co., having charge 
of its affairs until the yards were closed in De- 
cember, 1892. He then followed contracting un- 
til February, 1894, when he became associated 
with H. E. Crain in the lumber business at 
Wheatland. On March 12, 1900, he purchased 
his partner's interest and has since carried on 
the business alone, Mr. Crain engaging in a sim- 
ilar enterprise at Guernsey. Mr. McCallum has 
steadily enlarged his business and increased its 
importance to the community until ; t is now one 
of the most extensive of its kind in the state. He 
has financial ability of a high order and a prac- 
tical wisdom, broad and serviceable in every line 
of mercantile and mechanical thought. Although 
his commercial and industrial affairs have been 
engrossing, they have not kept him from exhib- 
iting a zealous and fruitful influence in behalf of 
all public improvements of merit and every un- 
dertaking for the advancement of the community 
in moral, intellectual and material strength. In 
fraternal relations Mr. McCallum is connected 
with the Freemasons in all branches of the order, 
holding membership in the symbolic, capitular, 
cryptic and templar bodies, also having taken the 
Thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He 
also belongs to the Woodmen of the AVorld, and 
to Castle Hall Lodge, No. 2, Knights of Pythias, 
at Cheyenne, being initiated in 1878. In church 
membership he is an ardent Congregationalist 
and in politics a firm and faithful Republican, 
yet not an offensive partisan nor an office seeker, 
having in his long and interesting career con- 
sented to hold no official station, except that of 
justice of the peace at Wheatland, in which he 
served, two years and exhibited qualifications of 
a high order. On February 22, 1872, at Milton, 
Halton county, Ontario, he was married to Miss 
Annie Lawson, a native of the Dominion and 
daughter of William and Agnes (Akins) Law- 
son. Her parents were natives of Scotland who 
came to Canada in early days and settled in Hal- 
ton county, Ont., where the mother died in the 
early sixties and the father in 1876. Mr. and 
Mrs. McCallum have had two children, William 
N., born on December 30, 1872, and died March 
5, 1894, and Neil John N., born at Kincardine 



39§ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



on February 27, 1875, who is his father's part- 
ner in business and has assumed much of the 
burden of controlling the various and respon- 
sible interests which the firm has in charge. In 
addition to the mercantile industry which en- 
gages them they have a fine farm a mile and 
one-half north of Wheatland, to which they give 
special attention and which they have brought to 
a high state of improvement. 

FRANCIS M. MATHEWS. 

Of the many oldtime stockmen of Wyoming, 
whose industry, thrift and enterprise have laid 
strong and deep the foundations of that common- 
wealth, none are held in higher esteem than Fran- 
cis M. Mathews, of Granite Canyon, a native 
of Davis county, Mo., born on January 1, 1843, 
the son of Greenfield and Hannah (Nash) Math- 
ews, the former a native of Tennessee and the 
latter of Kentucky. His parents were among the 
earliest of the pioneers of Missouri, and followed 
the occupation of farming in Dekalb and Davis 
counties. The father died in Dekalb county in 
1852, and the mother died in Davis county in 
1876. Francis M. Mathews attained manhood in 
Davis county and there received his early edu- 
cation. In 1862, answering to the patriotic call 
of President Lincoln for troops to defend the 
flap- of the country from dishonor, he enlisted in 
the Sixth Missouri Cavalry of the Union army, 
and served continuously until the close of the 
Civil War, being mustered out of service in 
April, 1865. He was in several hotly contested 
engagements, but escaped without receiving se- 
rious injuries. After the war he engaged in farm- 
ing in Davis county. Mo., remaining there in 
that occupation until 1873, when he disposed of 
his farm interests in Missouri, and removed his' 
residence to the then territory of Wyoming. 
Here, in May, 1874, he settled on his present 
ranch, situated on the South Crow Creek, about 
twenty miles west of the city of Cheyenne and 
here he has since resided, being engaged success- 
fully in the business of cattleraising. He was 
one of the earliest settlers of that section of coun- 
try, by bis industry, attention to the details of his 



business and good judgment, building up a fine 
property, which is increasing from year to year. 
•On February 2, 1868, in Davis county, Mo.. Mr. 
Mathews was united in marriage with Miss Ra- 
chel Taylor, a native of Missouri, and the daugh- 
ter of William and Mary A. (McCoy) Taylor, 
natives of Iowa. Her father was long engaged 
in farming in Davis county, Mo., but in 1868 he 
removed to Oregon and later to Idaho, where he 
again engaged both in farming and stockraising, 
and where he remained until his decease in Au- 
gust, 1896. He was also buried in Nez Perces 
county, Idaho, near his pleasant Idaho home. 
The mother now resides in Nez Perces county. 
To Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Mathews six children 
have been born, William G., George W., Minnie 
(Jay), Arthur, Gertrude and Laura. Politically, 
Mr. Mathews is a stanch adherent of the Repub- 
lican party, and for many years he has taken an 
active and patriotic interest in public affairs, al- 
though never seeking public position. He leaves 
partisan politics and office-seeking to others, find- 
ing contentment and sufficient gratification in at- 
tending to his business affairs, building up the 
handsome fortune which he now possesses. His 
sterling traits of character, and his useful life, 
which has been marked by industry, thrift and 
fidelity to every duty, and crowned with flatter- 
ing success, have earned for him a high place in 
the esteem of his fellowmen. 

A. L. MILLER. 

A prominent figure in the business life of 
Converse county, being the general manager of 
the large mercantile establishment of Barron 
Brothers, at Lusk, Wyoming, Mr. A. L. Miller, 
a native of Jackson county. Mo., was born on 
June 25, i86t, the son of William H. and Mary 
Frances (Adams) Miller, the former a native of 
Virginia and the latter of Maryland. His pa- 
ternal grand c ather, Nathaniel Miller, was also 
a native of Virginia, where the family for many 
generations was prominent in its business and 
social life. The father of our subject was a 
graduate of the I'. S. military academy at Vest 
Point, but did not enter the army, preferring 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



399 



law as a profession. In 1 he parly fifties he left 
Virginia, and removed to Missouri, where he 
maintained his residence until 1862, when of 
course his sympathies were with the Confed- 
eracy, and he took steps to. raise a company for 
active service in the army of the South. Yield- 
ing, however, to the earnest entreaties of his 
friends and of his relatives, he relinquished this 
idea, and sought dame fortune in the far West, 
where wonderful discoveries of gold had just 
been made and, going overland to Alder Gulch, 
Montana, he established himself for a time at 
Virginia City, and later, upon the placer dis- 
coveries in Last Chance Gulch, on the present 
site of the city of Helena, he removed thither 
and resided for some time. In the early days of 
the settlement of Wyoming, however, he re- 
moved to that territory, made headquarters at 
Cheyenne, continuing there in the practice of 
law for many years and taking from the first a 
leading part in the professional and public af- 
fairs of the territory and state. From 1876 to 
1878 he was prosecuting attorney of his county, 
and largely aided in establishing the capital of 
the territory at Cheyenne. In 1881 he removed 
to Beuna Vista, Colo., and was active in the 
legal and mining affairs of that state up to the 
time of his death, December 28, 1893. He was 
a man of ability and prominence, reckoned 
among the leading men of the pioneer life of 
Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. He was 
the father of five children, the subject of this 
review being the third. After his leaving for the 
West in 1862 the residence of the family was 
still maintained in the city of St. Joseph, Mo., 
and here A. L. Miller passed his boyhood and 
received his early education. In June, 1878, he 
came to Wyoming, and for seven years made 
his headquarters at Cheyenne, being occupied 
during most of that time in riding the range, 
there acquiring a practical knowledge of the 
cattle business, in which it was his ambition to 
engage as soon as circumstances would permit. 
He then came to the vicinity of Lusk, and in 
1890 engaged in merchandising at that place. 
For a time he was in the employ of the Baker 
Brothers, and then was the cashier of the bank 



of the Barron Brothers. He remained in this 
position about twelve months, until the bank 
changed hands, then removed to his ranch on 
Old Woman's Creek, about ten miles north of 
Lusk, and followed the cattle business for about 
five years. In 1895 he became the general man- 
ager of the large mercantile house of the Bar- 
ron Mercantile Co., located at Lusk, Wyo., and 
he has since continued in that position, al- 
though still owning his ranch property and there 
carrying on an extensive sheep and woolgrow- 
ing business. On September 15, 1890, Mr. 
Miller was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie C. 
Daley, a native of Iowa and a daughter of the 
late Daniel Daley, formerly a prominent stock- 
man of Converse county. To their union have 
been born seven children, William Daniel, Flor- 
ence Leon, Edward Nathaniel, Kenneth Greg- 
ory, Thomas Ollie, Lee Gerald and Donald. 
The family home is a center of genial and re- 
fined hospitality, with many appointments of 
luxury and comfort. Fraternally, Mr. Miller is 
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and with the Woodmen of the World, 
and takes an active interest in the social life 
of the community. He is one of the most pro- 
gressive and capable business men of his sec- 
tion of the state, and is held in high esteem. 

WILLIAM H. MILLER. 

In this great land of hope and promise, of 
multitudinous opportunity and bountiful reward, 
every citizen is a sovereign, therefore liable to 
be called at any time to the administration of 
public affairs ; and for the proper discharge of 
official duties each is well prepared by a con- 
tinual participation in the thought and activities 
on which the government is founded. William 
H. Miller of Newcastle, Weston county, Wyo- 
ming, one of the leading cattle and ranchmen 
of his section of the state, who has demon- 
strated his fitness for public business by close 
and careful attention to his own and the good 
results achieved thereby, is no exception to the 
rule ; that he has made an ideal official is no 
surprise to those who have known him in pri- 



400 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



vate life. He was born in Noble county, Ohio, 
on January 16, 1864, the son of William and 
Elizabeth (Rogers) Miller, of the same nativity 
as himself. The father owned a large sawmill 
in Lawrence county, that state, and fdr a num- 
ber of years did a profitable business with it in 
that thriving and progressive -section. In 1872 
the family removed to Guthrie county, Iowa, 
and there engaged in farming until 1878, when 
they took a flight toward the setting sun, alight- 
ing in Colorado and settling at Villa Grove, at 
the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, a 
range rich in mineral deposits of enormous 
value. There the father discovered the Bo- 
nanza mine, one of the largest and most pro- 
lific silver mines in the state, and gave himself 
zealously to the work of developing it. He has 
since sold part of his interest, but owns the 
greater portion of this fruitful holding and still 
makes his home at Villa Grove. William H. 
Miller received his education in Guthrie county, 
Iowa, remaining there until 1876 when he re- 
moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., but after a short 
stay in that city went to the Black Hills and 
engaged in freighting, going from that region 
to Sidney, Neb., and there riding the range in 
the cattle industry until 1882. In 1883 he came 
to Crook county, Wyo., with cattle and rode 
the range in care of them for three years. In 
1886 he started a cattleraising industry of his 
own, taking up a ranch nine miles south of Sun- 
dance, to which he has since made additions 
until it now comprises 640 acres of the be^t 
grazing and range land in that portion of the 
state. He is a stockholder and trie vice-pres- 
ident of the Cambria Live Stock Co., of New- 
castle, one of the largest and most enterprising 
organizations for handling sheep in the North- 
west, controlling immense bodies of land and 
carrying on a business of great scope and ac- 
tivity. He is also a half owner of the Meek & 
Miller Cattle Co. Mr. Miller also owns stock 
in and is vice-president of the Coffee Oil Co., of 
Newcastle, whose fields of unctuous wealth lie 
southwest of the town and freely yield up their 
treasures to the industrious seeker. He owns 
much desirable property in the residence sec- 



tion of the city and has interests of value else- 
where. In 1894 he removed his cattle from 
Crook to Weston county and there ran them 
until 1 901 when he disposed of them, still hav- 
ing a large number of horses in Crook county. 
From 1892 to 1898 he was extensively engaged 
in the dairy business near Cambria and in the 
latter year was elected sheriff of Weston county 
on the Republican ticket. He so bore himself 
in this responsible station that he won the re- 
gard of all men officially as he had already done 
personally and in a business way and was re- 
elected in November, 1902, demonstrating the 
popularity he has acquired among the voters. On 
March 30, 1887, in Crook county, Wyo., Mr. 
Miller was united in marriage wi'th Miss Anna 
McMoran of that county, a native of New 
York and a daughter of Robert G. and Mary 
McMoran, the former of Scotch and the latter 
of English ancestry. Her father was a brave 
and faithful soldier for the Union in the Civil 
War, who removed his family to Wyoming in 
1883 and added his forceful energy to the cat- 
tleraising industry until his death in 1S99, his 
widow still making her home in Crook coun- 
ty. The Millers have five children, Mary E., 
Helen B., Sidney A., C. Raymond and A. Ruth. 
Mr. Miller is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias at Cambria and the order of Red Men 
at Newcastle and both himself and his wife are 
members of the Episcopal church. 

JOHN MORTON. 

One of the best representatives of the great 
sheepraising industries of Converse county. Wyo- 
ming, is Mr. John Morton, who by his energy, 
industry and strict fidelity to all business and 
social relations of his life has raised himself to 
a well-earned prosperity and now stands securely 
founded in the good graces and the esteem of his 
associates in all the departments of existence. He 
was born on September 3, 1862, in Dekalb 
county. 111., of German ancestry, and has shown 
throughout his busy career the thrift and indus- 
try, the patience and the self-reliance characteris- 
tic of the German race. Having onlv the cduca- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



40 i 



tional advantages of the common schools, he la- 
bored on the parental homestead until 1878, when 
he made the long journey to Rawlins, Wyo., and 
identified himself for three years with the care 
of sheep in various localities, then, securing a 
band of his own, he ranged them near Rawlins 
until the fall of 1880, when, removing to Doug- 
las, he there established his home and the center 
of his operations, ranging his. rapidly increasing 
flocks between Douglas and Jeannette. In this 
industry his skill, ability and wise personal su- 
pervision have brought tangible results, and he 
is at this writing one of the leading sheepmen 
of the state, aside from his individual holdings, 
carrying a large interest in the John Morton 
Sheep Co., of which he is president, and also 
being the senior partner of the firm of Morton & 
Jennings, also running large flocks of sheep. On 
February 8, 1894, Mr. Morton was united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah E. McDearmid, a na- 
tive of New York and of old Scottish ancestry 
and they have three children, John Robert, Will- 
iam M., and Margaret. Mr. Morton is a strong 
upholder and supporter of the Republican party 
in politics and an active and generous contrib- 
utor to all public matters of a local character, 
holding a high place in the esteem of the people 
and being a valued member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity. 

WENTWORTH H. MOSS. 

The character of a state being but the sum and 
total of the individual characters of its citizens, 
every man's individuality has a peculiar interest 
for us when writing of the attainments and pros- 
perity of its commonwealth. For many centuries 
in England has the name of Moss been connected 
with feats of valor, movements of statesmanship, 
industrial progress and professional achievement. 
Emigrating from the mother country to Massa- 
chusetts in the early days of anxiety, privation 
and suffering, three brothers named Moss estab- 
lished on New England soil the same character- 
istics appertaining to the English family. One 
of these brothers was the great-grandfather of 
Wentworth H. Moss, of Uinta county, Wyoming. 



In America, as in England, the family has been 
noted for its intelligence, culture and beneficent 
interest in public affairs and for its integrity and 
superior business qualifications. Wentworth H. 
Moss was born on March 20, 1843, in what is 
now the beautiful manufacturing village of 
Sandy Hill, Washington county, N. Y., where is 
located one of the largest manufactories of wall 
paper in the world, a son of Edward and Mary 
(Carter) Moss, both of whom were natives of 
New York state. Edward Moss was a good type 
of an intelligent New England farmer, and, in 
addition to his vocation of agriculture, took quite 
an active part in the conduct of public affairs. 
He removed with his family in 1846 to Boone 
county, 111., where for a long term of years he 
was a superintendent of schools. His father, 
Edward Moss, was a soldier of the American 
Revolution. Six children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Moss, of whom Wentworth was the third. 
His eldest brother, James Moss, distinguished 
himself and maintained the patriotic record of the 
family in the Civil War by his loyal service as 
captain of Co. B, Fifty-eighth Illinois Volun- 
teers and lost his life in the memorable engage- 
ment at Red River Crossing, Louisiana. Went- 
worth H. Moss received his elementary literary 
education at the public schools of Illinois, supple- 
menting this by an attendance at a somewhat 
celebrated private academy. In 1865, his inde- 
pendent business career was initiated by his ser- 
vices as a bookkeeper at Salt Lake City and later 
he was an U. S. wagonmaster, with headquarters 
at Forts Laramie, Sedgwick and Russell and also 
McPherson and Camp Carlin. Following this 
employment he made his home successively in 
Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyo., devoting his time 
to the carrying out of the various government 
contracts he had undertaken. In 1884, he estab- 
lished the family residence in Uinta county, Wyo., 
on the headwaters of the Big Muddy, six miles 
south of the village of Piedmont. This has con- 
tinued to be his home, and here he owns 160 acres 
of land which he has developed in a wise and- 
systematic manner to meet the demands of the 
cattle and horseraising departments of agricul- 
tural industry to which he has devoted his land. 



402 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



He has still continued and is now engaged in ex- 
tensive contracting operations, having a large 
acquaintance with men and affairs, not only in 
Western Wyoming, but far beyond the bounda- 
ries of the state. He is an active member of the 
Democratic party, prominent in its councils and 
in its campaigns. Without any desire however for 
political honors or emoluments for himself, he 
has accepted and done valuable service as 
postmaster, deputy U. S. marshal and as a wa- 
ter commissioner. Fraternally, he has attained to 
the Royal Arch degree of the Masonic order, and 
is also identified with the Benevolent Protec- 
tive Order of Elks, holding membership in the 
first at Eyanston, Wyo., and in the second at 
Rock Springs. In Norfolk, Neb., on December 
22, 1875, occurred the nuptial ceremony uniting 
Mr. W. H. Moss and Miss Mattie B. McClary, 
who is a daughter of David and Almy McClary, 
who also trace their lineage to very early New 
England families, themselves however being like 
their daughter," native in the state of New 
York. Universally- esteemed for his gen- 
ial ways, his sterling worth and integrity, Mr. 
Moss is one of the best types Wyoming can pro- 
duce of a self-made man. His success is the 
result of steady industry, business thrift and en- 
terprise reaching over an active period of years. 
He has ever been benevolent and hospitable, a 
patron of educational interests, a public-spirited 
citizen and an exemplary member of society. 
With numerous friends in official circles and 
among the leading representative .men of western 
Wyoming, no man is in a position to exercise a 
greater influence in the direction of business in- 
tegrity or in shaping the affairs of this section 
of the state, then is this representative of an old 
time family, Wentworth H. Moss. 

JOHN L. McCOY. 

John L. McCoy, stockgrower and capitalist, 
and one of the leading men in the state of Wyo- 
ming, is a native of Pennsylvania, where he was 
born on March 11, 1853, the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Steele) McCoy, the former a native 
of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania. He 



was reared at the paternal home until he was 
twelve years old, when, as his father was -a poor 
laboring man, it became incumbent' on him to 
go to work on neighboring farms and this he 
continued to do until he was twenty years old, 
for the first four years receiving only his board 
and clothes and the privilege of attending the 
winter schools for three months each winter. 
Shortly after he was twenty he engaged his ser- 
vices in the construction department of the W. 
U. Telegraph ' Co. and remained in that connec- 
tion and employment for about eight months and 
until the panic of 1873 caused the suspension of 
labor in this department of the company's opera- 
tions. In 1874, when he had just reached his 
majority, he determined to start afresh for him- 
self and in another field of endeavor from that 
in which his parents had toiled, and he went to 
California, locating in the Santa Clara Valley, 
passed three years in farm work there and 
then entered the service of the U. S. government 
as, a civil engineer to do surveying work under 
contract. In 1881 he ran the first line surveyed 
in the Bighorn basin, the established guide from 
the Seventh standard to the Twelfth, and. from 
this line as a base, this entire section of country 
has been subsequently surveyed. He remained 
in the government service in this capacity until 
1884, when he came to Fremont county and lo- 
cated on Owl Creek, determined to return to the 
pursuits of his forefathers, and engaged in farm- 
ing and stockgrowing. His ranch is the well- 
known Keystone ranch, and he has a. wide celeb- 
rity as being one of the most extensive cattle- 
growers in the state. Pie is also the heaviest 
property holder in the town of Thermopolis. and 
has been of inestimable service in the develop- 
ment and improvement of the town. He built 
the Keystone Hotel, a fine modern structure of 
stone, which cost $10,000, and a massive and ar- 
tistic two-story stone business block, besides 
making numerous other desirable improvements. 
He owns large blocks of stock in the First Na- 
tional Bank of Thermopolis. also in the electric 
light plant, and is connected in a leading way 
with almost every appreciated enterprise in the 
community. Being a progressive and -broad- 





[ t M *$ 



cHf 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



403 



minded man, with an intensely patriotic devotion 
to his section of the country, he is ever deeply in- 
terested and always willing to be actively help- 
ful in whatever .may tend to build up the town 
and county in which he lives, or advance the 
comfort, happiness or well-being of its people. 
On his ranch he raises principally graded Here- 
ford and Galloway cattle, and his product, in 
addition to being one of the largest in the county, 
is also one of the best and best known in this 
part of the world. Mr. McCoy is essentially a 
self-made man, the outgrowth of the inherent 
qualities of business capacity, clearness of vision, 
quickness of apprehension and readiness in ac- 
tion with which he was endowed by nature, and 
which the exigencies of his struggle for suprem- 
acy among men have developed and trained. 
He reached California with not more than ten 
dollars in greenbacks as the sum of his worldly 
wealth, and in that state at the time the pur- 
chasing power of his money was somewhat be- 
low par. But he had in himself a better capital 
than wealth, and this he has coined into various 
forms of property and substance by judicious 
use, at the same time securing, by deserving it,' 
the approbation and esteem of his fellow men, 
wherever he has cast anchor even for a short 
time. By the people among whom he has lived 
longest and labored most assiduously he is uni- 
versally regarded as one of the most advanced 
and progressive, as well as one of the most up- 
right and elevated of their citizens. 

HON. CHARLES F. MILLER. 

Safely anchored in that quiet, peaceful haven 
found by countless numbers even on this side 
of the grave, a serene and hale old age, where 
the storms of life beat not or are felt only in gen- 
tle undulations of the unruffled waters, Charles. F. 
Miller of Cheyenne, one of the makers and build- 
ers of Wyoming, can look back over the troubled 
and toilsome way he has come with additional 
satisfaction and pleasure because of the very 
struggles, privations and dangers through which 
it led. A child of the sunny South, imbued with 
the political principles taught and revered in that 



section of our country and of suitable age to bear 
arms in the Civil War, when the long threatened 
storm broke over the land, he warmly espoused 
the cause of his people and gallantly followed 
their banner through that awful baptism of blood 
and disaster, beholding its proud folds wave in 
triumph at Manassas and Harper's Ferry and 
Chancellorsville and Monocacy, close in sorrow 
at South Mountain, Antietam and Gettysburg, 
and go down in irretrievable disaster at Peters- 
burg and at The Wilderness and Appomattox. 
Then coming to the farther West, when the coun- 
try was new and just awakening to life and throb- 
bing activity, he has seen its wonderful growth 
and development, within the short space of one 
generation of men, from an almo=t unbroken wil- 
derness to many might)- states marching majestic- 
'allv onward on the highway to empire and en- 
during greatness. In this contest also he has 
borne his full share of the labors and burdens 
and wears their marks with pride and not un- 
pleasant recollections. He was born in Rappa- 
hannock count)-, Ya., on April 27, 1833, his par- 
ents, Henry and Elizabeth (Crigler) Miller, being 
natives of Virginia, whither his grandfather, John 
Miller, came from Germany as a young man, ,the 
two brothers who accompanied him settling in 
Pennsylvania. He was soon married to a Miss 
Hitt, and together they prospered as planters and 
raised a family of ten or twelve children. Mr. 
Miller's parents also became wealthy in Virginia 
as farmers and died there at good old ages, as 
did his grandparents. He was himself reared' 
on a farm in his native county and educated in 
her public schools. When he was nineteen he 
left home, became clerk in a store belonging to 
the father of Hon. Gibson Clark, now of Chey- 
enne, which was located in a neighboring county, 
and two or three years later he removed to Mis- 
souri and made his home in Atchison county. 
While living there he became interested in a 
store in Iowa which was operated by his part • 
ners. In 1859 ne was appointed sheriff of Atch- 
ison county, Mo., and later was elected to the 
office, serving in all two and one-half years. At 
the end of his term, in March, 1861, he returned 
to Virginia on a visit, passing through Washing- 



404 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ton on the day after Lincoln's first inauguration, 
which he was prevented from attending by the 
wreck of his railroad train in Illinois, being there- 
by delayed many hours. Soon after he reached 
home the Civil War broke out apd he promptly 
enlisted in Co. G, Forty-ninth Virginia Infantry 
under Col. "Extra Billy" Smith, formerly gover- 
nor of the state. The Colonel was then over sixty 
years old and soon after the battle of Gettysburg 
resigned. Mr. Miller's regiment belonged to the 
army of northern Virginia, and was in the thick- 
est of the fight during the entire war, and he 
participated in all the leading battles and num- 
berless skirmishes which marked its gory prog- 
ress. At Antietam he received a gunshot wound 
in the side, which was prevented from being very 
serious if not fatal, by a small Bible and a pair 
of scissors which he was carrying in his inside 
pocket. The bullet tore the Bible to fragments 
and bent the scissors. Even with this protection 
Mr. Miller was incapacitated from active service 
by the wound for three or four months', then he 
rejoined his regiment and remained with it until 
he was captured in front of Petersburg about two 
months before the close of the war. He was 
taken as a prisoner first to Washington and later 
was detained at Fort Delaware until the coming 
of peace released him, being at the time of his 
capture a first lieutenant of his company. When 
released from the Federal prison he returned to 
Missouri and in November, 1867, came to Wyo- 
ming, then a part of Dakota territory. The ter- 
minus of the railroad was forty miles east of 
Cheyenne, but its builders were pushing its con- 
struction as rapidly as possible, and every form 
of enterprise was on the boom. Mr. Miller se- 
cured employment in a large merchandising es- 
tablishment conducted by Stephen F. Nuckolls, 
then one of the merchant princes of this part 
of the country. Soon after he took charge of a 
traveling store for this establishment and fol- 
lowed the advance of the railroad. Cheyenne 
was then the distributing point of freight and 
commerce for a very large scope of country, 
but the rough and lawless elements of society 
were abundant and daring. Mr. Miller carried 
his store through to Corinne, Utah, but along 



the line of his progress he had many thrilling 
experiences and narrow escapes in the railroad 
camps. At Bear River a severe fight occurred 
with some of the graders, several men being 
killed on both sides, but he escaped unhurt. In 
the autumn of 1869 he returned to Cheyenne and 
remained in the employ of Mr. Nuckolls until 
1872. The business was then sold to Erasmus" 
Nagle and Mr. Nuckolls went to Utah. Before 
this occurred, however, Mr. Nuckolls was sent 
as a delegate to Congress and during his absence 
at Washington Mr. Miller had entire charge of 
the extensive business, and for two or three 
years after Mr. Nuckolls removed to Utah Mr. 
Miller was in charge of the collections and of set- 
tling accounts. During this time he had also 
acquired an interest in the store which he still 
retains. In 1875 he started a cattle industry and 
in 1876 was elected probate judge and county 
treasurer, to which office he was reelected in 
1878, holding the office four years and during 
the time he was also vigorously pushing his cat- 
tle business, having 2,500 to 4,000 cattle on the 
ranges. He sold his stock interests in 1897 and 
since then has lived retired from active business, 
but he still owns considerable A r aluable real-estate. 
Having never married and being therefore free 
from domestic responsibilities, Mr. Miller has 
been able to largely devote himself to the ad- 
vancement of the prosperity of the community 
in which he has lived, showing great enterprise 
and public spirit in this direction. He was one 
of the promoters of the introduction of gas into 
the town and has been connected in a leading 
way with other projects of value to the city and 
county. Fraternally, he has long been connected 
with the Masonic order and he has gone through 
all its branches. He was "made a Mason" at 
Rockport, Mo., in 1857 and is now a Thirty-sec- 
end degree member of the Scottish Rite, as well 
as active in the chapter and commander v to which 
he belongs. In politics he is a consistent and un- 
wavering Democrat, devoted to the interests of 
his party, always ready to bear his portion of 
its burdens in campaigns both local and national. 
His useful life has won him the esteem of all 
his fellows. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



405 



JOHN MORAN. 

One of the successful pioneer ranch and 
stockmen of Laramie county is John Moran, 
whose address is Glendo, Wyoming. He is a 
native of Ireland, where he was born in County 
Mayo, on December 18, 1845, the son of James 
and Mary (Scanlon) Moran, natives of that 
country. The father followed farming in his 
native land until 1848, when he emigrated to 
America and established his home in ■ Potter 
county, Pa., and there again engaged in farm- 
ing, which he followed up to the time of his 
death in 1899. The mother died in 1893, and 
both parents lie buried near the Potter county 
home. John Moran grew to man's estate in the 
Keystone state and received his early schooling 
in Potter county. He remained with his par- 
ents until he had attained to the age of nine- 
teen years, then in 1865, he resolved to seek 
his fortune on the western frontier, and bid- 
ding farewell to his parents, and the scenes of 
his childhood and early manhood, he came to ■ 
the city of St. Joseph, Mo., then the principal 
outfitting point for overland travel to the West. 
Here he secured employment with a large over- 
land freight train and drove a team as far as 
the inchoate city of Denver, where he remained 
for only a short time and then proceeded to 
Black Hawk, Colorado, where he engaged in 
mining until 1869. During this time and in 
association with a cousin, he had purchased 
a ranch on Coal Creek, Colo., which they 
had stocked with cattle and left in charge of an 
employe, while they continued their mining op- 
erations. During the winter of 1 870-1, Mr. Mo- 
ran removed to Erie, Colo., where he continued 
until 1872, then disposing of his mining- in- 
terests, with his partner he went to New Mex- 
ico, where they purchased cattle, which they 
brought to their Coal Creek ranch. In 1873, 
they disposed of this property and moved their 
cattle to Laramie county, Wyo., purchased an- 
other ranch, and continued there in the cattle 
business, meeting with success, until 1876, when 
they disposed of their property and went east 
to visit the Centennial Exposition at Philadel- 



phia. In the spring of the following year they 
returned to Larimer county, Colo., and in the 
vicinity of Fort Collins entered upon the cat- 
tleraising business, remaining there about two 
years. They then brought their cattle to the 
Horseshoe Creek country, of Wyoming, and lo- 
cated the ranch now owned by Mr. Moran on 
Horseshoe Creek, about eight miles southwest 
of Glendo. He was one of the pioneers of that 
section of Wyoming, being the third settler on 
Horseshoe Creek, and has seen the country 
change from the wild and savage condition of 
that time to the civilized and settled condition 
of the present, when it is considered one of 
the most favored stockgrowing- regions of Wyo- 
ming. He is the owner of 480 acres at his 
home' ranch, about 1,000 acres on Elkhorn 
Creek, having other lands in various sections 
of the state and being considered one of the 
solid business men and substantial property 
owners of Laramie county. He handles both 
cattle and sheep, taking an especial pride in his 
grades of Shorthorn and Hereford cattle, own- 
ing a large number of the most valuable an- 
imals in AVyoming. His largest property in- 
terests are in cattle, although he operates ex- 
tensively in sheep. He is a member of the Ro- 
man Catholic church, and takes a deep interest 
in all measures calculated to be of benefit to 
the people of the community where he resides. 
He is also a member of the Douglas Lodge 
No. 15, I. O. O. F., at Douglas, Wyo. Po- 
litically, he is identified with the Republican 
party, being a conscientious believer in the prin- 
ciples of that political organization, but he has 
never 'taken an active part in political manage- 
ment, and in local matters often votes for the 
men rather than the party, holding that men 
of right thoughts will do right. 

M. H. MURPHY. 

One of the most active and progressive 
citizens of Albany county, Wyoming, is M. H. 
Murphy, a resident of Laramie, who is a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania, born in 1845, the son of 
John and Helen (Howard) Murphy, natives of 



406 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Ireland. The father emigrated from his native 
country when a small boy and resided first in 
the city of New York, and later in Pennsylva- 
nia, where he engaged in farming during his 
active life and dying there in 1845, the y ear 
of the birth of his son, M. H. Murphy. The 
mother also in Pennsylvania passed all the 
years of her active life where she was married. 
She survived her husband for many years and 
died in 1888, being buried at Binghamton, N. 
Y. The subject of this sketch grew to man- 
hood in his native state, and received his early 
education in its public schools. At the early 
age of fifteen years he left home and secured 
employment in the lumbering business, in which 
he continued for a number of years in Penn- 
sylvania. Leaving the state of his nativity in 
1847 he came to the then territory of Wyo- 
ming ; this was in the early days of civilization, 
and he was among the first band of the pion- 
eers within its lowly borders. Securing em- 
ployment on the line of the Union Pacfiic Rail- 
road, then being constructed through that coun- 
try, he remained in its employment for 
a number of years. In 1871 he came to Lar- 
amie, Wyoming, and soon thereafter established 
himself as a wholesale and retail liquor dealer, 
in which business he has continued to the pres- 
ent writing (1902). From the first he prospered 
and is now numbered one of the substantial 
property owners of Laramie. Ever foremost 
in matters of public enterprise, law-abiding and 
energetic, he has the respect of all classes of 
people, and is one of the best citizens of the 
community where, he maintains his home. In 
1873," Mr. Murphy was united in marriage with 
Miss May Fee, a native of Ireland who came 
to America with her parents from their native 
country when a small child. She died on May 
30, 1898, and was buried at Laramie. Seven 
children were born to bless the home life of Mr. 
and Mrs. Murphy, namely: Thomas, deceased; 
Kate; Nellie; James; Edward; John; George. 
This worthy couple were exceptionally happy in 
their home, which was a center for a generous 
and kindly hospitality which they delighted to 
dispense to their large circle of friends. Po- 



litically, Mr. Murphy is a stanch adherent of 
the Democratic party and his life has been 
active and prominent in the councils of that po- 
litical organization. Before the admission of 
Wyoming as a state he served one term in the 
Territorial Legislative Assembly, there making a 
most creditable record. Fraternally, he belongs 
to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and 
also to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
taking an enthusiastic interest in all measures 
calculated to promote the fraternal life of Lara- 
mie and being a prominent and a representative 
citizen. 

GUY H. NEWELL. 

One of the progressive and prosperous 
young ranch and stockmen of Albany county, 
Wyoming, resides . at Spring Hill, in that 
county, where he is successfully engaged in the 
business of raising cattle and horses at his ranch 
in Horseshoe Park, situated about thirty-five 
miles south of Douglas, Wyoming, being none 
other than Guy H. Newell, who was born on 
October 19, 1875, in Black Hawk county, Iowa, 
the son of Harrison J. and Sarah J. (Benham) 
Newell, natives of Ohio. His parents removed 
from their native state to Iowa during the early 
days of white settlement -vest of the Mississippi 
River, and were among the earliest pioneers of 
that section of Iowa, where his father followed 
the occupations of farming and stockraising 
first in Louisa county and later in Black Hawk 
county, where he remained busily employed in 
that pursuit until 1880. when he removed his 
family to the then territory of Wyoming and 
engaged in mining for a short time, and then 
entered upon the prosperous occupation of 
ranching and the raising of livestock, in which 
he is still engaged at Horseshoe Park. Guy H. 
Newell came from his native state of Iowa with 
his parents in 1880 and grew to manhood in 
Wyoming; receiving here his early education, 
and after the completion of his schooling he 
remained at the paternal home assisting his fa- 
ther in the management of his- properly until 
1897, when he took up the ranch he now owns 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



407 



and occupies on a tributary of the Labonte 
Creek, in Albany county, adjoining his father's 
place and there devoted himself to the business 
of raising cattle. He has succeeded in his 
venture, and is looked upon as one of the rising 
young stockmen of that part of the county. 
By hard work, perseverance and careful atten- 
tion to the smallest details of his business, he 
is rapidly forging to the front and is destined 
to become one of the representative cattlemen 
and property owners of the county. On July 
10, 1900, Mr. Newell was married at Douglas, 
in the state of Wyoming, to Miss Myrtle Chap- 
man, a native of Wyoming and a daughter of 
Leon and Mattie (Newell) Chapman, natives 
of Missouri. The parents of Mrs. Newell re- 
moved their residence from their native state 
in 1880 to Wyoming, where they now reside, 
being classed among the most respected cit- 
izens of their section of the state. Mr. and 
Mrs. Newell have one child, Sarah A. Their 
home is one of the pleasantest and most hos- 
pitable in Horseshoe Park and the family is 
held in high esteem. Politically, Mr. Newell is 
a stanch member of the Democratic party, and 
is actively interested in the public welfare. He 
is an energetic and enterprising young business 
man, destined to take a leading part in the 
business and political life of his section. 

MARCUS A. NEWELL, M. D. 

One of the leading and favorite physicians of 
Sheridan, Wyoming, is Marcus A. Newell, M. D., 
who was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., on 
September 8, 1866, a son of James and Julia A. 
(Sullivan) Newell, also natives of Saratoga 
county. His grandfather, David Newell, was born 
in Ireland, who on coming to America settled at 
Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and he passed the re- 
mainder of his life engaged in, farming in Sara- 
toga county, and there died at the age of seventy- 
five years. James Newell, the father of Doctor 
Newell, was also a farmer in Saratoga county, 
and there died in 1891, when sixty-eight years 
old. He had three brothers who served in the 
Civil War, two of whom are still living-, and 



there were eleven children in the family. Doctor 
Newell's mother was born in Saratoga county, N. 
Y., her parents being natives of Ireland, where 
her father, J. P. Sullivan, was born in Dublin 
and there highly educated in the celebrated Uni- 
versity of Dublin, becoming one of the most noted 
historians of his day and also very prominent in 
public affairs. His family consisted of one 
son, J. P., Jr., and three daughters. J. P., Jr., 
also being a distinguished public person and for 
six vears he was an U. S. Consul in France under 
President Grant's administration. Doctor Mar- 
cus A. Newell passed his youthful days on the 
home farm, rendering such service as he then was 
capable of performing, and attending the public 
schools, and the education he there obtained was 
supplemented by further study at the Academy 
for Young Men at Saratoga, from which he was 
graduated in 1886 at the head of his class, being 
awarded a special prize for Latin. In the fall 
of 1887 he entered the medical department of Co- 
lumbia University in New York City and was 
therefrom graduated in June, 1890, being among 
the first ten in a class of 150. During this period 
of study he spent eighteen months in the Roose- 
velt Hospital, out-patient department, as an un- 
der-graduate receiving this appointment in con- 
sideration of his high standing in his class. His 
vacations he had passed at Saratoga Springs in 
the offices of Charles S. Grant, M. D., assisting 
that eminent practitioner and devoting all his 
available spare time to study. After graduating 
Dr. Newell leased the Saratoga Sanitarium, which 
he conducted during the summer of 1890, during 
the same fall he came to Wyoming under con- 
tract with the Umion Pacific Railroad as physi- 
cian -to the mining camp at Hanna, where he re- 
mained eighteen months and was transferred to 
Salt Lake City, Utah, as assistant surgeon. But 
the Doctor was not pleased with this selection and 
resigned his position in November, 1892, came to 
Sheridan, Wyo., in 1893 and was appointed sur- 
geon of the Burlington Railroad, an office he re- 
signed in 1897 to enter upon the practice of his 
profession, in which he rapidly secured a lu- 
crative patronage and is now holding the largest 
clientele of any physician in the city, standing pre- 



4o8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



eminent as a surgeon. He is practically the ex- 
aminer for all the oldline life insurance compan- 
ies that do business in this section of the country, 
but his private practice is in itself sufficient to 
keep him full employed. He keeps fully abreast 
of the progress made in modern surgery, has 
great faith in the use of the Roentgen treatment, 
and has the only X-ray instrument in the state. 
He was joined in marriage on June 15, 1895, 
with Beal Leaventon of Pennsylvania, a daugh- 
ter of the late James Leaventon, a pioneer and 
prominent business man of Sheridan, who was a 
leading factor in the development of Northwest- 
ern Wyoming and died in 1896. One child has 
blessed this marriage, Marjorie A. The Doctor 
is largely identified with the fraternal societies of 
Wyoming as a master mason and has filled some 
very high positions in other organizations, being a 
past chancellor commander of the Knights of 
Pythias and also a past exalted ruler of the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and, po- 
litically, he is an active Republican and has ably 
served as county health officer and occupied the 
position of assistant surgeon on the staff of Gov- 
ernor Richards, being also a staff officer of the 
Wyoming National Guard. The Doctor is very 
public-spirited and takes great interest in the 
prevailing industry of the country and is the 
principal stockholder in the Sheridan Sheep Co. ; 
he is also one of the chief stockholders of the 
Wessick Mercantile Co., of Sheridan. 

CHALMERS C. NORWOOD. 

The genial, courteous and accomplished super- 
intendent and principal of the schools of Eyans- 
ton, Wyoming, Prof. C. C. Norwood is a native 
of the- state of Alabama, having first seen the 
light there in 1853, in what was then Pike county, 
but is now known as Bullock county. He knows 
but little of his parents, his mother dying when 
he was an infant of a few months and his father 
when be was only a child. His father, Joseph 
Norwood, was a native of Georgia and died 
a valiant soldier in the Civil War in the Con- 
federate service. His mother, Sarah (Munn) 
Norwood, was a native of South Carolina, whence 



she moved to Alabama on her marriage to sur- 
vive only a few months. Her remains are bur- 
ied at Perot, Ala. Chalmers C. Norwood was 
reared by his maternal grandparents and was 
educated in Davidson college, N. C, and in the 
Johns Hopkins University of Baltimore, Md., 
from whence he was graduated in 1878. For 
two years he was a professor in Davidson College 
and in the Agricultural College of Maryland he 
occupied a professor's chair for four years. He 
entered the Department of the Interior of the 
United States under President Harrison and was 
an examiner in the U. S. patent-office for five 
years. Following this he went to Utah and 
taught in the New Jersey Academy at Logan for 
two years and in the Agricultural College one 
year. After that he came to Evanston, Wyo., 
and here he has been the superintendent and 
principal of the schools for the last four years, 
serving with great credit to himself and ex- 
treme satisfaction to his fellow citizens and his 
associates in the work of educating the young. 
A man of learning and ability, he enforces precept 
by example. He is a man of fine manners and 
of practical accomplishments as well, being a 
highly valued member of the State Board of Edu- 
cation. Mr. Norwood and his wife, with whom 
he married in 1889, are members of the Presby- 
terian church. They have one child, a daughter, 
named Helene. Mrs. Norwood was Mary Tut- 
hill, a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of 
Captain Benjamin C. and Margaret (Harrison) 
Tuthill. She comes of good Revolutionary stock 
as is evidenced by her membership in the Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution. Her great- 
great-grandfather, Christopher VanDeventer and 
his seven sons were able soldiers in the Con- 
tinental army of the Revolution, one of the seven 
being the great-grandfather of Mrs. Norwood. 
Indeed the family has always given of its best 
talent and wealth to the country. Mrs. Nor- 
wood's own father was a sea captain, following 
the waves until his retirement from active life. 
During the Civil War his vessel, the John Lin- 
thall. was in the service of the U. S. Govern- 
ment and he was a participant in the Burnside 
expedition. 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



409 



. EUGENE D. NORTON. 

The Nortons have ever been conspicuous 
in connection with Massachusetts and Amer- 
ican history from the first days of the old Bay 
Colony, members of the name holding- public 
office in every generation and being represented 
in the early French and Indian wars, the Rev- 
olutionary period and in every contest waged 
by the United States from that time to the pres- 
ent; while in professional and scholastic life 
and as learned representatives of the law, the 
family has ever been in distinct evidence. The 
paternal ancestors of E. D. Norton located in 
Western New York in the first quarter of the 
nineteenth century as pioneer settlers of that 
section, David Norton, his grandfather passing 
his entire life from a young man as a farmer at 
Wales Center, in Erie county, while his father, 
E. S. Norton, was a prominent merchant of the 
same county, taking a leading part in public 
matters and for several years he was a member 
of the board of supervisors of this important 
county, of which the great city of Buffalo is the 
county seat. E. D. Norton was born at Wales 
Center, Erie county, N. Y., on March 10, 1861, 
the son of E. S. and Matilda (Weaver) Norton. 
He received a thorough academic education at the 
State Academy at East Aurora, then entered him- 
self as a student of law in the office of those 
leading lights of the legal fraternity of Buffalo, 
Messrs. Hawkins and Gibbs, under whose com- 
petent instruction and through his industrious 
studies he succeeded in mastering the founda- 
tions of legal principles as applied in the laws 
of New York, and also the necessary technical 
instruction incident to knowledge of the law, 
making such progress that he very easily 
passed the requisite examinations entitling him 
to admission to the bar before he was of age, 
being precluded on that account from receiving 
the desired certificate. In 1882 he migrated to 
South Dakota, where he was soon admitted to 
practice at Plankinton, and he there established 
an office and engaged in legal practice, his ser- 
vices being in demand from the first, and a 
representative clientage soon attaching itself to 



him. For twelve years he held a leading po- 
sition before the courts of Aurora and adjacent 
counties, holding the esteem of the jurists and 
the members of the bar by his frank and cour- 
teous demeanor, his legal abilities and his suc- 
cess as an advocate. From 1887 to 1889 he 
was the prosecuting attorney of Fall River 
county, and his fitness for official place and du- 
ties were often recognized in the conventions 
of his party by his nomination to various of- 
fices of honor and trust, but, as he was a Dem- 
ocrat in an overwhelming Republican section, 
his defeats came as expected occurrences, he 
sharing the fate of the other nominees on the 
same ticket. He was particularly active, how- 
ever, in the Democratic cause in both state and 
national politics, often being a member of the 
State Central Committee. In 1894 he came to 
Casper, Wyo., and has been in continual prac- 
tice of his profession unto the present writing, 
from 1897 to 1899 holding the office of prose- 
cuting attorne)'', and he has built up a fine and 
lucrative practice, being also a forceful factor 
in the movements of the Democratic party of 
the state and a member of the State Democratic 
Committee. In the fall of 1902 he was the Dem- 
ocratic candidate for judge of the Second Ju- 
dicial District, at the polls reducing the usual 
Republican majority of 1700 to 300, but failing 
of election. Mr. Norton is thoroughly a lawyer. 
He had from the hand of nature the material 
requisite for the outcome of the actual lawyer 
and man that he appears today. But that did not 
make him such a man. His ready mastery of the 
facts constituting the case, his thorough un- 
derstanding of the law involved, his quick ap- 
prehension, his keen discrimination, his clear 
and pointed processes of logical reasoning, his 
fertility and aptness of illustration, are proof 
sufficient that he has not happened into what 
he is, but that he has developed as the result 
of a definite purpose early formed and pursued 
with a most rigorous persistence, by study, by 
painstaking discipline and the cultivation re- 
quisite for the attainment of such a result and 
his present standing is only the symmetrical se- 
quel of the laws governing human development. 



4io 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



On June I, 1887 Miss Sadie Eaton, a native of 
Hillsdale, Mich., and Mr. Norton were wedded, 
her family residing at Hot Springs, South Da- 
kota, at the time of the marriage. They have 
had three children, Eugene (deceased), Donald 
and Arthur. Mr. Norton is evidently a broth- 
erhood man, belonging as he does to the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, the Woodmen of the World, 
and the W. of W. G. From his extensive range 
of acquaintance and the popularity all members 
of his family enjoy it may easily be adduced that 
a bounteous hospitality prevails in his attract- 
ive home, which is one of the extremely pleas- 
ant residences of the city. 

CHARLES W. NYLEN. 

A prominent citizen and stockman of Con- 
verse county, Wyoming, Charles W. Nylen, 
whose address is Orin, in that state, is a native 
of Sweden and was born on March 18, 1855, 
the son of Gustaf and Annet (Landquist) Ny- 
len, both natives of that country. The father 
was a minister of the gospel in Sweden and con- 
tinued in that profession up to the time of his 
decease in 1893. The mother survived until 
1902, when she passed away on the 20th day of 
January, and both of the parents lie buried in 
Sweden. Charles W. Nylen passed his early 
years in his native land and. there received his 
academic training in the schools of the vicinity 
of his bovhood's home. When he had attained 
to the age of fifteen years, the spirit of adven- 
ture led him to leave school and seek his for- 
tune in the New World. So he set out for 
America and upon his arrival here in 1870 he 
located in Chicago for a short time, then went to 
the city of St. Paul, Minn., one month later 
going to the city of Duluth, where he secured 
employment in a hotel for about three months, 
and at the end of that time securing a po- 
sition on the Northern Pacific Railroad, which 
he held for a short time. He then held a po- 
sition on a farm near Rochester, Minn., until 
the spring of 1871 when from Winona he, in 
company with another young man, took a boat 
down the Mississippi River as far as the city of 



Fulton, 111. From this place they went to 
Chicago, and about two weeks later continued on 
to Burlington, la., where he secured employment 
on a farm for a short time and then engaged in 
harvesting in the southern portion of Minneso- 
ta, completing the season near St. Paul. After 
this he became a brakeman on the Northern 
Pacific Railroad and remained in that employ- 
ment until 1873. In October of that year, he 
went to work for the U. S. government as a 
teamster at Fort Abercrombie, N. D., and in 
1874 he was early transferred to Camp Carlin, 
Wyoming, and had charge of an outfit of mules 
and wagons for the use of General Crook's ex- 
pedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians 
who were then on the warpath. He remained 
in the employ of the government until 1878 and 
during that time served as the messenger for the 
quartermaster at Camp Carlin. In 1879, he be- 
came clerk for the sutler at Camp Carlin and 
remained in that occupation up to 1881, in the 
spring of which year, he removed to Denver, 
where he opened and conducted a restaurant for 
about three months. He then disposed of that 
business and came to Cheyenne, Wyoming, soon 
accepting an offer to take charge of a merchandis- 
ing establishment at Hartville, Wyo., and he was 
engaged in the management of that enterprise 
for about one year and then resigned to engage 
in business for himself. In the winter of 1882 he 
opened a store in Hartville, as a dealer in gen- 
eral merchandise. He conducted this busi- 
ness with varying success until 1885, when 
he disposed of it to advantage and in 
the spring of 1886 came to the Platte River and 
took up his present ranch, situated about two 
miles southeast of Orin Junction, Wyo. Here he 
has continued in the occupation of cattleraising 
since that time, meeting with marked success and 
being now the owner of a fine ranch and a large 
herd of cattle, and he is adding to his business 
from year to year. In July, 1879, Mr. Nylen was 
united in wedlock with Miss Mary E. Butler, a 
native of New Jersey and a daughter of Thomas 
and Elisa Butler, natives of Ireland. Her father 
during the Civil War served as a soldier in the 
Thirty-ninth New Tersev Infantry. Soon after the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



411 



war was- over, he enlisted in the Fourteenth U. S. 
Infantry, was stationed in Arizona, and here 
while engaged on escort duty he was killed by 
the Indians. After the death of the father the 
family removed to California, where they resided 
for a short time and in 1869 came to -Cheyenne, 
Wyo. The city was then in its infancy composed 
principally of tents. Subsequently the family re- 
moved to Omaha, where they remained until 
1874, when they again returned to Wyoming 
where they still reside. The mother died on No- 
vember 6, 1891, and at the time of her decease 
she was making her home with her daughter at 
the ranch on the Platte River, and there she is 
buried. Mr. and Mrs. Nylen have had six chil- 
dren, Alice G., Charles P., Gustaf E., George, 
James R. and Thomas L., all now living except 
George, who died in 1888, at the age of four 
years and six months, and was buried near their 
home. Politically, Mr. Nylen is identified with 
the Republican party, active in the local councils 
of that political organization. He has often been 
requested by his party friends and associates to 
become a candidate for public office, but has con- 
sistently declined to do so, preferring to give his 
entire time and attention to the management of 
his private interests. The family is held in the 
highest respect and esteem. 

ALEXANDER NISBET. 

This worthy and industrious citizen of Evans- 
ton, Wyoming, was born at Knightshood, Dum- 
barton, Scotland, on January 27, 1865, the son 
of Alexander and Isabella Nisbet, natives of 
Scotland. The father came to the United 
States in 1830 but returned to Scotland in his 
latter days and died there on November 28, 
1887, where his remains lie buried at Maryhill. 
In 1890 his widow returned to America and re- 
mained about three years, once more making 
an ocean voyage on her return to Scotland 
where she abided for a time but quitted it again 
for America in 1900, since when she has made 
her home in Salt Lake City. Alexander Nisbet, 
of this review, received his early education in 
Scotland and there gave diligent heed and atten- 



tion to the occupation of a miner. Coming to the 
United States in October, 1888, he located for 
a time in Wellston, Ohio, whence he came to 
Almy, Wyo., where he engaged first in coal- 
mining, and later, and for the last three years 
of his stay, as a coalweigher. In politics he is 
a Democrat, and from his capability for the 
place he was appointed deputy county clerk un- 
der James Brown in 1895, and he has con- 
scientiously held the place from that time on 
the present writing. He was married on June 
24, 1892, with Miss Maggie Campbell, a native of 
Scotland and a prominent member of the 
Cnurch of Latter Day Saints, and by this mar- 
riage four children have been born, Alexander, 
Matthew, Maggie and James. The last named 
died in September, 1900, being buried at Ev 
anston, Wyoming. 

MRS. MARTHA A. SACKETT. 

Mrs. Martha A. Sackett, widow of the late 
John H. Sackett whose untimely death in 1893 
at the early age of forty-eight years, four months 
and twenty days cut short a career of great ac- 
tivity and usefulness and was universally de- 
plored, is a native of Illinois being a daughter of 
Silas and Betsey A. (Wooley) Burd, natives of 
Peru, N. Y., and early emigrants to Illinois, in 
which state Mrs. Sackett grew to womanhood, 
and on March 15, 1871 was united in marriage 
with John H. Sackett, also a native of the Em- 
pire state. The very next year they left the blan- 
dishments of civilization and all its comforts be- 
hind them, to become pioneers on the frontier of 
Nebraska. For three years they wrestled -with 
fate in that state and for three more in Colorado. 
In 1878 they came to Wyoming and settled at 
Cheyenne, in 1880 taking up their residence in 
Sheridan county, adjoining the site of the pres- 
ent town of Bighorn, which they founded and 
nursed through its infancy. They here took up a 
homestead and engaged in farming, and also 
erected and operated a saw and shingle mill and 
a planer. These were the first enterprises of the 
kind in the county and Mr. Sackett was in fact 
the first in many good movements for the benefit 



412 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of this part of the state. On his farm was held 
the first industrial and stock exhibit or fair in 
Wyoming, he started the first school in Sheridan 
county, he was one of the organizers and the 
first president of Wyoming College located at 
Bighorn, and was the president of the first coal- 
mining company in the state, while Mrs. Sackett 
was interested in the organization and manage- 
ment of the first creamery in the county. He be- 
longed to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and helped to organize the first Wyoming lodge 
of the order. He was also an enterprising mer- 
chant and for years was engaged in merchan- 
dising in partnership with Charles Skinner at 
Bighorn. Since his death, which occurred in 
1899 when all his faculties were in full vigor and 
his usefulness to the community was great and 
constant in many lines of activity, his widow, 
who shared in all of his trials and triumphs, 
and who was closely associated with him in all 
of his diversified undertakings, has carried on 
the farm and has also kept the business of the 
stock industry going in the same full vigor and 
on the same high standard of excellence in 
material and methods that he had reached with 
it. The farm comprises about 800 acres and has 
a good quality of land with sufficient variety to 
give ample rang'e for the stock and ample food 
for their winter maintenance. It is well im- 
proved with good buildings and is equipped with 
all the needed appurtenances for conducting its 
operations with enterprise and success. Of the 
seven children born to the family six are living : 
Lee, in the employ of the U. S. government at 
Manila, holding membership in the OddFellows 
Lodge at Bighorn; Carl L., a graduate of the 
State University of Ohio, receiving the degree 
of B. L. On June 19, 1901, he was admitted to 
the bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio, in Janu- 
ary, 1902, admitted to practice in the courts of 
Oklahoma, in February, 1903, admitted to the 
bar of Wyoming. He is now the junior member 
of the law-firm of Metz & Sackett at Sheridan, 
the leading law-firrh in practice in Northern 
Wyoming; Ursula J., married to T. J. Gatchell 
of Buffalo, Wyo., was a graduate of the Wyo- 
ming College and one of the leading teachers of 



the state for several years thereafter; Clyde E. ; 
Hugh O.; Ross R. One other child, Loren E., 
is deceased. The children who are living at 
home assist in conducting all the business of 
the ranch which includes, in addition to the 
farming interests, the care of a fine herd of 
cattle and an increasing drove of good horses. 
This business is carried on with great system 
and care and is eminently successful, Mrs. Sack- 
ett justifying in her management of it the ex- 
pectations that were raised when she took hold of 
it and the encomiums that have been passed up- 
on her skill since then. She fully understands 
the business and puts her knowledge to active 
practical use in every detail of its various and 
exacting phases. She also stands high in social 
circles and assists in much unobtrusive charity. 

HON. THOMAS D. O'FLYNN. 

Descended from distinguished lines of Irish 
and Scotch ancestry, who bore their part well in 
all the relations of life wherever they lived and 
contributed to the advancement of their countrv 
in many ways in both civil and military life, 
Judge Thomas D. O'Flynn of Evanston, Wyo- 
ming, has been true to the traditions of his fam- 
ily and exemplified in his own career the best 
features of its history. He was born on June 15, 
1844, in the province of Ontario, Canada, the son 
of John L. and Nancy (Murdoch) O'Flynn, the 
former a native of Ireland and the latter of Can- 
ada. The father followed teaching for thirty 
years in his native country and upon retiring 
from that vocation was elected mayor of Belle- 
ville, the county-seat and most considerable city 
of County Hastings, where he died in 1862. The 
paternal grandfather of the Judge was born in 
Ireland and emigrated to America in his young 
manhood, locating in Canada and after a long and 
successful career in business there, returned to 
the land of his birth to die. The maternal grand- 
father was born and passed his life engaged in 
active pursuits in Scotland, dying there at a 
good old age. Judge O'Flynn came into the 
United States at the age of eighteen, and en- 
listed in Co. B, Ninth N. Y. Heavy Artillery in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



413 



the Union army, and rendered good soldierly ser- 
vice to the land of his adoption from 1862 to 
September 29, 1865, when he was mustered out 
in command of Co. I, Second N. Y. Regiment, 
having entered the service as a private and risen 
to this position by promotion for meritorious con- 
duct and gallantry. He was in General Mc- 
Kinley's brigade and saw active and arduous ser- 
vice, participating in more than a dozen serious 
engagements, among them Cold Harbor, James 
River (Seven Days Fight), Winchester and the 
battles around Petersburg and Richmond up to 
Lee's surrender. At the battle of Winchester he 
was severely wounded. After the close of the 
war he returned to Canada and engaged in the 
retail grocery business at Colborne and was 
twice elected mayor of the town. In 1883 he 
came to Wyoming and, locating at Evanston, en- 
tered the employ of Beckwith & Quinn, grocers, 
with whom he remained two years. He then 
formed a partnership with one Waynick, and 
they as O'Flynn & Waynick conducted a retail 
grocery for two years. In 1890 and in 1900 he 
was U. S. census enumerator and in November 
of the latter year was made the county judge of 
Uinta county, being designated soon after by the 
city council of Evanston to serve the city as police 
justice. In politics he is a Republican, deeply 
imbued with the principles of the party. He is 
active in its service and his judgment is highly 
appreciated in its councils. He belongs to the 
/Grand Army of the Republic, being also the 
local adjutant of Post No. 53 of the Depart- 
ment including Colorado and Wyoming. He 
was married in 1870 in Ontario, Canada, to Miss 
Maggie Lutman, a daughter of John and Eliza- 
beth (Spencer) Lutman, natives of the province 
and both now resting beneath its sod. Mrs. 
O'Flynn died in 1887 and her remains were bur- 
ied beside those of her parents. She left two 
children, John L. a barrister at law at Sault Ste. 
Marie, Canada, and Blanche, who lives with her 
uncle, a prominent banker of Ontario. In the 
land of his adoption Judge O'Flynn is thor- 
oughly domesticated. He is firmly attached to 
its institutions and cordially interested in its wel- 
fare, being patriotic in all respects and exhibiting 
the best traits of American citizenship. 



GRANT SAFELY., M. D. 

Of sturdy Scotch lineage, but himself a true 
son of the West, his birth occurring at Boulder, 
Colo., on May 9, 1869, Doctor Safely has had an 
eventful career and has shown the characteristics 
of the family for adventure and pioneer life, but 
he is now located at Douglas, Wyomnig, busily 
occupied in attending to a large and representa- 
tive medical and surgical practice which has come 
to him from his superior skill, knowledge and 
ability, and, as he stands well upon the list of the. 
reputable practitioners and surgeons, a record of 
himself and somewhat of his ancestry is here- 
with presented. The Safelys of Scotland have 
been prominent as skillful machinists, so when 
Thomas Safely of Edinburg, a grandson of Wil- 
liam Safely and son of Robert, emigrated, it 
was only natural that he should make Cohoes, 
N. Y., the terminal point of his journey. Re- 
maining in this brisk manufacturing city for ten 
years, he removed thence to Iowa, and here we 
will mention a strange fact. He had four 
brothers and four sisters and the five sons, Thom- 
as, John, James, William and Andrew, all located 
near Cedar Rapids and became known as the 
"Safelys of Sugar Grove." Not far from them 
were located five brothers and five sisters named 
Safely, who came also from Scotland but were 
scions of a different branch of the same ancestral 
tree, and these were the "Safelys of Red Oak." 
The Sugar Grove Safelys were pioneers in all 
that the term implies, they wrought at the dif- 
ferent industries that prosper in a new country 
(Thomas being a blacksmith as well as a farmer), 
became owners of fine estates and grew old after 
lives of good repute, the great-grandmother of 
the Doctor attaining the age of 104 years: 
Thomas Safely died at the age of seventy-eight. 
His son Alexander Fenwick, born at Waterford, 
N. Y., on June 30, 1841, left Sugar Grove at the 
age of nineteen in i860 for the West, taking the 
first stamp-mill erected in Boulder county, Colo., 
with him on his long and hazardous journey 
across the plains with an ox-team. He engaged 
in mining in Colorado until 186 1 when he en- 
listed in the Union army at Central City, in Co. 
H, First Colorado Infantrv, which later became 



4 i4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the First Colorado Cavalry. With this organiza- 
tion he assisted in preventing the invasion of the 
territory by Confederate Texans and also had 
hostile Indians to contend with. His regiment 
delivered Colonel Canby when he was besieged 
at Fort Craig, N. M. and drove the Texans out 
of the country. Mr. Safely was then made chief 
of scouts and he was the only man of two regi- 
ments who possessed sufficient courage to -volun- 
teer as a bearer of dispatches from Denver to 
Fort Union. He made three of these perilous 
trips, the distance between the points being 350 
miles, had many thrilling experiences and nar- 
row escapes and on his safe return from his third 
trip was complimented by the colonel, who said 
that he was the bravest man he ever met and re- 
fused to allow him to make the trip again. Mr. 
Safely then volunteered to perform another dan- 
gerous service, that of locating the camp of the 
hostile Indians, and after fourteen days of ad- 
venture he found them at Sand Creek, ninety 
niiles below Denver. Reconnoitering the Indian 
village he rode to Denver and at six o'clock in 
the evening of the day of his arrival he was 
again in the saddle as the guide of his regiment. 
At daybreak the village was attacked and by noon 
800 of the savages were dead. This was in 
1864 and no more trouble was given by Indians 
for many months. Being mustered out of ser- 
vice at the close of hostilities as a second lieuten- 
ant, he made his home in Boulder, where he now 
resides, an honored citizen, engaged in mining 
and serving as postmaster from 1884 to 1889. 
By his marriage with Miss Jennie Anderson, a 
native of Pittsburg, Pa., he had two sons, of 
whom the Doctor was the eldest. When fifteen 
years old the Doctor entered the Highland 
Military , Academy of Worcester, Mass., there- 
after matriculating at the University of Colo- 
rado at Boulder, here taking a special technical 
course of study preparatory to a medical course, 
then he became a student of the Colorado School 
of Medicine, the medical department of the Uni- 
versity, after taking a two-years' course here re- 
moving to Nicaragua, Central America, where he 
passed two years in medical practice, thence re- 
turning; to Boulder and matriculating' in the 



School of Medicine for a three-years' course, two 
years of which time were given to hospital prac- 
tice as house surgeon, securing also the honors 
of his class by an average percentage in his 
studies of 93.6. After his graduation in 1900 he 
located at Osceola, Wyo., as surgeon for the 
Ferris-Haggarty Mining Co., removing .to Doug- 
las in April, 1901, where he is now in successful 
practice, also being the medical examiner of the 
Mutual Life and the Northwestern Mutual Life 
Insurance Companies. He has acquired a fine 
reputation as a surgeon, having performed some 
very delicate and successful operations in abdom- 
inal surgery. During his student life at Boulder 
the Doctor raised a company of seventy-eight men 
for service in the Spanish-American War, but as 
the quota Of the state was full it was transformed 
into the National Guard, the Doctor being chosen 
captain and resigning the office after one year's 
service. He was also three years in the post- 
office of Boulder, one year in the U. S. Railway 
Mail Service, one year in the surveyor general's 
office and a deputy assessor for four vears. The 
Doctor enjoys a high degree of popularity, and 
is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and with 
the Modern Woodmen of America, of which he 
is examining surgeon. 

THOMAS B. SANDERCOCK. 

In the daily laborious struggle for an honor- 
able competence and a successful career on the 
part of the average business or professional man. 
there is little to attract the reader in search of 
a sensational chapter. But to the mind thor- 
oughly awake to the reality and meaning of hu- 
man life there are many noble and imperishable 
lessons in the career of an individual, who, with- 
out other means than a clear head, strong arms 
and true heart, directed and controlled by devout 
principle and sound judgment, conquers ad- 
versity and finally wins, not only pecuniary re- 
ward, but, what is of far greater value, the re- 
spect and confidence of those with whom his ac- 
tive vears have brought him in contact. Such 
an individual was the late Thomas B. Sander- 
cock of Fort Laramie, whose honorable career 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



415 



as man and citizen reflected credit upon himself 
and family and added to the good name of the 
place of his residence. Mr. Sandercock was a 
native of Wayne county, Pa., where his birth 
occurred on April 12, 1844. His parents, George 
and Mary (Bellamy) Sandercock, were born in 
England and came to America in the early 
forties, settling in the above county and state, 
where the father engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. George Sandercock met with fair success 
as a farmer,, earned the reputation of an honor- 
able citizen and after a long and useful career 
departed this life in 1885 and his widow is still 
living on the Pennsylvania homestead, having 
reached a ripe old age with the retrospect of a 
well-spent life behind her. Thomas B. Sander- 
cock was reared to farm labor, early became 
familiar with the varied phases of agriculture 
and remained under the parental roof until his 
marriage, which was solemnized on September 
5, 1867, with Miss Hattie A. Schenck, a native 
of the same county in which he first saw the 
light of day. After his marriage he engaged in 
farming and in connection therewith operated a 
sawmill, meeting with encouraging success both 
as a tiller of the soil and a manufacturer of lum- 
ber. Subsequently, about 1871, in partnership 
with a brother, he opened a store in the town of 
Ariel, Wayne county, and was thus engaged for 
five years when failing health obliged him to dis- 
continue sedentary life and seek a more whole- 
some and congenial clime. Accordingly in 
1879 Mr. Sandercock disposed of his interest in 
the firm and came to Wyoming, locating first near 
Cheyenne, where he embarked' in the sawmilling 
business and also dealt in lumber. In 1881 he 
was joined by his family in Cheyenne and one 
year later he went to Utah to purchase cattle, 
leaving his wife and children in the city. On his 
return he stopped at Fort Laramie and was there 
offered the position of engineer in a large saw- 
mill, which commanding a liberal salary he saw 
fit to accept. In due time his family removed to 
Fort Laramie and from 1882 to his death he con- 
tinued his duties as an engineer, providing well 
for those depending on him, besides laying up 
a comfortable surplus for future contingencies. 



Mr. Sandercock was a man of energy and pos- 
sessed sound judgment and business ability of 
of no mean order. He discharged worthily every 
duty coming within his sphere, enjoyed the es- 
teem of his employes and all others with whom 
he mingled, and his death, which occurred on 
December 20, 1886, was an event greatly deplored 
in the city of his residence. Fraternally, he was 
an active member of the Masonic brotherhood, 
belonging to the lodge at Salem, Pa., in which 
he was inducted into the mysteries of the order 
when a young man. Mrs. Sandercock is the 
daughter of John H. and Mary (Hoel) Schenck, 
both parents natives of Wayne county, Pa., and 
descendants of German immigrants who settled 
in that part of the Keystone State prior to the 
Revolution period. The Schencks and Hoels 
were represented in the War of Independence, 
members of both families joining the Colonial 
army at the breaking out of the struggle, 
fighting bravely and gallantly until the British 
and their hirelings were forever driven from the 
land. John H. Schenck was a farmer and fol- 
lowed that useful calling with varied success until 
his death in 1876; his wife survived him until 
1883 when she too entered into rest. The former 
is buried near the old family home in Pennsyl- 
vania, but the latter sleeps in the cemetery at 
Fort Laramie, having been an inmate of her 
daughter's household at the time of her death. 
Since the death of her husband Mrs. Sander- 
cock has lived at Fort Laramie looking after her 
children's interests, superintending their educa- 
tion and managing their business affairs in an 
able and most praiseworthy manner. When 
Fort. Laramie was dismantled and abandoned 
she purchased her present home and at the open- 
ing of the reservation filed on land which has 
since greatly increased in value. Her sons also 
took up claims and, with an eye to each other's 
interests, they have mutually cooperated until 
they are now in affluent circumstances, owning 
over 1,000 acres of land, on which they have a 
large number of cattle. In keeping their children 
together and bending all of her energies in the 
direction of their benefit, Mrs. Sandercock has 
displayed wisdom and forethought as rare as 



416 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



they are admirable, and the success the sons have 
achieved in their various undertakings is directly 
attributable to her wisely-directed efforts in 
their behalf. She not only possesses business 
abilities of a high order but a beautiful moral 
character, which, with her many other admir- 
able qualities, have won her many warm friends 
among the best social circles of the city and 
made her popular with all classes and conditions 
of people. The following are the names of the 
children : George, Mary A., William M., Thomas 
E., Otis A., Stella G., Florence S., C. Meade. 

EDWIN J. SMALLEY. 

To the subject of this review, Edwin J. 
Smalley, belongs the distinctive honor of being 
the first child born in Cheyenne, his parents 
Benjamin H. and Mary J. Smalley, having been 
the first couple to enter the marriage relation 
within the present limits of the city. The father 
was a native of New York and the mother, who 
carried the maiden name of Mary J. Castle, was 
born in Pennsylvania, both of them coming west 
in 1867. Edwin J. was born on June 27, 1868, and 
with little exception his life has been very closely 
interwoven with the history of his native town. 
After attending the public schools until his 
eighteenth year and acquiring a practical educa- 
tional discipline, he accepted a clerkship in the 
grocer}' house of A. C. Snyder, where he re- 
mained one and one-half years. Severing his con- 
nection with that gentleman, Mr. Smalley then 
passed two years in the grocery business with 
E. H. Lenby and at the expiration of that 
time he entered the employ of G. W. Stanley, 
a grocer with whom he remained until the 
stock passed into the hands of Mr. E. S. John- 
son, when he accepted a similar position with 
the latter party. After continuing five years 
with Mr. Johnson, Mr. Smalley effected , a co- 
partnership in the general grocery trade with 
C. M. Denmark, which, as Denmark & Smalley 
la steel one year, at the expiration of which time 
Mr. Smalley sold to his associate and accepted a 
lucrative post with the Union Mercantile Co. of 
Cheyenne. After remaining 1 in the wholesale de- 



partment of that large firm for five years, he was 
appointed sheriff of Laramie county to fill the 
unexpired term caused by the death of John P. 
Shaver, entering upon the discharge of his offi- 
cial duties on August 6, 1901. The year pre- 
vious he was the Republican nominee for sheriff 
against Mr. Shaver, but the county being reliably 
Democratic he failed of an election. Mr. Smalley 
is a gentleman of strong individuality, an accom- 
plished business man and has acceptably filled 
many important positions and ably discharged 
every duty coming within his sphere. His rec- 
ord since taking charge of the office which ht 
now so acceptably holds, has fully met the high 
expectations of his friends and the public, irre- 
spective of politics, although he is uncompromis- 
ingly a Republican and does ail within his power 
to promote the interests of his party. Mr. Smal- 
ley has been an eye-witness of the remarkable 
growth of his native place, and to the extent of 
his ability has ever contributed to the general 
advancement along all lines of commercial and 
industrial activity which has marked the city's 
prosperity. He is truly public spirited, takes an 
interest in all laudable enterprises and in many 
ways has been a factor in the progress which has 
characterized the last decade in this section of the 
state. He holds fraternal relations with the 
Knights of Pythias, Benevolent Protective Order 
of Elks and with the Woodmen of the World 
and for several years he was a member of Co. 
B, Wyoming National Guards. 

JOHN W. SCHUNEMAN. 

The treasurer of Laramie county. Wyoming, 
who has been twice elected to the responsible 
office he still so capably fills, John W. Schuneman 
was born on December 14, 1869, near Buffalo. 
N. Y., the second of the four children that graced 
the marriage of John H. and Effie (Wheelock) 
Schuneman, who were also natives of the Em- 
pire state. He received his preliminary education 
in the public schools of Boone, Iowa, from which 
he was advanced to the high school and after 
being graduated from the latter, was himself a 
teacher until he had attained the age of eighteen 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



417 



years, when he became bookkeeper for various 
firms in Boone and Cheyenne, being an ac- 
countant of more than ordinary merit. His resi- 
dence in Cheyenne began in 1884, where his abil- 
ities were speedily recognized, his first election 
to the county treasurership by the Republicans 
taking place in 1898 and his second election to 
the same office occurring in 1900, his competent 
performance of duties during his first term de- 
terring the ' Democratic party from even nomi- 
nating a candidate against him. Fraternally he 
is a member of the Woodmen of the World, An- 
cient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benev- 
olent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Schuneman 
was united in marriage in 1890 in Boone, Iowa, 
with Miss Lizzie Metcalf, who has borne him 
one child, Edgar. 

O. J. SMYTH. 

Born and reared on a farm in Illinois, rural 
life has from childhood been no novelty to O. J. 
Smyth of Sheridan and, being a pioneer in this 
state, among the earliest to settle on her soil, hav- 
ing come here in 1878, no phase of Wyoming life 
is unknown to him. In fact he is thoroughly 
identified with the history of this section of the 
country from the beginning of systematic efforts 
at settlement and development of its great re- 
sources. He is a native of Illinois, where he was 
born on December 30, 1854, and where his par- 
ents, Samuel and Mary (Jolley) Smyth, natives 
of Ireland and Illinois settled soon after his 
father's arrival in the United States. While he 
was yet quite young his mother died and he was 
left much to the care of strangers, thus early 
learning the lessons of self-reliance and indepen- 
dence which have been of great importance in 
his subsequent career. He was sent to school in 
the neighborhood of his father's farm, and when 
necessary worked on the farm until he grew to 
manhood. In 1878 he yielded to a longing which 
had possessed him for some years and sought a 
frontier life in Wyoming, locating near Fort Mc- 
Kinney, where he entered the employ of E. V. 
Snyder as posttrader, and later was employed by 



J. H. Conrad in the same capacity, holding the 
position six years. At the end of that period he 
went to Buffalo, this state, and for a short time 
was engaged in the livery business and later in 
the liquor business. Closing out the latter he 
settled on a farm near the town and conducted 
it and his livery business in Buffalo for two 
years. He then returned to Buffalo to live, but 
in 1894 moved to Sheridan and opened a furni- 
ture emporium, in which he now has one of the 
most extensive and best selected stocks in his 
line to be found in the Northwest. In connection 
with this establishment he conducts an active 
business as an undertaker and an embalmer at 
Buffalo. In both departments of his enterprise 
he is energetic, up-to-date and progressive, for 
nothing that public taste demands or personal 
convenience requires in his way is wanting to 
the completeness of his stock and equipment, 
and naught that the most progressive business 
methods involve is omitted from his management 
and mercantile spirit. Fraternally Mr. Smyth is 
connected with the Odd Fellows, the Elks, the 
Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen and the 
Royal Neighbors. In all of these his member- 
ship is active and serviceable, and in the affairs 
of his county in general he is foremost in sub- 
stantial aid for their advancement and improve- 
ment. He was married at Buffalo on February 
23, 1883, to Miss Minnie V. Lomery, a native of 
California. They have had five children, Grace 
P., Carl H., Walter M., Clifford, deceased, and 
an infant also deceased. Mr. Smyth is a zealous 
member of the Old Settlers' Club and takes a 
prominent part in all its proceedings. This or- 
ganization, which is one of the social features of 
Sheridan, is also of great usefulness in a more 
practical way by collecting and preserving the 
record of past events and personal experiences 
relating to the early history of the county and 
state, which are fast fading from human recol- 
lection and would otherwise soon be entirely lost 
to the knowledge of men through the death of 
those who participated in them. To this work 
of the club Mr. Smyth contributes time and at- 
tention, and in it he takes a great interest. 



4i* 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



CHARLES F. ROBERSON.. 

This extensive, progressive and prosperous 
proprietor of the Opal Stock Farm, at Opal, Wy- 
oming, is truly a self-made man, having attained 
a high degree of prosperity through his intelli- 
gent industry, far-seeing and sagacious methods 
of business. He is one of the finest types of suc- 
cessful stockmen, not only of the state, but of the 
entire Rocky Mountain region. Every foot of 
the way he has traveled, from a poor boy to the 
culmination of his life's work in the magnificent 
industrial enterprises wherewith he is connected, 
affords both incentive and example to other 
worthy young men struggling on the rough road 
of financial progress. Mr. Roberson was born 
in Livingston county, N. Y., on March 8, 1847, 
a son of Samuel O. and Mahala (Trimmer) 
Roberson, natives of New Jersey. The father, 
who was originally a millwright in the fertile 
wheatraising Genesee Valley of New York, later 
devoted his attention to farming and stockrais- 
ing. He was a well-educated, public spirited 
man, taking prominent part in the conduct of 
public matters of a local nature, being descended 
from intelligent English stock, domiciled on 
American soil from the days of the Mayflower. 
He traced his descent in a direct line from Jona- 
than Roberson, the original emigrant. After a 
long life of useful activity he died in 1864. His 
first wife, a faithful helpmeet, preceded him to 
the Silent Land, after which he consummated a 
second marriage. Charles F. Roberson was the 
second of three children, the brother, John T. 
Roberson. exemplifying his patriotism by a long 
and faithful service and in many a bloody action 
on southern battlefields as a gallant soldier of the 
Union army of the Civil War. He is now en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits in New York. A 
sister, Jennie, rounded out the number, while a 
half-brother, William Roberson, is now deceased. 
Charles F. Roberson received his educational 
training in the excellent schools of Livingston 
county until his father's death, when commenced 
his personal connection with the business oper- 
ations of life. He diligently applied himself for 
two vears to farm work and then learned car- 



pentry, at which he became a skilled artisan, 
working steadily and consecutively at this trade 
in Chicago until 1876, coming then to Cheyenne, 
Wyoming, and following the same occupation in 
that city during the summer season, then becom- 
ing identified with the Union Pacific Railroad . 
and continuing in its employ as a carpenter until 
he came to Green River, where his skill was re- 
quired in the erection of the courthouse. In 
the spring of 1877 he came to the then unsur- 
veyed section of the state where is now his home, 
made a settlement on the creek and engaged in 
putting up hay. After the government survey of 
1881 he located on his present place, and to his 
original acreage he has added until he has a 
magnificent estate of 5,500 acres in one body, 
1,500 acres of it being rich bottom land. Here 
he has developed one of the finest properties in 
an extent of many miles, it being well improved 
with all the buildings and accessories necessary 
to the successful carrying out of his special 
branch of husbandry, the raising of fine herds 
of horses and cattle, and being provided with 
a modern residence of thirteen rooms, conven- 
iently arranged and supplied with the latest im- 
provements, while the same taste and enterprise 
is shown in the massive barns, yards, corrals, etc., 
with which the place is bountifully provided, the 
whole constituting a model stock farm. Mr. 
Roberson is here giving great discrimination and 
care to the elevation of the standard of his stock, 
steadily raising the quality of both his horses 
and his graded Hereford cattle, and is perform- 
ing a mission of value to the whole country by 
his earnest and intelligent efforts in this direc- 
tion, while yearly his flocks are assuming larger 
and larger proportions, and being of a better 
strain of blood. He has attained prosperity be- 
cause he is worthy of it, and no other result could 
come from his scientific methods, carried to a le- 
gitimate conclusion by careful attention to all 
departments and details of his domestic economy. 
He is the owner of another superior tract of 
land comprising 1,674 acres on Green River, at 
the month of Fontenelle Creek, and is also large- 
ly interested in. and the treasurer of the Wyo- 
ming - Hvdro-Carbon Co.. owning 2,000 acres of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



419 



coal, oil and gas land in the great fossil oil-fields 
of Wyoming. Although his domestic tastes are 
strong, and home is ever the dearest place on 
earth, still Mr. Roberson is a man of broad and 
generous public spirit, aiding and encouraging 
all objects for public improvements or private 
benefaction. His political affiliations are strong- 
ly with the Republican party and fraternally he 
is connected with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. On January 20, 1884, Mr. Roberson 
entered married life, selecting as his companion 
Miss Emma M. Wright, a daughter of James M. 
and Avis (Robinson) Wright, natives of Ver- 
mont, but for many years residents of Uinta 
county. They are now residing on Hams Fork, 
a few miles from the city of Kemmerer, being 
held in honor and esteem, not only on account 
of their many excellent qualities, but from the 
respect due to the old settlers. Mr. and Mrs. 
Roberson have had three children, Charles Opal, 
died on September 10, 1902 ; Avis P. and Oscar 
C. In their delightful home this charming fam- 
ilv dispenses a genial and a pioneer hospitality. 

GEORGE W. SNOW. 

Born at Lyme, Grafton county, N. H. on No- 
vember 20, 1853, Mr. George W. Snow, of 
Goldsmith, Wyoming, is the son of Elijah P. 
and Nancy (Quinty) Snow, both natives of 
New Hampshire and his forefathers for many 
generations have been natives of that state, where 
his father was a farmer during all the years of 
his long and active life. Retiring from active 
business in 1891, when nearly eighty years of 
age, he disposed of his property in New Hamp- 
shire and removed to Wyoming, where he has 
since made his home with his children there 
residing, passing the greater portion of his time 
at the home of his daughter, Mrs. E. Hawes. 
He is now (1902) ninety years of age and still 
in the enjoyment of good health. The lnother 
passed away in 1890 at the age of seventy-two 
years, and is buried in the old town of Lyme, 
N. H. George W. Snow grew to manhood, and 
received his early education in. Lyme, and after 
completing his course of academical training in 

26 



the schools of that place, remained with his par- 
ents until he had attained the age of twenty 
years. In 1874, he began life for himself and 
secured employment as a practical farmer in the 
vicinity of the parental home. Here he con- 
tinued for three years to work for wages, ac- 
quiring a thorough knowledge of agriculture, 
and carefully saving his earnings, with a view 
to engaging" in business at a later time on an in- 
dependent basis. Here he learned those habits 
of thrift, industry and economy which have char- 
acterized his subsequent career, and to which 
may be attributed most of the successes achieved 
in the business world of today. In the spring of 
1877 -he removed from New Hampshire to the 
then territory of Wyoming, where his older 
brother, E. P. Snow, had already established his 
home, having come to the frontier at the time 
the Union Pacific Railroad was first in construc- 
tion. Here Mr. Snow secured employment on a 
ranch near Cheyenne and there remained for two 
and one-half years. In the fall of 1879, he pur- 
chased a small band of sheep and established 
himself on a ranch at the headwaters of Horse 
Creek, Wyo., the same property now owned by 
Mr. Charles Smith. He remained here about one 
year and in the fall of 1880 took up his present 
ranch on the Bear Creek, about fourteen miles 
south of Chugwater, on the old Fort Laramie 
stage road, there being a stage station and a 
transfer point on the ranch at that time. This 
was on the line of the famous Denver, Cheyenne 
and Fort Laramie overland trail, and was the 
main line of overland travel prior to the con- 
struction of a railroad. Here he continued suc- 
cessfully in the sheep and woolgrowing business, 
until 1885, when he disposed of his sheep hold- 
ings for a handsome sum and embarked in rais- 
ing draft horses and graded Hereford cattle. He 
has met with marked success and up to 1886, 
when the railroad was built through to the north- 
ward, he maintained a large stage station and 
road house on his ranch on Bear Creek. He 
has now 700 acres of patented land and holds 
lands under lease, his place being one of the 
finest and best-appointed stock ranches in the 
state. On October 30, 1882, Mr. Snow was 



420 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



united in marriage to Miss Effie Sawyer, at the 
city of Cheyenne, Wyo. She also is a native of 
Lyme, N. H., and a daughter of Edmund and 
Elizabeth (Carpenter) Sawyer, the ' former a 
native of that state and the latter of Vermont. 
The father was a contractor and builder in 
Lyme, during all the years of his active life, and 
in 1889, he retired from all active business, 
with his wife then removing to Wyoming, to 
here make their home with Mr. and Mrs. Snow. 
Since then, with the sole exception of one 
year, when they returned east to visit at their 
former family home in New. Hampshire, the old 
people have resided with their daughter in 
Wyoming. On May 25, 1899, the mother died 
but the father is still living at an advanced age. 
Mrs, Snow's family has a distinguished history 
in the Colonial period of New England. Some 
of her forefathers came to Plymouth, Mass., in 
the Mayflower. The maternal ancestors of her 
father were Thompsons, who bore a prominent 
part during the early settlement of Massachu- 
setts. Of her father's paternal ancestors, five 
brothers of the Sawyer family settled on the 
Connecticut River during the earliest Colonial 
days and were among the prominent and in- 
fluential pioneers of their section of New Eng- 
land. Her mother's family, the Carpenters, were 
also prominent in Colonial clays, and her ances- 
tors on both her parental sides were participants 
in the Revolutionary War, her great-grandfather, 
Abel Sawyer, having been an army surgeon and 
her great-grandfather, John Thompson, being a 
colonel of one of the American regiments. 
Seven children have come to the home of Mr. 
and Mrs. Snow, Clyde M., Ralph E., Ernest H., 
Ethel G., LeRoy G., Florence M. and Elmer E., 
all of whom are living except Ethel, who died in 
infancy in July, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Snow are 
active members of the Congregational church, 
and take a deep interest in the religious and 
charitable life of the community where they re- 
side. Politically, Mr. Snow is a stanch Repub- 
lican, and for many years he has taken a very 
active part in the public affairs of the state. He 
has been a member of the water commission of 
bis district ever since 1891 and for several years 



he has served as a justice of the peace for the 
township where he maintains his home. In 
1898 he was elected as a member of the State 
Legislature, receiving the highest vote for that 
office of any one then elected in Wyoming. He 
served one term, making a most creditable rec- 
ord, and declined to become a candidate for a 
reelection. He is one of the foremost business 
men, as well as one of the most trusted leaders 
in public affairs, of the state. 

JACOB STAHLE. 

Now a retired citizen of Evanston, Wyoming. 
Jacob Stahle is a native of Switzerland, who was 
born near Berne on December 10, 1828. His 
father, a good man and born in 181 1, came to 
America in 1862, and met his death in the same 
year while on his way across the plains from 
St. Louis to Utah. His mother, who was Miss 
•Krise before her marriage, survived her husband 
only a few months, dying in Utah in the fall of 
1862, being originally a member of the Eng- 
lish Lutheran church, but she joined the church 
of the Latter Day Saints in Utah before her 
death. Jacob Stahle was with his parents on the 
overland journey to L T tah, where he finally ar- 
rived with his mother. He took up fanning in 
that state and continued it for about two years, 
when he went to Idaho and farmed a small place 
for himself. It is now twenty-seven years since 
he moved thence and came to Evanston, Wyo., 
and engaged in sheepraising, a business in which 
he has been very successful. He now owns two 
sections of land and the comfortable home in 
Evanston in which he is now living in retirement 
with his wife and family; bis sons having the 
ability and the willingness to manage the ranch. 
Mr. Stahle was married in 1863 in Davis county. 
Utah, to Bertha Munc, a daughter of Henry and 
Margaret (Munc) Munc. Her parents were 
both born in 1805 in Switzerland and her mother 
died at the age of fifty, but her father lived to 
be seventy-five years old. He had been a suc- 
cessful commission merchant, a keen and practical 
man of business, but also a man of scholastic 
tendencies and great intelligence. Mr. and Mrs. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



421 



Stable are both members of the Church of Latter 
Day Saints and their union has borne fruit in 
a family of eight children, one of which died in 
infancy. The others are as follows : Emma ; 
Jacob, Jr., born in 1866, died in 1887 and buried 
in Evanston ; John ; Lula ; Eliza ; Henry ; Charles. 
Though now living a very quiet life in his retire- 
ment, Mr. Stable remembers man)- stirring in- 
cidents of the days of his pioneering and takes 
pride, as well he may, in recalling them. 

HON. WALTER R. STOLL. 

There are no specific rules for the building 
of character; neither are there infallible plans for 
the achievement of success. The man who can 
rise from the ranks to a position of eminence is 
the one who can see and utilize the opportunities 
at his command. Hon. Walter R. Stoll is one of 
the fortunate few who know how to mold cir- 
cumstances to suit their purposes and in the ab- 
sence of opportunities possess the power to create 
them at will. His life forcibly illustrates what 
can be accomplished by a young man actuated 
by a laudable ambition directed and controlled by 
correct motives. Few achieve success in more 
than one calling or profession and when 
the exception is found it is good evidence of 
ability of a very much higher order than is 
possessed by the bulk of the great majority. Wal- 
ter R. Stoll is of Eastern birth and combines 
in his mental attributes very many of the best 
elements of the New England life. His father, 
Moses Stoll, was a representative of an old New 
Jersey family and his mother, who bore the 
maiden name of Cornelia Riggs, was also a native 
of that state. These parents had a family of 
five children, Walter being the third in order of 
birth. He was born at Deckertown, N. J., on 
February 14, 1858, and received his preliminary 
educational discipline in the schools of his native 
place. That he made satisfactory advancement 
in his various studies is attested by the fact that 
at the early age of seventeen he was sufficiently 
qualified to pass the required examination and 
secure a license entitling him to teach in the pub- 
lic schools. After an experience of two years as 



a teacher he discontinued pedagogic work and in 
1876 took the competitive examination for ad- 
mission to the U. S. Military Academy at West 
Point, being the only one out of a class of thirty 
that successfully stood the test. He entered the 
Academy in June, 1877, and was graduated there- 
from on June 11, 1881, and immediately there- 
after received his assignment to Co. I, Ninth 
U. S. Infantry, stationed at Fort McKinney, 
Wyo. In August, 1882, he was transferred to 
Fort Russell, where he remained until re- 
signing his commission, in the meanwhile devot- 
ing all his spare time to the study of law, 
which he had wisely decided to make his life 
work. In June, 1884, he was admitted to prac- 
tice in the Third Judicial Circuit of Wyoming 
and the following November bade farewell to 
military life and was admitted to the bar by the 
Supreme Court of the state. On leaving the 
army Mr. Stoll opened an office in Cheyenne and 
at once began an active practice of his profes- 
sion. His abilities soon won him recognition 
at the Laramie county bar and in due time he 
succeeded in building up a large and lucrative 
business, earning the reputation of an able coun- 
selor and judicious practitioner. In 1886 he 
was elected prosecuting attorney of Laramie 
county, the duties of which office he discharged 
in such a satisfactory manner that at the ensuing 
election, two years later, he was chosen his own 
successor by a greatly increased majority. At 
the expiration of his second term he resumed 
legal practice and continued it with a series of 
uninterrupted successes until 1896, when he was 
for a third time the Democratic nominee for pros- 
ecuting attorney, failing of election because there 
were two candidates in the field against him, a 
Republican and an Independent Democrat. In 
1898 he was nominated for State Senator, but 
the county being reliably Republican, he did not 
overcome the formidable opposition. In 1900 he 
was again his party's choice for the position of 
prosecuting attorney and in the election of that 
year was elected by a very decisive majority. 
His administration of the office has been marked 
by signal ability and during his incumbency many 
notorious lawbreakers have been brought to the 



422 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



bar of justice and sentenced to long terms in the 
penitentiary. Mr. Stoll is well grounded in the 
principles of his profession, familiar with all the 
devious details of practice. He studies his cases 
with the greatest care, prepares his legal papers 
with the most scrupulous exactness and never 
enters upon the trial of a cause without a thor- 
ough mastery of its every, detail. He is cour- 
teous in demeanor towards court and opposing 
counsel, never resorting to unfair advantage to 
gain a point and nothing savoring of disrepu- 
table practice has ever been laid to his charge. 
As prosecuting attorney he has discharged his 
every duty regardless of fear or favor, and it is 
the opinion universally expressed that the county 
has never enjoyed the services of an abler or 
more faithful and judicious official. He has 
long been a recognized leader in the Democratic 
party of Wyoming and as such has contributed 
much to the success of the ticket, locally and 
throughout the state. Fraternally, he stands high 
in Masonic circles and is considered one of the 
brightest members of the lodge with which he 
holds membership. He has risen to the Thirty- 
second degree in the Scottish Rite, and in that 
capacity has come in close personal touch with 
the leading members of the order in Wyoming 
and other states. He is also identified with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and be- 
longing to the Cheyenne Lodge. Personally, Mr. 
Stoll is a most affable and courteous gentleman, 
having an attractive presence and always easily 
approachable. His long and vigorous military 
discipline developed in him a commanding dig- 
nity, which added to the power of his personality, 
makes him a natural leader of men. He is popu- 
lar with bis fellow citizens irrespective of party, 
and has so demeaned himself as to be worthy of 
the large measure of public esteem he enjoys. 

ROBERT TAIT. 

It would be impossible to write the history of 
Laramie county, and difficult indeed to write the 
history of Wyoming, without making substantial 
reference to that sturdy pioneer, successful man 
of business and high-minded citizen, Robert Tait, 



of Islay, Wyoming. Emigrating to this coun- 
try from Scotland after he had arrived at years 
of mature manhood, he brought with him to the 
land of his adoption those habits of industry, fru- 
gality and perseverance which everywhere char- 
acterize the Scottish race and which have en- 
abled it to take a prominent place in the world's 
history. Wherever civilization has gone, there 
the men of Scotland have been, with their keen 
intellect, their clear judgment, and their indomit- 
able courage and determination, overcoming ob- 
stacles, conquering difficulties and achieving vie-' 
tories. Robert Tait is a worthy representative 
of the sterling traits of national character that 
have marked the men and women of that land 
ever since the beginning of their history. Coming 
into the then territory of Wyoming with only a 
few hundred dollars as his total capital, he has 
by his energy, perseverance and good judgment 
grown to be one of its largest property owners 
and most successful men. A pioneer of Lara- 
mie county, he has had much to do with building 
up the industries and laying the foundations of 
the commonwealth. A native of Scotland, he 
was born on February n, 1842, the son of Sam- 
uel "and Matilda (Service) Tait, natives of Scot- 
land. His father followed farming in his native 
country up to the time of his decease, and on his 
farm Robert Tait grew to man's estate and re- 
ceived his early education in the schools of his 
native country. He remained with his parents 
until he had attained the age of twenty years, 
then entered service as an apprentice to the 
trade of carpentry. After the death of his par- 
ents, which occurred soon after he was prepared 
to begin life for himself, he removed to Edin- 
burg, and there continued labor as a carpenter 
and builder. In 1872, he determined to seek the 
bettering of his fortunes in the New World, and 
emigrated with his family to America and upon 
arriving at the city of Xew York, there secured 
employment at his trade for about three months, 
the.nce removing to Chicago, where he engaged 
in the same calling until the following year, when 
he then removed his residence to Colorado, where 
lie purchased a farm and for a short time was 
engaged in agricultural occupations. Subse- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



423 



quently he was employed on the railroad which 
was then in construction, then went to Fort 
Collins, where he assumed charge of the con- 
struction of a water-power plant for a saw- 
mill near that place. He remained there about 
one year, and then was employed in the erection 
of the first bank building of Fort Collins. Sub- 
sequently, he accepted a position on a large sheep 
ranch near Fort Collins, and was engaged in that 
employment for about one year. In May, 1876, 
he came to Wyoming and located a ranch on 
Pole Creek, near where his present ranch is now 
situated. Here he engaged in ranching and 
stockraising, and continued in these vocations, 
meeting with great success, up to 1884, when 
he purchased the ranch property he now owns 
and occupies on Pole Creek, about twenty-seven 
miles northwest of Cheyenne, and still continues 
in the raising of horses and cattle, being now the 
owner of one of the finest ranches in that section 
of the state, comprising about 6,000 acres, well 
fenced and improved, with fine buildings and all 
modern improvements. He is one of the largest 
individual cattleowners of Wyoming, and has 
many other property interests throughout the 
state. On December 31, 1869, in Edinburg, Scot- 
land, Mr. Tait was united in marriage to Miss 
Agnes Finlayson, a native of Scotland and a 
daughter of John and Jane (Padie) Finlayson, 
both being natives of that country. Mrs. Tait's 
father followed the occupation of shoemaking in 
his native land until his death at an advanced 
age. Mr. and Mrs. Tait have had two children, 
Samuel, who died in infancy, and is buried in 
Edinburg, Scotland, and Matilda J., now Mrs. 
Lannen. Mr. Tait is one of the earliest of the 
pioneers of his section of Wyoming. There was 
not a house between Cheyenne and his ranch 
when he there first established his home. He has 
seen the surrounding country advance through 
all its stages of development and has contributed 
largely by his own efforts to its settlement and 
improvement. Politically, he is a stanch Republi- 
can and for many years he has taken an active 
part in public affairs. He has never sought 
any political positions, but his fellow citizens, 
recognizing his eminent fitness, have insisted up- 



on his acceptance of certain positions of public 
trust. During the years of 1897, 1898, 1899 and 
1900, he served as county commissioner of Lara- 
mie county, but at the end of his second term 
of service he declined a reelection. For twenty- 
three years he has served the people as the treas- 
urer of the school board of his district, believ- 
ing it to be the duty of every citizen to give a 
portion of his time to public service. He is rec- 
ognized by all classes as not only one of the solid 
business men and substantial property holders of 
Wyoming, but also as a citizen whose high char- 
acter and sterling worth entitle him to the re- 
gard and esteem of all men. 

CHRISTOPHER B. TAYLOR. 

It is a far cry indeed from being a machinist 
in a New Jersey machine shop to a hotel propri- 
etorship at Fort Bridger, Wyo., but after many 
changes and migrations, this is the very fortune 
that has come to Christopher B. Taylor, who was 
born at Springtown, N. J., on April 9, 1856, a son 
of William and Sarah (Bowers) Taylor, natives 
of New Jersey and descendants of families living 
on the soil of that state from an early date in 
Colonial days and taking part in all of the wars 
in which this country has contested, from the 
French and Indian wars of the early period of life 
in this continent down through the Revolution, 
the War of 1812, in which an ancestor of Mr. 
Taylor on the paternal side was an American 
officer, unto the Civil War. His paternal grand- 
father was John Taylor and his maternal grand- 
father was Henry Bowers, of Hardport, N. J., 
all being of Dutch descent. His father, originally 
a farmer, was much in public life and position, 
and at the birth of his son Christopher, was the 
popular landlord of a comfortable inn or tavern 
in Springtown. Christopher B. Taylor, after at- 
tending the public schools until he was old enough 
to learn a trade, was apprenticed as a machinist 
in the large manufacturing plant of the New 
Jersey Mowing Machine Co., at Philipsburg, and 
here acquired an excellent technical and practical 
knowledge of machinery and its making and re- 
pairing, and then engaged at the trade in the 



424 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Lehigh Valley railroad shops at South Easton, 
Pa., continuing there employed for two years, 
when he started on the long route across the 
continent, making several well-defined stops how- 
ever on the way. He was in Chicago for a time, 
again was at work in the Northern Pacific shops 
at Brainard, Minn., removing then to Minneap- 
olis, thence in 1875 to Sydney, Neb., where he 
became a driver with an ox-team outfit going 
to the Black Hills. In 876 he was working for 
the famous Homestake Mining Co., and in this 
connection he "set up" one of the first stampmills 
that company put in operation, in Bobtail Gulch, 
thereafter continuing engineering and the put- 
ting up of machinery until 1877, when he visited 
New York City and his New Jersey home-, soon 
however returning to Kansas City and on to El 
Paso, Texas. For a time Mr. Taylor was here 
in the service of a railroad, following this by be- 
coming foreman of the roundhouse at Chihuahua, 
Mexico, from there two years later proceeding to 
California, where he held a situation with the 
Central Pacific Railroad in its Sacramento shops 
until 1882 when he came to Utah and engaged 
in prospecting and also the sale of machinery for 
about a year, thence making his way to Idaho 
Falls, where at the old Eagle Rock he was em- 
ployed in the shops of the Utah & Northern 
Railroad, now the Oregon Short Line Railroad, 
for several years. Relinquishing his trade Mr. 
Taylor took up the first ranch developed on Sand 
Creek in the Snake River Valley. Still later he 
was a justice of the peace and a real-estate oper- 
ator at Idaho Falls for several years. He has 
been a resident of Fort Bridger since 1894, and 
his enterprise and business ability have here been 
manifest in the successful prosecution of the sale 
of farm implements and as a genial landlord of 
the only hotel of the place, the Taylor House. 
These occupations have not monopolized his time 
for he has done much prospecting to a good pur- 
pose. His town property consists of two blocks 
of three lots each on opposite sides of the street, 
on one stands the Taylor House and on the other 
a small warehouse. He is also interested in sev- 
eral hundred acres of oil and gas land. Always 
active and alert in the cause of his political party. 



he has taken great interest in public affairs and 
was the candidate of the Democratic party in 
the last election for representative in the State 
Legislature. Mr. Taylor was united in marriage, 
in Idaho, on December 25, 1886, to Miss Anna 
Nord, a native of Sweden and a daughter of Ole 
and Ella (Nelson) Nord, her father now being 
a farmer near Kristianstad, but he was for twelve 
years a soldier in the Swedish army. His name 
was originally Jensen, but, as he served in the 
army as a substitute for a man named Nord, the 
latter name naturally attached to him. One of her 
uncles, Jens Manson, was an influential member 
of the Rixstag, the Swedish Legislature. Of the 
six children of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor the two 
youngest were born at Fort Bridger. Their 
names are Eleanor B., Raymond N., Martha P., 
Beulah E., William C. and Edith A. 

BRYANT TURPIN. 

A pioneer of Wyoming, one who during fron- 
tier days, before the time of the railroads, car- 
ried on an extensive freighting business, Bryant 
Turpin, whose address is now Junction, Laramie 
county, Wyo., is a native of Wayne county, Ken- 
tucky, and the son of Bailey and Martha (Dan- 
cey) Turpin, the former a native of Kentucky 
and the latter of Ohio. The father followed the 
occupation of farming in Kentucky up to 1856, 
when he removed to his residence in the state of 
Texas, settled in Johnson county and engaged 
in farming and stockgrowing, remaining there 
until 1866, thence removing to Red River count} - , 
where he continued to be in the same occupation 
up to the time of his death, which event oc- 
curred in 1875. The mother also died in 1858 
and she was buried in Johnson county, Texas. 
Bryant Turpin was born on February 18. 1848, 
coming early with his parents from Ken- 
tucky to Texas, having had very iittle oppor- 
tunity for acquiring an education in early life, 
being compelled to leave school at the early age 
of nine years and earn his own livelihood. From 
that age he worked on ranches in the vicinity for 
about three years, and showed those qualities of 
self-reliance, industry and perseverance which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



425 



have so largely characterized his subsequent 
career. At the age of twelve years he was em- 
ployed by parties engaged in shipping cattle to 
eastern and southern points to gather up stock 
cattle for that purpose, and he continued in this 
employment for about three years, when he en- 
gaged in farming for two years and then again 
engaged in gathering cattle for shipment. In 
this employment he made frequent trips from 
Texas into Arkansas and other states and in 
1867 he determined to seek his fortune in the 
country farther on the frontier and removed his 
residence to the then territory of Colorado. 
Here he engaged in freighting and freight con- 
tracting on his own account, operating chiefly be- 
tween the city of Cheyenne, and commercial 
points in Colorado. He continued in this busi- 
ness, with considerable success, until 1876, when 
he removed his headquarters from Colorado to 
Cheyenne, and there engaged in freight con- 
tracting between that city and the Black Hills 
country of Dakota. He also hauled supplies for 
the government to the various military posts 
of Wyoming and Dakota and remained engaged 
in this pursuit until 1889, when the con- 
struction of railroads to all important points vir- 
tually destroyed the old-time business of overland 
freighting. He was one of the oldest freighters 
in the western country and was well known to 
and respected by all of the military officers and 
frontiersmen during the many years he followed 
that occupation. In 1883 he located a ranch on 
the Cottonwood Creek, about twenty-two miles 
northwest of Wheatland, Wyo., and in 1886, he 
moved his family hither and made it his perma- 
nent home. He did not however actively engage 
in the cattle business until some years later. In 
1889 he disposed of a portion of his large freight- 
ing outfit and since that time has devoted atten- 
tion to the cattle business at his ranch on the 
Cottonwood, although he was still employed to 
some extent in freighting. Since 1899 he has 
given his entire time to the cattle business, has 
met with success and is now the owner of one 
of the best and most thoroughly-equipped ranch 
properties in that section of Laramie county, and 
is considered as one of the substantial business 



men of the community. On October 31, 1876, 
Mr. Turpin was united in marriage at Fort Col- 
lins, Colo., to Miss Hattie Burt, a native of Ver- 
mont and the daughter of Henry Burt, a well- 
known and respected citizen of that state. Six 
children have come to bless their home life, 
Olive Belle, who died in 1879, and was buried in 
Cheyenne; James F. ; Bessie S., died on June 28, 
1902, aged twenty years ; Grace A., died on De- 
cember 26, 1899, both the latter being buried at 
Wheatland ; Abbie B. ; Lizzie L. Mr. Turpin 
is affiliated with the Order of Fraternal Union of 
America. He is one of the prominent pioneer 
citizens of Wyoming, and is held in high esteem 
by all classes of his fellow citizens. 

RICHARD S. WEAKLEN. 

This progressive and enterprising young 
stockman, residing at Glendo, in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, is a native of Pennsylvania, born on 
February 20, 1862, the son of Peter and Mar- 
garet (Miller) Weaklen, also natives of the 
Keystone state. The father followed the occu- 
pation of farming in his native state and in 
1865 removed to Iowa, where he established his 
home near Charles City and engaged in the same 
pursuit. Subsequently he moved to Clay county, 
where he has continued in the same calling up 
to the present time (1902). The mother died in 
1877, and lies buried in Clay county. Richard 
S. Weaklen grew to manhood in Iowa and re- 
ceived his early academical training in the pub- 
lic schools of that state. When he had com- 
pleted his education he remained with his father, 
assisting in the work and management of the 
farm, until he had attained the age of twenty- 
one years. He then secured employment on dif- 
ferent farms in that vicinity until 1886, when he 
determined to seek his fortune in the country 
farther to the west and located in the Horseshoe 
Creek country of Wyoming and secured employ- 
ment on cattle ranches to learn a practical knowl- 
edge of the cattle business. He continued here in 
this employment until 1895 and earned the repu- 
tation of being one of the most efficient and 
capable men employed in the cattle business. In 






426 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



that year he located his present ranch on the 
North Elkhorn Creek, about ten miles northwest 
of Glendo, and entered into the business of rais- 
ing cattle and horses. In this enterprise he has 
met with success and is now looked upon as one 
of the representative young stockmen of that 
section of Wyoming. He is the owner of a fine 
ranch to which he is steadily adding each year 
and he is destined to become one of the foremost 
business men of his county. Capable, enterpris- 
ing and energetic, he is coming to the front in 
his chosen pursuit and his sterling traits of char- 
acter would make him a representative man in 
any community. He is a member of the Roman 
Catholic church and takes an active interest in 
all measures calculated to be of benefit to the 
people among whom he maintains his home. 
Politically, he is identified with the Republican 
party, being a conscientious believer in the prin- 
ciples of that political organization. He has 
however neither sought nor desired any public 
office and has preferred to give his entire time 
and attention to the care and management of 
his private business interests. 

JOHN T. WEDEMEYER. 

Human life at its largest estate is brief and 
it is far better if it can be said of a man, when 
its fitful fever is over, that he did his duty well 
and was a benefactor of his kind, than to have 
erected to his memory the costliest mausoleum or 
loftiest monument of the ages. Such as this may 
truthfully be the utterance of both the indulgent 
friend and the judicious critic in relation to the 
character and career of the late John T. Wede- 
meyer of Laramie county, Wyoming, whose un- 
timely death at the full maturity of his powers 
when less than fifty-seven years of age was uni- 
versally regretted. He was born at Kiel, Ger- 
many, on January 6, 1838. and there grew to 
manhood. Like most of German youths he was 
apprenticed to a trade, and while yet young be- 
came a proficient weaver of fabrics. Later he 
learned photography and followed that as an oc- 
cupation in his native city until the beginning of 
the Franco-German War, when he promptly en- 



tered the army in defense of his country and 
served through the war, seeing much hard ser- 
vice and enduring many privations. He was 
married at Keil on November 6, 1869, to Miss 
Dorothy M. Voight, a daughter of Joseph F. and 
Maria Voight, natives of Prussia, the father be- 
ing a prosperous shoe merchant for many years 
in Kiel and deeply interested in the affairs of the 
city. A year after his marriage Mr. Wedenieyer 
came to the United States and after living for a 
year at Davenport, Iowa, came to Wyoming and 
entered the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad 
at Cheyenne. For twenty-one years he rendered 
faithful and valuable service to this great trunk 
line, and when he resigned in 1892 was the oldest 
employe of the road in continuous connection 
with it. After resigning he purchased a small 
ranch at the head of Horse Creek and turned his 
attention to stockraising, adding to his real-estate 
from time to time as his business grew. His 
oldest son lived on the ranch and assisted in con- 
ducting it, but the rest of the family had their 
residence in Cheyenne, occupying a house pre- 
viously purchased of ex-Governor Baxter, one 
of the finest homes in the city. By close atten- 
tion to his business and intelligent application of 
his broad and practical knowledge, he built up 
an enterprise of leading scope and influence in 
the state and earned the reputation of being a 
shrewd and far-seeing business man of high in- 
tegrity and progressive ideas. His genial man- 
ner, obliging disposition and his attractive so- 
cial qualities rendered him universally beloved 
and gave him a very strong hold on the con- 
fidence and in the esteem of the people among 
whom his useful life was passed. To the pub- 
lic affairs in his county and throughout the 
state he was zealously attentive, devoting, es- 
pecially to the cause of education, the time, wis- 
dom and means which resulted in gratifying and 
substantial benefits to the community, while in 
reference to all matters of material, moral and 
social advancment he was wise and helpful, re- 
straining undue zeal, stimulating the flagging, 
directing the forceful and conserving every ser- 
viceable element. In his domestic life he was 
singularly blessed. His hospitality was generous 



PROGRESSIVE MEN. OF WYOMING. 



427 



and considerate, his disposition was cheerful and 
tolerant, his manners were easy, dignified and 
cordial, all marking him as a gentleman of 
superior culture and elevation of character and 
aiding in establishing him in the affections of his 
family and the sincere and high regard of his 
neighbors and friends. His life was a force for 
good that cannot die. In fraternal relations he- 
was affiliated with the order of Odd Fellows and 
was a useful and influential member of his lodge. 
His family consisted of eight children, of whom 
Theodore, the first born, was killed in a railroad 
accident at Pocatello, Idaho, on September 18. 
1 89 1, being at the time a railway mail clerk. The 
others are Maria, a highly educated lady, Avho 
after attending colleges in California and Colo- 
rado and teaching in the high schools of Chey- 
enne for five years, started on a course of special 
instruction at Columbia University, N. Y., in 
which she is still engaged ; Bertha is also well 
educated and now holding an important position 
in the school system in Colorado ; Frank, Fred- 
erick and Ernest, are connected with the manage- 
ment of the ranch and the stock business of the es- 
tate ; Edward, who has been in the railway mail 
service on the Union Pacific since 1900; John, 
the oldest living son, since the death of his 
father has been in charge of the estate and has 
been conducting its very extensive business with 
prudence and success, zealously aided by his 
brothers. He learned the trade of a machinist 
at Cheyenne, and for eight years worked at it 
for the Union Pacific. In the spring of 1901 
the ranch at the head of Horse Creek was sold 
and the one now occupied on the Laramie River 
■twelve miles west of Wheatland was purchased 
This embraces 1,400 acres of land, most of which 
is excellent for pasturage, and in addition the 
brothers have 1,300 acres leased. At the time 
of the purchase the home in Cheyenne was sold 
and a portion of the proceeds was invested in 
cattle. The Wedemeyer brothers are among the 
most successful and highly esteemed cattlemen 
in the county, much of their success is attribu- 
table to their mother, who has been a safe and 
judicious advisor in the management of the 
business, possessing clearness of vision, force of 
character and business capacity of a high order. 



JOSEPH WILDE. 

VVilhout a thought of disparagement for the 
many excellent people in and around Fort Lara- 
mie, perhaps none on the whole are more note- 
worthy or as extensively known as the genial and 
popular gentlemen whose name introduces this 
article. He belongs to the younger and aggres- 
sive generation which in the last quarter-century 
has done so much to develop the natural and in- 
dustrial resources of one of the wealthiest parts 
of the American nation. Joseph Wilde was born 
on May 14, 1855 * n Cook county, 111., and is the 
son of John and Kate Wilde, both parents being 
natives of France. By occupation the father was 
a tailor and worked at his chosen calling in va- 
rious towns and cities in the United States, mov- 
ing in 1857 to Minnesota and settling in Hender- 
son, where he lived for a number of years, run- 
ning a shop for some time in that place but 
he passed the latter years of his life in St. Cioud 
where his. death occurred in 1867, his wife pre- 
ceding him to the other life in 1859. Through 
the death of his parents Joseph Wilde was thrown 
upon his own resources at a comparatively early 
age. He attended school in the different towns 
and cities where his parents lived and after the 
father's death entered a butcher shop in St. 
Paul, where he worked for two years at the meat 
business, becoming quite proficient in the trade. 
In 1873 he went to Colorado and secured a posi- 
tion in a meat market in the city of Denver, later 
going to Pueblo. After remaining in that state 
until the fall of 1876 he came to Fort Laramie, 
Wyoming, and from that time until the latter part 
of the next year he was in the employ of the 
U. S. government. In 1877 he began freighting 
from Cheyenne to the Black Hills and other 
points and continued that business until 1890, 
when he disposed of his outfit and located at 
Fort Laramie, where he has since lived and 
prospered. Mr. Wilde opened a house for the 
entertainment of the traveling public here and 
also engaged in the mercantile business in 
which his success has been most gratifying-. He 
also carries on a blacksmithing shop, handles a 
full line of stoves and hardware, besides being 
largely interested in live stock, owning a large 



428 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ranch of 600 acres at the forks of the river near 
the fort and one containing 240 acres a short 
distance to the southwest. In his various enter- 
prises Mr. Wilde has displayed unusual energy 
and financially has met with success such as 
few attain. He is one of the leading stockmen 
of the Fort Laramie district, having a large num- 
ber of fine cattle, horses and sheep on his ranches, 
while as a merchant and a hotelkeeper he ranks 
with the most enterprising business men of the 
place. As indicated in the initial paragraph Mr. 
Wilde is a gentleman of genial nature, inheriting 
manv of the admirable qualities and much of the 
vivacity for which his French ancestors were 
noted.' He is popular with all classes and con- 
ditions of people, being a whole-souled com- 
panion who delights in relating the thrilling ex- 
periences and daring adventures which marked 
the early times throughout the West. His life 
has been an eventful one, fraught at times with 
much that was thrilling and dangerous, and his 
name is destined to live with the local history of 
this region as one of the noted characters of 
Fort Laramie and vicinity. He has managed 
his affairs successfully, being today the possessor 
of a fortune of sufficient magnitude to place him 
in independent circumstances, every dollar of 
which was earned by honorable and straigh for- 
ward business methods. Mr. Wilde is a mar- 
ried man, the father of one child, Louis, who was 
born on November 14, 1884, at Fort Laramie, 
Wyo. His wife, to whom he was united in mar- 
riage near the city of Cheyenne on the 6th day 
of August, 1883, was formerly Miss Mary Neit- 
feldt, a native of Germany. Mr. Wilde is a mem- 
ber of the Cheyenne . Lodge of the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks and his name also 
adorns the records of Cheyenne Camp, No. 144, 
Woodmen of the World. 

JOHN W. WILLEY. 

Born on March 12, 1850, on an Iowa farm 
which had been taken up as a homestead two 
years before by his parents, who came as pioneers 
to the interior of the state in 1848, and reared 
and educated in the rural section which was his 



birthplace,., j.nd now living on one of the finest 
and most e^rable ranches on the Prairie Doe 
Creek in Wyoming, whither he came as a 
pioneer, John W. Willey has had a career of vary- 
ing success and interest. His native place was 
Marion county, Iowa, near the town of Gosport, 
and his parents were Hezekiah and Sarah 
(White) Willey, the former a native of New 
York and the latter of Massachusetts. His 
father was an enterprising farmer in Marion 
county and afterwards in Lucas county, whither 
the family removed when their son John was 
sixteen years old. In that county he finished the 
common-school education he had begun in Mar- 
ion and after leaving school worked with his 
father on the farm until he was twenty-five. At 
that time he was married to Miss Lora Wright, 
a native of Iowa and a daughter of David S. 
and Mary (Roseman) Wright, natives of Ohio, 
whose parents were emigrants to this country 
from Ireland. He then settled down on a farm 
for himself in Lucas county, Iowa, and conducted 
its operations with profit and success until 1885, 
when he came to Wyoming and located on the 
ranch he now owns and occupies and which lies 
beautifully along Prairie Dog Creek, and eight 
miles south of Sheridan. His father continued 
to farm in Iowa until his death in 1888 and one 
year later the mother followed him to the grave. 
He had thus two incentives to remain in the state 
of his adoption and to push his business with 
ardor and energy. All the old family ties were 
severed and his property, under his very skillful 
and vigorous management and the spirit of im- 
provement he had inaugurated and applied to it 
with assiduous attention, was rising steadily in 
value and he was becoming firmly established 
in the good will and esteem of the people around 
him, who, like himself, had come to the neigh- 
borhood when it was in the very infancy of its 
development and had helped, as he had, to build 
it up and make it populous and civilized. He 
inaugurated, as soon as he got his land into con- 
dition for the industry, a flourishing cattle busi- 
ness, which he has been conducting continuously 
and successfully since that time. Mr. Willey 
has always been active in politics, but more from 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



429 



earnest interest in the welfare of the community 
than from any partisan or factional spirit, al- 
though he gives a cordial and loyal support to 
the Republican party. He has however stead- 
fastly declined all overtures for seeking or filling 
political offices himself, preferring much to any 
station of that kind the honorable post of a pri- 
vate citizen. He is a representative citizen of 
the county and has influence in behalf of any pro- 
ject for its advancement which commends itself 
to his judgment. His marriage occurred on 
December 17, 1876, in Lucas county, Iowa, 
where his wife's parents still live and carry on 
a flourishing farming and stock enterprise. Mr. 
and Mrs. Willey have four- children, Allen B., 
Fannie L., Elsie May and Chester. Their home 
on the ranch is one of the well-built and attrac- 
tive residences of the section, while the ap- 
purtenances of the farm in general are in keeping 
with it ; the air of genial hospitality which per- 
vades it and the taste and culture which emanate 
■from it are among the social features of this part 
of the county. 

J. M. WILSON, M. D. 

The history of a state is chiefly the chronicle 
of the lives and activities of those who have con- 
ferred honor and dignity upon society and the 
world judges the character of a community by 
that of its leading citizens, yielding its tributes of 
admiration and respect for the genius, learning 
and virtues of those whose works and actions con- 
stitute the record of a state's prosperity and 
pride. The gentleman whose name stands at the 
head of this review is considered as one of the 
representative men of the state, in many and 
widely varying ways having added to the well- 
being and prosperity of the people, standing high 
in their estimation, not only by reason of his 
conscientious professional life, but also through 
•the result of his business sagacity and his unsel- 
fish and useful public services. Doctor Wilson 
was born at Newluce, Wigtonshire, Scotland, on 
February 25, 1854, the son of John and Mary 
(Ross) Wilson, both representatives of ancient 
Scottish families of good repute, his paternal 



grandfather, also John Wilson, being a barrister 
of long and successful practice in the courts of 
Scotland, while his father was a civil engineer, 
who, after retiring from his labors of many 
years of activity, emigrated and made his subse- 
quent home in America until his death in 1862. 
Receiving his elementary literary education in Al- 
bany, N. Y., and Woodsfield, Ohio, Doctor Wil- 
son supplemented this by an attendance at the 
Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, there- 
after matriculating at the Jefferson Medical Col- 
lege of Philadelphia, Pa., there devoting his at- 
tention to the special scientific and technical in- 
struction necessary for a thorough equipment in 
the sciences of medicine and surgery, being 
graduated from this excellent institution in the 
class of 1878 and with the degree of M. D. Com- 
mencing his professional life at Harrisville, Ohio, 
he there soon gave definite demonstration of his 
ability as a physician and surgeon, acquiring a 
representative practice and winning many friends 
by his excellent personal qualities. In 1886 Doc- 
tor Wilson located in Douglas, Wyo., continuing 
medical practice there and acquiring the reputa- 
tion of being well skilled in his profession, re- 
maining very actively employed in his expanding 
practice until 1896, when he ceased his profes- 
sional labors, his time and energies being trans- 
ferred to other spheres of usefulness and activity. 
About 1893 the potentialities of the wealth 
wrapped in the great stockraising department 
of the industries of the state attracted the atten- 
tion of Doctor Wilson, who made investment in 
sheep, having his ranching headquarters three 
miles from Orin Junction, and being associated 
with Gov. DeForrest Richards in the Platte 
Valley Sheep Co., the business being cumulative 
and attaining great scope and importance, running 
bands amounting sometimes to 30,000 head, 
and highly improving their ranch property by 
suitable irrigation and other methods and by en- 
gaging in the somewhat extensive raising of 
alfalfa. This enterprise has thriven, having been 
conducted with conservative and judicious care, 
and is in a highly prosperous condition. Ever 
active and alert for the good of the community 
and the welfare of the state, Doctor Wilson was 



43Q 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



one of the leading spirits in the organization of 
Converse county, taking interest in both state and 
national politics, earnestly working for the suc- 
cess of the principles of the Republican party, 
but he has steadily refrained from allowing his 
name to be placed in nomination for any political 
office, although often requested so to do. He is 
unselfish in his action, and for this reason stands 
high among his fellow citizens, who value him 
for his true elements of worth. He has touched 
every link of the fraternal chain of Masonry to 
the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and 
is a highly valued member of the Odd Fellows 
and of the Woodmen of the World. He was ap- 
pointed by Governor Richards to a place on the 
state's first board of sheep commissioners, in that 
connection doing valuable service, and he was 
one of the members of the first city government 
of Douglas. He also served as one of the or- 
ganization commissioners of Converse county by 
the appointment of Governor Moonlight, during 
territorial days. On December 30, 1880, Doctor 
Wilson and Miss Laura J. Moore of Harrisville, 
Ohio, were wedded. She is a lady of grace and 
culture, whose father, Jacob Moore, was the son 
of an early pioneer of that section of Ohio, the 
fine estate he there acquired still remaining" in the 
possession of the family. The two children of 
this marriage are James Byron, a student of 
Oberlin College, Ohio, in the class of '05, and 
Charles M., now pursuing his preparatory edu- 
cation for college at Oberlin Academy. 

MADS WOLBOL. 

One of the leading ranch and stockmen of 
Albany county, Wyoming, is Mr. Wolbol, who, 
born in 1841, is a native of Denmark, the son of 
Nels and Mary (Larsen) Wolbol, both natives 
of that country. His father was born in 1805 
and followed the occupation of farming in his 
native country, up to the time of his decease, 
which occurred in 1881. He was the son of Mads 
and Marguerita (Grady) Wolbol, both natives 
of Denmark. The mother was born in 1815 and 
passed away in 1899, having lived to the age of 
eighty-four vears. She was the daughter of 



August and Dora (Christensen) Larsen, both 
natives of Denmark. Mads Wolbol grew to 
man's estate in his native country and received 
there his early education, attending the public 
schools and when he had completed his education 
he engaged in farming in Denmark, assisting in 
the support of his mother and the family, until 
1 87 1. He then resolved to try to better his con- 
dition and to seek his fortune in the New World 
beyond the sea and, leaving his relatives and the 
home of his childhood and early manhood, with 
the scanty savings which he had been able to ac- 
cumulate he took ship and came to America, 
coming directly to Omaha, Neb., where he re- 
mained for some time, gathering information 
as to the resources of the surrounding country, 
then came to Laramie, Wyo., and secured em- 
ployment on the Union Pacific Railroad, and re- 
mained in that occupation for about three years, 
when he resigned his position and purchased a 
ranch of 200 acres of land. Using all the capital 
which he could command, he gathered together 
twenty head of stock cattle and embarked in the 
business of raising cattle. He has continued in 
the same business down to the present time 
(1902), steadily adding to his enterprise from 
year to year, until now he is the owner of 2.500 
acres of land, well fenced and improved, with 
suitable buildings and appointments for the car- 
rying on of a large and extensive ranching and 
stockraising business. He is also the owner of 
a large herd of cattle, which is steadily being in- 
creased, and he is one of the solid business men 
and most prosperous stockgrowers of his section 
of the state. His successful career illustrates 
what industry, perseverance, and careful atten- 
tion to business can accomplish in any branch of 
industrial development. In 1873, Mr. Wolbol was 
united in marriage with Miss Catharine Iversen. 
the daughter of Iver and Dorothy ( Lauritsen) 
Iversen, a native of Denmark. To their union 
five children have been born, Dora, Laura. Xels, 
Walter and Eva, all of whom are living. Nels 
and Walter being twins. The family is greatly 
respected in the community where they reside 
and Mr. Wolbol is held in high esteem by his 
business associates and friends. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



43 1 



H. R. PAUL. 

An honored veteran of the Civil War and 
for the past ten years occupying the responsible 
position of the cashier of the First National Bank 
of Douglas, H. R. Paul stands high in the es- 
teem of the community as a man of financial 
ability, personal integrity and a representative 
citizen interested in all public matters that tend 
to the advancement of all of the better interests 
of the city of his residence and the equal bet- 
terment of the state. Mr. Paul was born in 
Dubuque county, state of Iowa, on March 24, 
1842, when the city of Dubuque was a mere 
hamlet, the son of John Paul, a native of Ken- 
tucky, and Diana (Jordan) Paul, his wife. The 
father came in 1827 to Galena, 111., and became 
identified with mining in the lead mines." The 
lands west of the Mississippi were then in the 
possession of the Indians, no white men being 
allowed to touch the deposits of lead in their do- 
main. As soon as they were opened to the oc- 
cupation of the whites through treaty, the 
father made his family home at Dubuque, which 
on their arrival consisted of one log cabin only. 
He engaged in mining, and resided in Dubuque 
county until 1866, thence moving to Waterloo, 
Iowa, and to Jamesville in the same state where 
he and his wife resided for the rest of their days. 
H. R. Paul was the eighth child in a family of 
eleven children and after receiving the advan- 
tages of the public schools of Dubuque county he 
gave one year of faithful study in the Methodist 
Seminary of Epworth, Iowa, thereafter joining 
the Union forces of the Civil War by enlisting 
in June, 1862, in Co. H, Twenty-fourth Iowa 
Infantry, with which organization he saw active 
service in Missouri, later taking part in the 
Vicksburg campaign, often being in battle and 
undergoing severe privations innumerable. From 
Vicksburg, after the surrender of the city, their 
field of operation was in the lower Mississippi 
region and in Texas, making headquarters at 
various times in New Orleans and taking part in 
the disastrous Red River expedition under. Gen- 
eral Banks, later being in the Mobile campaign, 
their command there capturing the two almost 



impregnable forts, Blakey and Alexis. Return- 
ing to New Orleans they were mustered out at 
Baton Rouge, in August, 1865. In many of the 
bloody and historic battles of the Army of the 
Mississippi his command was engaged, showing 
valor and intrepidity, being often mentioned in 
official communications for their brave gallantry. 
J W. Paul, a brother of H. R., died in Memphis, 
Tenn., while in service with a three months regi- 
ment. In 1866 Mr. Paul entered the employ of 
the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad, which 
afterward became a part of the Illinois Central 
system, where for fourteen years, he gave faith- 
ful and appreciated service, for thirteen years be- 
ing the efficient station agent at Janesville, 
Iowa. Meeting with an accident which so in- 
jured his right hand as to permanently cripple 
him to a degree, he tendered his resignation and 
for five years conducted merchandising, then 
coming to Douglas, Wyoming, he accepted a 
clerical position with the firm of C. H. King & 
Co., g'eneral merchants, having first a tent at 
Fort Fetterman and a $16,000 stock of goods, 
and subsequently he was a bookkeeper for eigh- 
teen months for G. W. Metcalf. His business 
capacity, accuracy and fitness for the position 
having been clearly ' shown, in 1892 he was of- 
fered and accepted the responsible position of 
cashier of the First National Bank of Douglas, 
which he has now continuously held for fully 
ten years, from his absolute honesty, strict in- 
tegrity and high moral character steadily adding 
to the well being of the community, no one stand- 
ing higher in the esteem of the best citizens. He 
maintains his interest in the Civil War by his 
connection with the G. A. R. organization, and 
he is also identified with the Odd Fellows fra- 
ternity. In political relations he is in full accord 
with the Republican party in national and state 
matters. On Christmas day, 1868, Mr. Paul 
and Miss Harriet J. Wood, a native of New 
York state, were joined in marriage and they 
have four children : Rosa M., wife of H. S. 
Datesman, the popular postmaster of Douglas ; 
Jessie F., Mrs. W. Anthens of Douglas ; Ned 
Henry, deceased ; Frank W., a native of Wyo- 
ming. 



432 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



PETER PAULSON. 

A representative pioneer ranch and stockman 
of Laramie county, Wyoming, who was long 
prominent in the upbuilding of this section of 
the state, the late Peter Paulson, formerly a 
leading citizen of Glendo, was born on December 
13, 1836, in Sweden, and grew to man's estate 
in his native country, where he received his edu- 
cation in the public schools and learned the trade 
of wheelwright and remained in that employ- 
ment in his native land up to 1870, when he set 
out for America. Upon his arrival here he went 
first to Nebraska, where he established his home 
first in the city of Omaha, where he remained 
for about one year, thereafter removed his res- 
idence to Big Springs, where he accepted a 
paying position with the Union Pacific Railroad. 
Here he remained for about four months, 
in the fall of 1872 coming to Cheyenne, 
in the then territory of Wyoming where he was 
employed as a wheelwright by the U. S. gov- 
ernment at Camp Carlin, Wyo. in the building 
of wagons for the use of the U. S. troops on the 
frontier during the Indian wars, remaining here 
for eleven years. During a large portion of this 
time the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were on 
the war-path, and he was a witness to and a 
participant in many exciting scenes of frontier 
warfare. In 1883, he left the employ of the 
United States and came to the vicinity of Horse- 
shoe -Creek, Wyo., and settled with his family 
upon the ranch which was his residence for many 
years, and where his widow now resides. He 
was one of the earliest settlers in this section 
and also one of the first to recognize its superior 
advantages as a cattle country. He immediately 
engaged in raising cattle and horses, in which he 
met with marked success, increasing his holdings 
of lands and stock from year to year, until he 
became one of the leading property owners of 
that vicinity, and was looked upon as one of the 
substantial business men of Laramie county. He 
did much for the development of the resources 
of the section and his sudden death was a great 
loss to the community. He was widely known and 
was honored by all classes of men for his many 
sterling traits of character, and his life of in- 



dustry, thrift, and good deeds furnishes a high 
example for the emulation of others. Keen of 
judgment, able in his business transactions, loyal 
to his family and friends, true to every obligation 
of duty in both private and public life, he was a 
fine type of the useful citizen who makes the 
world better. Frugal in his habits and successful 
in his undertakings, he left a large estate to his 
widow, who now manages the business and cares 
for the property along the same prudent lines 
followed by her husband. The home ranch of 
820 acres of land, well fenced and much of it 
under effective ^irrigation, is one of the finest 
places in that fertile section of the state, and 
was a highly prolific source of satisfaction to Mr. 
Paulson. On June 8, 1872, he was. united 
in wedlock at the town of North Platte, Neb., to 
Miss Johanna Olson, a native of Sweden,' whose 
parents were highly respected citizens of that 
country. Three children were born to bless their 
home, Oscar A., born on July 3. 1874, died on 
September 17, 1901 ; H. Gertrude, now Mrs. 
Mitchell; Lloyd R., born on January 5. 1878, 
died on April 20, 1880. Their home life was a 
notably happy one, and their place of residence 
was notable for the gracious and generous hos- 
pitality which they dispensed to their many 
friends. Mr. Paulson and his family were devout 
members of the Lutheran church, deeply in- 
terested in all works of charity and religion in 
the community where they maintained their home. 
He was active and prominent in the work of the 
Sundav-school, and wherever there was an op- 
portunity to promote the welfare of his fellow 
men he took a foremost part. He was. a good 
man. a member of the Woodmen of the World 
and a citizen that the community could illy afford 
to lose. He was a stanch member of the Repub- 
lican party, a strong and conscientious supporter 
of the principles of that political organization, 
being one of its most trusted leaders in his sec- 
tion of the state, but ne\ er sought office, prefer- 
ring to devote his time and attention to the care 
of his business interests. His widow continues 
to reside at the old home, ably demonstrating 
that she is capable of managing the large prop- 
erty in a manner worthy of her late husband, 
beine held in the highest esteem. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



433 



GEORGE E. PAXTON. 

This well-known citizen of Evanston, Wyo- 
ming, was born in Berlin, N. Y., the son of 
George and Catherine (Rivenburg) Paxton, in 
1862, his father being a native of Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, where he was born in 1830, coming to 
Berlin, N. Y., when eighteen years old, becom- 
ing then a very successful farmer and hop- 
grower and an active Republican, serving as town 
assessor for twenty-one years. His wife was 
born in Albany, N. Y., in 1832 and died at Ber- 
lin in 1896, being the mother of three children. 
Both husband and wife were devoted Methodists. 
George E. Paxton received his early education 
in the public schools at Berlin coming to Evans- 
ton, Wyo., at the age of twenty-four, there first 
taking employment as a clerk for Blyth & Fargo. 
In 1893 he went into the hotel business in which 
he has been remarkably successful. It takes 
special qualifications to conduct two hotels suc- 
cessfully in a town such as Evanston ; but. Mr. 
Paxton exhibits all of these qualifications in a 
high degree in his management of the Pacific 
Hotel and the Marks House, being also a part- 
ner in the firm of Paxton & Hilard of Ogden, 
Utah. Mr. Paxton is an active and influential 
Republican, being a member of the State Cen- 
tral Committee of that political party, and he 
is also affiliated with the Freemasons of Ev- 
anston and also with the Elks of Salt Lake 
City. He was married in 1886 with Anna Saun- 
ders, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, who has 
borne him two sons, Ellsworth and Sidney. 

WALTER D. PEASE. 

One of the leading civil engineers of Wyo- 
ming, Walter D. Pease, of the city of Cheyenne, 
was born in Broome county, N. Y., on November 
21, 1833, the son of Ephraim B. and Caroline 
(Barnes) Pease, natives of the Empire state. He 
was the eldest of a family of three children, and 
grew to man's estate in Broome county, and at- 
tended the district schools near the parental home 
until he had attained seventeen years of age. He 
then occupied his time during the winter sea- 



sons in teaching school, while during the sum- 
mers he worked on his father's farm in Broome 
county. He continued to be thus employed until 
he arrived at the age of twenty-two years, when 
he left the home of his childhood and early man- 
hood for the state of Illinois, establishing him- 
self in Altona in Knox county, in the grain and 
lumber business. He remained here for over 
two years, during a portion of the time being a 
teacher in the public schools of Altona. At the 
end of that time he removed his residence to 
Pike's Peak, joining the great stampede thither. 
Subsequently he went to Denver, Colo., where he 
was appointed assistant postmaster, after he had 
served for a time as a clerk in ' the postoffice. 
During the Civil War he enlisted in the Third 
Colorado Cavalry, expecting to be ordered to the 
front but the U. S. government refused to re- 
lease him from his position in the postoffice until 
1865, when the war was practically over. He 
was thus prevented from becoming an active 
participant in the Civil War, notwithstanding 
his earnest desire to do his country military ser- 
vice. Upon leaving the postoffice in 1865 he 
engaged in freighting from Denver to Cheyenne 
and the Missouri River and continued in this 
pursuit for about two years. The Indians were 
very troublesome along the lines of his travel 
and he had many exciting experiences and dan- 
gerous encounters, but escaped without serious 
injury. In 1868, during the early days of Chey- 
enne, he there established himself in a grocery 
business, in which he continued until 1881. He 
then disposed of his mercantile establishment, 
and settled on his ranch near Cheyenne, that he 
had entered as the first homestead in Wyoming, 
where he engaged in stockraising and dairy farm- 
ing for some time and sold his ranch to the city 
of Cheyenne as a site for the municipal water- 
works. He then opened an office as a civil en- 
gineer and the greater portion of his time since 
has been occupied in the practice of that pro- 
fession. Subsequently he was appointed state 
water commissioner for the district of Laramie 
county, holding that position about twelve years. 
For three terms he has held the office of county 
surveyor of Laraiiiie county, at the present writ- 



434 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ing (1902) being the efficient and popular in- 
cumbent of the position. In 1899 he was ap- 
pointed as city water commissioner and city en- 
gineer of Cheyenne and still occupies those posi- 
tions, discharging their duties with entire satis- 
faction to the people and to the city government. 
Mr. Pease has been a lifelong member of the Re- 
publican part)-, a stanch advocate of its princi- 
ples and a loyal supporter of its candidates. In 
public life and private station he enjoys the re- 
spect, confidence and regard of all classes of ru c 
fellow citizens, being affiliated with the Masonic 
fraternity as the only, surviving member of the 
charter members of the Cheyenne Lodge of A. 
F. & A. M. He is also a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, holding the position of 
quartermaster of his local lodge. He is both a 
member and a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and one of the most valued citizens of the 
community. In 1857 m the state of Illinois Mr. 
Pease was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Note- 
ware, whose parents were well-known and highly 
respected residents of that state. To their union 
was ■ born one child, Mary L., now Mrs. John 
Storrie. Mrs. Pease died in 1872, and about 
two years later Mr. Pease married with Miss 
Sarah E. Cory, of Cheyenne, Wyo. They have 
one child, Bertha M., now Mrs. George E. Harri- 
son of Wheatland, Wyo. Mr. Pease is one of 
the most highly respected citizens of Cheyenne, 
of which he was one of the founders and earliest 
settlers. He was a pioneer of the western coun- 
try and has contributed his full share in chang- 
ing it from its pristine condition of wildness 
and savagery to its present civilization. 

WORDEN P. NOBLE. 

A man of force and influence in the financial 
and business circles of two states, holding im- 
portant and extensive interests in both, and so- 
cially well esteemed wherever he is known, Wor- 
den P. Noble, of Lander, Wyoming, and Salt 
Lake City, LTtah, is an impressive illustration of 
the possibilities open to pluck, business capacity 
and integrity in the new communities of the 
Northwest, and his example is an incitement to 



struggling merit everywhere. He was born at 
Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., on December 24, 1847, 
a son of William and Jane A. (Payne) Noble. 
His father, an influential and prosperous civil 
engineer and farmer, died at the age of forty- 
five, and thereafter his family had to make their 
own way. The mother, a daughter of Worden 
and Augusta (Warder) Payne, being a descend- 
ant of old Colonial families, accepted her fate 
with commendable heroism, and by devoted ef- 
forts kept her children together and provided 
for their wants until they were able to help them- 
selves. She lived to see them all well established 
and applying in every day life the lessons of 
thrift and frugality which she had so carefully 
inculcated, and in 1892 her useful life ended at 
Lander, Wyo. Their son Worden was the sec- 
ond of their six children, all of whom are living, 
and one, Fred F., is mentioned at length on an- 
other page of this volume. Worden Noble re- 
ceived a common-school education in New York 
state, and later was graduated from the Commer- 
cial College at Watertown. In 1866 he turned 
his back on the home and associations of his 
childhood and youth, and sought a new location 
towards the setting sun in which his hopes might 
expand and flourish. For three years prior to 
1866 he had tried business life in the East, in a 
sutler's store in Washington, but tiring of this, 
he came to St. Joseph, Mo., and there engaged 
to work his way to Omaha as cabin boy on a 
Missouri River steamboat, and, liking the ex- 
perience, he remained on the boat during the 
summer. In the fall of 1866 he became the night 
clerk at the Herendeen hotel at Omaha, and 
passed the winter there in that capacity, coming 
on, in the spring, to the country now embraced 
in Wyoming, where, at Fort Laramie, he took 
charge of the business of Jules, Ecoffey & Cuny. 
government contractors, with whom he remained 
about a vear. At that time Cheyenne had not 
an existence, and in the spring of 1868 he re- 
moved to Atlantic City and engaged in general 
merchandising, hauling his goods from Fort 
Laramie and Point of Rocks. He did a thriv- 
ing business for a year, then sold it and engaged 
in government contracting and teaming, haul- 



! 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



435 



ing with ox teams nearly all the lumber used 
in the erection of Camp Stanbaugh. During 
this time he had a number of thrilling experi- 
ences with the Indians. At one time one of his 
men was killed and he frequently lost cattle and 
horses by the raids of the savages. In 1877 he 
started a little cattle business for himself, and 
the next year sold his freighting outfit and gave 
his entire attention to his stock interests which 
were thriving on the Sweetwater. In 1880 he 
removed his stock to Nowood, and in the win- 
ter of 1882 sold them and again began merchan- 
dising, keeping an agency store at the Indian res- 
ervation as a member of the firm of Valentine & 
Noble. Soon after starting this enterprise he 
purchased the interest of his partner Valentine 
and associated a Mr. Lane with the business. 
In 1885 he and Mr. Lane started their store at 
Lander, and in 1890 established the bank at the 
same place, taking Mr. Noble's brother Fred in 
as a partner and making the style of the firm 
Noble, Lane & Noble. This was a much needed 
institution and has been of great service to the 
community. In 1882, Mr. Noble again turned 
his attention to cattle, starting with a good herd 
and a flock of 2,000 sheep. He has increased 
this number to 60,000 head of sheep and greatly 
added to and improved his herd of cattle, hav- 
ing also sheep interests at Noble and Carmody. 
He is also extensively engaged in business in 
Nevada, and in the autumn of 1883 he removed 
to Salt Lake City. Seeing opportunities there for 
new business enterprises, he at once put forces 
in motion for the organization and incorporation 
of the Commercial National Bank in that city, 
becoming its vice-president, as he also is of the 
bank at Lander. By careful investments, Mr. 
Noble has acquired considerable valuable real- 
estate in the Mormon city, and has extensive 
similar properties at Nowood in Bighorn county, 
Wyo., being also connected there with Fred 
Bragg in the mercantile business. Everything 
pertaining to the welfare and progress of the 
state enlists his earnest attention. His interest 
in public affairs induced him to accept the office 
of county commissioner of Sweetwater county, 
at a critical time in its historv, and he srave to its 



needs close and fruitful care. He has also served 
as a member of the state legislature, and in Salt 
Lake City has been a valued member of the city 
council. In that body his vigorous disciplinary 
powers were of great service as chairman of the 
police and fire commission. On December 25, 

1869, he was married at Atlantic City to Miss 
Maggie Holloran of Irish ancestry, who died in 
California in July, 1893, at the age of forty-seven 
years and was buried at Salt Lake. She left sur- 
viving her four children, Ida J. ; Fred W., man- 
ager of the large ranch in Nevada belonging to 
the Clover Valley Land & Stock Co., of which 
Mr. Noble is the president, and which owns 60,- 
000 acres of land; Edith, now the wife of Robert 
Smith of Salt Lake ; and Mayme. 

WM. L. WHEELER. 

After long years of strenuous life in buffeting 
with the world on the vast plains of the West, 
William L. AVheeler, an honored pioneer and 
successful stockman on Beaver Creek, Wyoming, 
his valuable ranch being eligibly located a short 
distance south of the little village of Lone Tree, 
is passing the evening twilight of his life in the 
beautiful home his energy has evolved from the 
primeval wilderness, surrounded by choice herds 
of excellent stock and he has the satisfaction of 
knowing that his own ability, industry and men- 
tal action are responsible for this pleasant condi- 
tion of affairs and that he is beholden to none 
other than himself in the acquisition of his prop- 
erty. He was born on July 11, 1837, in Columbia 
county, N. Y., a son of William and Phoebe 
(Bennett) Wheeler, and is the sole survivor of 
his father's family. Attending the New York 
schools until he was twenty years of age, in 
1857 he entered upon his long and eventful 
western life by crossing the continent from St. 
Louis to Casper, Wyo., with an ox-train, which 
was carrying supplies for the Deer Creek Indian 
agency. He continued in this freighting until 
1861, then at Pike's Peak, Colo., he engaged in 
mining to some extent, soon reverting however 
to freighting, pursuing these employments until 

1870, when he came to Fort Bridger, and for 



43^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



twenty years thereafter was a faithful and re- 
spected employe of Hon. W. A. Carter and the 
Carter estate, only closing his connection there- 
with to found a home and conduct stock opera- 
tions for himself. In 1890 he located on the 
quarter-section of government land that is now 
his home and here he has devoted himself to the 
raising of a superior class of cattle, having at the 
present time a choice herd of finely graded Here- 
ford stock, being prospered in his undertakings 
as the result of his care, his discrimination and 
his superior knowledge of the business. His ranch 
is most eligibly located and in an advanced state 
of improvement, his land consisting of excel- 
lent meadow ground which returns him boun- 
teous crops of hay. He is held in high esteem 
as a citizen and a neighbor and in a quiet way he 
takes great interest in public matters of local in- 
terest and supports the Democratic political 
party. 

B. F. PERKINS. 

An attorney-at-law and also the capable presi- 
dent of the Bank of Commerce at Sheridan," 
Wyoming, Mr. B. F. Perkins was born in Balti- 
more, Md., on September 15, 1857, being a son of 
Benjamin B. and Margaret R. (Emory) Perkins, 
both natives of the state of Maryland. Benjamin 
B. Perkins maintained his residence in his . 
native state until about 1880, and from there 
he removed to Philadelphia, where he still re- 
sides. He was a graduate from -the Jefferson 
Medical College of Pennsylvania and also took 
a postgraduate course in the Homeopathic Col- 
lege of Philadelphia. He was a very successful 
physician and achieved a high reputation, and 
it was not until he had attained the age of sev- 
enty-eight years that he retired from active 
practice. In 1900 he and his wife celebrated 
the anniversary that marked their fiftieth year 
of happy married life, or in other words, they 
celebrated their golden wedding. Their family 
comprises eight children, of whom three arc 
still living. B. F. Perkins was educated in Phil- 
adelphia and, after leaving school, entered a 
conveyancer's office, where he was soon inducted 
into the practical application of business rules. 



and while still in that service he was admitted 
into the law department of the University of 
Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 
1882, the same year being admitted to the Phil- 
adelphia bar. Owing to rapidly failing health, 
however, Mr. Perkins was absolutely compelled 
to look for a change of climate, and accordingly 
left Philadelphia on May 30, 1883, and at once 
came west, locating at Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
and there he resided until September, 1883, 
when he removed to Buffalo, in the same state. 
His health having improved at once and con- 
tinuing to improve steadily, he changed his resi- 
dence shortly afterward to Mead Creek, thirty 
miles distant from Buffalo, and there passed 
one winter. In the spring of 1884 he removed 
to Sheridan, being employed by J. D. Laucks 
in the grocery business, and he also engaged in 
the real-estate business for himself, in connec- 
tion with the practice of law until the fall of 
1884, when he was elected justice of the peace. 
In the spring of 1885 he severed his connection 
with Mr. Laucks and engaged in the same line 
of business exclusively for himself and so con- 
tinued until 1888, when he was appointed post- 
master of Sheridan, an office he satisfactorily 
filled for four years. During his incumbency of 
this office he formed a partnership with E. L. 
Mills and started a small store in conjunction 
with the postoffice and also continued acting in 
his office of justice of the peace. After the ter- 
mination of his term of service as postmaster. 
the business of his store having largely in- 
creased, Mr. Perkins and his partner continued 
merchandising as E. L. Mills & Co., until Mr. 
Perkins was appointed as the clerk of the 
District Court, when he sold out his interest 
to Mr. Mills. Upon the organization of Sheri- 
dan county and the admission of Wyoming as 
a state of the Union, Mr! Perkins was elected 
and reelected to the same office. In 1803 he re- 
signed this position and was elected vice-presi- 
dent of the Bank of Commerce, of which finan- 
cial institution on July 13. 1893, he was elected 
president, his present office. In the meantime 
he had filled all the other official positions of 
the bank, teller, cashier, etc., having reached 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



437 



his present exalted and responsible position 
strictly through his merits. He now owns a 
controlling" interest in this bank, the condition 
of which at this writing may be stated as fol- 
lows : Capital stock, $30,000; surplus, $25,000; 
undivided profits, $40,000 ; deposits, $270,000 ; 
loans, $290,000. The first marriage of Mr. Per- 
kins took place on December 6, 1887, with Miss 
Clara Cotten of Lawrence county, Pa., a sister 
of the late Thomas Cotten, one of the respected 
early settlers of Sheridan and an able lawyer, 
who held many prominent positions in the 
county. Mrs. Perkins was called from earth 
in July, 1900, and his second marriage was cele- 
brated on January 15, 1902, -the bride being 
Miss Rose Hann of Sidney, Iowa, one of the 
most popular teachers of Sheridan. Mr. Per- 
kins in 1893 served as the mayor of Sheridan 
and has also been town trustee and town presi- 
dent, and may be truthfully designated as one 
of the most popular men in Sheridan county. 
He is a Knight of Pythias and is also an able 
member of the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks. In society circles Mr. Perkins and fam- 
ily move in the highest, while as a citizen no 
man is more highly esteemed in the city or 
county of Sheridan than this very pleasant gen- 
tleman and financier. 

HENRY PERRY. 

While we cannot, except in a relative sense, 
call anything old in the civilization of the west- 
ern states, or claim for it the merit of antiquity, 
yet there has been crowded into the history of 
the Great Northwest so much of heroic effort 
and heroic achievement that the mark of its 
advancement is as high as those of man)' sec- 
tions on which rests the majesty of centuries. 
Surely no race of men have anywhere accom- 
plished more, braved more, endured more than 
the pioneers of this state, and among the heroic 
"oldtimers" of the pioneer period on whom 
time has set the seal of approval, which seldom 
comes' except to the departed, no one is more 
entitled to honorable mention than the venera- 
ble Henry Perry, who is now living a retired 



life on Henry's Fork, Uinta county, surrounded 
by children and children's children, who delight 
to do him reverence. He was born in St. Louis 
county, Mo., on January 28, 1830, a son of John 
and Theresa (Marshall) Perry, natives of Can- 
ada and Missouri. The father descends from 
an ancient family of France, the name originally 
being Paria. Locating in Missouri when a 
young man, the father there married and re- 
sided until his death in 1859, his farming opera- 
tions being broken only by his participation as 
a soldier in the early Indian wars, wherein he 
acquitted himself most nobly. His son, Henry, 
was the ninth of a family of twelve children and, 
as his childhood's home was on the very fron- 
tier, he had absolutely no advantages for educa- 
tion in the schools, for he early engaged in 
driving mules for the U. S. government, con- 
tinuing this in the Santa Fe region for two 
years, then individually conducting freighting 
with ox-teams from Independence, Mo., to 
Santa Fe, at that time belonging to Mexico. 
Returning to Missouri at the end of a year of 
freighting he remained in his native state until 
1851, when he became a "pioneer of pioneers" 
in Wyoming, where for six years he followed 
trapping for beaver and hunting buffalo. The 
Indians were in full possession of the country 
and many were the wild adventures and thrill- 
ing were the experiences that fell to the lot 
of Mr. Perry in the strenuous life of the new 
lands. Once his train and another one which 
joined it were attacked by combined bands of 
Comanches and Kiowas on the Santa Fe trail, 
the result being the repulse of the Indians. At 
another time he was in a fight with Indians near 
the present Sweetwater, where again the whites 
were successful, the savages having a large 
number killed. But a volume would scarcely 
contain all the exciting episodes in which Mr. 
Perry had part. For many years he conducted 
a profitable stock business, a few years ago re- 
tiring from active labor, secure from adverse 
fortune and firmly fixed in the regard and es- 
teem of his fellows. He was a resident in his 
present locality in 1854, when the Mormons 
built Fort Supply and during the three years of 



438 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



their occupancy of it he frequently bought vege- 
tables of them. When he came across the 
plains he had six yokes of oxen attached to 
two wagons, and among his companions in 
hunting and trapping were Tim Goodwell, 
Mitchell Harden and Joe and John Baker, the 
noted Indian scouts, and he was also himself 
a scout and a guide against the Indians' with 
the regular troops in 1857, when they were 
called thither by the report of the Mountain 
Meadow massacre. On May 17, 1865, and at 
Virginia City, Montana, Mr. Perry was united 
in holy marriage with Miss Louisa Wade, a 
daughter of James and Sarah (Elliott) Wade, 
natives of Illinois, four of their five children 
are now living, Sarah, wife of George Herford 
of Henry's Fork ; Mary T., wife of Charles 
Eberhart of Rock Springs ; James G. ; Laura, 
wife of Thomas Casto, a prominent sheepman 
of Uinta county, Wyo. The youngest, Lillie, who 
married E. Mason of Lander, is now deceased. 
James G. Perry, the son of Henry and Louisa 
(Wade) Perry, was born in the mining camp of 
Rochester Gulch, Mont., on December 19, 1868, 
and from the exigencies of the situation his edu- 
cation in textbooks was necessarily limited. 
But by diligent study and judicious reading at 
every opportunity he has acquired a valuable 
fund of knowledge. He early engaged in the 
stock business, following it successfully until 
April 1, 1902, when he transferred his. energies 
to merchandising at Mountain View, where the 
qualifications which won his success in his for- 
mer vocation are still in evidence, showing sat- 
isfactory results. • He still owns his well-im- 
proved ranch of 320 acres and five town lots, 
two at Mountain View and three at Piedmont. 
His first claim and location of 160 acres was 
made on Smith's Fork, five miles southwest of 
his present residence. In politics he is a firm 
believer in the policies of the Republican party, 
and gives to its needs an earnest, thoughtful 
and helpful attention. He married with Miss 
Nellie Hendrie, a daughter of William M. and 
Sarah (Oderkirk) Hendrie, at Fort Bridger, 
Wyo., on April 15, 1893, and their family con- 
tains two children, Lillie L. and Albert G. The 



Perry family is one of the long established and 
sterling families of Uinta county and in the 
pleasant homes of its various branches a truly 
pioneer hospitality is graciously displayed. 

JOHN PETTY. 

The record of a busy and successful life must 
ever prove of interest and profit when scanned 
by the student who would learn of the intrinsic 
essence of individuality. "The proper study of 
mankind is man," says one of England's most 
distinguished poets, a fact demonstrated by all 
history, for history is but the record of the 
lives and achievements of men in their relations 
to one another. In the life of the gentleman 
whose name furnishes the caption of this re- 
view there are no thrilling pages, yet it con- 
tains a record of activity, laudable endeavor and 
duty well done, which, if properly contemplated, 
must prove interesting and profitable reading. 
John Petty is one of the best-known and most 
popular men of that part of Laramie county, 
of which he is an honored resident. A south- 
erner by birth, he is to all intents and purposes 
a western man, belonging to that large and en- 
terprising class that has done so much in recent 
years to develop this part of the American com- 
monwealth. He was born in Fannin county, 
Ga., on March 10, 1856, the son of Elijah and 
Sarah (Parker) Petty, natives of that state. The 
father, a well-to-do farmer of Fannin county. 
spent all of his life there, dying on April 27, 
1 881, the mother long surviving him, and dy- 
ing on August 19, 1897. Mr. Petty was reared 
to agricultural pursuits in his native county 
and there acquired a fair knowledge of the Eng- 
lish branches under competent instructors. He 
grew up a continued help to his father, whom 
he assisted on the farm until attaining his 'ma- 
jority, when he began life for himself, choosing 
for a vocation the time-honored calling of agri- 
culture, and on March 27, 1881, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Angeline Woody of Fan- 
nin county, a daughter of Conrad and Elizabeth 
(Hunt) Woody, and he immediately thereafter 
took his bride to the farm he had previously 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



439 



been cultivating. The place formerly belonged 
to his father and came into the son's possession 
about the time he left home to engage in agri- 
cultural pursuits upon his own responsibility. 
Mr. Petty remained in Georgia until 1887, when 
he sold his place and came to Wyoming, locat- 
ing on Sand Creek, Laramie county, where he 
carried on agriculture with success and finan- 
cial profit until 1891. In that -year he changed his 
location to the Wheatland district, near which 
place he followed his chosen calling until be- 
coming foreman of the ranch on Sybylle Creek, 
belonging to the Swan Land and Cattle Co., 
when he moved to that place, which is about 
seven miles west of Wheatland. As manager 
of the company's large interests on Sybylle 
Creek Mr. Petty displayed fine business qualifi- 
cations and executive ability of a high order. 
Untiring in his efforts, he has added much to 
the company's prestige and has extended the 
scope of its undertakings, proving most efficient 
and faithful in the discharge of his duties. The 
ranch is devoted mostly to the raising of hay 
during the summer and fall and to the feeding 
of stock in the winter, and embraces an area 
of hundreds of acres, being one of the largest 
and most important properties of the kind in 
this section of the state. In connection with 
his work as manager of the above ranch Mr. 
Petty has land of his own on the Wheatland 
Flats, where for several years he has been en- 
gaged in cattleraising for himself. He has done 
well in a financial way, accumulating a liberal 
competence and surrounding himself with many 
of the conveniences which make life in the west- 
ern country pleasant and desirable. He has 
a comfortable home and his place, although not 
as large as some others in the district, is well im- 
proved and presents attractive features, be- 
speaking the residence of a family of energy 
and thrift. Mr. Petty takes an active interest 
in the public affairs of his county and aids and 
encourages all enterprises tending to its prog- 
ress and development. In politics he is a Dem- 
ocrat, and while not a zealous party worker, he 
keeps himself well posted on the questions and 
issues of the day, having no hesitancy in ex- 



pressing his opinions when it becomes necessary 
to do so. Mr. and Mrs. Petty have ten children, 
whose names are as follows : Sarah, Elizabeth, 
Joseph, Victoria, Ran, Hattie, Rosa, John, Car- 
rie and Cora. Mrs. Petty's father and mother 
still live on the old family homestead in Fannin 
county, Ga., where their lives have been spent. 
They have reached a ripe old age and take great 
interest in the welfare of their grandchildren 
who are growing up in the West. 

THE PHILLIPS BROTHERS. 

In the development of the great West it is 
noticeable that many of those who have been 
at the head of the leading industrial enterprises 
and other departments of its strenuous en- 
deavor and limitless possibilities have been cool 
and well-balanced sons of England, who here 
find scope for their rugged activities and set 
the citizens of America object lessons of rare 
value. And so, when mentioning the leading 
factors of a new industry of great prospective 
value to the county of Converse and the city 
of Douglas in particular, we find the Western 
Oil Co. (limited) and the Labonte Oil Syndi-. 
cate of Douglas, pioneer institutions in the de- 
velopment and exploitation of the petroleum 
fields of this section of the state, and that their 
interests are well conserved, protected and for- 
warded by the Phillips Bros., who have large 
investments therein and hold the important offi- 
cial positions of the corporations, in the com- 
pilation of a volume reviewing the "Progressive 
Men of Wyoming," they must be catalogued. 
The Phillips name has ever stood in advance 
for all that represents high intellectual attain- 
ments, brilliant commercial ability and citizen- 
ship of the very highest and most unselfish char- 
acter, in America some of the most notable ones 
being that wonderful orator and humanitarian, 
Wendell Phillips, and the philanthropic founder 
of those great preparatory schools of New Eng- 
land, the Phillips Andover and Phillips Exeter 
academies. The name in England has been 
synonymous ever with the best civilization, has 
ranked with the nobilitv and been ranged in the 



440 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



assemblages of knighthood. The subjects of this 
article descend, through a younger branch, 
from one of the oldest of Welsh families, which 
numbers among its members several princes of 
Wales, who were foremost in aiding the strenu- 
ous efforts of the Welsh people to preserve the 
independence of their country, and who were 
successful in so doing, until the union with Eng- 
land under Edward I. The family still retains 
the patriotic motto: "Ducil amor patrice." J. 
Bevan Phillips, the eldest of the three brothers, 
who came to Wyoming in the eighties, ranks as 
a most skillful and successful architect. The 
love of art and architecture is apparently hered- 
itary, as within the last two centuries several 
members of the family have been very prom- 
inent in the artistic professions.. Thomas Phil- 
lips, the great-great-grandfather of the Phillips 
Brothers, held the post of royal architect to 
his majesty, King George II, and was in charge 
of all public works under that monarch. He 
was also an enthusiastic collector of fine pic- 
tures, which he kept at his country seat in Ox- 
fordshire. His son, William, was prominent in 
London as an architect and engineer and there 
erected many well-known public works. He 
was killed by a highwayman in 1776. His son 
William, who was a mere lad at his father's 
death, followed in his footsteps and prospered 
exceedingly in the same line of business. John, 
his son, was very successful as a mining en- 
gineer until his death, which occurred while the 
subjects of our sketch were yet children. He 
married Jane Atkins, who came of a family re- 
nowned for their legal learning, as is in evi- 
dence on monuments erected in Westminster 
Abbey, London. Mr. J. Bevan Phillips, the eldest 
son of John and Jane (Atkins) Phillips, was 
born in London on July 21, 1857, received his 
elementary discipline in that city, supplement- 
ing this by a five-years' attendance at celebrated 
schools of Germany, a portion of this time be- 
ing passed as a student of art at the Royal 
Academy of Arts at Dresden, Saxony. On his 
return to England he was apprenticed to Alfred 
Waterhouse, R. A., L. L. D., remaining with 
him in the further study of architecture for eight 



years, being a regular attendant during this pe- 
riod at the Royal Academy. Following these 
years of study Mr. Phillips came to America 
in 1886 and settled in Denver, Colo., where he 
carried on his profession for many years, erect- 
ing during that time a number of the most 
prominent buildings in that city. In 1895 ne 
came to Wyoming to look into the mining in- 
dustries of the state. In the course of his in- 
vestigations he traveled over the greater part 
of the state, till finally, on the discovery of indi- 
dications of oil in Converse county, he joined 
his brother, Arthur W. Phillips, at Douglas, in 
his efforts to secure the development of this 
field. Mr. Phillips holds memberships with the 
Masonic lodge, chapter and commandery at 
Denver, Colo. Arthur W. Phillips was born in 
London, England, April 18, 1862, and was edu- 
cated in England and Germany, afterward pass- 
ing four years at sea in the merchant-marine 
service. In 1885, learning of the great oppor- 
tunities presented to capital, energy and indus- 
try in ranging cattle in Wyoming, he came 
hither and established himself in the stock busi- 
ness, his brother, Lawrence C. Phillips, joining 
him a year later, and in association they con- 
tinued ranching until 1891. In 1887 Mr. Phillips 
married Miss Edith M. B. Greenwood, a daugh- 
ter of Judge Henry C. Greenwood. Esq., of 
Stoke-on-Trent, England. They have a family of 
four girls. Mr. Arthur W. Phillips may justly be 
called the pioneer in the oil development of 
Converse county, as he it was who located the 
first claim in the county. Much credit is due 
to him and his brother Bevan for the strenuous 
and unremitting efforts made to interest neces- 
sary capital, notwithstanding the greatest dis- 
couragements and often most unreasonable op- 
position. Lawrence C. Phillips, the third broth- 
er already mentioned, is a solicitor of the Su- 
preme Court in ' England. After joining his 
brothers in Wyoming and passing several years 
in cattle and horseraising in Albany and Con- 
verse counties, he again took up the practice of 
profession in 1891. After a year's residence 
in Laramie, he finally settled in Denver, Colo., 
where he devoted himself principally and with 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



44i 



marked success to the investment business. He 
married in 1895 Miss S. J. Gates of Laramie, 
elder daughter of Mr. J. E. Gates, who was joint 
proprietor with the late Judge Hayford of the 
"Sentinel," the oldest newspaper of Wyoming. 
Mr. L. C. Phillips has two children, a girl and 
a boy. 

GEORGE F. PFISTERER. 

The owner of 160 acres of productive land 
on the bench near Mountain View and having 
the honor of being a veteran of the Spanish- 
American War, wherein he very bravely served 
against a barbarous enemy in the far-away 
Philippines, George F. Pfisterer has seen much 
of strange lands, peoples and customs since his 
birth in New York City on Christmas day, 1864, 
a son of David and Louisa (Miller) Pfisterer. 
the father being a native of Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, and the mother of Bavaria. The father 
came to Xew York in 1853 and there conducted 
a flourishing business as a tailor until he died in 
Brooklyn on February 18, 1884. He left thir- 
teen children, of whom the following are living, 
Henry, George F.. Herman, a soldier in Co. G, 
Seventeenth U. S. Infantry; Fred, a bridge- 
builder in New York City ; John, living near 
Lyman, Wyo. ; Rose, wife of Peter Olsen of 
Huntsville, Utah ; David, of Nevada. In 1892 
the widow married with Harry Weitzel, a retired 
soldier, of Huntsville, Utah, where they are now 
living. George F. Pfisterer after his graduation 
from an excellent high school in New York 
learned and followed his father's trade of tailor, 
becoming noted for his skill in the departments 
of cutting and fitting, and he was associated in 
business with his father as manufacturing tailors 
until the death of the parent in 1884. Two years 
later, on July 6, 1886, the son enlisted in the 
military service of the United States as a pri- 
vate in Co. H, Twenty-first U. S. Infantry. 
Soon after he was made tailor for the company 
and accompanied the command to Fort Bridger, 
Wyo., remaining there until the abandonment 
of the post in 1890, when he accompanied it in 
its various movements to Salt Lake City, where 
he was discharged in 1891 at Camp Douglas, 



from there going to South Dakota, to Buffalo 
and on to Plattsburg, N. Y., where at the bar- 
racks he reenlisted in April, 1898, in the same 
regiment but in Co. E, for service in the Spanish- 
American War. In Cuba he participated in the 
historic battle of San Juan Hill, upon his return 
to New York being transferred to his old com- 
pany H on February 22, 1899, with which he 
proceeded to the Philippines, where he was in 
constant and active service, taking part in the 
fierce battle of Zapodia Bridge, with the ex- 
pedition sent from Marong to Paete on July 
16 to 20, 1899, in the engagement at Calam- 
bra on July 26, 2j and 30 and also the later 
one at Bantanges, being honorably discharged 
at Laguinoc in the province of Tayabas, Luzon, 
in April, 1901, immediately coming to the United 
States and locating temporarily at Huntsville, 
Utah, from whence he removed to Uinta county, 
Wyo., in 1902, and settled on his present site. 
An intelligent citizen, a gallant soldier, a pro- 
gressive and enterprising commercial force, the 
community is honored by his residence among 
its people. He is politically connected with the 
Republican party and fraternally belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, holding 
membership at Plattsburg, N. Y., having in his 
heart the full knowledge of its teachings. 

ALEXANDER POWERS. 

One of the proprietors of the active livery 
business of J. B. Powers & Co., at Sheridan, 
Wyo., the p'incipal business of the character 
within a very large scope of country, Alexan- 
der Powers was born in Gentry county, Mis- 
souri, on July 29, 1871, being the son of J. 
B. and Rebecca J. (Whitten) Powers, natives 
of Virginia who came to Missouri after the close 
of the Civil War, when their native state was 
still suffering deeply from the awful effects of 
that sanguinary contest. The father was a skill- 
ful blacksmith and an enterprising man who es- 
tablished a shop for working at his trade in 
Gentry county and conducted it with vigor until 
1893, when he removed to Wyoming and at 
Sheridan opened an enterprise of the same kind, 



442 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



a little later .purchasing the livery barn and outfit 
which two of his sons are now conducting. He 
personally carried on his shop and livery busi- 
ness until his death on July 9, 1901. His son 
Alexander received a common-school education 
in his native county and at an early age went into 
the blacksmithing business in partnership with 
his father and remained with him until his death, 
accompanying him to Wyoming in 1893, after 
that time being connected with him in all his 
undertakings under the firm-name of J. B. 
Powers & Co. A few months after the death 
of his father Mr. Powers took his brother, J. D. 
Powers, into partnership with him and the es- 
tablishment was reorganized and has since been 
conducted under the style of Powers Bros. The 
business is flourishing and deserves the success 
it enjoys, for the gentlemen at the head of it 
understand well all its requirements, sparing no 
effort to meet them. Their vehicles and rigs are 
modern in pattern, sufficient in number and of 
the proper quality to satisfy the demands of an 
exacting taste as well as to perform the arduous 
duties often made necessary by distance of travel 
and inclemency of weather. In politics, Mr. 
Powers is an ardent Democrat and takes an act- 
ive part in the campaigns of his party. Its in- 
terests are always near his heart and his service 
never flags at the important time of close and 
effective work. Ye.t he seeks and desires no 
political office for himself being content to work 
as a soldier in the ranks. He is also deeply and 
intelligently interested in everything that per- 
tains to the welfare of the community, being one 
of the enterprising citizens who believe in the 
the future of Sheridan and are willing to give 
their time and energy towards bringing it for- 
ward as rapidly as circumstances will' permit. 
On April 15, 1890, in Hickory county. Mo., was 
solemnized his marriage with Miss Lillian 
Dougherty, a native of that state and daughter 
of William P. and Armelia Dougherty, old set- 
tlers in their section of old Missouri, where the 
further carried on a prosperous business as a 
blacksmith. Three children have blessed their 
union, Esten, Avery and Verda. They are living 
at home and brighten and cheer the household. 



Mr. Powers is distinguished for his common- 
sense and breadth of view. Neither partisan 
nor factional interest warps his vision where the 
general good is concerned, his independence and 
public spirit being of a strong fiber and excellent 
grain. He takes hold of any public enterprise 
with vigor and pushes it with pertinacity. 

PROF. ARTHUR L. PUTNAM. 

In every section of our country the influence 
of New England has been felt, especially in the 
spread and growth of our educational institu- 
tions. Wherever her people have planted their 
family altars they have sent upward to greet the 
morning sun the curling column from the 
schoolhouse chimney which proclaimed that the 
schoolmaster was at hand and invited all 
comers to his ministrations. And this is well. 
Our immense educational facilities have been 
the strength and support of our civil institu- 
tions. The public school is the sheet anchor 
on which our ship of state relies with its. confi- 
dence and hope. Among the educational forces 
of this western world, particularlv of Wyoming, 
that are entitled to high regard and honorable 
mention everywhere, Prof. Arthur L. Putnam 
is conspicuous by reason of his scholastic at- 
tainments, his progressive spirit, his valuable 
services in school work and his creditable rec- 
ord in public life as an esteemed official in an 
important position. Professor Putnam was 
born on August 20, 1858, in Dane county. Wis., 
the son of George W. and Martha R. (Brewer) 
Putnam, natives of Vermont, and members of 
families resident and influential in New England 
from the earliest Colonial times. George W. 
Putnam being the first of the line to leave the 
land of his fathers and seek a home in the West, 
locating in Dane county. Wis., in 1854. He 
was a carpenter by trade, but in the West was 
engaged mostly in farming. He was a near 
relative of Gen. Israel Putnam of Revolutionary 
fame, and of other patriots of the name whose 
deeds adorn the civil and military annals of 
America in historic periods, showing gallantry 
in everv war and wisdom in every civil crisis. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



443 



The Am'erican progenitor of this line came to 
Plymouth, Mass., in 1634. He was Peter Put- 
nam of sturdy old English ancestry, and ex- 
emplified in his services to the colony the qual- 
ities of manliness, self-reliance, breadth of view 
and lofty courage which have ever distinguished 
his descendants. They have always been people 
of positive convictions and stern adherence to 
them. The professor's father was one of the 
charter 'members of the Republican party, being 
a delegate to its first state convention in Wis- 
consin -in 1856, and following its doctrines 
through the Civil War as a soldier in the First 
Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. After the war he 
settled in Richland county, Wis., and was a 
farmer there until 1893, then he returned to 
Vermont to pass the rest of his days, and there 
died in March, 1899, aged seventy-three years. 
While living in Richland county, Wis., he held 
various public positions and in them all gave 
satisfactory service. He was twice a mem- 
ber of the State Legislature, was once county 
clerk, twice being the county superintendent of 
public instruction. His wife died in 1892 
and reposes by his side in the soil of her 
adopted state. Professor Putnam grew to 
manhood in Richland county, Wis., and there 
received his scholastic training. He completed 
his education at the Richland Center high 
school, teaching in the neighborhood between 
times to get the necessary funds. In 1881 he 
went to Minnesota and remained until 1890, 
teaching in Olmstead and Ramsey counties. In 
the fall of 1890 he came to Wyoming as prin- 
cipal of the schools at Newcastle, a position 
which he filled continuously until January, 1895, 
when he resigned to qualify as county clerk, 
having been elected to that office in the fall of 
1894. He has since filled it acceptably, winning 
in this responsible official station the same 
measure of public esteem that he had secured 
through his educational service. In 1896 he 
was elected as member from Wyoming on the 
board of directors of the National Educational 
Association, and still holds firmly to his inter- 
est in the cause of public education. He is also 
part owner and the editor of the Newcastle 



News-Journal, a weekly paper devoted to the 
advancement of Republican politics and the 
general welfare of the county. This publication 
was begun in 1889 when the town of Newcastle 
was started, and has ever since been the county 
organ of its party. Professor Putnam has been 
connected with it since 1893 and he also has an 
interest in the Garland Mercantile Co. of Gar- 
land, Neb., and in other commercial enterprises 
of value. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights 
of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World at 
Newcastle and to the Red Men and the Modern 
Woodmen of America at Cambria, Wyo. On 
December 23, 1893, at Sundance, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Eva T. Ogden, a native of Ne- 
braska and daughter of David and Mary Og- 
den, emigrants to that state from Illinois. They 
came to the Black Hills as pioneers in 1876, 
and Mrs. Putnam's father was a minister in 
the M. E. church and a merchant at Central 
City, S. D. They afterward moved to Crook 
county, Wyo., where he died in 1897, and his 
widow is now living at Sundance. The Putnams 
have one child, A. Lorraine, born at Newcas- 
tle on November 7, 1897. Mrs. Putnam is an 
active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, earnest in its good works. 

HON. CHARLES A. REALS. 

There is no more popular or highly re- 
spected citizen of Albany county, Wyoming, 
than the present efficient treasurer of that coun- 
ty, Hon. Charles A. Reals, who is a sturdy 
type of the best citizenship of the state and a pub- 
lic official withoat reproach, whom his fellow 
citizens delight to honor, and a man whose name 
is a synonym for probity, fair dealing and popu- 
larity. He was born in Onondaga county, N. Y. 
on October 19, 1843, being a son of William A. 
and Catherine (Foltz) Reals, natives of the 
Empire State. He was the third of a family of 
six children and grew to man's estate in Onon- 
daga county, attending the public schools in the 
vicinity of his home until he had attained to the 
age of eighteen years, when he was among the 
first to respond to the patriotic call of President 



444 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Lincoln for troops to defend the integrity of 
the Union, and enlisted as a member of Battery 
F, Third New York Artillery for service in the 
Union army of the Civil AVar and he was in 
active service for four years, until the close of 
the rebellion. He was in many important en- 
gagements and saw some of the greatest move- 
ments and slaughter ever seen on a field of battle, 
but was fortunate enough to escape without ser- 
ious injury and was mustered out of service as 
a non-commissioned officer in 1865. Returning 
• to New York he remained there but a short time 
before he accepted a position on the railroad at 
Scranton, Pa., and thither removed with his 
family. He remained there until 1869 when he 
removed his residence to the then territory of 
Wyoming. Here he entered the employ of the 
Union Pacific Railway as a locomotive engineer 
and for twenty-nine years he continued in that 
position, one of the most trusted employes of 
the road, being frequently called upon for special 
service when unusual skill and care were re- 
quired. He had the fullest confidence of his em- 
ployers and the highest regard of the people of 
.the community in which he maintained his home. 
Upon the admission of Wyoming as a state in the 
Union, Mr. Reals was nominated and elected as 
a member of the First Legislative Assembly of 
the state, and served one term in that capacity. 
He was a faithful and able representative of the 
people, devoted to the interests of his con- 
stituents. Several important measures of legis- 
lation especially affecting the railroad interests 
of the state were introduced by him and through 
his efforts and influence were enacted into laws. 
He also served as a member of the board having 
charge of the Wyoming Soldier's Home, being 
an earnest and conscientious member. In 1898 
he was nominated and elected county treasurer of 
Albany county, and discharged the duties of that 
responsible position in a manner so satisfactory 
to the people, that in 1900 he was renominated 
and reelected by an overwhelming majority. He 
has earned a wide reputation as one of the most 
faithful and efficient officials of the state and 
his friends have suggested that his record in 
office has been so high as to fairly entitle him to 



become a candidate for the office of state treas- 
urer. Politically, he has all his life been an ar- 
dent member of the Republican party and one 
of the leaders in public life in both county and 
state. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the order 
of Freemasons, being a member of the chapter, 
commandery and Mystic Shrine. He also be- 
longs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, 
also to the Grand Army of the Republic and 
to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 
He has been twice the representative of the local 
division of the latter order in the International 
Division and is held in high esteem by the 
Brotherhood. In 1864, Mr. Reals was united in 
marriage with Miss Lizzie Rice, at Syracuse, 
N. Y. Mrs. Reals was a native of New York, 
her parents being well-known and highly re- 
spected residents of that state. Mr. and Mrs. 
Reals have two children, Frank and Harry, both 
of whom are living and the home is noted for its 
generous hospitality. Mr. Reals is one of the 
foremost men of his section of the state, and one 
of the most valued citizens of Wyoming. 

CHARLES REID. 

One of the prominent stockmen of Converse 
county, Wyoming, the late Charles Reid, for- 
merly a resident of Spring Hill, was a native 
of Alabama, born in the city of Montgomery on 
July 5, 185 1. His father was a very prominent 
planter and one of the leading citizens of Ala- 
bama, where his son Charles attained to years 
of maturity and received his early academical 
training in the public schools. After complet- 
ing his education he remained with his parents 
until he had attained twenty-one years, assist- 
ing his father in the management of the planta- 
tion. In 1872, he resolved to seek his fortune 
in the far West, and came to the then territory 
of Colorado and engaged in mining in the vi- 
cinity of Leadville for about three years, meet- 
ing with success. At the end of that time he 
removed his residence to another portion of 
Colorado, where he engaged in ranching and 
stockraising. He continued in this occupation 
in Colorado until the spring of 1883, when he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



445 



moved to Wyoming. He first located on Rock 
Creek, in Albany county, where he remained, 
until the following- year and then went to Fort 
Fetterman, and entered into the hotel business 
and was also the owner of a freighting line be- 
tween Fort Fetterman and Buffalo, Wyo. At 
the same time he served as a deputy sheriff of 
the county, remaining there until 1886. He 
then took up a fine ranch on a branch of Labonte 
Creek, where he established his home and re- 
mained for seven years actively engaged in rais- 
ing cattle and horses. In this venture he 
was very successful and in March, 1892, he dis- 
posed of his ranch and stock to good advantage 
and removed his residence to the city of Doug- 
las, where he continued to reside until his de- 
cease. During the summer of 1892 he pur- 
chased a large band of sheep and engaged ex- 
tensively in sheepraising and woolgrowing in 
Converse county, and also purchased the Elk 
restaurant at Douglas, which he was conducting 
with profit when he died. He was the owner 
of about 1,500 acres of land before his death, 
being one of the leading business men of his 
section of the county. While looking after his 
stock interests in Nebraska he was there taken 
with a sudden illness and died on March 
15, 1899, and was buried at Douglas, Wyo- 
ming. Politically, he was a stanch Repub- 
lican, and took an active and prominent part in 
the councils and management of his party. 
He was one of the most valued citizens 
of Converse county and his death was a 
serious loss to that section of the state. On 
October 7, 1880, Mr. Reid was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Eliza Collins, a native of In- 
diana and the daughter of Peter and Nancy 
(Blair) Collins, also natives of that state. Her 
father followed the occupation of farming in 
his native state and removed from the.re in 1867 
to Kansas and, settling in the southeastern sec- 
tion of that commonwealth, continued there in 
the same pursuit up to the time of his decease, 
which occurred in 1873. The mother is still liv- 
ing and now makes her home in Missouri. Mr. 
and Mrs. Reid have four children, Charles, 
George, Margaret and Florence, all of whom 



are at home with their mother. After the death 
of her husband Mrs. Reid continued to reside 
at Douglas, carrying on extensive operations 
in sheepraising and woolgrowing, but in June, 
1902, she purchased a ranch on Mill Creek, 
about twenty-five miles south of Douglas, 
where she has since made her home. She is 
now the owner of about 2,200 acres of land 
and controls large tracts of leased lands and 
her business has proved to be very profitable. 
Her two sons, now young men of nearly twenty 
years of age, still remain with their mother and 
assist in the management of the property. She 
is a member of the Episcopal church and is a 
superior woman of great force of character,, 
being held in high esteem. 

J. DE FOREST RICHARDS. 

Standing solidly in the front rank of the 
monetary institutions of Wyoming is the First 
National Bank of Douglas, which was established 
in 1886 with a capital of $75,000 and has been 
a pronounced and helpful factor in the develop- 
ment of Converse county, showing now the 
healthful condition of Douglas and surrounding 
country in its deposits of $300,000, and intimately 
connected with the affairs of the bank for the 
past five years ,has been J. De Forest Richards, 
who was born in Camden, Wilcox county, Ala., 
on November 28, 1874, the only son of the late 
governor of Wyoming, Hon. De Forest Richards. 
(See his sketch elsewhere in- this volume.)' The 
son received his educational discipline in the 
place of his birth until he was twelve years of 
age when the family home was removed to 
Nebraska, where he attended the public schools 
for two years, thereafter becoming a student at 
the St. Paul's School of Concord, N. H., from 
which he was graduated in the class of 1892. 
Coming then to Wyoming he was for two years 
identified with merchandising in the store of 
Richards, Cunningham & Co., at Casper, thence 
going to Ann Arbor, Mich., and matriculating 
in the University of Michigan, located at that 



place, finishing there in 1 



Beinsr thus 



equipped for the activities of life he came to 



446 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming, became the assistant cashier of the 
First National Bank of Douglas, and in January, 
1901, he was elected its vice-president. The 
commodious building occupied by the bank was 
erected in 1886 and is constructed of brick with 
stone facings, the ground floor being fully taken 
up by the bank proper, its banking rooms and 
vaults. Everything is in harmonious taste and 
arrangement, and the whole is an ornament to 
the city. The business has been steadily in- 
creasing, during the last four years forging 
rapidly ahead and the finances are in very healthy 
condition with a bright outlook, the deposits, 
as before mentioned, now touching the $300,000 
mark. Mr. Richards is interested in the stock 
business as treasurer of the Richards-Coombs 
Co., which deals exclusively in sheep, their ranch 
property lying south and west of Douglas, 
which is their headquarters, and also as the treas- 
urer of the Chambers Live Stock Co., their ranch 
being located on the Cheyenne River in Weston 
county. Fraternally, Mr. Richards is a Free- 
mason and politically he supports the Republican 
party with a strong, persistent energy. 

E. P. ROHRBAUGH, M. D. 

In the character of Doctor Rohrbaugh are 
to be seen many of the elements derived from 
the strong, sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry 
from which he has descended. He is now in 
medical practice at Casper, Wyoming, recog- 
nized as an able, scholarly and a talented mem- 
ber of the professional ranks of the state. He 
was born in York county, Pa., on December 25, 
1858, the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Bortner) 
Rohrbaugh, both of whom and their ancestors 
were residents of that extremelv fertile county, 
where they followed agricultural pursuits. His 
parents had ten children and at the time of the 
Civil War the father was too old and the sons 
too young to bear arms, but a brother-in-law, 
Daniel Krout, served through the war and now 
carries a bullet received in his service. Edwin 
P. Rohrbaugh received his preliminary educa- 
tion in the public schools of York county and, 
beino- a close and avidious student, his taste led 



him to fit himself at once for professional life, 
and after his graduation from the high school 
at Glenrock, York county, he entered the peda- 
gogic field for two years and then commenced 
his preparation for medical knowledge by 
studying under the competent tutelage of Doc- 
tor Gladfelter, supplementing this by an at- 
tendance at and graduation from the University 
of Maryland on March 3, 1881, his class stand- 
ing and his clinical worfc evincing his natural 
qualifications for his chosen field. His first 
field of practice was at Glenrock, Pa., and the 
people of this place, who had known him as boy 
and youth, soon found him to be a man of 
worth and integrity, possessed of skill, good 
judgment and professional ability. For six 
years he held here a representative practice 
and then he essayed a westward flight to Ellis, 
Kan., and until his removal in 1891 to Chey- 
enne, Wyo., he was the local surgeon of the 
Union Pacific Railroad at that place. From 
1 89 1 until 1899 ne held the same position at 
Cheyenne with the Union Pacific as at Ellis, in 
connection therewith acquiring an extensive 
practice among a distinctively flattering class 
of patrons, holding also the position of county 
physician and winning many and valuable friends 
in social life. The marked advantages of the 
thriving city of Casper appealing to him, in 
1899 he established himself here as a physician 
and surgeon, and here he isnow in active and ex- 
tensive practice, having- acquired a valuable 
clientele, drawn to him by his unusual profes- 
sional skill, as manifested in diagnosis and 
treatment and his coolness and steadiness as 
well as deftness as a surgeon. He is a member 
of the State Medical Society, the medical ex- 
aminer for the New York Mutual, the Equita- 
ble, the Union Mutual, the Germania and the 
Hartford Life Insurance Cos., holds the posi- 
tion of "medical appointer" for the state of 
Wyoming for the Providence Assurance Co., 
and is also the county physician. He is also 
a U. S. pension examiner, receiving the appoint- 
ment from President McKinley. and was re- 
cently appointed by Governor Richards as a 
member of the State Medical Board. Doctor 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



447 



Rohrbaugh has maintained his student habits 
and keeps in touch with the rapid advances, 
made in the sciences of medicine and surgery, 
as well as in all literary and other scientific 
thought. ' His ability in his professional life, 
his personal characteristics and his exalted con- 
nection with the fraternal organizations have 
caused him to be one of the best-known men of 
the state, for in the brotherhood of Freemasons 
he has been for one year the grand master of 
the Grand Lodge of Wyoming, and he has also 
in the Scottish Rite received the Thirty-second 
degree. He is a member of the Woodmen of 
the World and of the United Workmen. Doc- 
tor Rohrbaugh was united in marriage on 
March 31, 1881, with Miss Ella J. Hengst, a 
daughter of Henry Hengst, a prominent citi- 
zen of York county, Pa. Their children are 
Anna C, Mrs. R. F. Potter of Douglas, Wyo., 
to whom was born a daughter, now deceased; 
Charles H., deceased; Ada B., wife of A. J. Cun- 
. ningham, a banker of Casper, and Harry Wil- 
liam. Doctor Rohrbaugh has commodious and 
finely equipped offices fitted up to enable' him 
to take advantage of the treatment of disease 
by electrical and compressed air processes, and 
has in use the latest and best improved appa- 
ratus and appliances. His high standing in the 
community and state rests not alone on his 
professional worth, but in the sterling qualities 
manifested in his every day life. 

PROF. DANIEL C. ROYER. 

The proud position occupied by America 
among nations of the world is largely attribut- 
able to the high standing and superior excel- 
lence of her enormous educational facilities, 
which now comprise the best products of public 
spirit, private benefaction and enlightened in- 
vestigation in every department from the rural 
common school to the highest university, and as 
well the most systematic and practical courses of 
special training for the various pursuits of life, 
particularly in commercial and industrial lines of 
activity. Whatever other countries provide in 
the way of educational privileges for the young, 



we are blessed with many and excellent institu- 
tions, designed for instruction and training in 
the practical duties of life, and in them the un- 
flagging diligence, the clear insight and the con- 
scientious devotion of their "devoted army of 
teachers make up a force for good that is im- 
measurable in value although often, even by its 
beneficiaries, unappreciated in usefulness in its 
true proportions. Among the men who have 
achieved success and popular esteem and ap- 
proval in one of these special departments of 
education, in the state of Wyoming, none is more 
entitled to honorable mention and high praise 
that Prof. D. C. Rover, principal and proprietor 
of the Cheyenne Business College, the only in- 
stitution of its kind in the state. He is a native 
of Lanark, 111., where he was born on May 12, 
1862, the youngest of the seven children of 
Daniel and Sarah (Butterbaugh) Rpyer, and 
until he attained his majority he resided at 
home, attending the public schools in his neigh- 
borhood and by diligent application acquiring 
such a fund of useful information and such a 
systematic mental development that he was able 
when he left school to pass the required ex- 
amination and secure a teacher's certificate of 
high grade. After teaching for three years in the 
district schools of Iowa he removed to Colorado 
and engaged in educational work at Cheyenne 
Wells, but soon accepted a position as instructor 
in the Central Business College of Denver, en- 
tering upon his duties in 1890 and retaining the 
place for six years. In 1896 he left this institu- 
tion and started a commercial school of his own 
at Cheyenne, but soon after, with a view of pre- 
paring himself for more effective work as a 
teacher of all branches included in the course 
of a first-class business college he entered the 
Atheneum at Chicago, where he pursued a full 
commercial course, and also took a postgraduate 
course in stenography at Dement's famous Short- 
hand school in the same city. In July, 1899, ne 
founded the commercial department of the Wyo- 
ming State University at Laramie and had 
charge of it for two years. He then reestablished 
the Cheyenne Business College at the capital 
city, and has been its guide and its inspiration, 



448 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



its directing force and its vital breath from the 
first. This institution has had almost unprece- 
dented success and from its halls, hallowed by 
labors of conscientious teachers and earnest and 
ambitious students - , have gone forth to all parts 
of the country young ladies and gentlemen 
thoroughly trained in the science, the practice 
and the ethics of business life, and capable of 
meeting worthily its calls to duty in every field. 
As an instructor in the various branches making 
up the curriculum of his school Professor Royer 
has a well established position in the front rank." 
He is endowed by nature with a strong mentality 
and has been thoroughly trained by intellectual 
and professional discipline, so that he has mas- 
tered the rare and priceless art of imparting in- 
stuction in the best form and with the least loss 
of effort on the part of giver and receiver. He 
has moreover a winning personality which at- 
tracts and retains warm friendships and enables 
him to secure for each pupil in his care the best- 
results attainable. The school grows steadily in 
the number and character of its patrons, and has 
exerted a beneficial influence in business circles 
in Cheyenne, and other cities and towns within 
its reach, enormous in volume and priceless in 
quality. In a very large and appreciable sense 
Professor Royer has been a benefactor of his 
kind, for by supplying the means of superior 
business training, he has prepared many young 
people for useful and honorable stations, who 
otherwise might have struggled through life in 
unwelcome subordinate positions, with adverse 
circumstances ever a barrier to loftier success. 
His record already written is but a forerunner 
of his larger and farther-reaching usefulness in 
the future, and embodies the promise of the 
greater school into which his present enterprise 
is destined to surely grow. Professor Royer 
was united in marriage with Miss Gusta Ellis, 
a daughter of S. J. Ellis of Adel, Dallas county, 
Iowa, a well-known farmer near that place and 
' at one time sheriff of the county. The mar- 
riage was celebrated in Adcl in 1885, and 
brought to the Professor the aid of a cultivated 
lady in his life work, which she brightens by her 
presence and lightens by teaching ably in the 



shorthand department of the school. They have 
one child, a son named Russell, born in Denver, 
Colo., on July 14, 1890. 

HENRY BATH. 

The subject of this brief sketch is one of the 
pioneers of Wyoming and an active factor in the 
building up of the industries of the state. He 
came to Laramie as early as 1868 and erected 
the first frame building at that place. Through 
all the stages of development he has been a 
leading participant, and has watched the develop- 
ment of the country from a wild and barbarous 
state to its present condition of prosperity, and 
civilization. He was born November 25, 1832, 
in Germany, the son of Herman and Hannah 
(Miller) Bath, also natives of the Fatherland, 
where his father was born in 1796 and followed 
the occupation of hatter up to 1848, when he re- 
moved his residence to America and settled in 
the city of New York, where he resided en- 
gaged in his business of manufacturing hats until 
1866. He then removed with his family to 
Iowa and there remained until 1880. when he 
again moved his residence, coming to the then 
territory of Wyoming and locating in Laramie. 
Here he died at the advanced age of eighty-four 
years and was buried there. The mother passed 
away at the age of seventy-six years and was 
also buried at Laramie. Henry Bath grew to 
man's estate in his native land of Germany, and 
received • there his early educational training in 
the public schools. At an early age he cam? with 
his parents to New York City, where he learned 
cabinetmaking. and continued in that occupa- 
tion in New York until the commencement of the 
Civil War. He then enlisted in Co. B. Forty- 
fifth New York Infantry, and served for four 
vcars. being a most gallant soldier until the 
close of the Civil War. After being mustered 
out of service, he went to Iowa, where he estab- 
lished his home and remained in business until 
1868. He then concluded to seek his fortune 
in the far West and coming to the then terri- 
tory of Wyoming, he established himself at 
Laramie and immediatelv there erected the first 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



449 



framed house of the infant town and conducted 
a successful hotel business for about two years, 
when he sold out and purchased a ranch on the 
Little Laramie River, about fifteen miles north-' 
west of Laramie, and engaged in ranching and 
stockraising. In this enterprise he has met with 
substantial success, and is now counted as one of 
the solid business men and property owners of 
that section of the county. The industry, thrift 
and frugality which he inherited from his Ger- 
man ancestry have enabled him to build up a 
fine property, and in. the evening of his long 
and useful life, he is enjoying the fruits of his 
many years of activity, being held in high esteem 
by all classes. In 1858, in New York City, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Catherine 
Fisher, a native of Germany whose parents were 
highly respected citizens of that country. She 
died in 1897 at the age of sixty years, being also 
buried at Laramie. To their union were born 
eight children, William, Philip, Alfred, Fred- 
erick, Lucy, Herman (deceased), Emma, Kath- 
erine. The family are highly respected in the 
community as ranking among the best citizens 
of Albany county. 

MELVILLE N. BALDWIN. 

One of the most serviceable, not to say nec- 
essary occupations among men is that of the 
merchant. Whatever else may happen, the 
wants of man in the way of food, clothing and 
necessary implements of toil must be supplied, 
and the purveyor or dispenser of these is a real 
benefactor, even if he should carry on his busi- 
ness primarily for his own profit and advantage. 
One of the leading merchants of Fremont coun- 
ty, in this state, and one who has rendered sig- 
nal service to his fellows in this capacity is Mel- 
ville N. Baldwin of Lander. It may with pro- 
priety be said that he was born and bred to the 
business, for, although he was well educated at 
one of the best of the eastern colleges, all the 
tendencies and environments of his life from 
childhood inclined him to the line of activity 
in which he has found expression for his facul- 
ties and their proper and congenial employ- 
ment. Mr. Baldwin was born in the state of 



Nevada on July 3, i860, the son of Major Noyes 
and Josephine (Wright) Baldwin, the father be- 
ing a native of New York and the mother of 
Connecticut. In 1866 they removed from Ne- 
vada to Wyoming, settling on the site of Lan- 
der, and here their son Melville attended the 
primitive schools until he was old enough to 
go to college, when he was sent to Emmitsburg, 
Md., for a full academic course at Mount St. 
Mary's Colleg-e, an old and renowned institu- 
tion of learning under the control of the Catho- 
lic church, which has many of the most distin- 
guished men of the country on the roll of its 
alumni. After leaving college he returned to 
Wyoming 'and began active business life as a 
clerk and salesman in his father's store. In due 
time he became well established in the confi- 
dence and esteem of the community and was 
chosen county treasurer. This office he filled 
for four years and, on retiring from it in 1890, 
bought his father's interest in the store and has 
since personally conducted this growing mer- 
cantile enterprise. The store is a general one 
and the stock embraces everything needed for 
a community of such varied pursuits and con- 
ditions of life as obtain at Lander, and, al- 
though large and varied, is kept up-to-date in 
every respect, Mr. Baldwin being a close stu- 
dent of the wants of his patrons and a gentle- 
man of great enterprise in supplying them. 
Under his directing skill the business has flour- 
ished steadily, the highest standards in goods 
and methods have been maintained, strict prob- 
ity, politeness and considerate attention to- 
wards customers on the part of employes have 
been enforced, all of the elements of a good 
business management have been preserved and 
exemplified, and this has given to the establish- 
ment its great popularity in the community 
and to its proprietor his high standing in the 
commercial world. On September 24, 1884, at 
Lander, Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary Ewing, a native of England 
and daughter of John and Elizabeth Ewing, 
also English by nativity. Four children have 
blessed their union and added sunshine and 
merriment to their pleasant home. Harry N., 
Chester E., Eleanor and Marion. 



45° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






WILFORD W. LUCE. 

Born in the interesting and progressive Mor- 
mon metropolis, which in its origin and its 
growth is one of the wonders of this land of 
wonders, and living there until he was thirteen 
years old, and since that time at various times 
a resident of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, 
Wilford W. Luce, a leading citizen and promin- 
ent stockgrower of Fremont county, with head- 
quarters on Green River twelve miles east of 
Bigpiney, is in all respects a product of the great 
Northwest and an excellent representative of the 
citizenship and business activity of that section 
of our country. His life began at Salt Lake City, 
Utah, on January 4, 1865, where his parents, 
Wilford W. and Anna (Quamby) Luce, are still 
living. They were respectively natives of Maine 
and England, and came to Utah late in the for- 
ties. The father after he grew to manhood cul- 
tivated a farm and drove a pony express and also 
an overland stage in the early days of settle- 
ments and their family consisted of eight chil- 
dren, of whom three are still living. -In his na- 
tive city Mr. Luce attended the public schools un- 
til he was thirteen years old, then, taking up the 
burden of life for himself, he went to work on 
the Oregon Short Line Railroad, following its 
course in parts of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. 
At Idaho Falls (Eagle Rock) he located a home- 
stead, on which he lived three years, thence re- 
moving to Boise but there remained but a short 
time. From Boise he came to Uinta county, 
Wyo., and in 1888 located on the ranch he now 
occupies in Fremont county, which is one of the 
desirable tracts of land in the fertile Green River 
valley, situated about twelve miles east of Big- 
piney. It consists of 960 acres of fine meadow 
land, is well improved, and under careful culti- 
vation yields abundant crops, while large herds 
of Hereford and Shorthorn cattle here are amply 
provided for and for which it is the home. Mr. 
Luce is largely engaged in the cattle industry, 
being an extensive skipper of his product to the 
Eastern markets. As might naturally be in- 
ferred from his standing in business circles, be 
is a man of affairs and takes great interest in 



the development and progress of the community. 
The county and the state are indebted to him for 
valuable aid in all the best esteemed avenues 
of educational and commercial activity, his in- 
fluence and example being of great weight among 
all classes of the people in whose midst he lives. 
On October 24, 1898, Mr. Luce was married to 
Miss Essie Wilson, who was born and reared 
in Illinois, the daughter of John C. and Elizabeth 
A. (Mallory) Wilson, natives of Kentucky and 
Illinois respectively, her father being a popular 
dealer in agricultural implements. The family 
home is brightened and enlivened by three chil- 
dren, Wilford, Frank and Vivian. 

HON. AMOS W. BARBER. 

One of the young men of Wyoming whose 
success has been notable, and whose career has 
been crowned with distinguished honor, is Doctor 
and former Governor Amos W. Barber, now a 
leading physician of Cheyenne, who was born 
at Doylestown, Bucks county, Pa., on April 26, 
1 861, a son of Alfred H. and Asenath (Walker) 
Barber, also natives of the Keystone State. For 
many generations the family has borne a promi- 
nent part in the life of the American Republic, 
participating with distinction in many trying 
scenes of the country's history. During the War 
of the Revolution and in the War of 1812, the 
ancestors of the Doctor were conspicuous for 
their gallantry and patriotic devotion, while dur- 
ing the Civil War the father of Doctor Barber 
was an important figure in the special secret ser- 
vice work of the U, S. government, often re- 
ceiving from his superiors in office' distin- 
guished marks of their approval of the faithful 
and efficient manner in which he had performed 
delicate and difficult duties. Amos W. Barber 
was the fifth of a family of six children growing 
to manhood in his native town, and he received 
his early scholastic training in the academy lo- 
cated at that place. After completing his aca- 
demic course he matriculated at the University of 
Pennsylvania, and there pursued a full literary 
and medical course of study, being graduated in 
the class of '83. His career as a student was 




'/.LUCE 




N. W. LUGE 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



451 



marked by distinction, and upon his graduation 
he was tendered a position as regular resident 
physician at the University hospital, was ap- 
pointed staff physician at the Childrens' hospital 
and the Pennsylvania hospital and was made a 
substitute resident physician at the Episcopal 
hospital. He served in these highly responsible 
positions for two years and acquired great 
credit for the very able manner in which he 
discharged his duties. In 1885 he was selected 
to take charge of the military hospital at Fort 
Fetterman, Wyo., and shortly after his arrival 
at that post, he received an appointment as an 
acting assistant surgeon in the U. S. army. 
While serving in this capacity, he was directed 
to accompany the noted military expedition com- 
manded by General Crook to Arizona and, upon 
his return from that arduous service, he was 
stationed at Fort Russell and afterward at Fort 
Fetterman. During this period he acquired a 
high reputation among the settlers residing in the 
vicinity of those military posts as a physician 
and surgeon, especially for 'his skill in treating 
gunshot wounds and also rattlesnake bites. His 
treatment of the latter was by means of perman- 
ganate of potassium, suggested by S. Wier 
Mitchell, M. D., and he met with marked suc- 
cess in counteracting the insidious poison of the 
reptiles by this treatment. Faithful in the con- 
scientious discharge of every professional duty, 
never sparing himself when extraordinary effort 
became necessary to bring relief to those in dis- 
tress, he soon became one of the most popular 
men in Wyoming. It is said that on one occa- 
sion he rode over fifty miles to attend the young 
daughter of a frontier ranchman who had been 
bitten by a rattlesnake, and upon finding that 
she could not have the treatment at home which 
the severity of the case required, he carried the 
child the fifty miles of distance to his office, 
where the proper remedies were applied and a 
cure affected. In 1886 his private practice had 
so expanded that he resigned his commission 
in the army that he might give his entire time 
and attention to medicine and surgery and en- 
tered upon general practice. He was soon after 
tendered the position of physician in charge of 

38 



the hospital of the Wyoming Stock Association, 
and was engaged in a highly successful medical 
practice throughout the entire territory until 
1890. Upon the admission into the Union of 
Wyoming as a state in that year he received the 
nomination of the first Republican State Con- 
vention for the office of secretary of state, and at 
the succeeding election he was elected by an 
overwhelming majority. On the same state 
ticket with him in 1890, the present U. S. 
Senator, Hon. Francis E. Warren, had been 
elected to the high office of governor, and at 
the session of the First Legislative Assembly 
under the state government Senator Warren 
was chosen U. S. Senator. In accordance with 
the provisions of the state constitution the secre- 
tary of state then succeeded to the official duties 
of the governor, and Doctor Barber thus became' 
the acting governor of the state. His adminis- 
tation was a notable one in the history of the 
state, and was characterized by ability and 
fidelity in the performance of the responsible 
duties of that high office. During his term of 
office there were several crises in the history of 
Wyoming, which for a time threatened to im- 
peril the safety of her institutions, among them 
being the great Pine Ridge Indian outbreak of 
1 89 1 and the serious difficulties between the 
cattle and sheepowners of Wyoming in 1892, 
called the Rustler War. In each instance acting 
Governor Barber acted with firmness and de- 
cision, at once calling out the militia to suppress 
insurrection, protect life and property and to en- 
force the laws. He also called upon the Federal 
Government for assistance and, by the prompt- 
ness and strength of his official action, quelled 
the uprisings, prevented mob violence and main- 
tained peace and the dignity and the majesty of 
the laws of both the state and the nation. Had 
an official of less determination and force of char- 
acter then occupied the gubernatorial chair, re- 
sults might have followed so serious to the re- 
putation of Wyoming as to set the state many 
years backward in its march of progress. The 
people of the state of Wyoming and of the entire 
West owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Bar- 
ber for the efficient and efficacious manner in 



45 2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



which he stood for law and order and enforced 
respect for the laws. Time, which sets all things 
right, has long since vindicated him from 
thoughtless criticisms of his action which came 
from certain quarters, and in the future prosper- 
ity of Wyoming and her reputation as a law- 
abiding state will be a lasting monument to the 
wisdom and nobility of his official action while 
its chief executive. While in official position 
Doctor Barber continued his professional prac- 
tice and at the end of his term of service as 
governor, he again gave his full attention to his 
medical practice. In this he has met with dis- 
tinguished success and for many years he has 
been one of the leading members of his profes- 
sion in the West. Possessed of literary tastes, 
he has contributed largely to medical journals 
on the treatment of gunshot wounds- and snake- 
bites, with' which his long experience in the 
army and on the frontier have made him so fa- 
miliar, and he has also contributed stories and 
articles on western life to Harper's Weekly and 
other publications. In 1892 Governor Barber 
was united in marriage with Miss Amelia Kent, 
a daughter of Thomas A. Kent, a leading citi- 
zen of the .city of Cheyenne, and their home in 
that city is a center for a hospitality that is as 
warm and generous as it is gracious, cultured 
and refined. At the beginning of the Spanish- 
American War, Doctor Barber again entered 
the service of the United States as an assistant 
surgeon, receiving this appointment at the hands 
of Surgeon-General Sternberg, and continues in 
that service, while pursuing his general practice. 
He has accumulated considerable property, and 
is foremost in movements calculated to benefit 
the city of his residence or the state of his adop- 
tion. Public-spirited, progressive and success- 
ful in his profession, as well as in general busi- 
ness transactions, he is one of the most popular 
men of Wyoming, and one of the state's most 
prominent citizens. Fraternally, he is affiliated 
with theMasonic order as a member of the Com- 
mandery of Knights Templar and a Thirty-sec- 
ond degree mason of the Scottish Rite, having 
the ethics and the teachings of the fraternity 
as his cardinal rules of action. 



. BISHOP S. R. BROUGH. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter 
Day Saints has ever retained in its far-reaching 
service and manifold labors for the propagation 
of its faith the consecrated efforts of the most 
zealous and self-abnegating disciples. Xo pri- 
vations, no obstacles and no dangers have ever 
been sufficient to deter its missionaries from 
carrying their message to the uttermost corners 
of the earth ; no person has been so humble as 
to be denied its succor and kindly ministration, 
and its noble emissaries have also been the lead- 
ers in the industrial labors and activities that 
have to such a remarkable degree transformed 
the western deserts into smiling gardens and 
lands teeming with bounteous harvests. Among 
those who have earnestly and faithfully labored 
in both the material and the spiritual depart- 
ments of the life and progress of this religion, 
and been signally favored in both ministerial 
labors and industrial activities, Bishop Samuel 
R. Brough of Lyman, Wyoming, stands forth 
conspicuously. His great-grandfather, Richard 
Brough, descended from an ancient family of 
England, and his son Richard, the grandfather 
of the Bishop, was a soldier under the Duke of 
Wellington at the battle of Waterloo, and re- 
ceived a pension for his army service until his 
death. Thomas Brough learned both the ma- 
son's and carpenter's trades, but after his mar- 
riage until he came to America in 1858. he 
chiefly conducted farming. He married Jane 
Patterson, a native of Scotland, and to them, 
on August 20, 1857, on American soil, in Madi- 
son county, 111., near the city of Alton, was born 
a son, Samuel R., now Bishop Brough. Seven 
years of his childhood were passed in Illinois, 
and then the family came on the long dreary 
journey across the plains to L T tah. utilizing ox- 
teams for their carriage. In Morgan county 
they located, and there in 1882 occurred the 
death of the father at fifty-four years, the moth- 
er still surviving him in that state. Of their 
nine children Samuel was the fourth, and after 
receiving his educational discipline in the merit- 
orious schools of Utah he engaged in lumbering 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



453 



in Morgan county for five years, in that con- 
nection also running a sawmill and manufactur- 
ing shingles and other lumber. Then, becoming 
an elder of the church of his belief, his prose- 
lyting spirit carried him across the Atlantic to 
England, Scotland and Ireland, where he did 
yeoman service as a preacher of his faith for 
four years, gathering man)- converts into the 
fold and being greatly blessed in his labors. As 
is the custom in his church, all of his expenses 
were defrayed by himself, which fact indicates 
the strength of this devoted missionary's loy- 
alty. After this effective and exhausting cam- 
paign Elder Brough returned to Utah, poor 
in purse and almost homeless, and labors equal- 
ly as vigilant and energetic were demanded in 
the. strenuous struggle for existence, so he 
came to Uinta county, Wyo., where the virgin 
soil waited but the touch of skilled husbandry 
to awake its bounteous capabilities, and made 
claim to 160 acres of government land at Ly- 
man, which from its advantageous location, 
was later set aside by the leaders of the church 
for a town site. Here he has given his atten- 
tion to farming and to raising superior strains 
of stock, making specialties of graded Durham 
and Jersey cattle and of thoroughbred Berk- 
shire and Poland-China hogs, being prospered 
in his industry and having rapidly increased the 
size of his droves and herds. He is now the 
owner of 560 acres of land in his home place, 
all under fence, with a sufficient quantity of 
water permanently available to answer all de- 
mands for many years. His ranch is one of 
the superior homes of the county, being well 
equipped with residences of convenient size and 
of modern architecture, outbuildings, sheds, 
corrals and other essentials to successful farm- 
ing in this state. He also owns his own thresh- 
ing machine, which greatly facilitates the mar- 
keting of his bounteous crops. In addition to 
his farming and stock operations he has con- 
ducted successful merchandising here, and con- 
tinues the enterprise to some extent in the sale 
of farm implements, machinery, etc. To show 
the extent of the prosperity that has come to 
the good Bishop since locating here it is only 



necessary to state that on his arrival he was 
compelled to borrow the money necessary to 
complete the filing of his land. Bishop Brough 
was installed in his bishopric of the Lyman ward 
in 1898, and he has discharged its functions with 
signal ability in both a spiritual and an execu- 
tive way, and the church has thriven greatly un- 
der his ministration, having now a membership 
of 600 and the largest church edifice in the 
state. Bishop Brough was first married in 
Salt Lake City on June 2, 1881, to Miss Phoebe 
A. Cherry, daughter of James and Laura (Brat- 
tan) Cherry, natives respectively of Kentucky 
and Iowa, while her grandparents, Benjamin 
and Margaret Cherry, were also lifelong residents 
of the Blue Grass state. Their children are 
Thomas J., Samuel J., Ernest L., Wallace C, 
Laura A., Nettie M., Byron C, who died on 
September 1, 1891, and an infant that died un- 
named. A second marriage occurred in Octo- 
ber, 1886, in Utah, to Miss Eliza Carter, a 
daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Day) Carter, 
natives of England. By this marriage are six 
children, Horace, Franklin R., Viola, Chester, 
Eveline and Hiram. 

JAMES BROWN. 

James Brown, a prominent citizen and man 
of affairs of Evanston, Wyoming, was born on 
May 24, 1861, at Calderbank, Lanarkshire, 
Scotland, the son of James and Isabella (Dick) 
Brown. His father was also a native of Lan- 
arkshire, having been born in Carluke, of that 
shire, on September 21, 1834, but his education 
was received at Glasgow up to the age of fif- 
teen years, when he was apprenticed to the 
trade of mechanical engineering, which he fol- 
lowed until 1882, or near his fiftieth year. At 
this time he came to America, and journeyed 
west to Evanston, Wyo. It was no longer nec- 
essary for him to continue work at his trade, 
and he spent the last ten or twelve years of his 
life in retirement in Bear Lake county, Idaho. 
He died on his birthday in 1896, being exactly 
sixtv-two years old. His remains lie buried in 
the cemeterv in the town of Libertv, Idaho. Mrs. 



454 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



James Brown, nee Isabella Dick, mother of the 
present James, was born on August 10, 1838, 
in Carmyle, Scotland, a daughter of John and 
Elizabeth (Brown) Dick, and was married in 
i860. She died in Bear Lake county, Idaho, on 
the morning of July 4, 1894, a little over two 
years before her husband. Her father also 
emigrated from Scotland to America, crossing 
the plains by ox-teams to Salt Lake City, where 
he lived the life of a farmer. James Brown, the 
subject of this notice, came to the United States 
in 1878, being then seventeen years of age and 
master of the blacksmith's trade. He located 
first in Salt Lake City, where he followed his 
trade of blacksmith for a year and a half, and 
from Salt Lake City he went to the Almy coal 
mines in Wyoming and remained there six 
months, thereafter in Evanston, Wyo., he con- 
tinued at his trade for thirteen years. Here he 
was appointed deputy county clerk under John 
R. Arnold, and in the fall of 1894 he was 
elected county clerk of Uinta county and has 
been three times reelected to that office. He 
is a Democrat in his political affiliations and a 
man of enterprise and energy in every relation. 
He is president of the Medical Butte Oil Co., 
and the secretary of the Last Chance Oil Co. 
He was ordained a bishop of the Church of 
Latter Day Saints of Evanston on November 
11, 1883, by Apostle Albert Carrington, of Salt 
Lake City and has since held this office. He 
married on July 27, 1882, Miss Christiena Hun- 
ter, born in Salt Lake City, a daughter of Adam 
and Elizabeth (Patterson) Hunter, who came 
from Scotland and crossed the plains in an ox 
wagon. This union has been blessed with seven 
children, James, Elizabeth or Bessie, Isabella, 
Tiena, Adam, William G. and Frank. 

FRED BOND. 

Distinguished as a professional man and of- 
cial and holding marked prestige as a citizen, 
Fred Bond of this review during the last twenty 
years has been actively identified with the his- 
tory of Wyoming. Called to fill positions of 



honor and trust he has shown himself worthy of 
the confidence reposed in him and in the high 
office he now holds has won a conspicuous place 
among the leading public men of the state. He 
is a son of Avery J. and Adaline (Dennis) 
Bond and was born in Johnson county, Iowa, 
on June 30, 1856, the father being a native of 
Pennsylvania and the mother of Ohio ; these 
parents had four children, Fred being one of 
twin brothers, also having one brother older 
than himself and another younger. Fred Bond 
spent his childhood days and youth in the 
fertile county of his birth and until the age of 
seventeen he attended the public schools, in 
which he laid the foundation of the thorough 
intellectual training he acquired in subsequent 
years. Actuated by a laudable desire to increase 
his scholastic knowledge he entered the State 
University of Iowa at Iowa City, in which he 
completed the prescribed course, being graduated 
therefrom on June 23, 1880, with a creditable 
record. One year later he accepted the position 
of bookkeeper in a wholesale house at Des 
Moines, which he held until 1882 when he re- 
signed and went to Cheyenne, Wyo., where dur- 
ing the three ensuing years he was employed as 
a draughtsman in the surveyor-general's office. 
After resigning that position Mr. Bond passed 
some time as bookkeeper for different banks in 
Cheyenne and subsequently entered the land-of- 
fice where he was employed for some years in an 
important clerical capacity. For four years, be- 
ginning with 1889, he was the city engineer and 
during his incumbency constructed the present 
water-works system and built the viaduct, both 
enterprises demonstrating engineering skill of a 
high degree. At the expiration of his term he 
went to Buffalo, Wyo., where he remained four 
years, during which time he served as official 
engineer of that city and constructed the water- 
works, besides doing much other important en- 
gineering, which added greatly to his already 
well-established reputation as a master of his 
profession. Returning to Cheyenne when his 
official term expired, Mr. Bond became the chief 
clerk in the U. S. surveyor's office, a position he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



455 



subsequently resigned to accept the office of 
state engineer, to which he was appointed on 
July, 1899. This high and important trust came 
to him in recognition of his efficiency as an able 
and skillful engineer rather than as a reward for 
political services rendered his party, although for 
years he had been one of the leading Republi- 
can politicians of the state. His elevation to the 
office has received the unqualified approval not 
only of members of his party, but also of those 
opposed to him on political grounds, for it is a 
position in which partisan affairs have little or 
nothing to do and he discharges his duties fear- 
lessly and conscientiously. His career thus far 
establishes the fact that the state will greatly 
profit by his wise administration of the office. 
He brought to his work as an engineer a mind 
thoroughly disciplined by severe intellectual and 
professional training, and his ambition to excel 
in whatever he undertakes has been fully real- 
ized as the nature of his work attests. He is 
a man of great sagacity, rarely mistaken in his 
judgment of men and things, foresees with great 
clearness future possibilities and determines with 
a high degree of accuracy the outcome of present 
action. By reason of his large professional suc- 
cess, his unblemished character, his just and up- 
right life and the universal esteem in which he 
is held, he may without invidious distinction' be 
called one of Wyoming's most honored and dis- 
tinguished citizens. In March, 1886, at Des 
Moines, Iowa, was solemnized the ceremony 
which united Mr. Bond and Miss Clara William- 
son in the bonds of wedlock. This marriage, a 
most fortunate and happy one, has been blessed 
with three bright and interesting children, War- 
wick E., Kenneth W. and Frederick. The house- 
hold is almost an ideal one and to see Fred Bond 
at his best is to meet him in the bosom of his 
family, where his easy dignity and cultured bear- 
ing mark him , as the high-minded, courteous 
gentleman. The family are favorites in the best 
social circles of Cheyenne and their home is a 
favorite resort for kindred spirits, who frequent- 
ly enjoy the hospitality there dispensed with a 
generosity which sweetens the welcome. 



W. W. BOWERS. 

A native of Clark county, Indiana, and born 
in 1868, W. W. Bowers, the chief of the fire de- 
partment of Laramie, one of its leading citizens, 
is the son of George B. and Margaret (Hay- 
maker) Bowers, natives of the state of his birth. 
His father, born in 1838, followed the occupation 
of farming in Indiana and was for many years 
prominent in the Democratic party, holding the 
office of county commissioner of the county of 
Clark for six years, being the son of Daniel and 
Elizabeth (Hostetter) Bowers, natives of North 
Carolina, who were among the earliest settlers 
of Indiana, where Daniel Bowers erected the 
first brick house built in that part of the state and 
also took an active part in suppressing the In- 
dian outbreaks of that time and served as an of- 
ficer in the serious wars which finally terminated 
in the breaking of the power of the savages, thus 
preparing Indiana as a safe place for the resi- 
dence of civilized men. W. W. Bowers grew to 
manhood in his native state and received his 
early education in the public schools in the neigh- 
borhood of his boyhood home. Subsequently he 
attended college at Lexington, Ky., pursuing a 
partial course of study there. Compelled to 
leave college at the early age of eighteen years, 
he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Lexington 
for a short time, and then removed to the city 
of Chicago, 111., where he continued in the same 
business for about two years. In 1891 he left 
Chicago, and. came to Wyoming, where he es- 
tablished himself in Laramie in the business of 
buying hides for a large eastern concern. He 
conducted this business with marked success for 
about ten years, when he succeeded to the busi- 
ness upon the death of the owner. In this ven- 
ture he has been very successful, and is now 
conducting one of the most extensive and pros- 
perous enterprises of his section of the state. 
He is one of the rising young business men of 
Wyoming, having the respect and confidence of 
all the people. He is very popular with the 
ranch and stock men of the state, and has a 
practical monopoly of his business in the Lara- 



456 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mie section. In December, 1901, Mr. Bowers 
was united in marriage to Miss M. A. E. Jones, 
the daughter of C. A. and Emily (Richardson) 
Jones, prominent residents of Laramie, and 
their home is the center of a hospitality as gen- 
erous as it is gracious. Mr. Bowers is a stanch 
adherent of the Democratic party and has taken 
a foremost part in the councils and management 
of the party in his section of Wyoming. For a 
considerable period of time he has been very ca- 
pably holding the position of chief of the fire 
department of Laramie, a position he still occu- 
pies, discharging its responsible duties of the 
office to the entire satisfaction of the citizens. 

MOSES BYRNE. 

There is nothing more interesting than to 
make an examination of the life of a self-made 
man, and to analyze those principles that have 
enabled him to pass on the rugged highway of 
life many who, at the outset of their careers, were 
more advantageously endowed by fortune. Few 
men who sought prosperity in the wild West in 
the pioneer days were men of wealth. Generally 
speaking their only capital was two strong arms, 
a determined will and executive ability, and this 
was the class of men who made the great states 
of Utah and Wyoming, yes, and other western 
states, what they are today, men who faced hard- 
ships and privations and have converted the des- 
erts covered by sage into productive ranches 
and who have aided in bringing the state of Wyo- 
ming into its present progressive and prosperous 
condition. These are the men who deserve to 
have their names honorably inscribed on the 
pages of "The Progressive Men of Wyoming," 
and among them all there is none more deserv- 
ing than the venerable gentleman whose name 
heads this review. The paternal ancestors of 
Mr. Byrne run back in an unbroken line for 
many generations in Ireland, where the family 
has been connected with the agricultural activi- 
ties of the Emerald Isle. Moses Byrne, now a 
retired merchant of Piedmont, Wyoming, was 
born in Laftsvich, England, on June 2, 1822, 
and he was a son of Dennis and Jane (Sease- 



brick) Byrne, who were natives of Ireland, 
where they were married. Mr. Byrne was named 
from his paternal grandfather, also Moses Byrne, 
and until he was sixteen years old he somewhat 
intermittently attended the government schools 
of England and at that age he was apprenticed 
on a merchant vessel sailing the Atlantic, to ac- 
quire a knowledge of seamanship. Following 
the seas for a number of years, he had some 
notable adventures and narrow escapes from 
death, but received no injuries that disabled him. 
Meeting some faithful missionaries of the 
Church of Latter Day Saints in 1853, he became 
interested- in their doctrine and becoming a con- 
vert to their religion he cast in his lot in life with 
them, emigrating to the United States in 1854, 
and, crossing the long miles of weary distance, 
arrived in Utah on October 29th of that year. 
Here he assumed family relations and formed 
the nucleus of a permanent home by his mar- 
riage union on October 21, of the same year to 
Miss Catherine Cardon, a daughter of Philip 
and Martha N. (Turner) Cardon, and engaged 
in agricultural operations near Salt Lake until 
1861. Mrs. Byrne was a native of Piedmont, 
Italy, and her parents were for a long time resi- 
dents in the romantic valley of Piedmont. Her 
father was of French ancestry and her mother 
of English origin, but the Cardon family existed 
in France previous to 1600, when the family 
made its home in the beautiful valley of Pied- 
mont on the borders of Italy and France, in 
order to avoid the persecution they as Hugue- 
nots were receiving in their native land on ac- 
count of their religion. In 1861, Mr. Byrne 
removed to Wyoming with his family and for a 
number of years was a railroad contractor in 
the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. 
He immediately located with his family at 
Piedmont, named from the Italian valley, and 
engaged extensively in the manufacturing of 
charcoal, in the transportation of which he 
utilized over fifty teams. The magnitude of his 
operations and the necessities of the community 
and his employes caused him to open a mer- 
cantile establishment at Piedmont, which he suc- 
cessfully conducted until his retirement from 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



457 



business operations a few years since. During 
the forty years of his residence in Wyoming, Mr. 
Byrne has steadily and without exception main- 
tained the character of a worthy, reliable and 
honest citizen. For years his counsel upon any 
and all questions of public interest has been im- 
plicitly relied upon by all who have known him. 
His political faith has been that of the Demo- 
cratic party and in its cause he has labored earn- 
estly and well. Fraternally, he is identified with 
that ancient order, the honored Brotherhood of 
Free and Accepted Masons, with which order he 
became affiliated in England, the place where 
he is still maintaining his membership. Mrs. 
Byrne, although a very modest and unassum- 
ing lady, is noted for her strength of char- 
acter and business ability, and has been in every 
way a true helpmeet to her husband and has 
had much to do with his unqualified success. 
They have had thirteen children, eight are now 
living. We here enter a brief record of them 
in order of birth : Joseph W., who resides six 
miles south of Piedmont, and of whom a per- 
sonal sketch appears in another part of this 
work; John P., also personally reviewed on an- 
other page of this volume; James B., who died 
at the age of sixteen years ; Alice, widow of the 
late Thomas Hinshaw ; William H., who is 
married and living on a ranch twenty miles 
north of Piedmont; Charles L., died in igoi at 
the age of thirty-seven years ; Albert, who died 
at the age of twenty-eight years ; Edwin W., who 
maintains his residence at Woodruff, Wyo. ; 
Francis, who is a resident of Piedmont; Arthur, 
who died in infancy ; Minnie and Mary, twins, 
of whom Minnie is now the wife of Fred W. 
Kendall, of Uinta-, Utah ; while Mary died at 
the age of two years and' seven months. The 
youngest child, Katie, married Sanford Fife, of 
Riverdale, Utah, where they are now residing. 
None of the present generation of Uinta county 
has been more identified with its every phase and 
development during the last half-century or has 
to-day a higher place in the esteem and love of 
its people, than the honorable and venerable 
Moses Byrne. His life during the whole of 
his long residence here has been one of activity, 



not only in his own interests but in those per- 
taining to the public weal. He is a representa- 
tive of that energetic class of men who have 
made the western portion of the United States 
famous on account of the enterprise and deter- 
mination with which they have undertaken and 
pushed to completion plans for the betterment 
of their own and children's material condition 
and also the business and moral interests of the 
communities where they have resided. 

ISAAC BULLOCK. 

The son of early pioneers and a native son 
of Wyoming, having been born on September 
19, 1857, on Willow Creek, at old Fort Supply, 
then located near the present site of the little 
town of Robertson, Mr. Bullock is most surely 
entitled to the name of a pioneer. And well 
has he justified the name, for he has from 
childhood battled witn the rugged elements of 
undeveloped nature, and by his own efforts has 
Wrung prosperity and a cheerful home out of 
most adverse appearing conditions. His par- 
ents were Isaac and Electa (Wood) Bullock, 
natives of New Hampshire and of Ohio, his pa- 
ternal grandparents being Benjamin and Mar- 
tha (Kimball) Bullock, farmers of New Hamp- 
shire. Isaac Bullock, Sr., was a man of strong 
mental powers, possessing great magnetism 
and energy, and as a leader of the Mormon 
church exercised a position of influence. He 
came to Utah in very early days, in 1849, ar >d 
here he met and married, his bride having pre- 
ceded him to- the land of hope and promise, 
coming hither in 1848. After their marriage 
they located at Fort Supply in 1856, and the 
father was thereafter high in the councils of 
the Church of the Latter Day Saints and had 
the lofty distinction of being the president of 
the high priests' quorum for several years be- 
fore his death, which occurred in 1891. His 
widow is now a resident of Provo, Utah. Isaac 
Bullock, Jr., was the eldest of the children of his 
parents and received the educational advan- 
tages of the schools of Utah, thereafter en- 
gaging in farming,' to which and to stockraising 



458 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



he has steadily and successfully devoted him- 
self, making the base of his operations in vari- 
ous portions of Utah, even his present residence 
being in that commonwealth. He came to this 
section in 1882 and took up the 160 acres which 
formed the nucleus of his present valuable es- 
tate of 538 acres, and here his stock .operations 
have been extensive and of great scope and im- 
portance, bringing him annually satisfactory re- 
turns and being of swift cumulative growth, his 
choice herds of cattle being the admiration of 
all beholders. Mr. Bullock became the head of 
a family on November 23, 1862, the date of his 
marriage to Miss Mary Webb, at Salt Lake 
City, Utah. Mrs. Bullock is a daughter of Par- 
don C. and Jane (Lee) Webb. She has been 
an able helpmeet to her husband and their 
pleasant home is a center of cordial hospitality, 
both occupying a high position in the regard of 
their numerous friends. They have seven chil- 
dren, Erne, Lucille, Owen, Electa, Irene, Gid- 
eon W. and Allen L. Mr. Bulloch is a devoted 
adherent to the fortunes of the Democratic 
party, but is not an aspirant for political or pub- 
lic office, honors or emoluments. 

HON. CHARLES N. POTTER. 

Among the distinguished men whom the 
state of New York has furnished to the Great 
West appears the name of Hon. Charles N. 
Potter, the present chief justice of Wyoming. 
For over a quarter of a century his life has 
been very closely interwoven with the profes- 
sional and judicial history of this common- 
wealth and the distinction achieved in many po- 
sitions of honor and trust has made him one 
of the most illustrious figures before the public. 
He was born in Otsego county, N. Y., on Oc- 
tober 31, 1852. His family history is traceable 
to an early period in the history of that part of 
the Empire state, his grandfather, Royal Potter, 
having been reared in the county of Otsego, 
where his ancestors settled many years ago, 
removing to that county from Rhode Island. 
George W. Potter, the father of the chief jus- 
tice, was also a native of the same count)- and 



there married Mary J. Marcellus, a representa- 
tive of one of the county's earliest families, and 
followed mechanical pursuits for a livelihood 
and about 1854 moved to Michigan, locating 
in the city of Grand Rapids, where his death oc- 
curred nine years later. His wife, who is still 
living, bore him two children, one son and one 
daughter, the name of the former furnishing the 
caption of this review. Judge Potter was about 
two years old when his parents moved to Mich- 
igan, where he attended the public schools, and 
there made commendable progress, and after 
finishing the branches there taught he took up 
the study of law under the direction of compe- 
tent instructors. Subsequently, in 1871, he be- 
came a student in the law department of the 
State University of Michigan, from which he was 
graduated in 1873, an d immediately thereafter 
began the practice of his profession in Grand 
Rapids. By diligent application he succeeded 
in winning recognition at the Kent county bar, 
and continued in practice there under favorable 
auspices until 1876, when he decided to seek 
a new field in the rapidly growing West, and 
came to Wyoming and became associated in 
legal practice with E. P. Johnson, the firm of 
Johnson & Potter continuing until the death 
of the senior member in October, 1879. For 
several years Mr. C. N. Potter practiced with 
Judge Riner, after the dissolution of this firm he 
was in practice alone until 1886, when he effected 
a copartnership with Willis Van Devanter. which 
lasted until 1888. From that time until 1891 
he was again without an associate, but in the 
latter year became the partner of T. F. Burke, 
with whom he remained until his elevation to 
the judgeship in 1895. Meanwhile the Judge 
built up a legal business of great magnitude and 
wide scope and won distinctive prestige as one 
of the most erudite and successful members of 
the Wvoming bar. His practice embraced an 
extensive territory and for a number of years 
his name was associated with nearly every im- 
portant case tried in the courts of Laramie 
county. He also took an active interest in the 
public affairs of the city and state, and in recog- 
nition of his abilities and peculiar fitness he was 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



459 



called from time to time to various positions of 
honor and trust. In 1878 he was appointed city 
attorney, the duties of which office he dis- 
charged until 1 88 1, when he was made attorney 
of Laramie county for a term of two years. 
Again in 1888 he was appointed to the former 
position, in which he served until 1891, when 
he was further honored by being chosen as at- 
torney-general of the state. His career in that 
high office covered a period of four years and 
was replete with duty ably and conscientiously 
performed to his own credit and to the satis- 
faction of the people. In 1889 he was a member 
of the convention which framed the present 
constitution of Wyoming, bore his full share in 
the deliberations of that body and his services 
on the committees on education, corporations 
and the judiciary left the impress of his ability. 
From 1888 to 1897 he served on the school 
board of Cheyenne and for five years of that 
time was its president. In this capacity he was 
instrumental in arousing an interest in educa 
tion and building up the school system of Chey- 
enne until, in point of professional ability on 
the part of the teaching force and the high 
standard of work done, it stood unexcelled by 
that of any other city in the state. In 1886 the 
Judge was made a member of the board of 
commissioners empowered to select appropriate 
sites and draw plans and specifications for the 
state capitol. In this as in every other trust 
confided to him his proceeding was straight- 
forward and truly businesslike, and met with 
the approbation of the authorities, by whom 
he had been selected. From 1887 to 1900, in- 
clusive, he was a member of the board of trus- 
tees having in charge the Laramie county pub- 
lic library, and he has been identified at differ- 
ent times with various other enterprises for the 
intellectual and moral advancement of the city 
of his residence and the state at large. He re- 
signed the attorney-generalship in 1895 to ac- 
cept the position of justice of the Supreme Court 
of the state, and has since served in that high 
office, becoming chief justice in 1897 on the 
death of Flon. A. B. Conaway, fully meeting 
the expectations of his friends and proving one 



of the able and distinguished jurists of his day. 
His professional career throughout has been 
highly creditable, and he occupies a conspicu- 
ous place among the leading members of a bar 
long noted for the high order of its legal talent. 
As a lawyer he is well grounded in the prin- 
ciples of his profession, while the high character 
he attained as a practitioner is attested by a 
large volume of business which came to him 
while actively engaged in his chosen calling. 
The honorable distinction acquired at the bar 
has been heightened by his judicial experience 
as the head of the highest tribunal in the state. 
His record since his elevation to the position 
he now holds has been noted for the soundness 
of his opinions, for his comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the law and the depths of judicial reas- 
oning in his decisions and for great breadth of 
thorough and legal erudition. In the discharge 
of every duty coming within his sphere, he ex- 
ercises* his functions with a dignity becoming 
the honorable station to which he has been 
called, and the impartiality in dispensing jus- 
tice has made him popular with the bar of the 
state and with the people whom he serves. He 
possesses a vigorous personality and a pleasing 
presence and impresses all with whom he comes 
in contact as a typical representative of sym- 
metrically developed manhood, one of the best 
products of American soil and American insti- 
tutions. With all his eminent ability as a law- 
yer and judge, he is entirely without ostenta- 
tion and to the humblest of his fellows he is easily 
accessible. Profound as a jurist and popular 
with the people in the private walks of life, it 
may truly be said that he is one of the notable 
men of the state which he honors with his citi- 
zenship. Judge Potter was married in 1877 
with Miss Ireland, a native of Canada, the union 
resulting in the birth of three children, of whom 
but one, Ada A., is living. Politically, the Judge 
has been a lifelong Republican, and it was by 
reason of his loyalty and eminent services to his 
party, as well as on account of his intellectual 
and professional fitness, that many of his public 
honors came to him. He has been a member 
of the city, county and state Republican central 



460 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



committees, and in 1892 was a delegate to the 
Republican national convention, which met at 
Minneapolis, serving in that body as the chair- 
man of the Wyoming delegation. He has long 
been prominent in Masonic circles and takes 
high rank in the order, having risen to the 
Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and he 
is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also 
an enthusiastic member of the Pythian Brother- 
hood, in which he has filled all the chairs and 
in 1887 was elected grand chancellor of the 
state, holding the office with dignity. 

BRYANT BUTLER BROOKS. 

Bryant Butler Brooks, of Casper, Wyoming, 
is an able representative of the best type of 
American manhood. He is widely and favorably 
known throughout the state, his abilities well 
fitting him for leadership in business, political 
and social life. The terms progress and pat- 
riotism are indicative of his character, for 
throughout his career he has labored for the im- 
provement of every line of business or public 
interest with which he has been associated, and 
at all times has demonstrated that he is ever 
actuated by fidelity to his commimity, his state, 
his country and his friends. Mr. Brooks de- 
scends from the celebrated Massachusetts fam- 
ily of his name that has ever been prominent in 
the various departments of New England life. 
The birthplace and early home of B. B. Brooks 
was at Bernardston, Franklin county, Mass. ; 
where, on February 5, 1861, he was born, a son 
of Silas N. and Melissa M. (Burrows) Brooks. 
His paternal grandfather, John Brooks, M. D., 
being a native of Vermont, who removed to 
Massachusetts when a young man and was long 
in successful medical practice at Bernardston, be- 
ing an honored and prominent citizen, serving in 
the legislature of the state for many years with 
great ability. His son, Silas N. was a manu- 
facturer of farming implements and also repre- 
sented his town in the Massachusetts legisla- 
ture and his district in the State Senate. In 
1871 he removed to Chicago, 111., there being 
for twentv-seven vears a member of the firm' of 



Sargeant, Greenleaf & Brooks, the very extensive 
manufacturers of safe and timelocks. He was 
a man of culture and education, straightforward 
and charitable. His family consisted of three 
sons and one daughter. The eldest son, John, 
is in the wholesale drygoods business in Albany, 
N. Y., and is also associated with B. B. Brooks 
in his Wyoming enterprises. The second son, 
Halbert G. Brooks, is the manager of the 
Rochester, N. Y., business of Sargeant, Green- 
leaf & Co. B. B. Brooks is the youngest son of 
his parents and was educated in Chicago. After 
passing a year in Nebraska he came to Wyoming 
and thoroughly familiarized himself with the 
stock business by actual experience on the range. 
In 1883 he organized the cattle firm of B. B. 
Brooks & Co., with headquarters on the Big 
Muddy Creek, eighteen miles southeast of Cas- 
per, and here under his personal supervision has 
been conducted an enterprise of great scope and 
importance in the raising of high grade cattle, 
his favorite breed being the Polled- Angus, and 
through his efforts in maintaining the high stan- 
dard of his stock, he has acquired a national re- 
putation, cattle from this ranch securing the 
first prize for the best specimens of Polled- Angus 
cattle exhibited at the -Fat Stock Show in 1902, 
while on beef cattle sold on the Chicago mar- 
kets he has on several occasions received the 
highest price paid on that day. This ranch is 
a splendid estate, containing as it does 7,000 
acres of patented land with a large proportion 
under good irrigation, on which he raises annu- 
ally over 2,000 tons of hay and alfalfa. To his 
extensive herds of cattle, in 1892 Mr. Brooks 
added sheep, and he is now running 15,000, the 
Rambouillet type of merino being his favorite. 
He has also a band of Percheron horses of ex- 
cellent quality. Upon this estate Mr. Brooks has 
erected a country residence, having' all modern 
improvements and latest sanitary appliances, with 
pure water in all parts, being lighted throughout 
with acetyline gas. The recognition of Mr. 
Brooks as an able public man and official has 
not been lacking. A stalwart Republican, he 
was one of the delegates to the National Re- 
publican convention that at St. Louis nominated 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



461 



William McKinley for president, and he held 
the distinguished position of presidential elector 
on the occasion of President McKinley's second 
election. In various local offices he has rendered 
valuable service and as a member of the Wyo- 
ming legislature evinced statesmanlike qualities 
of no common order. Fraternally, Mr. Brooks 
has a far-reaching acquaintance in the Masonic 
order, having attained to the Thirty-second de- 
gree of the Scottish Rite and also to the Knights 
Templar degree. He is also affiliated with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the 
Woodmen of the World. On March 11, 1886, 
Mr. Brooks wedded Miss Mary N. Willard, a 
native of Ohio and a daughter of Judge L. D. 
Willard, for years an eminent jurist of Ohio, 
later removing to Nebraska and engaging in 
stockraising, becoming a noted breeder of Short- 
horn cattle, having a very extensive farm in 
Thayer county. The children of this marriage 
are Jeanie W., a student of Wellesley, Mass., 
Abby B., Lena N., Melissa M. and Silas N. It 
has been well said that the strong men of a true 
people are always benefactors. Their usefulness 
in the immediate and specific spheres of their 
activity can be measured and guaged, but the 
good they perform through the forces they set 
in motion, and through the inspiration of their 
presence and example, is immeasurable by any 
finite gauge or standard of value. In this class 
and with this influence we must reckon Mr. 
Brooks, while the rare atmosphere of cultured 
hospitality surrounding his home is a delight and 
charming pleasure to the extensive circle of the 
friends of the family. 

HON. CHARLES W. BURDICK. 

This distinguished gentleman, who so ca- 
pably discharged the duties of secretary of state 
of Wyoming, is a native of Ohio, born in Lucas 
county on August 15; i860, a son of Leander 
and Celia (Williams) Burdick, the father having 
birth in Pennsylvania and the mother in Ohio. 
Leander Burdick located at Toledo in 1839 an d 
since that time he has been prominently identi- 
fied with the manufacturing and banking inter- 



ests of that city ; filling also many positions of 
public confidence and trust. Charles W. Bur- 
dick was the only child of his parents and he 
was educated in the public schools of Toledo,, 
at the Friends' school of Providence, R. I., and 
at the Ohio Wesleyan University. His profes- 
sional education was acquired at the University 
of Michigan, where he graduated from the law 
department of that institution. In 1879 Mr. 
Burdick was induced by the many attractions 
of western life and the hope of improved health 
to locate in Wyoming, and for some, years he 
here devoted his attention to the live stock busi- 
ness, until restored physical energy permitted 
him to undertake the practice of his chosen pro- 
fession. From the year of Mr. Burdick's ar- 
rival in Wyoming dates his active interest in the 
political and public affairs of the state. He was 
a member of the Territorial Legislature of 1889 
and of the convention which framed the present 
state constitution, and, like the typical and pro- 
gressive western man, he has always taken an 
active interest in such projects and enterprises 
as aid in developing the resources of the state. 
In 1890, upon the admission of Wyoming into 
the Union, Mr. Burdick was elected auditor of 
state, the first man to hold that office, and dis- 
charged the duties of the position for a period 
of four years, retiring therefrom in 1894 with 
an enviable record for efficiency and prompt- 
ness in the transaction of business. In the lat- 
ter year he was again honored by a signal mark 
of public favor in being elected secretary of 
state, which office he held for one term of four 
years. As state auditor he rendered valuable 
service to the state, especially in protecting the 
people from the operations of certain fraudu- 
lent bond companies, and as -secretary of state 
he was instrumental in securing an increased 
revenue from corporation fees and in putting 
before the public in attractive form literature 
descriptive of the state's resources. Mr. Bur- 
dick was married in 1885 with Miss Harriet 
Fuller of Ohio, who has borne him one daugh- 
ter, Margaret. In his political adherency Mr. 
Burdick is an unswerving Republican and he 
has been a potential factor in the counsels of 



zl62 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



his party throughout the state, being one of its 
recognized leaders. He has done much effec- 
tive service in campaigns and has received man) 7 
honors from his party, in every instance dem- 
onstrating his worthiness for these marks of 
favor. In 1894 he became associated in the 
practice of law with Hon. Josiah A. Van Ors- 
del, and the firm thus constituted still exists, 
being recognized as one of the leading, law firms 
of the state. Professionally, Mr. Burdick is rec- 
ognized as a safe and careful lawyer, command- 
ing the confidence of his clients and the respect 
of the courts. His laudable ambition to excel 
in his profession, Coupled with industry, close 
application and a clear comprehension of the 
principles of jurisprudence, have resulted in a 
clientage representing many of the largest 
property interests in the state. In addition to 
his professional work, he has interests in live 
stock and banking, and possesses that practical 
business knowledge and experience which qual- 
ifies him for the position he occupies in the pro- 
fessional and business circles of Wyoming. His 
fraternal relations are with the Masonic order. 
In the domain of private citizenship Mr. Bur- 
dick is essentially a western man, enjoying to 
an eminent degree the confidence and esteem of 
all with whom he associates. 

GEORGE BRUNDAGE. 

Born and reared on what was at the time 
the frontier of Ohio, and since then a pioneer 
in four states, George Brundage of near Sheri- 
dan, Wyoming, has seen stirring times and 
aided in bringing many regions from barbarism 
and primeval wildness to civilization and the 
blessings of cultivated life. He was born in 
Seneca county, Ohio, not far from the present 
thriving and progressive city of Tiffin, his life 
beginning on November 18, 1832. His parents, 
Thomas and Osee (Depew) Brundage, were na- 
tives of New York, who settled in Seneca 
county in 1824 among the first white people to 
plant a domestic shrine in that then far western 
region. There they passed their lives actively 
engaged in farming, the mother dying in 1878 



and the father a year later. In his native county 
Mr. Brundage grew to manhood and received 
his education, and after leaving school assisted 
his father on the farm, teaching school in the 
winter. He remained at the parental home un- 
til 1864, and then becoming infected with the 
gold fever that spread like wildfire from Vir- 
ginia City, Mont., he set out for that distant 
region, traveling overland from Grinnell, Iowa, 
by way of old Fort Laramie and the Big Horn 
mountains with a large train of 150 wagons and 
Mr. Brundage was made sheriff of the train. 
They had one brisk fight with Indians and lost 
four men. He reached his destination footsore 
and weary, but with high hopes and undaunted 
spirit. He remained at Virginia City four years 
engaged in teaming and prospecting, then, in 
1868, left for a new land of promise that had 
just opened around Omaha. From Fort Ben- 
ton he went down the Missouri to this place, 
and a short time later returned to his Ohio 
home on a visit. In 1869 he again sought op- 
portunity in the West and, locating in Bates 
county, Mo., for eleven years he was actively 
occupied in cultivating the farm he had there 
purchased. In 1880 he sold out in Missouri 
and went- to Gunnison, Colo., where he followed 
the lumber business for a year. He then set 
out for Cheyenne and from there went to Dead- 
wood, S. D., and in June, 1881. came to north- 
ern Wyoming and took up his present ranch on 
Little Goose Creek, two miles south of Sheri- 
dan. The country was new and wild and he 
was one of the first to try to place it under 
cultivation. For a year he furnished logs for 
the fort by contract, later giving his whole at- 
tention to his farming and stock industries, im- 
proving his ranch and developing his business 
by everv proper effort on his part. Of the T.000 
acres of good land which he owns. 270 acres 
are irrigated and brought by skillful farming to 
a high state of cultivation. He conducts here 
a prosperous and well-managed stock business, 
and his son, Howard, following his lead, has 
land in the Bighorn basin, where he also is 
engaged in the cattle industry on a scale of 
increasing magnitude, and with correspondingly 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



463 



gratifying" results. Mr. Brundage is a zealous 
and active Democrat. He has been constant 
and useful in the service of his party and 
brought credit to its ranks while acting as a 
justice of the peace, county commissioner and 
a member of the State Legislature. To the last 
office he was first elected in 1893 an d was re- 
elected with enthusiasm and increased support. 
In the fall of 1902 he was nominated by his 
party for the position of state senator from his 
county. As showing his vigor and resourceful- 
ness in the discharge of official duty, it should 
be noted that on one occasion while he was 
serving as justice of the peace, a fugitive from 
justice who was making his escape across a 
swollen river was promptly committed to cus- 
tody by Judge Brundage, who held his court 
on one side of the creek while the sheriff and 
the prisoner were on the other side. After the 
evidence was in the court fined the prisoner. 
Mr. Brundage was married in Seneca county, 
Ohio, on January 1, 1857, to Miss Mary E. 
Hall, a native of New Jersey, and a daughter 
of William and Catherine (Jones) Hall, also 
natives of New Jersey, who came as early set- 
tlers to Ohio, and soon after their arrival the 
father died. To the Brundage household six 
children have been born and all are living. They 
are Howard, Thomas, Lora, George F., Mary 
and Virgil A. In public life and private station 
the head of the house has borne himself with 
commendable manhood and has exemplified the 
best elements of the most admired citizenship. 

THOMAS BLYTH. 

One of the leading and most enterprising 
citizens of Evanston, Wyoming, who was born 
in County Kirkcaldy, Scotland, in 1842, Thomas 
Blyth is the son of Peter and Catherine (Hax- 
ton) Blyth, both natives of the same country. 
The father was a sea-captain and sailed the seas 
until the time of his death, which occurred in 
1864 at the age of forty-eight. His remains were 
buried in the West Indies. He was a member of 
a lodge of Freemasons at Glasgow, Scotland, 
and his father, grandfather of Thomas, was a 



Scotch weaver. Mrs. Caroline. (Haxton) Blyth, 
the mother of Thomas, was married in the coun- 
ty of her birth and survived her husband until 
1887, when she died at the age of seventy-one 
and her remains rest in her native county. She 
was a devoted member of the Free church of 
Scotland and her parents were Thomas and 
Catherine (Pringle) Haxton, natives of Kirk- 
caldy county, and her father, like the paternal 
grandfather of Thomas Blyth, was a weaver, 
and had charge of a weaving plant, living until 
1847, when he died at the age of seventy-six and 
was buried in his native county, as was his wife 
who died in 1843, aged sixty-eight. They were 
both devoted, deeply religious and conscientious 
members of the Free church. Thomas Blyth 
was educated in Scotland and at the age of six- 
teen he took employment in the steamship office 
of Brown & Hutchinson at Glasgow and re- 
mained for nine years and at the time of his 
leaving he had attained the position of pay- 
master and shipping clerk. He emigrated to the 
United States in 1868, coming first to Chicago, 
in a few days however going to Iowa, where he 
remained about three months. Coming from 
there to Wyoming he took employment as a clerk 
for the Wyoming Coal and Mining Co., at Car- 
bon and in the following March he left for Sher- 
idan, Kan., where he clerked for Seller & Co., 
until August, when he departed for California. 
Thence he visited various places, finally return- 
ing to Carbon to take up his former work, con- 
tinuing at this until 1872, when he took a trip to 
Scotland for some months, returning in October 
of the same year to settle in Evanston where he 
established a merchandise business, with which 
' he has ever since been occupied. The establish- 
ment is one of the finest in Evanston, conducted 
under the name of Blyth & Fargo, Mr. Blyth be- 
ing the president and manager. Careful and de- 
liberate in all his undertakings, the result of his 
efforts is such that he may well be proud of 
them. He has been a county commissioner for 
eight years and is a valued member of the Ma- 
sonic order. He was first married in 1874. His 
wife was Isabella Carmichael, a native of Glas- 

at the age of 



gow, Scotland. She died in 1 



464 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



thirty-eight and was buried at Evanston, and her 
children are : Thomas, Catherine, Charles, Wil- 
liam and Isabella. She was the daughter of 
Robert and Anna (Dicky) Carmichael, natives 
of Scotland, and now deceased. Mr. Blyth mar- 
ried again in 1892, then taking to wife Miss 
Fanny Anderson, a native of New York and a 
daughter of James and Emily (Brockbank) An- 
derson, the former a native of New York and the 
latter of Connecticut. The father is now dead 
and buried at Canandaigua, N. Y., while the 
mother lives in Evanston. 

HUGH CALLANDER. 

One of the leading citizens and business men 
of Converse county, Wyoming, Hugh Callan- 
der, now the president of the Bank of Lusk, was 
born at Bannockburn, Scotland, on December 
25, 1845, the son of John and Mary (Stevenson) 
Callander, natives of Scotland. Both his pater- 
nal and maternal grandfathers were weavers and 
skilled in that pursuit, and his grandmother, 
Margaret Nelson, was related to the Nelson 
family of Thomas Nelson & Sons, the great pub- 
lishing house of Edinburg. In 1861 the father 
of Mr. Callander disposed of , his home and 
property in Scotland and with his family came 
to America, settling at Rice Lake, Minn. Here 
he engaged in farming for' many years and his 
family consisted of six children, Hugh of this 
sketch being the youngest. Receiving his early 
education in Scotland, his opportunities for at- 
tending school instruction after his arrival in 
America were limited, and soon after the es- 
tablishment of the family home in Minnesota 
Mr. Callander enlisted as a member of Co. B, 
Mounted Minnesota Rangers, commanded by 
Colonel McPhail, his company commander be- 
ing Captain Austin. The regiment was mus- 
tered in at St. Peter for one year's service, the 
greater portion of his time being spent in Da- 
kota in service against the Sioux. The regi- 
ment had manv engagements with the Indians 
and were compelled to do much scouting serv- 
ice. Their principal engagement was the Battle 
of the Big Hills, at the junction of Apple Creek 



with the Missouri River, which continued for 
three clays. In this battle many of the soldiers 
were killed and wounded and the losses of the 
Indians were very severe, many being drowned 
in the Missouri in their efforts to escape. At 
the end of his term of service he reenlisted in 
Co. L, Second Minnesota Cavalry, and was 
mustered in at Fort Snelling. The commander 
of the regiment was Colonel Pfender and the 
commander of his company Capt. H. S. Bing- 
ham. The regiment saw much active service 
on the frontier, where it was stationed until 
1866. During the latter part of his term of 
service Mr. Callander was on detached duty 
and had no serious engagements, receiving an 
honorable discharge in Ma}', 1866. After his 
military life was ended he removed to Minneap- 
olis, where he secured a position as a clerk in a 
grocery store, in which employment he re- 
mained for about two years. He then returned 
to Rice Lake and engaged in farming in com- 
pany with his father, remaining there for three 
years, thence removing to the state of Indiana, 
where he was in the drygoods business for a 
short time, soon, however, beginning the study 
of law and in due time he was admitted as a 
member of the bar of Kosciusko county, Ind., 
and established himself in legal practice at 
Syracuse, Ind., where he remained from April, 
1877 to 1882, and during four vears of this 
time he served as a justice of the peace. In 
1882 he removed his residence to the then terri- 
•tory of Wyoming, entered the employ of the 
Union Cattle Co., with headquarters at Chey- 
enne, and remained there for about two vears, 
when he returned to the East. In February, 
1887, he returned to Wyoming and located in 
the town of Lusk, becoming the cashier of the 
Bank of Richards Bros., continuing in this po- 
sition up to the time of the retirement of the 
firm in 1893. In the spring of 1894 he formed 
a partnership with Bartlett Richards and they 
conducted a successful banking business ui 
Lusk up to 1899, when the growth of the busi- 
ness of the bank had been such that a corpora- 
tion was formed, known as the Bank of Lusk. 
Mr. Callander being the cashier and Mr. Rich- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



465 



ards president. In July, 1899, Mr. Callander 
purchased the interest of his partner and be- 
came president of the institution. Through his 
enterprise and conservative business judgment 
the bank has grown from small beginnings until 
it now does a large and constantly increasing 
business and has cordial relations with all re- 
sponsible banks, both of the state and the coun- 
try. The bank building and equipment, burg- 
lar-proof safes, with the latest improved auto- 
matic time-locks, etc., are among the finest in 
Wyoming, having also a large number of safety 
deposit boxes for the accommodation of its 
customers and patrons, and doing a liberal, yet 
a safe and conservative business. Mr. Callan- 
der is one of the most substantial and success- 
ful business men in his section of the state. 
On February 8, 1872, Mr. Callander was united 
in marriage with Mrs. Isabella Sprague, a na- 
tive of Ohio, and they have one daughter, Jes- 
sie. Mr. Callander is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and is also affiliated with 
the Masonic order. He is one of the leading 
business men of Wyoming and has done much 
in the development of the resources and the 
building up of his section of the state. 

A. D. COOK. 

The world judges the character of a com- 
munity by its representative citizens and yields 
its admiration and respect to those whose 
works and actions constitute a state's prosper- 
ity and pride. Among the representative men 
and also faithful officials of Converse county, 
Wyoming, is Mr. Cook, who, by his own efforts 
and determined industry and integrity, has been 
the builder of his own prosperity and maintains 
an honored position in the esteem of the citi- 
zens of the county. He was born in Edinburg, 
Scotland, on June 19, 1861, a grandson of Arch- 
ibald Cook and the son of John and Margaret 
J. (Johnstone) Cook, both natives of Scotland. 
The Cooks were of comparatively recent Scotch 
origin, the family removing thither from Eng- 
land, where it had long existed. The maternal 
grandfather, Thomas Johnstone, possessed a 
Scotch lineage reaching back beyond the mem- 



ory of man, yet he married with the attractive 
daughter of a German sea-captain by the name 
of Smith. The paternal grandfather was long 
a prosperous merchant at Cross Gates, Scot- 
land, and there the father remained until his 
emigration in 1868, learning masonry and be- 
ing engaged in contracts on railways and stone 
bridge work. He then came to America and 
was identified with coalmining at Barclay, Pa., 
for thirteen vears, after which he removed to 
Iowa, where he passed ten more years in pros- 
pecting and mining and then returned to Penn- 
sylvania, where he lived a retired life the rest 
of his days, dying on November 18, 1889, leav- 
ing eleven children to mourn his loss. A. D. 
Cook was the eldest child, and in the national 
schools of Edinburg and the public schools 
of Pennsylvania were obtained his educational 
acquirements, which were solid and effective 
in securing a position in a clerical relation in a 
mercantile house at Barclay, he thereafter in 
Iowa engaging in prospecting for coal and in 
railroading for several years, then starting for 
the brilliant land of promise, the Black Hills 
country, where his energies were given to prac- 
tical mining and employment in the amalga- 
mator and mills, remaining thus occupied for 
several years, when he returned to Iowa, be- 
ing shortly afterward, in 1886, employed by the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad to make a 
prospecting trip through Converse county, 
Wyo., and in this congenial occupation he con- 
tinued for eighteen months, becoming well ac- 
quainted with the mineral and industrial re- 
sources of the county and forming a warm 
friendship with many of its citizens, this proving 
of great benefit to him in later years. Follow- 
ing this employment Mr. Cook made a per- 
manent location in the new county-seat town 
of Douglas, his first activities there being the 
supplying of the people with meat, in which use- 
ful vocation he successfully continued for three 
years, relinquishing this to become the engineer 
of the newlv established water-works, in which 
he did faithful service until 1891. He is also 
a stockholder in the Easterbrook Galena Min- 
ing Co., which is operating near Laramie Peak. 
Being always interested in public matters and 



466 



PROGRESSIVE MEX OF WYOMING. 



political questions he had given earnest support 
to the Republican party, and in 1891 was nomi- 
nated by that party for county clerk and regis- 
ter of deeds and was successful at the polls, 
holding those responsible dual offices with pub- 
lic approval and by successive elections until 
1897, when to those offices was added that of 
clerk of the court and Mr. Cook received the 
flattering commendation of a reelection, and 
until the present writing from year to year the 
satisfaction of the people has been recorded by 
his annual election to attend to the same du- 
ties. His activities have by no means been con- 
fined to his official duties ; he has been an active 
factor in every public enterprise for the benefit 
Of the city or county. In 1891 he reorganized 
the Douglas band and has been its leader from 
that time, by his labors and executive ability, in 
connection with his talent as an instructor, so 
raising its moral standard that it has made 
great progress, being now generally admitted 
to be one of the leading bands of the state, and it 
was appointed in 1901 the military band of the 
First Regiment of Wyoming. In August, 1880, 
IMiss Florence H. Hartman and Mr. Cook were 
united in marriage. She was born in Findlay, 
Ohio, a daughter of Amos A. Hartman, and is 
a worthy descendant of one of the original set- 
tlers of Ohio, the family often appearing in 
the pioneer days in connection with deeds of 
bravery and daring. Their children are Arthur 
H., Ethel, Douglas, Beatrice and Xell Marga- 
ret. The family is active in the social life of the 
city and Mr. Cook prominently connected with, 
the Woodmen of the World and with the Ma- 
sons, being at this writing the "tyler" of his 
Masonic lodge, while in Odd Fellowship he has 
"passed the chairs" and is district deputy grand 
master and chief patriarch of the Encampment. 
We can no better close this review than to re- 
peat what has heretofore been written: "Mr. 
Cook is a man in the prime of life who has many 
of the best traits of the Scottish race, and is 
and officer and citizen of whom Converse coun- 
ty may well feel justly proud. He is a produc- 
tion of the best element of the citizenship of 
Wyoming." 



WILLIAM C. DEMIXG 

William C. Deming, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
was born at Mount Olivet, Ky., on December 
6, 1869. His father. Judge O. S. Deming, was 
born in Xew York state and ■ entered the 
Union army at a very early age. and settling in 
Kentucky just after the Civil War. He mar- 
ried with Miss Leona C. Rigg, a highly cultured, 
artistic Kentucky woman. Judge Deming is still 
a leading Kentucky Republican and has held 
many positions- of honor and trust. William C. 
Deming, the eldest son, attended the public 
schools of his native town and entered Alleghenv 
College, Meadville, Pa., in September, 1886. at 
the age of sixteen years. He was graduated in 
June, 1890, as the president of his class. He re- 
ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts at his 
graduation and that of Master of Arts three 
years later. After graduation he studied law in 
the office of his father and was admitted to the 
Kentucky bar in 1893. During his law studies 
he did the editorial work on the Robertson 
County Tribune. In March, 1894, Mr. Deming 
was asked to help organize a company to pur- 
chase the Warren (Ohio) Daily Tribune, and 
upon its formation, he was made its editor and 
later bought the interests of his associates. He 
continued to edit that paper until 1901, when, 
though continuing the ownership of the War- 
ren (O.) Tribune, he came to Cheyenne, Wyo., 
to accept the editorship and management of the 
Wyoming Daily Tribune. Under Mr. Deming's 
management the Tribune has become the lead- 
ing paper of Wyoming and he has become a 
heavy stockholder in the paper. At the election 
in Wyoming in November, 1902. Mr. Deming 
was elected to the legislature and was one of 
the active members of the House. He is a writer 
of articles for Eastern papers and a lecturer of 
some ability. Under the law creating the "Wyo- 
ming Commission of the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
position'' the late Governor Richards appointed 
Mr. Deming a member of the commission. 
Upon organization Mr. Deming was elected the 
secretary of that body. Though operating two 
daily papers, one in Ohio and one in Wyoming, 







W. C. DEMING. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



467 



Mr. Denting finds time to take an active interest . 
in everything looking to the development of the 
young and growing state of Wyoming. 

C. H. COOK. 

One of the prominent and successful stock- 
growers and farmers of Johnson county, Wyo- 
ming, living on Johnson Creek, eight miles west 
of Buffalo, C. H. Cook, can smile at fortune's 
freaks and rest content in the secure and com- 
fortable anchorage he has found in a snug and 
safe harbor after many buffets of adverse winds 
and tides. For he has challenged the capricious 
dame into the lists and dared her worst assaults. 
He is a native of Arkansas where he was born 
on April 2, 1850, the son of Jefferton and Polly 
(Jones) Cook, who were born and reared in 
Tennessee and removed to Arkansas soon after 
their marriage, where the mother died while her 
son, C. H. Cook, was yet a small child. Thus left 
an orphan at a very early age, Mr. Cook was 
closely attached to the fortunes of his father and 
when five years old 'accompanied him to Texas 
where two years were passed. . Together they 
then returned' to his native state and in 1867 
they turned their faces to the Pacific coast, load- 
ing their worldly possessions on wagons they 
drove their ox-teams to San Diego county, Calif., 
and there engaged in farming until the death of 
his father, after which, in 1872, he made his way 
to Salt Lake and from there to Colorado, hunting 
buffalo and gradually working towards his old 
home in Arkansas. In 1873 he returned to 
California and five years later came to Wyoming 
and in this state and Colorado furnished hay to 
the U. S. government under contract. In 1883 
he determined to locate permanently on a ranch, 
selected the one on which he now lives and at 
once began improving it and aiding in the devel- 
opment of the surrounding country. He built the 
first wire fence put up in what is now Johnson 
county and was one of the organizers of the 
North Fork Ditch Co., which has constructed an 
irrigation ditch fifteen miles long, through its aid 
reclaiming over 7,000 acres of arid land. Mr. 
Cook has 160 acres of excellent land and is carry- 

29 



ing on an extensive stock industry with gratify- 
ing returns and expanding volume. He was 
married at Denver, Colo., in 1872 to Miss Mary 
Pauley, a native of Arkansas. After thirteen 
years of happy wedded life she died at Buffalo, 
Wyo., in 1885, leaving six children : Annie, mar- 
ried to Frank Yarwood ; Fannie, deceased ; Mag- 
gie, married to Frederick Fernacase ; Hampton ; 
Plerbert; May; all the living ones being residents 
of Johnson county. In 1889 he contracted a 
second marriage with Mrs. Phoebe Boyce, a na- 
tive of Wisconsin and at the time of her mar- 
riage with Mr. Cook a widow with two children, 
William Boyce and Retta, now Mrs. Edward 
Holloway of Johnson county. The Cooks have five 
children living, Blanche, Benjamin, Churchie, 
Jennie and Melvin. Mr. Cook's life has been 
busy and adventurous. He crossed the plains 
thirteen times with teams when every hour was 
full of hazard, and while contracting at different 
places saw much of danger and disaster. He 
was at Fort Steele when the White River mas- 
sacre occurred, and like many another, became 
so inured to peril that it seemed at times to al- 
most lose its impressiveness. He is now one of 
the leading and most highly esteemed citizens of 
the county he has helped to build, having well 
earned his place in the regards of his fellow men. 

JOHN T. CONLEY. 

John T. Conley, the postmaster of Bighorn 
and a leading merchant of the town, has had a 
varied and trying experience. Fate has not 
dealt overkindly with him at any time, and often 
she has been severely against him, but his in- 
domitable will and unyielding resources have 
enabled him to triumph over his > worst estate 
and come forward to the next encounter with 
cheerfulness and undaunted courage. He was 
born at Galesburg, 111., in 1844, his parents, John 
and Susan (Carr) Conley having settled in that 
region when they sought in this country a 
larger opportunity for advancement and greater 
freedom of action than was available to them in 
their native Ireland. In the town of his birth he 
grew to the age of eighteen and was educated in 



468 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the public schools. In 1862 he enlisted in the 
Federal army in Co. D, One hundred and Second 
Illinois Infantry, and served to the close of the 
Civil War, seeing hard service in the field and on 
the march, attending Sherman in his triumphant 
progress to the sea and being mustered out in 
1865. He then returned to Illinois and engaged 
in farming for awhile in his native county and 
later in Ford county. In 1873 he was taken sick 
with an illness that was serious and lasted seven 
years. When he recovered his health in some 
measure, he engaged in the drug business for 
two years. In 1875 he removed to Knoxville, 
Iowa, and there for eight years conducted a 
merchandising enterprise with success and vigor. 
In 1883 he sold out and removed to North 
Dakota, where he was occupied with an exten- 
sive and prosperous real-estate business. From 
1885 to 1901 he was in charge of a fruit industry 
in southern Missouri and in 1901 also he came 
to Wyoming and took up his residence at Big- 
horn. In 1902 he was appointed postmaster, 
having previously opened a merchandising es- 
tablishment, which he is still conducting and 
which meets the requirements of a large, ex- 
panding and exacting trade. Mr. Conley was 
married at Henderson, 111., in 1867 with Miss 
Ruth McMurtrey, a native of that state and a 
daughter of James and Eliza (Rice) McMurtrey. 
They have four children, Minnie S., James, 
George and W. O. In all the relations of life 
Mr. Conley has met his responsibilities in a 
manly and self-reliant manner and among all 
classes of people he has sustained himself with 
commendable independence and force of char- 
acter. He is a member of the order of Free- 
masons, belonging to Willow Springs lodge at 
Willow Springs, Mo. In the welfare of the 
order he takes an earnest interest, as he does in 
the progress and improvement of his home com- 
munity and in that of his state. 

ANDREW T. CLARK. 

Andrew T. Clark, of the firm of Black & 
Clark, contractors, builders, planing-mill and 
lumberyard proprietors at Cheyenne, Wyom- 
ing, is a native of Canada and was born on 



Prince Edward Island on April 22, 1859, a son 
of Ewen and Marjorie (Robbins) Clark, natives 
of the same place and parents of six children, 
of whom Andrew T. is the eldest, the father be- 
ing a farmer and stockman. Andrew T. Clark 
attended a public school until seventeen years 
of age and then learned the carpenter's trade. 
After having finished his apprenticeship he 
worked in Boston, Mass., one year as a jour- 
neyman, then came west and for two years 
worked in Central City, Colo., as a carpenter 
and millwright, and in 1883 came to Cheyenne, 
Wyo., and worked at his trade until 1891, when 
he formed a partnership with P. J. Black in 
a general contracting and building business 
under the firm name of Black & Clark, in which 
they engaged in operating a planing-mill and 
in 1 900 added a lumberyard, in which they' han- 
dle not only all kinds of lumber, but everything 
pertaining to the building industry, and con- 
stantly employ from twenty to thirty men in 
the various departments of their now extensive 
business. In politics Mr. Clark is a prominent 
Republican and exceedingly popular with his 
party as well as with the general public. He 
was a member of the Second State Legislature 
in 1892 and 1893, was very vigilant in caring 
for the interests of his constituents and also 
served on several of the most important com- 
mittees appointed by the Speaker, being like- 
wise very active on the floor of the House, tak- 
ing part in all debates upon matters of general 
importance, and proving himself a shrewd par- 
liamentarian and an eloquent and convincing 
orator. Mr. Clark has likewise been a member 
of the city council of Cheyenne for the past six 
years, and as chairman of the water committee 
he has made a profound study of the important 
subject of water supply, and is at present be- 
yond a doubt the best posted man in Wyoming 
on the various systems of water supply in the 
state. Fraternally. Mr. Clark is a member of 
the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks and the Who's Who 
Order, being a favorite with all from his genial 
good-natured temperament and being con- 
trolled in all his actions by charitable considera- 
tion of the impulses and acts of his fellow men. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



469 



The marriage of Mr. Clark was solemnized in 
July, 1885, at Cheyenne, with Miss Mary Hunt, 
the accomplished daughter of Thomas and 
Catherine Hunt of Darlington, Wis., and to 
this happy union have been born three children, 
Marjory, who unfortunately was called away in 
April, 1901, Harry and Catherine. Mr. Clark 
is one of the most energetic, reliable and indus- 
trious residents of Cheyenne, and his residence 
in the community is a matter of general con- 
gratulation. 

HON. SAMUEL T. CORN. 

It is not an easy task to follow in detail the 
career of a man who has led an eminently act- 
ive and busy life and attained to a position of 
high distinction in the more important and ex- 
acting fields of human endeavor. But biog- 
raphy finds its justification in the tracing and 
recording of just such lives, and it is with a full 
appreciation of all that is demanded as well as 
with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer 
essays the task of now touching briefly upon the 
salient facts in the career of the distinguished 
public servant whose name furnishes the cap- 
tion of this review. Whatever may be said of 
the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that 
members of the bar have been more prominent 
in public affairs than those of any other profes- 
sion or vocation. The ability and learning 
which qualify a man for this most exacting of 
all callings also qualify him in many respects 
for duties which lie outside the strict path of 
his profession and which touch the general in- 
terests of society and the business world. Hold- 
ing marked precedence among the distinguished 
jurists of the West, with a reputation extend- 
ing beyond the confines of his state, Hon. Sam- 
uel T. Corn, an associate justice of the Supreme 
Court of Wyoming, has long been accorded an 
honorable place in the judicial history of vari- 
ous states of the American commonwealth. A 
man who "stands four-square to every wind 
that blows," and whose strength and service are 
as the number of his days, much might be writ- 
ten upon his life and yet much more touching his 



active, useful and eminently honorable career 
still be omitted. In view of this fact it is in- 
tended that the following lines shall contain 
but a brief epitome of the life, professional rec- 
ord and public services of this typical Ameri- 
can, who has so deeply impressed his person- 
ality upon the state in which he now holds such 
high official station. Samuel T. Corn was born 
in Jessamine county, Ky., on October 8, 1840, 
and is a descendant of one of the early settlers 
of that part of the state. His paternal grand- 
father, Solomon Corn, was a pioneer of Ken- 
tucky, settling in Mercer county when the coun- 
try was new and bearing his full share of the 
hardships and privations peculiar to the period 
in which he lived. Ellis Corn, father of the 
Judge, was born in Kentucky and spent all of 
his life there, dying in Jessamine county in 1854. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Emily 
Thompson, was also a native of the Blue Grass 
state and a representative of one of the oldest 
families of the county, in which she was born 
and reared ; she survived her husband several 
years, departing this life in 1863. Of the chil- 
dren born to Ellis and Emily Corn, five are liv- 
ing at the present time, two sons and three 
daughters, the Judge being the only one resid- 
ing in Wyoming. Judge Corn was reared in 
his native state and into his mind were early in- 
stilled the lessons of integrity, honor and in- 
dustry, which have borne fruit throughout all 
the years of his active life. His preliminary 
educational discipline, acquired in the home 
schools, aroused in his mind an ardent desire 
for knowledge and a laudable ambition for the 
means, of its gratification. Desirous of furnish- 
ing him the best advantages obtainable, his 
mother in 1858 sent him to Princeton College, 
in which institution he prosecuted his studies 
until completing the prescribed course, receiv- 
ing his degree two years later. With his mind 
well fructified by intellectual discipline, Mr. 
Corn on leaving college began the study of law 
at Nicholasville, Ky., under the direction of W. 
R. Welch, a prominent attorney of that place, 
and in 1863 he was formally admitted to the 
bar. He opened an office in Lancaster, where 



4/0 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



he soon took rank as an able and judicious law- 
yer, building up a lucrative practice in the 
courts of Garrard and neighboring counties and 
winning recognition at a bar long noted for the 
high order of its talent.. After spending about 
three years in the above place Mr. Corn in 
1866 went to Carlinville, 111., where he practiced 
his profession continuously until 1886. These 
twenty years of laborious, conscientious work 
brought with them not only increase of prac- 
tice and reputation, but also that growth in 
legal knowledge and that wide and accurate 
judgment, the possession of which constitutes 
the more marked excellence, of the really great 
lawyer. Probably there was no attorney in the 
district where he resided whose opinions were 
more largely sought, or were more widely re- 
spected than his own, and • his reputation, as 
well as his clientele, increased in magnitude and 
importance with each recurring year. In 1872 
he was elected state's attorney and served in 
that capacity two terms, retiring from the office 
in 1880. In 1886 Mr. Corn was appointed by 
President Cleveland an associate justice of the 
Supreme Court of Wyoming and served in that 
high position with distinguished ability until 
1890, when he retired and resumed the active 
practice of his profession at Evanston, Wyo. 
He remained at the latter place until 1896, when 
he was again elevated to a place on the su- 
preme bench and has served in that capacity 
ever since, with credit to himself and with sat- 
isfaction to the state. While engaged in the 
practice of law Judge Corn was regarded as 
one of the foremost representatives of the legal 
profession of the different places where his 
talents were exercised. Thoroughly versed in 
the science of jurisprudence, with a profound 
knowledge of every branch of the law, he be- 
came an able councilor and a shrewd but ju- 
dicious practitioner, and easily stood among the 
most scholarly and erudite members of the bar. 
In the trial of causes he was uniformly courte- 
ous to the court, his opponent and witnesses. 
He cared little for display and never lost a 
point for the sake of creating a favorable im- 
pression, but sought to impress the jury rather 



by weight of facts in his favor and solid argu- 
ment than by appeals to prejudice. In discuss- 
ing principles of law he was remarkable for 
frank clearness of statement and candor, sought 
faithfully for firm ground on which to stand 
and, when once he found it, nothing could drive 
him from his position. His zeal for his client 
never led him to urge an argument which in 
his judgment was not in harmony with the law. 
His conceptions of legal, principles were clear- 
cut and he preserved intact that perfect bal- 
ance of judgment which characterizes the mas- 
ter of the profession. Judge Corn's career on 
the supreme bench has been eminently satisfac- 
tory and, as already stated, it has won him dis- 
tinction as one of the eminent jurists of the 
West. His written rulings are incisive, entirely 
incapable of misrepresentation. His written 
opinions, couched in forcible English of the 
purest diction, are models of legal literature. 
With a full appreciation of the majesty of the 
law, he exemplifies that justice which is the in- 
herent right of every individual, and fearlessly 
discharges his duty with a loyalty to principle 
that knows no wavering. He has the sincere 
respect of the bar throughout the state and 
enjoys the unlimited confidence of the public. 
Not only as an eminent lawyer and distin- 
guished public servant is Judge Corn known to 
the people of his adopted state, but in the do- 
main of private citizenship his record has been 
open and kept free from blotted pages. He is a 
gentleman of dignified but pleasing address, 
easily approachable and, being a man of the 
people, he has ever had their interests at heart. 
In many ways he has contributed to the indus- 
trial advancement of the state, ready and will- 
ing at all times to lend his influence in behalf 
of whatever tends to promote the moral and in- 
tellectual condition of the people. Politically, 
he has been a lifelong Democrat. Believing 
thoroughly in the principles and doctrines of his 
party and the dignity of its mission, he has ren- 
dered valuable service to its nominees, both 
state and national, as an eloquent and effective 
campaigner. He made thorough canvasses of 
Wyoming in 1890, 1892. 1804 and 1896, ad- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



471 



dressing large assemblages at the leading cities 
and towns, winning' votes wherever he went, 
besides adding to his own reputation as an ora- 
tor.' In business the Judge has met with en- 
couraging financial success, being the possessor 
of a competence of sufficient amplitude to place 
him in independent circumstances. He belongs 
to the Masonic fraternity and, like all true 
members of the mystic tie, squares his life in 
accordance with its principles and teachings. 
Judge Corn was married in 1876 with Miss 
Emma Blackburn, and is the father of four liv- 
ing children, namely, Thompson, Margaret, 
Annie and William A. Corn. 

HON. G. H. CROSS. 

The genealogy of this well-known ranchman 
and cattleraiser of Converse county, Wyoming, 
runs away back into the darkness of the past in 
Scotland, but, sufficient for the purposes of this 
review, we will state that the family long resided 
in the parish of Old Monklands, Scotland, and 
that Hon. George H. Cross was born in Mon- 
treal, Canada, on September 15, 1854, the son of 
Alexander Cross, of Braehead House, Glasgow, 
Scotland, and Julia Lunn, his wife, a native of 
Montreal. His paternal grandfather .was Robert 
Cross, who married Janet Selkirk, the great- 
grandfather being John Cross, both natives of 
Glasgow. Alexander was the youngest born 
child of Robert Cross and was born on March 22, 
1820. He came to Canada in 1826, settled on a 
farm on the Chateaugay River and close to the 
battle ground of Chateaugay and later studied 
law under the competent tutelage of the erudite 
J. J. Day, Q. C, at Montreal, and, called to the 
bar in 1844, was made Queen's Counsel in 1864, 
and on August 30, 1877, appointed judge of the 
Queen's Bench for the province of Quebec, from 
which distinguished office he retired in 1892 with 
a high reputation, being looked upon as one of the 
great jurists of Canada, dying on October 17, 
1895. His marriage with Julia Lunn, daughter 
of William Lunn, whose brother, John Lunn, 
was a captain in the English navy, occurred on 
July 30, 1851, and she was born on March 21, 



1820. She was a great-granddaughter of Philip 
Embury, the founder of Methodism in the United 
States. They had nine children, the eldest son, 
Selkirk, being now a member of the law-firm in 
Montreal, of Hall, Cross, Brown & Sharp. 
George H. Cross was the second child of the 
family. His early educational training was ob- 
tained in Montreal, this being' supplemented by 
an attendance at the Upper Canada College at 
Toronto, thereafter passing some time as a stu- 
dent at Nicollet College, at Nicollet, Quebec, 
here particularly giving attention to the study 
of the French language. After his college days 
were ended, in 1875 ne came to Colorado and in 
1877 to Wyoming, where he made his residence 
in Converse county, where he has since been an 
active citizen and operator in the stock line, lo- 
cating on his present ranch in 1884. He is a 
leading and a representative stockman. His fa- 
vorite breeds are Hereford and Durham and at 
the time he was associated in this enterprise 
with D. W. Leman, they ran as many as 2,500 
head. Since the'range has been over-occupied he 
has decreased the size of his herds, which are 
now limited to a few hundred. Upon the organi- 
tion of Converse county in 1888, Mr. Cross was 
elected a member of the first board of county 
commissioners as a Democrat, his associates be- 
ing Maj. Frank Wilcott and Edward David, 
while in 1894 he was elected for the "short 
term" in the State Senate. In 1896 he was nomi- 
nated as presidential elector, but resigned prior 
to election, being the same year nominated for 
the State Senate and after a close and exciting 
campaign elected by a majority of 31 votes, the 
result ,of his great personal popularity, the Re- 
publican state ticket receiving a large majority 
in the county. Although a member of the minor- 
ity party of the Senate, Mr. Cross showed the 
qualities, of a true legislator and did good ser- 
vice in the interests of his constituents and the 
people of the state, introducing many bills anH 
serving on important committees. Mr. Cross was 
united in marriage on January 30, 1884, with 
Miss Lea Levasseur, a native of Quebec, where 
her people were engaged in farming. Her father, 
Benjamin Levasseur, was a magistrate of that 



4/2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



province and also followed farming pursuits. 
She possesses the vivacious nature and charming 
manners of the French nation, from which she 
descends and with her husband extends a cour- 
teous hospitality to their numerous friends. They 
have had eleven children, Margaret Adele, de- 
ceased, Julia Irene, deceased, Margaret, Julia 
Mary, Elsie Corrinne, Alzire Evelyn, Alexander 
Selkirk and Robert Benjamin, (twins), Eliza- 
beth May, William Hutchinson, George H., Lea 
Emma Adele. Mr. Cross possesses all the ele- 
ments of good citizenship and is distinctly and 
deservedly popular. He is a man of the people, 
an energetic and scientific worker in the state's 
leading agricultural industry and a valued com- 
panion of the state's most eminent and philan- 
thropic workers for the public weal and the ad- 
vancement of the commonwealth. 

HON. GIBSON CLARK. 

An enumeration of the men of the present 
generation in Wyoming who have won public 
recognition for themselves and at the same time 
have honored the state to which they belong 
would be incomplete were there failure to make 
due reference to the distinguished gentleman 
whose name appears above. Gibson Clark has 
long enjoyed prestige as a lawyer, jurist and 
soldier, and in these and other capacities he has 
borne himself with such signal dignity and honor 
as to gain the esteem and confidence of his fellow 
men. He has been and still is distinctively a 
man of affairs, and as such he has wielded a 
wide influence and left the impress of his strong 
individuality deeply stamped upon the state of 
which he is an honored citizen. Judge Clark was 
born on December 5, 1844, in Clarke county, Va., 
the son of James H. and Jane A. (Gregory) 
Clark ; the father' being a native of the Old 
Dominion, and the mother of North Carolina. 
James H. Clark was a merchant and was in pros- 
perous trade nearly all of his life in Virginia, dy- 
ing there in 1876; his wife entering into rest some 
years prior to that date, departing this life in 
1859. Their son Gibson spent his childhood and 
youth in his native state and received his educa- 



cational discipline in such schools as the town af- 
forded. Reared in the South he naturally es- 
poused the cause of the Confederacy when the 
destructive Civil War broke out, joining the 
Parker Battery, with which he loyally served in 
Longstreet's Division until the last and final sur- 
render at Appomattox. He took part in many 
of the most noted of the Virginia and Ten- 
nessee campaigns, participating in some of the 
bloodiest battles of the war, including among 
others Chickamauga, the Siege of Knoxville, 
Spottsylvania C. H., Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, 
Petersburg and all the engagements around 
Richmond. When the flag of the Confederacy 
went down in defeat, Mr. Clark returned to his 
home in Virginia, but did not long remain there, 
going thence in 1866 to St. Louis, Mo., where he 
engaged as clerk in a mercantile house, where 
he remained until October of that year. L T pon 
leaving St. Louis he went to Fort Laramie, Wyo., 
then in Dakota, which place he reached on De- 
cember 4, 1866, having driven a six-mule team 
across the plains from Nebraska City. At Fort 
Laramie he was employed as a clerk and book- 
keeper in the post-sutler's store, owned by Seth 
E. Ward, until 1872, when he went to Nevada 
and Utah and was there engaged in mining until 
June, 1883. . While in Utah Mr. Clark read law 
at intervals and was admitted to the bar of that 
territory in 1880 but did not begin legal practice 
until three years later, when he opened an office 
at Fort Collins, Colo. After remaining at that 
place until January, 1886, he came to Cheyenne, 
Wyo., where in due time he built up a lucrative 
business and won an enviable reputation as a 
sound lawyer and successful practitioner. Fie 
was soon in the most important litigation in the 
courts of Laramie and other counties, becoming 
recognized among his professional brethren of 
the Cheyenne bar as a lawyer possessed of a 
strong legal mind, extensive and varied reading 
and decided ability. His career from the begin- 
ning presents a series of continued successes sel- 
dom equalled, as is attested by the fact of his hav- 
ing been elevated to a place on the Supreme 
Bench after nine years of practice. It is doubt- 
ful whether the history of jurisprudence in this 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



473 



country "can furnish an example of such rapid 
advancement in the face of untoward circum- 
stances, and certainly the legal annals of Wyo- 
ming are without a parallel case. Mr. Clark was 
appointed associate justice of the Supreme 
Court in 1892 and discharged the functions of 
that exalted station for two years, when he re- 
signed for the purpose of accepting the position 
of U. S. district attorney, to which he was ap- 
pointed in August of 1894. Judge Clark entered 
upon the duties of the latter office in the Septem- 
ber following his appointment, and discharged 
its responsible duties in an able and praiseworthy 
manner until 1898, in September of which year 
his term of office expiring he resumed his large 
private practice in the city of Cheyenne. He was 
associated in legal practice with J. M. Davidson 
for some years, later forming a partnership with 
R. W. Breckons under the firm-name of Clark 
& Breckons which continued until February, 
1902, and he has since been engaged in the prac- 
tice at Cheyenne, Wyo. In addition to his pro- 
fessional and official careers, Mr. Clark has been 
actively identified with all political and public af- 
fairs ever since comng west. He served in the 
Territorial Legislature during the sessions of 
1 87 1 -2, being elected to the same by the Demo- 
cratic party, of which he has been an active sup- 
porter ever since old enough to vote. He still 
takes a prominent part in local, state and national 
politics, and has been one of his party's success- 
ful leaders for a number of years, contributing 
much to its strength as a shrewd and able cam- 
paigner. Of Judge Clark much might be said 
and written. In many respects he is far in ad- 
vance of the average lawyer, as his remarkable 
career exemplifies. He is constitutionally honest 
and true and the various high stations with 
which he has been honored came to him in re- 
cognition of merit, rather than as a reward for 
political service. He has a high conception of 
manhood and that genuine pride of character 
which renders distasteful anything sordid or dis- 
reputable. A man of deep and profound con- 
victions, he maintains the right as he sees and 
understands it and endeavors as closely as pos- 
sible to live up to his high standard of manhood. 



Intellectually he is direct, incisive and critical 
and is never imposed upon by intellectual sophis- 
tries. He has always been actuated by a laudable 
ambition to rise in his profession and, consider- 
ing the circumstances under which he was 
obliged to labor in order to make a beginning, 
his advancement partakes of the nature of the 
phenomenal. He easily ranks with the ablest at- 
torneys of a bar which numbers among its mem- 
bers some of the strongest legal minds of the 
West, and in his practice he has been connected 
with many of the most important causes ever 
tried in the courts of Cheyenne. Personally he 
enjoys great popularity in his city, and through- 
out the state, and possesses the faculty of win- 
ning and retaining warm friendships among all 
classes, regardless of political affiliations. So- 
cially he and his estimable wife are highly es- 
teemed and move in the best society circles of 
the city in which they have their residence. In 
1 881 Judge Clark was united in wedlock with 
Miss Frances Johnston of Iowa, the ceremony be- 
ing solemnized in Utah. Four children have 
blessed the union, James H., Francis C, John D., 
Robert C, and all are living. 

SAM A. CRAWFORD. 

A prominent business man and a valued 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
who is now residing at Laramie, Wyoming, 
Sam A. Crawford, is a native of Ohio, where 
he was born on December 30, 1838, the son of 
John and Elizabeth (Anderson) Crawford, the 
former a native of Ireland and the latter of 
Ohio. The father in childhood came from his 
native country to America with his parents, 
Samuel and Mary (McClung) Crawford, they 
locating in Adams county, Ohio, where the 
grandfather, Samuel Crawford, followed the oc- 
cupation of farming and was also engaged in 
a prosperous contracting business. His son 
John followed the same pursuits as his father, 
dying in Kentucky. The mother, who was a 
daughter of John and Julia (Ewing) McClung, 
died in 1888, at the age of seventy-four years. 
The subject of this sketch grew to man's estate 



474 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in Kentucky and there received his early edu- 
cation. When his school days were ended he 
engaged in farming and contracting and at the 
breaking out of the Civil War enlisted in the 
Fifty-third Kentucky Mounted Infantry, being 
commissioned captain of Co. K. He served 
about eight months and was mustered out at 
Louisville. He later engaged in the grocery 
business in Kentucky and subsequently removed 
to Ohio, where he followed mining until 1886, 
when he removed to the then territory of 
Wyoming and established himself at Laramie. 
Here he secured employment in the rollingmills 
for about one year, when he engaged in the 
transferring and express business at the same 
place, continuing in this employment for about 
two years and then entering into the retail coal 
business, in which he has since been engaged 
and met with marked success. He also owns 
and conducts a fine ranching and stockraising 
property, situated about ten miles southwest of 
Laramie. In 1869 Mr. Crawford married with 
Miss Edith Corum, a native of Kentucky arid 
a daughter of William C. and Edith (Passmore) 
Corum, also natives of that state. Her father 
was the county clerk of Greenup county, Ky., for 
many years, being first elected to that responsible 
position in 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have 
had five children, John William, George A., 
Charles C, Samuel F. and James, the last three 
named are deceased. Mrs. Crawford died in 
1896, being buried at Laramie, Wyo. In 1901 
Mr. Crawford led to the matrimonial altar Miss 
Rose J. Osborne, one of the most estimable 
ladies of Wyoming. Mr. Crawford is a staunch 
adherent of the Republican party and for many 
years he has been active and taken a leading 
part in public affairs, being also the first coro- 
ner elected after the organization of the county 
where he now maintains his home. He is af- 
filiated with the Grand Army of the Republic, 
as a member of Post No. 1 at Laramie, is the 
present quartermaster of his post and has been 
its commander. In all matters connected with 
the well-being of the great order of the Grand 
Army of the Republic he is an enthusiast, while 
he is ever foremost in the promotion of all meas- 



ures for the advancement of the city and county 
where he resides. He is one of the most re- 
spected citizens of Albany County. 

SILAS DOTY. 

Enjoying distinction as one of the largest 
arid most successful cattlemen of Wvominsr, 
Silas Doty of Lakeview, Laramie county, has 
far more than a local celebrity. In business 
circles widely and favorably known in the 
Northwest, to him as much as to any other is 
due the credit of bringing Wyoming to the 
front as a great live stock producer. He is a 
scion of One of the oldest families in the Lnited 
States, tracing his ancestry back in an unbroken 
line to Edward Doty, a member of the original 
Plymouth colony, who came over in the May- 
flower in 1620 and was a warm personal friend 
of Capt. Miles Standish, whom he afterwards 
accompanied on a voyage of discovery along 
the New England and Virginia coasts, receiving 
for his services in this regard a tract of land 
adjacent to Plymouth. He came to. the New 
World a young man twenty-one years old and 
unmarried; but on January 6, 1635, he was 
united in marriage with Edith Clark, who bore 
him eight children. The youngest of these was 
Joseph Doty, progenitor of that branch of the 
family to which Silas belongs. Silas Doty, the 
father of the subject of this writing, was born 
and reared in Vermont, and in his early man- 
hood removed to New York and there, on Sep- 
tember 13, 1826, married with Miss Zerna Par- 
ker, a descendant on her mother's side of the 
Spragues of New England, famous in all the 
annals of the section from Colonial times. Mr. 
Doty the elder was for many years a farmer in 
Wyoming county, N. Y., but later in life mi- 
grated to Calhoun county, Mich., and there 
passed the rest of his earthly existence, dying 
on July 6, 1879. His widow survived him until 
April, 1894. Their son, Silas, was born in Cal- 
houn county, Mich., on October 1, 1847. He 
was reared to farm labor, educated in a log 
schoolhouse near his home, and remained on 
the homestead until he was twenty-one vears 



PROGRESSIVE HEX OF WYOMING. 



475 



old. Like many other young men, he turned 
longing eyes on the apparently boundless 
wealth of resources and opportunities of the far- 
ther West, and in 1888 came to Wyoming, then 
a wild and sparsely settled land. After spend- 
ing a few months in Cheyenne he made his way 
to Laramer county, Colo., where he remained 
until 1874, devoting his time to ranching and 
freighting, becoming familiar with the manners 
and customs of western life. In 1874 he returned 
to Wyoming and was employed as the manager 
of the National Cattle Co.'s interests on the 
Sybylle and Chugwater, and in addition he ran 
cattle of his own, thus laying the foundation of 
a business which in a few years grew to large 
proportions. In 1881 he formed a partnership 
in the cattle industry with Albert Chamberlain, 
and the firm was incorporated as Chamberlain 
& Doty. The firm the same year purchased 
the T H ranch on the Platte River, in Laramie 
county. By reason of his engagement with the 
National Cattle Co., which refused to part with 
his services as manager, Mr. Doty was unable 
to give personal attention to this venture, but 
left everything connected with it to the super- 
vision of his partner until 1883, when he severed 
his connection with his employers and turned 
his attention wholly to his own affairs. In the 
same year his firm purchased a ranch on Cherry 
Creek; eleven miles south of Fort Laramie, and 
soon developed into one of the largest and most 
successful establishments in the Wyoming cat- 
tle business. They had the whole extent of 
country range practically to themselves, and here 
during the middle eighties they usually ran from 
10,000 to 18,000 cattle, the largest number 
owned by any one firm in the state at that time. 
Of this enormous business Mr. Doty assumed 
the direct management until 1893, when they 
sold their stock and wound up their business, 
dissolving the partnership a year later. It is 
but just praise of the management to state that 
with a single exception this was the only firm 
in this part of the country engaged in the cat- 
tle business that successfully wintered the finan- 
cial storm of 1886 and came through with 
credit untarnished and assets free from assault. 



In 1894 Mr. Doty again embarked in the cattle 
business on a somewhat smaller scale. He 
retained the ranch on the Platte and the home 
place on Cherry Creek, and now owns 21,000 
acres of excellent stock land, of which 17,000 
acres are well fenced. At present (1902) he has 
the largest herd of cattle belonging to any one 
man in Laramie county, and is justly accounted 
one of the shrewdest and most successful oper- 
ators in the live stock business. Moreover, he 
carries into the general interests of the com- 
munity the same integrity, breadth of view, en- 
ergy and progressive spirit which characterize 
him in his business and the sterling qualities of 
manhood he everywhere exhibits have won him 
a high place in the regard of his fellows and 
given him a potent voice for good in advancing 
every meritorious public enterprise. On Feb- 
ruary 10, 1885, Mr. Doty married Miss Elinor 
Welch of Princeton, 111., a daughter of George 
and Louisa W. (Charlton) Welch, the father 
being prominent as a lawyer at Princeton. Mrs. 
Doty, having lost her parents in early life, was 
reared under the care of a guardian, and care- 
fully educated. She came to Wyoming in 1871, 
and has since traveled through many states and 
the territories. Mr. Doty is a zealous and en- 
thusiastic Freemason, holding membership in 
the lodge, chapter and commander}- at Chey- 
enne, having taken the Thirty-second degree 
in the Scottish Rite. He and his wife are ac- 
tive members of the Episcopal church. 

FRANK M. FOOTE. 

This gentleman who is one of the most prom- 
inent citizens of Evanston, Wyoming, was born 
in 1846 at South Bend, Ind., the son of Alexis 
and Christiana (Millis) Foote. His father was 
a native of Connecticut where he lived until his 
twentieth year when he went to Indiana and es- 
tablished a boot-and-shoe business in South 
Bend, retiring from this later to a farm about 
four and one-half miles south of the town where 
he died in 1859, his remains being interred in 
South Bend. He was an active Republican. Mrs. 
Foote was born in Saratoga, N. Y. beinsr the 



4 ;6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



daughter of James and Almira (Gill) Millis, and 
she died on March 20, two years ago and is bur- 
ied at South Bend, Ind. She was a devoted and 
active member of the Methodist church. Frank 
M. Foote was educated in the Northern Indiana 
College and the Indiana Normal School at Val- 
paraiso. Fie was fifteen years old when Fort 
Sumter was fired on and the event so stirred his 
patriotic young blood that he tried to enlist as 
a soldier in the defence of the Union ; but his 
youth barred him and he failed of acceptance on 
its account, and later he was employed at book- 
keeping for some years. In 1871 he came west 
and obtained a clerkship with the Union Pacific 
Railroad at Bryan, Wyo., where he remained in 
this capacity for thirteen months and then took 
the' place of agent for the same road at Evans- 
ton. This responsible position he continued to 
hold for seventeen years, when he was appointed 
a receiver of public moneys under President Har- 
rison for four years, after which he was elected 
the assessor of Uinta county for two years on 
the Republican ticket, being reappointed receiver 
of public moneys by President McKinley in 
June, 1897, but resigned the office on May 2, 
1898 to take command of a battalion of Wyo- 
ming troops in the Spanish-American War, this 
giving proof that the patriotic fire of his youth 
was kindled in the depths of his nature. In this 
command he acquitted himself well, serving 
with gallantry in the battle at the taking of Ma- 
nila on August 13, 1898, at the fight at San 
Pedro-Macati, Guadalotipe and at San Juan del 
Monte, in the Morang expedition, and in many 
other battles, engagements and skirmishes. Mr. 
Foote has distinguished himself in several fields 
of undertaking. His military record though 
brief is full of fruitful activity. His political 
record is both long and strong. From 1876 to 
1880 he was the probate judge of Uinta county. 
From 1881 to 1884 he was deputy sheriff; and 
we have already noted the filling of man}' later 
years' service' in other work civil and political. 
His social and fraternal attainments have been 
the very highest possible to any man. In 1879 
he was grand master of the Odd Fellows of his 
state; in 1880, grand master of the Freemasons; 



in 1895, grand commander of the Knights 
Templar of the state. He has taken thirty-three 
degrees of Masonry. He is an active member of 
the Supreme Council S. J. of U. S. and a mem- 
ber of the Salt Lake City Lodge No. 85 of Elks. 
Mr. Foote married in 1873 at Waterloo, N. Y., 
with Ida L. Deuel, a native of the state of New 
York and a daughter of J. T. and Emeline 
Deuel. Four children have blessed this union : 
Mary E., Grace S., Robert P., and Frank. The 
last named was born in July 1876 and died on 
October 5, 1881, his remains being interred at 
South Bend, Ind. 

PETER H. GERDEL. 

There is no toiler in any field of enterprise 
who surpasses the sturdy German, for he has 
application without stint, and husbands his re- 
sources so as to make the most of them and 
under his indomitable industry all obdurate 
conditions give way and the fruits of his labor 
are manifest. To this hardy and industrious 
race belongs Peter H. Gerdel of Sheridan, one 
of the highly respected citizens of the town, a 
man of property and consequence, which he has 
gained in this state and solely by his own ef- 
forts. .He was born in the Fatherland in 1848,- 
in the place where both his father's and mother's 
family had lived for generations, and there he 
attended school, grew to manhood and learned 
his trade of shoemaker. In 1872 he came to 
the United States and passed five years at 
Louisville, Ky., in working at his trade. On 
March 15, 1877, he started for the Black Hills, 
where gold had recently been discovered in 
great quantities, and whither the eager multi- 
tude, which always moves toward the place of 
such a discovery, was flocking, by way of Chey- 
enne, where his party fitted out a wagon train 
for transportation to the Big Horn Mountains. 
At Antelope Springs the Indians stole their 
stock and they were obliged to walk the rest 
of the distance to Deadwood, on the way suffering 
many hardships and privations, being frequently 
threatened by hostile savages. He did not re- 
main Ions: in the Black Hills, but returned to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



477 



Cheyenne, where and at Laramie he worked 
at his trade until 1878. On March 15 of that 
year he arrived in whabis now Sheridan county, 
and locating - on a homestead which he took up 
near Bighorn, he engaged in raising stock un- 
til 1 90 1. He then sold his ranch and stock and 
took up his residence in Sheridan, where he had 
built a handsome home, and since that time he 
has lived here retired from the active pursuits 
of life, enjoying the comforts he has earned 
and the esteem and companionship of the large 
circle of friends acquired through his sterling 
qualities of head and heart, his unyielding in- 
tegrity, progressive public spirit and elevated 
citizenship. Mr. Gerdel was married in Ger- 
many in 1871 to Miss Theresa Saur, a native 
of that country, belonging to families long resi- 
dent there. She was the first white woman to 
locate within the present limits of Sheridan 
county, and loyally endured with her husband 
the dangers and hardships of pioneer life. They 
have five children, Emma, the first white child 
born in the county, now the wife of William 
Nerlinger of Whatcom, Wash. ; Herman, a 
prosperous blacksmith at Sheridan ; Eda, first 
married to Otto Sulgar, since deceased, and 
now the wife of Oscar Nelson ; Isabelle and 
Louise. Mr. Gerdel is connected fraternally 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
holding membership in the lodge at Bighorn, 
and belongs to the Old Settlers' Club of Sheri- 
dan. Coming to this country when it was al- 
most entirely unsettled, he was obliged to en- 
counter many difficulties from natural condi- 
tions, the hostility of the Indians and the law- 
lessness of the road agents. He was also con- 
nected in a leading way with almost every en- 
terprise for the development of the country 
around him. He furnished horses for the first 
postal service at Bighorn and for the first ex- 
press and was instrumental in starting the first 
store at the town. He owns a considerable 
amount of desirable real-estate in both Big- 
horn and Sheridan, and his useful life has made 
him highly respected on every hand and by all 
classes of people. 



GUSTAVUS T. GOODRICH. 

Prominent among the early self-made men 
of Laramie county who have won success by 
surmounting conditions and overcoming ob- 
stacles calculated to discourage and deter, is 
the well-known gentleman whose name intro- 
duces this article. Although a comparative re- 
cent comer to this part of Wyoming, he has 
been a resident of the West since 1883, and 
from that year to the present time his life has 
been very closely identified with the growth of 
the states of Wyoming and Colorado. Gustavus 
T. Goodrich was born on August 4, i860, in 
Racine county, Wis., and is a son of Gustavus 
and Jane P. (Thompson) Goodrich, natives re- 
spectively of New York and Massachusetts. 
These parents went to Wisconsin when quite ' 
young, their respective families being among 
the pioneer settlers of Racine county. There 
they were married and there until the outbreak 
of the Civil AVar the father carried on agricul- 
tural pursuits. When the stability of the gov- 
ernment was threatened by the armed hosts of 
secession Mr. Goodrich responded to the call 
for volunteers by organizing Co. H of the Twen- 
ty-second Wisconsin Infantry of which he was 
elected captain and commissioned. His military 
experience, which proved of brief duration, was 
terminated by a fatal illness, contracted shortly 
after going to the front and returning home he 
died shortly, thereafter on April 14, 1863, being 
buried at Mound Center in Racine county. The 
untimely death of the head of the family threw 
the responsibility of running the farm and rais- 
ing the three children on the shoulders of the 
mother, who nobly discharged these manifold du- 
ties until her sons were old enough to assume 
part of the burden. In due time Gustavus and 
his elder brother took the management of the 
farm and thus cooperated until the latter mar- 
ried, after which Gustavus assumed the entire 
responsibility, although then but sixteen years 
old. He continued to work the place and look 
after his mother's interests until his majority, 
when he went to Iowa and accepted the posi- 



478 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING.. 



tion of salesman with a mercantile -firm at Sioux 
Rapids. He arrived in that city in 1882 and con- 
tinued in the above capacity until the spring of 
the following year when he resigned his place 
and went to Greeley, Colo., where he remained 
until the spring of 1884. The preceding fall he 
purchased a farm at what is now the town of 
Goodrich, and moving to it the next spring he 
engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he car- 
ried on with fair success until 1893, when he 
sold out and opened a grocery store in Greeley. 
He conducted the latter business about four years 
when he disposed of his stock and in 1897 came 
to Wyoming and took possession of the farm, 
five miles west of Wheatland, which he had pre- 
viously purchased and on which he has since re- 
sided. At the time of the organization of Mor- 
gan county, Colo., he was appointed a county 
commissioner, an office wljich he held until his 
removal to Greeley in 1893. Mr. Goodrich has 
devoted his attention very closely to agriculture 
during the latter years, meeting with success 
commensurate with the efforts he has put forth. 
His farm which is well situated, contains some 
of the most fertile land in this part of the coun- 
try, and the high state of cultivation to which it 
has been brought and the various improvements 
made thereon bespeak the presence of a man 
familiar with every detail of successful and prac- 
tical husbandry. Mr. Goodrich is enterprising 
and progressive, as the condition of his home 
attests, and takes high rank- among the represent- 
ative farmers of Laramie county. In addition to 
tilling the soil he pays considerable attention to 
raising stock, from which source he derives no 
small part of his income. The marriage of Mr. 
Goodrich was solemnized in Greeley, Colo., on 
June 13, 1888, with Miss Rose Ward, a native of 
Noble county, Ohio, and a daughter of Mark 
E. and Jane (Laughlin) Ward, also natives of 
the Buckeye state. Four children have been 
born to this union, Rosalie and Pearl, twins, G. 
Ward, Dorothy. Mr. Goodrich holds member- 
ship with the Knights of Pythias and the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen, belonging to 
the lodges at Greeley, Colo., where he was in- 
itiated. In politics he is a Democrat and in re- 



ligion a Methodist, his family also belonging to 
that church. His life has been one of great ac- 
tivity and the success with which his efforts have 
been crowned has been fairly and honorably 
earned. An eminently creditable career is the 
brief record of this industrious and upright citi- 
zen, who starting under adverse circumstances 
has built up a respectable fortune by the exertion 
of his own brain and muscle and he owes his 
prosperity to himself alone. He has borne and 
is bearing well his part and, standing high in 
the esteem of his neighbors and friends, he is 
accounted one of the progressive men of the 
county which he honors with his citizenship. 

DUNCAN GRANT. 

Natural endowments arid large experience in 
practical affairs have eminently fitted the sub- 
ject of this review for positions of trust and pre- 
pared him for the duties of the useful career 
which has ever marked his life. In Mr. 
Grant's veins flows the blood of a long line of 
sturdv Scotch ancestors and in his personality 
have been reproduced many of the sterling qual- 
ities for which his forebears of long - ago were 
noted. His parents, Robert and Sarah (Mitch- 
ell) Grant, were natives of Lanarkshire, Scot- 
land, the mother dying when Duncan was quite 
young and the father subsequently emigrating 
to the United States where the remainder of his 
life was passed. Duncan Grant was born on 
May 22, 1854, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and be- 
ing early left motherless, he was reared by his 
father, who spared no pains in providing him 
with a proper education and left nothing undone 
in the way of instruction to fit him for the prac- 
tical duties of the life before him. After pass- 
ing the prescribed course in the schools of his 
native place young Grant entered the office of 
the Uddington Iron Works. Lanarkshire, where 
he remained about two years in a clerical capac- 
ity, and in May, 1869, in company with his fa- 
ther, he came to the United States and during 
the ensuing five years they lived near LaCrosse. 
AYis., the father devoting his time to agriculture 
and the son dividing his time between cultivating 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



479 



the soil and clerking in a store. In the spring of 
1874 the)' came to Wyoming, where Duncan 
soon entered the employ of the McFarland & 
Mcllwain Cattle Co., which then owned a ranch 
on the Chugwater in Laramie county. After 
continuing with that firm for some time Mr. 
Grant engaged with Hunter & Abbott, cattlerais- 
ers, in whose services he remained until 1879, 
when he resigned to accept a position with the 
Swan Brothers Cattle Co. From a subordinate 
station he was soon given charge of the roundup 
work, and with such ability and fidelity were his 
duties discharged, that in 1883 he was promoted 
foreman of all the company's ranches in this 
section of Wyoming, a position of great respon- 
sibility and only given to men of recognized 
executive ability and who by practical experience 
have demonstrated their fitness not only as man- 
agers, but who have also proven their moral 
worth as custodians of important trusts. Mr. 
Grant held this position to the satisfaction of 
his employers until the fall of 1889 when he 
resigned the station and took up a ranch on 
Sybylle Creek, ten miles southwest of Wheat- 
land where he has since been engaged in the cat- 
tle business upon his own responsibilit} r . He 
has added greatly to the attractiveness of his 
place by substantial improvements, including a 
beautiful and comfortable residence, recently re- 
modelled, and at the present time owns 760 acres 
of land, well situated as to markets and admir- 
ably adapted for stock purposes. His ranch is 
well stocked and since beginning business for 
himself his progress has been most encouraging 
and his success as rapid and substantial as he 
could reasonably expect or desire. He has ac- 
quired a competence of no small proportions 
and enjoys the distinction of being one of the 
oldest settlers in this part of the state, at the 
same time holding marked prestige as one of 
the best known cattle men in Laramie county 
and those adjacent. His long connection with 
the cattle industry has brought him into close 
personal touch with many of the leading stock- 
men of the state, which, with his own experience 
and observation, has made him familiar with this 
great and far-reaching industry in its every de- 



partment and detail. Mr. Grant is .a public- 
spirited man and has always exerted his influ- 
ence in behalf of whatever tends to promote the 
material welfare of the community and state. 
He takes an active interest in public affairs but 
has no political aspirations nor desires to. distin- 
guish himself in an official capacity. Politically 
he supports the Republican party and fraternally 
belongs to the Masonic brotherhood, Ancient Or- 
der of United Workmen and to the Woodmen 
of the World. On January 3, 1892, Mr. Grant 
and Mary E. Regan were united in marriage, 
the ceremony being solemnized at Union Springs, 
N. Y. Mrs. Grant was born in the state of New 
York, her parents settling near the city of Au- 
burn when they came to this country from Ire- 
land. Mr. and Mrs. Grant have three children, 
Margaret M., George R. S. and Ellen L. Dur- 
ing- the greater part of his life Mr. Grant was 
closely associated with his father, both in busi- 
ness and in residence, they never being sepa- 
rated for a longer period than one month in 
forty-six years. ' Coming to this country together 
they worked pleasantly and harmoniously to- 
gether and to each others interests until the 
death of the father, who departed this life on 
February 10, 1900, at the age of eighty-four 
and now lies in dreamless sleep on the ranch 
where he so happily passed the latter years of 
his long and useful life. 

HON. LEROY GRANT. 

Out of the depths of his native wisdom, Car- 
lyle wrote "History is the essence of innumer- 
able biographies." Another almost equally dis- 
tinguished writer said "Biography is the most 
complete form of history." In .view of these 
statements, which are facts, the world has a 
certain property interest in every life, the im- 
portance of the interest depending • upon the rel- 
ative value of the individual to the community, 
the state or to the nation. "Ceaselessly to and 
fro flies the deft shuttle which weaves the web 
of human destiny, and into the vast mosaic fab- 
ric enter the individuality, the effort, the accomp- 
lishment of each man, be his station lowly or one 



480 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of distinction and power. Within the textile 
folds may be traced the line of each individual- 
it}-, be it one that lends the beautiful sheen of 
honest worth and honorable endeavor, or one 
that, dark and zigzag, finds its way through 
warp and woof, marring the composite beauty 
by its blackened threads,, ever in evidence of 
the shadowed and unprolific life." The study 
of the successful life is always interesting and 
profitable, serving as a stimulus to greater en- 
deavor on the part of those whose destinies are 
yet to be achieved. There is no impropriety in 
scanning the acts of any man as they affect his 
social, business or public relations, for in so 
doing his career may serve as a beacon, lighting 
others to the pathway leading to the goal of suc- 
cess. These thoughts are suggested while con- 
templating the career of Hon. LeRoy Grant, who 
has figured conspicuously in the recent political 
history of Wyoming and whose course as a leg- 
islator and official has had a decided bearing upon 
affairs of state. He is a native of Columbia, Her- 
kimer county, N. Y., born September 7, 1847, 
and his father, Conrad Grant, who was a farmer 
and merchant was born in the same state as was 
also his mother, who bore the maiden name of 
Elizabeth Vrooman. Of their two children Le- 
Roy was the first born and the public schools of 
his native town gave him his education until he 
was fourteen years old, when he became a stu- 
dent of Whitesborough College, from which he 
was graduated at the early age of eighteen. 
Shortly after completing his collegiate course. 
Air. Grant engaged in the oil business at Rouse- 
ville and Oil City, Pa., there devoting the ensu- 
ing three years in an attempt to realize a for- 
tune from a source in which few succeed and 
many fail. At the expiration of the above pe- 
riod he abandoned the oil fields and went to 
Chicago, where he took up a course of study in 
Eastman's Business College and after graduat- 
ing kept books and worked for different mercan- 
tile firms as clerk and traveling salesman for a 
number of years, finally engaging in business for 
himself. Investing his capital in a stock of gro- 
ceries, he began that line of trade in Chicago, 
under very favorable auspices, and continued 
with encouraging success until the great fire swal- 



lowed up his establishment and left him, like 
hundreds similarly engaged, stranded upon the 
rugged reefs of financial disaster. With a spirit 
not easily discouraged, he rallied from the loss 
and in due time opened a second grocery store, 
which he conducted with gratifying results until 
1876 when, by reason of failing health, he left 
the business temporarily and came to Wyo- 
ming for the purpose of recuperating his worn- 
out bodily energies. After passing one vear in 
the West to the great benefit of his health, Mr. 
Grant returned to his business in Chicago which 
he continued to carry on until 1879 wnen he s °ld 
out to make Wyoming his permanent home. In 
the pursuance of this resolve he purchased a 
ranch about one mile from Tie-siding station in 
Albany county, and engaged in the cattle and 
sheep business; which he carried on at that place 
during the five years following, when he moved 
his family to Laramie, where in addition to a 
very extensive livestock business he was con- 
nected with a large general store. In 1S89 Mr. 
Grant was appointed by President Harrison a 
receiver of public moneys, which position he 
held four and one-half years, when, by reason of 
a change in the national administration, he was 
removed and the place given to a Democrat. 
Meanwhile in 1886 he was elected as mayor of 
Laramie, the duties of which office he discharged 
satisfactorily to all concerned for one term. Early 
taking an active interest in local and state politics 
he soon became one of the Republican leaders in 
Albany county. In 1884 he was elected to the 
lower house of the General Assembly and two 
years later was further honored by being chosen 
a member of the State Senate. His course in 
these bodies meeting the unqualified approval of 
his constituents he was elected his own successor 
in 1888 and nine years later, in 1897, for a third 
term lie represented Albany county in the lower 
house. His career as a legislator not only justi- 
fied the people in the wisdom of their choice, but 
he there demonstrated abilities which won him a 
conspicuous place among the distinguished publi- 
cists of the state. He was honored with places 
on the most important committees, where 
his influence was instrumental in consummating 
much important legislation, while on the floors 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



481 



of both houses he was easily the peer of his as- 
sociates and a recognized leader on the Republi- 
can side. He retired from the assembly with a 
record free from the slightest taint of suspicion 
and a gratifying reputation as a sound and dis- 
creet legislator, in which his numerous friends 
have ever since taken a just pride. Appreciat- 
ing his ability and value as a public servant, his 
party in 1899 called him from retirement and 
made him the state auditor, which important trust 
he has since held. The success which has attend- 
ed the career of Mr. Grant since he became a 
citizen of Wyoming has few parallels in the his- 
tory of the state. From the beginning he rap- 
idly forged to the front, and that, too by the 
sheer force of his own will and genius, until he 
became not only a controlling factor in the coun- 
cils of his party, but a leader in many matters 
with which politics has little to do. A man of 
unimpeachable character and unusual intellec- 
tual endowments, possessing distinctive patience, 
urbanity and industry, he has succeeded in win- 
ning a high place in the public regard, and, as a 
faithful and conscientious public official has so 
discharged his functions as to conserve in the 
largest measure the general good. His popular- 
ity is state-wide and many of his warmest per- 
sonal friends are members of the party that an- 
tagonizes him politically. Rich in the honors 
and respect which follow an upright life that has 
been ever true to its ideals and highest possibil- 
ties, a life that has been of preeminent benefit 
to his fellowman, Mr. Grant has well earned 
the esteem in which he is held and bids fair to 
be called to still higher stations in the future. 
He is a Mason of a high degree and has long 
been prominent in the work of the fraternity. 
He was married at Chicago on November 25, 
1877, to Miss Ida A. Buschwah, and this union 
has been blessed with four children, LeRoy N., 
Albert P., Hattie E. and Ida Adelaide. 

HERBERT J. GREGORY. 

Among the younger business men of Uinta 
county, Wyoming, none stands in better favor 
with the public than Mr. Gregory, the capable 



and popular manager of the commercial interests 
of the Lone Tree Mercantile Co., whose busy 
headquarters are located at the thriving village 
of Lone Tree. His business policy has ever been 
in accord with the highest ethics, he possesses 
untiring energy, is keen and quick in his percep- 
tions, forms his plans rapidly and accurately, and 
success comes to him as the very natural se- 
quence of the operations of these very rare quali- 
ties. He is a native of Manchester, England, 
born there on September 23, 1875, a son 
of James and Susanna (Jones) Gregory, and his 
parents are still residing in the land of his birth, 
his father being a successful commercial trav- 
eler. Herbert J. Gregory came to the United 
States in 1890, having received an excellent edu- 
cation in the famous public schools of England, 
and made his first location at Salt Lake City, 
where he engaged in merchandising. In 1898 
he became one of the interested principals in the 
Lone Tree Mercantile Co., 'and took up his resi- 
dence here to attend to the practical details of its 
management. As has been mentioned before, 
success has attended his efforts, and he has also 
won the respect and confidence of the patrons of 
his. store. In their ample store buildings is 
displayed a full line of drygoods, -groceries, 
hardware, farm implements, everything necessary 
to satisfy the trade of a well-to-do and yet prac- 
tical class of patrons. The postofhce of Lone 
Tree is located at this store, Mr. Gregory having 
been commissioned the postmaster in 1898, and 
his administration of the duties incumbent upon 
him in that connection meets with popular favor. 
He is interested in all things that make for the 
uplifting and the betterment of the community 
aiid is" the present clerk of the school board. On 
July 14, 1890, at Salt Lake City, Utah, Mr. 
Gregory formed a matrimonial alliance with 
Miss Lavina S. Easton, a daughter of George and 
Susanna (Mclntyre) Easton, natives of Scot- 
land. Her mother passed to the Silent Land in 
April, 1900, and her father has returned to Scot- 
land. Their children are Herbert and Alma. Mr. 
Gregory owns a ranch in the Teton basin of 
Idaho and also one in L T tah, on both of which he 
conducts stock operations. Mr. and Mrs. Greg- 



482 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ory occupy a high position in society and have 
many friends and their home is a center of most 
gracious hospitality. 

HON. CHARLES P. CLEMMONS. 

One of the leading men of Wyoming, at pres- 
ent mayor of Saratoga in that state, Hon. Charles 
P. Clenimons, a native of Nebraska, born on Jan- 
uary 22, 1866, is the son of Travers and Cynthia 
(Powell) Clemmons, both natives of Ohio. His 
paternal grandfather was John Clemmons, a 
prominent citizen of Ohio, who removed from 
that state to Nebraska in territorial days, being 
one of the earliest of the pioneers west of the 
Missouri River. He was a prosperous farmer 
and for many years prior to his decease was one 
of the representative men of Nebraska, having 
his home near Rock Bluff in Cass county. His 
son, Travers Clemmons, was a young man at the 
time of the removal and grew to manhood in his 
new home, residing near Rock Bluff 'until 1887 
when he disposed of his property at that place 
and changed his residence to Fairbury in Jeffer- 
son county, where he has since resided and been 
one of the prominent business men of the place, 
although he is now practically retired from active 
pursuits. During recent years he has been en- 
gaged principally in railroad construction work 
under contract, helping also to build the first 
railroad in the state. Hon. Charles P. Clemmons 
was reareddn Nebraska and received his element- 
ary education in the public schools near his boy- 
hood home. Subsequently he pursued a course 
of study at the business college at Dixon, 111., and 
then entered the law-office of Hambell & Hessty 
at Fairbury as a student. This was one of the 
leading law-firms in that section of the state, in- 
terested in much important litigation, especially 
in connection with the. operations of the Burling- 
ton & Missouri Railroad, for which it acted as 
counsel. Therefore Mr. Clemmons had an op- 
portunity in this office to thoroughly familiarize 
himself with the theory and practice of the law 
under skilled preceptors, -and he improved his 
opportunity to the best advantage. In 1888 he 
was admitted to the bar of Nebraska and soon 



afterward removed his residence to Colorado 
Springs, in the neighboring state of Colorado, 
where he became associated in the practice of 
his profession with J. K. Goudy, a prominent 
member of the bar of that state. He remained 
there about two years and then removed to 
Grand Encampment, Wyoming, and there en- 
gaged in mining for another period of two years. 
He was successful in his mining enterprises at 
times and was also largely interested in the town- 
site company at Grand Encampment. In 1892 he 
removed to Saratoga, where he now lives, and 
there formed a partnership with Dr. Price in a 
drug business at that town. His partners health 
began to fail soon thereafter when he took charge 
of the business and conducted it with steadily in- 
creasing success. At the same time he was 
largely interested in mining and was instrumental 
in negotiating several large deals in mining prop- 
erty, notably that of the famous Ferris-Haggarty 
mine, which was sold for $1,000,000. He is at 
present a stockholder and actively interested in 
several of the largest and most promising mines 
in southern Wyoming, has done much to bring 
outside capital into the section, and been fore- 
most in all measures which promised to promote 
the development of the surrounding country and 
benefit the people of his county and the state. 
In January, 1899, Mr. Clemmons was united in 
marriage with Miss Mamie Miller, a native of 
Indiana and a daughter of I. C. Miller, president 
of the Rawlins National Bank of Rawlins, one 
of the leading citizens of that portion of the 
state. Their union has been blessed with two 
children, Isaac Russell, named for his maternal 
grandfather, and Charles Powell Clemmons, Jr. 
Their home is widely noted for the gracious and 
generous hospitality which the}' have pleasure in 
dispensing to their large circle of friends and 
acquaintances and all' of the members of the 
family are held in high esteem. Fraternally Mr. 
Clemmons is affiliated with the order of Elks and 
takes a deep interest in the proceedings both of 
his lodge and the order. In political faith Mr. 
Clemmons is a stanch Democrat, one of the ablest 
and most trusted of the leaders of the party in his 
state. The esteem in which he is held by his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



483 



neighbors and fellow-citizens, and their confi- 
dence in his business ability and capacity for pub- 
lic affairs, is fully attested by his -election to the 
office of mayor of his home town, and his tri- 
umphant reelection to that position over a strong 
and representative Republican. His municipal 
administration has been characterized by fair- 
ness, abilitv, progressiveness and fidelity to the 
best interests of the entire community, without 
regard to party or personal considerations. His 
course has been progressive and enterprising, at 
the same time being safe and conservative, and 
the growth and improvement of the community 
have been marked and gratifying under his wise 
guidance and management of its affairs. In 1898 
he was the candidate of his party for the office of 
county attorney, and in 1900 for that of repre- 
sentative in the state legislature, but, owing to 
the large adverse majority in the county, he failed 
of an election,' although he made an excellent 
run and received a very flattering vote. In the 
fall of 1902 he was nominated for member of 
Congress from his state but, although making 
a handsome showing at the polls, the conditions 
were unfavorable to his party and he was not 
elected. He is one of the rising men of Wyo- 
ming in business and in public life and is des- 
tined to continue a prominent figure in public af- 
fairs. He is progressive, able, faithful to every 
trust, and loyal to his friends and constituents. 
Among the younger men of Wyoming he is eas- 
ily in the front rank and is one of those on whom 
the commonwealth must depend for safety and 
advancement at home and distinction abroad. In 
every walk of life he has shown high character, 
unyielding integrity, lofty citizenship, admirable 
capacity and a charming personality, while in 
every portion of the state he is regarded as a 
leading and most representative man. 

MAURICE GROSHON. 

It is a pleasure for a historian to turn aside 
from the narration of events to chronicle the 
record of a self-made man, an industrious and 
useful person, who by his own ability and hon- 
est dealing has placed himself high upon the list 

30 



of business men as having achieved a justly mer- 
ited success. And just such an individual is 
Maurice Groshon of Fort Bridger, "Wyoming. 
He is a son of William and Helen F. (Stubbs) 
Groshon, and was born in the city of St. Louis, 
Mo.,' on June 22, 1859. His father was a native 
of New Jersey and a son of Peter Groshon, who 
comes of a long line of ancestors tracing back to 
early Colonial stock and one of whose uncles 
was a Colonial governor, several members of 
the family serving with valor, not only in the 
French and Indian wars, but in the Continental 
army of the Revolution. His mother was' a na- 
tive of England, where the family has long been 
resident. William Groshon was an early resi- 
dent of the city of St. Louis, and, having learned 
the hatter's trade side by side with Mr. Dunlap, 
the celebrated hat manufacturer, he opened the 
first store for the manufacture and sale of hats 
in the city of St. Louis, which he successfully 
conducted x for many years. William Groshon 
and wife had six children, three boys and three 
girls, and three of them are now living, namely, 
Mrs. Marie A. Fowler, of St. Louis, Mo., who 
is the mother of one child ; Cleveland, who is 
married and has one child and also resides in 
St. Louis ; a*nd Maurice Groshon of Wyoming. 
Mr. Groshon received his preliminary education 
in the city schools of St. Louis and supplemented 
the valuable instruction there obtained by at- 
tendance in the Washington (Mo.) University. 
After his educational discipline was thus acquired 
he was appointed manager of the U. S. ware- 
houses under his father, who for some years held 
an important office in the U. S. customs. After 
two years passed in the capacity of manager, 
Mr. Groshon engaged as clerk on a steamboat 
running on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers from 
St. Louis to Pittsburg. He continued this voca- 
tion for six months and then became identified 
with the Simmons Hardware Co. of St. Louis, 
continuing to be thus occupied for two years 
until his health began to be impaired, when on 
this account, he concluded to seek the better cli- 
matic conditions of the West and in 1880 came 
to Wyoming and located seventy-three miles 
north of Rawlins. Here his first connection with 



484 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the industrial enterprises of Wyoming was on 
a cattle ranch for a short period, being also a 
bookkeeper in Rawlins during the winter of 1881 
and 1882. In the spring of 1882 he came to 
Fort Bridger and followed his former occupation 
of cowboy on a ranch for several months, when 
he was given the position of clerk in the post- 
trader's store in the employ of Mrs. W. A. Carter. 
By his ability, attention to business and personal 
qualifications he was soon made manager of the 
store and held that important position until the 
post was abandoned in 1889. Since that time 
he has been independently engaged in ranching 
and cattleraising, owning 480 acres of highly im- 
proved and valuable land beautifully located on 
Smith's Fork, in Uinta county, opposite Mount- 
ain View, and here he has made many improve- 
ments on this place, which he has developed in 
a wise and discriminating manner to correspond 
with the requirements of the special industry he 
conducts, and here he runs a band of fully five 
hundred high bred Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Gros- 
hon takes great pains in the purity of the cattle 
he raises and is considered to possess one of the 
finest herds in the state and his ranching opera- 
tions cover the raising of fine crops of grain and 
hay. He also owns and operates an' exceedingly 
valuable traction engine and threshing machine. 
Mr. Groshon has always taken very active part 
in political affairs, being pronounced in the sup- 
port of the Democratic party, and he has strongly 
battled for the success of its principles and its 
policies. That he is considered a wise, discrimin- 
ating and intelligent man of affairs is shown when 
we state that he has held with great accepta- 
bility the position of U. S. commissioner for 
Uinta county for the last ten years. His long 
continuance of office is the strongest evidence 
possible of his capabilities, his honesty, his de- 
votion to duty, and also of his popularity as a 
man who is noted for' his industry and useful 
qualities, sound judgment and practical common 
sense, and he enjoys the esteem of a large ac- 
quaintance for his many sterling qualities. On 
October 30, 1884, Mr. Groshon was joined in 
matrimony with Miss Lulie L. Carter, a daugh- 
ter of Judge William A. and Mary E. (Hamil- 



ton) Carter, natives of Yirgina. For full ances- 
tral history of Judge Carter see a separate article 
elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Groshon 
have one of the most beautiful and pleasant 
homes in this section of the state, and here they 
entertain their large acquaintance and numerous 
friends with a bountiful hospitality, with gener- 
osity also giving to all worthy objects of pub- 
lic interest or sympathy coming to their notice. 

JOHN W. GRIFFIN. 

One of the leading hotel men and stockdeal- 
ers of the state of Wyoming, being also one of 
its most progressive citizens, John W. Griffin, of 
Cheyenne, is a native of Ireland, receiving his 
birth near the beautiful lakes of Killarney, where 
he passed the first ten years of his eventful life. 
The spirit of adventure was so strong in him in 
childhood that he ran away from home at the 
early age of ten years and crossed the Atlantic 
to the city of New York. Born on October 23, 
1848, in the winter of 1858 and 1859 ne found 
himself alone in the city of New York, having no 
friends or relatives to assist him and with his 
own way to make in the new, strange world, but 
the spirit of determination which has attended 
him through all of his life, and to which may be 
attributed a large measure of his success, was 
with him at that time and he found employment 
and started to learn the trade of coppersmith. 
In three months' time he concluded that he was 
not fitted for that trade and engaged in other 
work. During this time, while denied the privi- 
leges of school life, he availed himself of every 
opportunity to acquire an education and to im- 
prove himself. He was ever a close and a care- 
ful observer and by his industry and attention 
soon became possessed of a more accurate knowl- 
edge of men and things than most boys who 
have all the advantages of school. In the sum- 
mer of 1862 he was still in New York and wit- 
nessed the terrible scenes of the great riots, which 
made a deep impression upon his young mind 
and taught him in a manner which he never for- 
got a respect for the law and for the preserva- 
tion of life and property. In July. 1862. he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



485 



went to Pennsylvania, where he secured em- 
ployment as brakeman on a railroad. He con- 
tinued in this occupation for some time and in 
1864 was promoted to conductor. During 1864 
and 1865, he was in charge of a train running 
out of Cleveland, Ohio, on the Atlantic and 
Great Western railroad, remaining in the employ 
of that road until 1867. In November of that 
year he removed his residence to Cheyenne, 
Wyo. This was during the frontier days of Wyo- 
ming and Cheyenne was then in its infancy as 
a city. Upon arriving here he accepted a posi- 
tion as foreman in the car department of the 
railroad shops of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
which was then under construction. He was 
engaged in this employment until 1871, when he 
was transferred to Sidney, Neb., to take charge 
of the railroad car shops at that place. Here in 
1872 he organized the firm of Griffin & Hark- 
son, and entered upon the cattle business, hav- 
ing headquarters at Sidney. This firm did a 
very large business and for many years was 
among the most extensive operators in the west- 
ern country. In 1874 he erected the Metropol- 
itan hotel at Sidney, long a well-known hostelry 
of that section and soon thereafter purchased 
the Grand Central hotel at the same place, con- 
ducting both places at the same time. He was 
also still holding his position with the railroad 
company, and handling his cattle business. In 
November, 1874, his own interests became so 
extensive as to demand his entire time and at- 
tention and he resigned his position with the 
Union Pacific. He continued in his hotel and 
cattle business, meeting with great success, up to 
1880, when he disposed of his stock interests at 
a large profit, and early in 1881 he also sold his 
hotel property in Sidney, and removed his resi- 
dence to Cheyenne, Wyo. Here he purchased 
the Metropolitan hotel on Ferguson and Fif- 
teenth streets, and has continued since that time 
in a successful hotel business at that place. He 
has much enlarged his hotel building, and made 
extensive improvements until now he has one of 
the largest and most modern hostelries in the 
state, and enjoys a flattering patronage from the 
best classes of people. In 1887 he again became 



interested in the cattle business, purchasing a 
large tract of land on Crow Creek, about six 
miles west of Cheyenne, stocking it with range 
cattle. He also purchased land on Spring Creek 
for the same purpose and is now the owner of 
about 6,000 acres of fine ranch land, well fenced 
and improved, besides controlling several thou- 
sand acres under lease from the state, and is ex- 
tensively engaged in raising cattle and horses. 
He is also a large holder of city property in 
Cheyenne, being one of the most enterprising 
and representative men of that city. He has 
always been foremost in all measures calculated 
to promote the welfare o'f his city or of Wyo- 
ming. On November 18, 1869, at Davenport, 
Iowa, Mr. Griffin was united in marriage with 
Miss Margaret Mclnerney, a native of Ireland, 
whose parents were well-known and respected 
residents of that country. Mrs. Griffin came to 
America at the age of fifteen years with her 
brothers and other relatives and made her home 
in Davenport until her marriage. To their un- 
ion nine children have been born, Thomas F., 
who, at the age of sixteen years, on December 4, 
1886, was accidentally drowned; John A., who is 
in charge of his father's ranch and stock inter- 
ests ; Mary E., died on July 15, 1890; Frederick 
E., died in 1888, aged six years; James died in 
1882, aged two years; Joseph H., at the pa- 
rental home and attending school; Edna, died 
on July 1, 1890, aged fourteen years; and Wil- 
liam, who is also at home with his parents. Their 
home is one noted for its generous hospitality, 
and all through his life Mr. Griffin has been 
noted for his good-fellowship and his charity 
and helpfulness to those less fortunate than him- 
self. The family are members of the Roman 
Catholic church, and take an active interest in all 
works of beneficence in the community. Mr. 
Griffin is a stanch Republican and for many years 
he has taken a leading part in the councils and 
management of that political organization in Wy- 
oming and Nebraska. Always interested in the 
public welfare, and prominent in every move- 
ment for the improvement of the city of Chey- 
enne, or' the development of the resources of the 
state, he has never sought or desired to hold 



486 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



public position. Often solicited by his party 
friends and associates to become a candidate for 
office, for which his business ability and popu- 
larity so well fit him, he has steadfastly declined 
to accept any position, except to serve the city of 
Cheyenne for several terms as a member of the 
city council. In this position he has been very 
useful to the community, and has won the re- 
spect of his fellow citizens. He is one of the 
foremost men of Wyoming, a pioneer, one of the 
strong representative men who on the frontier 
have solidly laid the foundations of one of the 
best and most promising states of the Union. 

HON. CHARLES A. GUERNSEY. 

For countless ages History recorded only or 
mainly the bloody aspects of human life. Her 
heroes were the men of might and arms, > and 
these she made' the staple of the student's daily 
aspirations 'and nightly dreams. American en- 
terprise and skill have called her vision to new 
fields of conquest .and given to her glowing pen 
a theme of broader and more spiritual inspiration. 
The victories of peace, the triumphs of man over 
nature on our soil have quickened her pulse and 
made the substance of her story. She has in large 
measure deserted the heroes of destruction to 
portray and commemorate those of construction. 
The career of one of these it is the pleasing pur- 
pose of this writing to briefly outline. Hon. 
Charles A. Guernsey of the town which was 
named in his honor, and which is the product of 
his fruitful brain, successful enterprise and in- 
dustrial generalship, is a native of Oneida coun- 
ty, N. Y., his parents, Morrell and- Betsy Ann 
(Merrill) Guernsey, being also natives of that 
state, where in its capital city the father car- 
ried on an extensive and prosperous mercantile 
business until his death in 1861. The mother 
is now living in Otsego county, in the state of 
New York, where she was born. Mr. Guernsey 
was forced early in life to look fate firmly in 
the face with almost no dependence but his own 
resources. At the age of sixteen, when most 
young men of intellect and scholarly ambition 
are contending for degrees and honors at college, 



he left the public schools and became a clerk 
in a wholesale establishment in Albany, N. Y. 
Herein he also found his proper bent and soon 
developed ability of a high order for the busi- 
ness and was given charge of the sales and col- 
lections of the firm, a position of great responsi- 
bility for so young a man, but one in which his 
capacity was more fully demonstrated than be- 
fore, for responsibility educates rapidly where 
the fiber is fruitful, and he rose to every demand 
of his place without apparent effort. Commercial 
life was, however, too narrow and inflexible to 
satisfy the demands of his aspiring mind, and 
he sought in the great empire of the Northwest 
a wider field of enterprise, coming to Wyoming 
in 1880. Here was an agreeable and propitious 
conjunction of a new field of boundless undevel- 
oped wealth and opportunity and a young man 
of resolution, firm self-confidence and lofty as- 
piration. He took up land on the Cheyenne 
River at the southern part of the Black Hills, and 
started an industry in cattleraising which he con- 
ducted successfully for nearly nine years. But 
he was designed for a different domain and when 
the hour came he heard the voice that called him 
to it. In 1889 he located in •the section of his 
present home with a view of developing its min- 
ing interests and located mines of iron and cop- 
per in the Hartville and Sunrise districts and or- 
ganized companies to work them. They proved 
productive and valuable and were soon leased 
by the Colorado Syndicate which is now oper- 
ating" them. He continued his search for mineral 
deposits by active prospecting and from time 
to time located other mines of value, which he 
has since developed by his individual enterprise 
and capital. These cluster around a conven- 
ient point for the town necessary to their success- 
ful operation and an inevitable outgrowth there- 
of, and this, humble and unpretentious at first, 
as all mining towns must be, under the influence 
of his energy and the spirit of improvement en- 
gendered thereby, has become a beautified, thriv- 
ing and promising little city ; and popular senti- 
ment appreciating his enterprise in the matter, 
has suitably baptized the growing infant, giving 
it the name of its real father. Guernsev. He 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



487 



owns much of the town and all of the land sur- 
rounding it for some distance, and takes great 
interest in its welfare and growth. But while 
mines and industrial development have largely 
engaged his attention and activities, Mr. Guern- 
sey has never lost interest in the stock industry 
and now owns many of the best and most judic-. 
iously located ranches on the Platte and some 
of the finest stock in the state. In justice to 
his public spirit and breadth of view, even if in 
contravention of his modesty, it must be said that 
neither his mining operations nor his ranch in- 
dustries have been conducted solely or mainly 
with a view to his own interest. He has been 
essentially a promoter of the progress of Wyo- 
ming along the lines of healthy and steady 
growth, and has carried on his business in such 
a way as to attract to his localities an excellent 
class of immigrants and get them started as fac- 
tors in his commendable design. However much 
he might personally wish it otherwise, in a coun- 
trv like ours, particularly in a new state of the 
West where the population is sparse, it is in- 
evitable that a gentleman of Mr. Guernsey's 
ability, resources and diversity of interests, con- 
trolling the comfort and powers of many per- 
sons who must look to him for direction and lead- 
ership, should become by force of circumstances, 
if not otherwise, deeply and actively interested 
in the politics and legislation of the state. Real- 
izing this fact, he has accepted his share of public 
duty and performed it with conscientious devo- 
tion and fidelity. A firm and intelligent believer 
in the principles of the Republican party, he has 
done what he could to make them the ruling 
power in Wyoming, and their application to the 
civic forces of the state as beneficent as possi- 
ble. He has served one term in the lower house 
of the Territorial Legislature, one in the Terri- 
torial Council ; one in the lower house of the State 
Legislature, and is now a member of the State 
Senate, being also its president. In each of 
these bodies he has been animated by the same 
lofty standard of ethics and sustained by the 
same wealth of knowledge and breadth of view 
which have characterized him in other depart- 
ments of human energy, and the benefits of his 



legislative career are felt and appreciated all 
over the state. In the very responsible and im- 
portant position which he now occupies as pres- 
ident of the Senate, he has displayed readiness, 
fulness of knowledge, skill in interpretation, great 
firmness in decision and withal the most un- 
broken courtesy of manner, qualities which have 
won him universal commendation, but which 
have not surprised those who know him. Mr. 
Guernsey married on June 11, 1900, at Chicago, 
111., Miss Mary V. Bryant, a native of Ohio and 
a daughter of Henry V. and Lucy (Stratton) 
Bryant. Her father was one of the founders of 
"the chain of Bryant & Stratton business colleges 
established around the country which have done 
so much to improve and systematize business 
methods in this country. Two children have 
blessed their union, H. Bryant and Antoinette. 
No man is better known in Wyoming than Sen- 
ator Guernsey and none is more highly or more 
generally esteemed. 

JOSEPH P. GUILD. 

One of the leading business men of his sec- 
tion of Wyoming and prominently connected 
with one of the largest mercantile houses of the 
state, is Joseph P. Guild, of Fort Bridger, Uinta 
county. He was born at Spanish Fork, Utah, on 
March 7, 1859, a son of Charles and Man M. 
(Cardon) Guild. He received the educational 
advantages that were afforded by the public 
schools of Wyoming and was diligent in obtain- 
ing the benefits thereof. He was a bright, ener- 
getic boy, with confident hopes and firm resolves, 
and was inspired by an honest and ceaseless 
ambition. Conscious of the capacity to exert his 
faculties in useful labor and feeling a loyal re- 
sponsibility as to the use of time, he seemed to 
have an intuitive dread of idleness from the mo- 
ment he was prepared for industry. With such 
a spirit he early engaged in cattleraising with 
his father, with whom he is still connected and 
of whom an individual sketch appears elsewhere 
in this volume. By his energy and business ca- 
pacity he was largely instrumental in produc- 
ing the rapid and almost phenomenal growth of 



4 88 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



their extensive stockraising and commercial op- 
erations. On the formation of the Guild Land 
and Live Stock Co. he became very active in its 
operations and, upon the retirement of his fa- 
ther as president of this corporation in 1900, he 
succeeded him in this office. This company now 
•controls and owns about 6,000 acres of land, on 
which they raise immense herds of high-grade 
cattle. The unexceptional habits and tireless ap- 
lication of Joseph Guild to business, his quick 
perception of what was right and what was 
wrong, his undeviating integrity, the simplicity 
of his methods and his unbounded confidence in 
the results of legitimate industry, gave him an 
early and valuable reputation for sound judg- 
ment and as a successful business man this has 
been amply demonstrated in the progress and 
building up of the Guild Mercantile Co., of which 
he is the president and also manager of its Fort 
Bridger store. The 'Guild Mercantile Co. car- 
ries a large stock of general merchandise in am- 
ply equipped stores located at Fort Bridger, Pied- 
mont and Lyman. The largest stock is displayed 
at the Fort Bridger establishment and consists 
of, not only general merchandise, but agricultural 
implements, hardware, etc. To obtain control of 
valuable patrons and bring success in merchan- 
dising requires an ample understanding of the 
fundamental laws of trade and of the legitimate 
means of success. No young man of the state 
has more thoroughly mastered these laws and ob- 
served them than has the subject of this review. 
Mr. Guild has always taken a very active part in 
public affairs, and as a Republican the political 
combinations of his county and his state have re- 
ceived the full strength of his vigor. He is 
prominent in the councils of his party, by the 
voters of which he has been twice elected county 
commissioner of Uinta county, the duties of 
which office have been most faithfully performed 
under his administration. He has also rendered 
valuable service in educational matters in his 
position as one of the school board of Fort 
Bridger. Mr. Guild was married on Saint Val- 
entine's day in 1884, in Piedmont, Wyo., to Miss 
Lucy B. Eiden, who was born in Loraine county, 
Ohio, being a daughter of Nicholas and Maggie 



(Laux) Eiden, natives of Germany, who emi- 
grated to America and settled in Ohio, in which 
state her widowed mother still resides. Mr. and 
Mrs. Guild have had three children, Nora, 
Charles, who died in infancy at Piedmont, and 
Robert E. The family holds a high position 
in social circles of Fort Bridger, entertaining 
gracefully their numerous friends. Mr. Guild 
has ever manifested a deep interest in public im- 
provements and as a business man he has been 
and is successful, while as a member of society 
he is respected and beloved. 

HON. ORA HALEY. 

One of the most successful stockmen and 
largest individual landowners of Wyoming is 
Ora Haley, a prominent citizen of Laramie, 
whose home is at 417 Thornburgh street. He 
was born at East Corinth, Me., in 1845, the son 
of Benjamin and Nancy J. (Rollins) Haley, the 
former a native of the state of New Hampshire 
and the latter of Maine, where the father followed 
the occupations of farmer and drover and was en- 
gaged in those pursuits until 1866, when he 
moved to Malaga, New Jersey, where he con- 
tinued to live up to the time of his demise on 
March 17, 1887, at the venerable age of seventy- 
three years, and he was interred at Malaga. 
The mother passed away in 1849 an d was buried 
at East Corinth, Me. Hon. Ora Haley grew to 
manhood in his native state and received his 
early education in the public schools, taking a 
course of study in the East Corinth Academy. 
At the age of eighteen years he accepted a posi- 
tion in a mercantile establishment in Bangor, 
Me., for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge 
of mercantile pursuits preparatory to embark- 
ing in business for himself. He passed two 
years in this employment and then went as a 
substitute in Co. A in the state militia during 
the Civil War and for a period of sixty days he 
was employed on garrison duty at Fort Mc- 
Cleary in the regular army. After his muster- 
out he removed his residence from Maine to 
Waukon, Iowa, where he secured employment 
and remained until 186^, when he joined the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



489 



stampede 'to Pike's Peak in search of gold and 
drove a five-yoke ox team from Wisconsin to 
Denver. In 1866 he went to Black Hawk, in the 
then territory of Colorado, where he leased a 
meat market and started in business. He remained 
at this place meeting with financial success until 
the town went down, when he engaged in 
freighting from the Cache la Poudre River td 
the city of Cheyenne, Wyo., and along the grade 
camps west of Cheyenne, furnishing hay for the 
grading" outfits who were then constructing the 
line of the Union Pacific Railroad, continuing 
in this occupation until January, 1868, when he 
removed his residence to Fort Saunders. To 
this place he brought a band of catttle and soon 
engaged again in the meat business, continuing it 
with considerable success until 1871, when he 
located his first 160 acres of land on the Little 
Laramie. This was the first land he owned in 
Wyoming, and he has increased his landed hold- 
ings until now (1902) he is. the owner of 50,000 
acres of land in Wyoming and 2,500 acres in 
Colorado. He is also the owner, in association 
with B. F. Saunders of Salt Lake City, of large 
tracts of land and cattle in Arizona, also having 
extensive stock interests in Wyoming, Colo- 
rado and Arizona, being one of the leading 
stockmen of the western country. He takes 
a special pride in the breeding of thoroughbred 
and graded Hereford cattle. Mr. Haley is a 
staunch member of the Republican party and 
for many years has borne a leading part in pub- 
lic affairs, being one of the most prominent and 
trusted of the party leaders of his state. He 
was elected as a member of the Second Legisla- 
tive Assembly of the territory of Wyoming and 
was a member of the State Senate during 
the first legislative session meeting after the 
admission of the state to the Union. While 
a member of the Legislature he served his 
constituents and the state with conspicuous 
ability, many of the provisions of the present 
statutes of Wyoming owing their origin to his 
industry and patriotism. For many years he 
has been a member of the state board of live 
stock commissioners, and has given a consid- 
erable portion of his time to the public service 



without compensation, or hope of reward, other 
than a consciousness of having discharged his 
duty as a public-spirited citizen of his state. 
Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic or- 
der, being ever interested in any measure cal- 
culated to promote the welfare of that order or 
to advance and conserve the fraternal life of 
the community. On January 8, 1872, Mr. Haley 
was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Peifier, 
a native of Missouri and a daughter of Frank 
and Susan Peifier. Mr. and Mrs. Haley have 
had four children, Annie G. and Addie J., twins, 
Hattie B. and Ora B. Addie J. died on Septem- 
ber 30, 1902, at the age of thirty years, having 
been an invalid for a number of years. The 
Haley house is noted for its comforts and the 
many evidences of refinement which surround 
it, and for its charming hospitality. Mr. Haley 
is one of the most advanced and progressive 
business men of Wyoming, and the success 
which he has achieved is a fitting tribute to his 
ability and worth as a citizen. He has done 
much to build up the state and, if he should de- 
sire it, there are few honors within the gift of 
the people which might not be within his grasp, 
for few men in Wyoming stand higher in the 
estimation of all classes of the people. 

PATRICK J. HALL. 

One of the most prosperous cattlemen of 
Laramie county, Wyoming, is Patrick J. Hall, 
whose address is Glendo, in that county. He 
was born on March 18, 1849, the son of Thomas 
and Ann (Murray) Hall, natives of County Gal- 
way, Ireland. His father followed the occupa- 
tion of farming in his native country up to the 
time of his decease, and Patrick grew to man's 
estate in County Galway, where he was born, 
and received his early education. After he had 
finished his training in the public schools he 
remained with his parents, assisting his father 
in the work and management of the farm, until 
he had attained to the age of eighteen years, 
when he began life for himself on farms in the 
neighborhood for a short time. In 1869 he re- 
solved to free himself from the hard business 



490 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and unjust political conditions that prevailed in 
his native country, and with a number of other 
young men of similar aspirations "and plans bade 
farewell to the home and scenes of his childhood 
and early manhood and took ship for the New 
World. He remained about eight months in the 
city of New York and then came to Omaha, Neb. 
Stopping here only a short time, he came on to 
Cheyenne, in the then territory of Wyoming, 
where he arrived in 1872. Not finding business 
conditions there as favorable as he had antici- 
pated he went on to Denver, in a short time re- 
turning to Cheyenne, where he became the stew- 
ard of the Dyer House, at that time one of the 
leading hotels of Cheyenne. He remained in this 
position until 1875, when he resigned to en- 
gage in the business of raising cattle, and com- 
ing to the North Crow Creek country, about 
twenty-one miles west of Cheyenne, he located 
a ranch and entered upon his chosen pursuit 
with considerable success, continuing there in 
the same business until 1879, when he disposed 
of his ranch to good advantage and removed his 
residence and stock to Horseshoe Creek, where 
he took up the ranch where he now resides and 
which has been his home continuously since that 
time. Here he continued in the cattle business 
and he has been very successful, increasing his 
business from year to year and improving his 
ranch until he is now the owner of one of the 
finest and best-equipped cattle ranches in that 
section of the state, having over 420 acres of 
land, with large and suitable buildings for the 
convenient and successful carrying on of an 
extensive stock business. He has 220 acres un- 
der irrigation and grows large quantities of hay, 
chiefly alfalfa. When he came to the Horseshoe 
Creek country and began business it was prac- 
tically in a state of nature, there being but two 
other white settlers in the vicinity. Game of 
all kinds was abundant and it was neccessary to 
bring all supplies from Cheyenne, a distance 
of 140 miles. He has seen this section of 
Wyoming pass through all of its stages of de- 
velopment, from the wild and savage condition 
in which it then lay up to its present settled and 
civilized state, and he has been engaged exclu- 



sively in cattleraising. On October 26, 1878, 
at the city of Cheyenne, Wyo., Mr. Hall was 
united in marriage with Miss Sophia Heck, a 
native of Wyoming and a daughter of Charles 
and Wilhelma Heck, natives of Germany. Her 
parents were highly respected citizens of Chey- 
enne, being early pioneers of Wyoming. To 
this union have been born two children, Wil- 
liam and Sophia A., both of whom are residing 
at home with their parents in Laramie county. 
The family home is one of the most hospitable 
in that portion of the state. The family are 
members of the Roman Catholic church and 
take a deep interest in all works of charity and 
religion. Politically, Mr. Hall is a staunch mem- 
ber of the Republican party and a loyal and able 
advocate of the principles of that political or- 
ganization, although never seeking or desiring 
any public position. 

ROBERT HALL. 

A respected stockman and a representative 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
Robert Hall, whose address is Centennial. 
Wyoming, is a native of Fulton county, N. Y., 
and he was born on July 17, 1842, a son of 
Thomas and Margaret (McCuen) Hall, natives 
of Ireland. The father emigrated from his na- 
tive country at the age of eighteen years and 
first settled near Montreal, Canada. Here he 
remained for a short time and removed to Troy, 
N. Y. Purchasing a farm in Fulton county he 
engaged in the occupation of farming for fifteen 
vears, then sold his farm and removed to Sara- 
toga county, where he was engaged in the same 
calling for a number of years. Subsequently he 
made his home in Otsego county in the same 
state, where he remained up to'the time of his 
decease at the age of eighty-two years. He was 
the son of William and Mary Hall, natives of 
Ireland. The mother of the subject of this 
sketch also passed away in New York at the 
age of seventy-five years. She was a noble 
woman of marked traits of character and was 
the mother of nine children. Robert Hall grew 
to manhood in his native state of New York and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



491 



received' his early education in the public 
schools. When he had completed his education 
he learned the trade of ■blacksmithing and en- 
gaged in that business in Troy for about five 
years, removed to Otsego, continuing there in 
occupation for about three years. At the break- 
ing out of the great Civil War he responded to 
the call of his country and enlisted in Co. I, 
Twenty-first New York Cavalry, and served in 
the Union army for three years. After being 
mustered out of the service he remained for a 
short time in New York and removed his resi- 
dence to Minnesota, where he continued to re- 
side until 1 88 1. He then came to the then terri- 
tory of Wyoming, locating at Laramie and en- 
gaging in the blacksmith business for a period 
of twelve years. He then located on the Little 
Laramie River and engaged in ranching and 
stockraising, in which industries he has con- 
tinued to the present time (1902). In 1867 Mr. 
Hall was united in marriage with Miss Rosanna 
Hunt, a native of the city of Troy, N. Y., 
she being a daughter of Enoch and Mary 
(Clapp) Hunt, also natives of that state. Her 
father was born in 1803 and followed the occu- 
pation of blacksmithing in his native state up 
to the time of his decease. He was the son of 
William Hunt, a native of New Jersey, who was 
a master mechanic during his active lifetime. 
The mother of Mrs. Hall was born in 1809 and 
died in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have had four 
children, Rosa, Edwin, John F. and Enoch. The 
last two named are deceased. Politically, Mr. 
Hall is identified with ' the Populist party and 
is an earnest advocate of the principles of that 
political organization, also being a highly re- 
spected citizen of the community where he 
maintains his home. 

WILLIAM H. HARVEY. 

Among the men who in industrial activities 
and commercial operations have attained dis- 
tinctive success and prestige in Uinta county 
and are recognized as representative citizens of 
the state, William H. Harvey, the popular mer- 
chant of Mountain View, where he maintains 



his pleasant home, is entitled to a high regard ; 
and although there may 'be no thrilling or ex- 
citing chapters in his life story, his career has 
been singularly true to high ethical standards 
and prolific of individual and objective good. 
He was born at Muscatine, Iowa, on March 29, 
1863, a son of William and Agnes (McCulloch) 
Harvey, of whom due mention has been made 
elsewhere in this volume in connection with the 
sketch of an older 'brother, Robert B. Harvey. 
William H. Harvey had excellent school advan- 
tages in Iowa until he was seventeen years old, 
thus laying a solid foundation for the broader 
education that he has acquired in later years 
by commingling with men of action and affairs. 
In 1880 he came direct from Iowa to the Fort 
Bridger section of Wyoming, where he passed 
the winter, in the spring going to the Big Horn 
country with the Carter Cattle Co.'s outfit, and in 
the employ of that company was a range rider for 
two years, and afterwards for a year served it 
in the same way in Montana, becoming an ex- 
pert in all branches of the stock business. Re- 
turning to Fort Bridger he became a stockraiser 
and has continued in that business to the pres- 
ent, running both cattle and horses with pro- 
nounced success. When the reservation was 
opened for occupation and settlement Mr. Har- 
vey located 160 acres' of land immediately east 
of Mountain View, making that his home and 
center of operations, and his real-estate now 
consists of 200 acres of agricultural and bench 
land and a number of rapidly appreciating busi- 
ness and residence lots in Mountain View, where 
he first erected the present hotel as a residence 
for himself, and where in 1899 he established 
the first general store of the place. This he is 
still conducting, with a steadilv increasing trade 
and an expanding stock of goods. Mr. Harvey 
is well known in the county and throughout a 
wider area, and such has been his course in life 
that he has ever enjoyed the esteem of the best 
elements of the community, both he and his 
wife, a lady of high cultivation, occupying lead- 
ing places in the best society circles of the state. 
Though never aspiring to the honors or emolu- 
ments of public office, he is a strong and valued 



492 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



factor in the counsels of the Republican politi- 
cal party. His interest in the welfare of the 
community and its progress has, however, in- 
duced him to accept a purely nonpartisan office, 
that of school trustee, which he has capably 
filled for a number of years. On May I, 1900, 
he was married at Villisca, Iowa, with Miss Ida 
B. .Gourley, whose parents were John and Caro- 
line (Baker) Gourley, natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and Iowa. In the last named state 
Mrs. Gourley 's maternal grandfather was the 
first judge of Adams county and her family has 
been important in the history of Iowa from 
early pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have 
had four children, three of whom are living. 
Rex E., Lisle D. and Zelda, while another 
daughter, Ethel, died at the age of five months. 
The home is the center of a most genial hos- 
pitality and the aid of the family is freely given 
to all good causes. 

JOSEPH J. HAUPHOFF. 

The biographer writing for the future, as 
well as for the present generation, would be un- 
mindful of his duty if he failed to commend to 
the young the example of such a career as the 
life of the worthy subject of this review affords. 
Commencing with little capital beyond well de- 
vised plans to succeed, and paving the way to 
honorable position and well established pros- 
perity with the solid groundwork of honest in- 
dustry, genuine personal worth and upright con- 
duct, he has achieved success in the face of 
every obstacle and made a name, which when 
transmitted to posterity, will shine with the ra- 
diance emanating from a life of integrity and 
duty faithfully and uncomplainingly performed. 
Joseph J. Hauphoff is one of the sons of the 
German Fatherland and in a marked degree in- 
herits the sterling characteristics which for cen- 
turies have made his nationality noted among 
the people of the world. His father, Herr Nicho- 
las Hauphoff, was a merchant in the city of Virl 
and never left the land of his nativity, passing 
the greater part of his life at the above place, 
be died there in 1883. The maiden name of the 



mother was Elizabeth Baker. She was also born, 
reared and was married in Germany and in 1837 
she entered into her eternal rest at Virl, where 
her body now lies beside the remains of her 
husband. Joseph J. Hauphoff was born on 
February 13, 1831, and until his eighteenth year 
remained at home attending the government 
schools and assisting his father as a clerk. In 
1849 he followed the example of many of his 
countrymen by leaving the Fatherland and com- 
ing to the United States, where he was led to 
believe that prosperity, if not a fortune, awaited 
the young man of laudable ambition and prop- 
erly directed energy. During the three years 
following his arrival in the New World, young 
Hauphoff was a clerk in a mercantile house in 
Baltimore, but at the end of that time, in 1852, 
he joined the U. S. navy as one of the crew of 
the Powhatan, which was attached to the squad- 
ron under Commodore Perry when that bold 
and intrepid commander compelled the Japanese 
government to open the port of Yeddo. Mr. 
Hauphoff recalls many incidents of that noted 
expedition, being an eye-witness of the thrilling 
scenes preceding the opening of the ports of the 
hermit nation to the commerce of the world. 
Upon his return from his trip, which covered 
a period of three years, he quit the sea and 
for some time thereafter lived at Norfolk, Ya., 
going thence to Baltimore, where he was en- 
gaged in the restaurant business until 1859, then 
he sold his establishment and during the en- 
suing two years taught school at Louisville, 
Ky. He was in that city when the great War 
of Secession broke out and immediately left 
the schoolroom and assisted in organizing three 
companies of home guards, which be afterwards 
drilled and fitted for effective service in the 
field. Subsequently he was made captain of 
Co. C, Sixth Kentucky Infantry, and as such 
served in General Rousseau's division until 
May, 1862, when, on account of impaired health, 
he - was obliged to resign his commission and 
retire from military life. Returning to Louis- 
ville after leaving the army Mr. Hauphoff 
opened an auction store, which he conducted 
until 1868, when he closed out the business and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



493 



made his' way to the West. Reaching Chey- 
enne, Wyo., at that time a young and rapidly 
growing frontier town, he engaged in the shoe 
business with encouraging financial results and 
continued the same until 1874, at which time he 
opened a hotel at Fort Laramie. Mr. Ffaup- 
hoff acted in the capacity of "mine host" about 
four years, disposing of his house in 1878 and 
removing to the ranch on the Platte River, 
where during the three following years he was 
engaged in cattleraising. In 1881 he started 
a lumberyard on the present site of Guernsey, 
at that time the center of a populous district, 
and commanded a fairly successful trade until 
the following year, when he disposed of the 
business and opened a house for the accomoda- 
tion of the trading public at the town of Sun- 
rise. In connection with his hotel he also ran 
a grocery store, devoting considerable time to 
mining, having succeeded in locating several 
very valuable mineral properties. Selling his 
claims in 1888 and disposing of his business in- 
terests at Sunrise, Mr. Hauphoff took up his 
residence in Badger, Wyo., where he erected 
a good hotel, which, in connection with the mer- 
cantile business, he still owns. While much of 
his business interests is at the above place and 
his family resides there, Mr. Hauphoff makes 
business headquarters at Hartville, near which 
he has large and valuable mining claims, includ- 
ing 160 acres of land thickly underlaid with a 
fine quality of onyx, which, when properly de- 
veloped, will doubtless prove the source of 
a fortune of large magnitude. In addition to 
the varied interests referred to he owns a fine 
ranch, on which may be seen some of the best 
breeds of cattle and high-grade horses to be 
found in this part of Wyoming. All of his busi- 
ness enterprises have been fruitful of liberal 
financial results and his large fortune is a credit 
to the ability, good judgment and acumen dis- 
played in whatever he has undertaken. Mr. 
Hauphoff was married in Louisville, Ky., to 
Miss Mary Hartman, a native of that state and 
the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Smith) Hart- 
man. Twelve children have resulted from this 
union, the eldest of whom died in infancy, un- 



named ; the others being Rosia, deceased ; Jose- 
phine ; John, deceased ; Lulu, Minnie M., Albert, 
Daniel, Charles, William, Earl and Nicholas. 
In the range of political life Mr. Haup- 
hoff is pronounced in his allegiance to the Dem- 
ocratic party, believing its principles to be for 
the best interests of the people. He reads much 
and his mind is stowed with a fund of valuable 
information rarely to be met with outside of 
scholastic or professional lives. Well versed on 
political questions, particularly those relating 
to state and national legislation, his opinions 
carry weight and in a "large measure he has be- 
come a leader in shaping and directing the pol- 
icies of his party in Laramie county. By no 
means an aspirant for public office, he has been 
honored at different times with positions of 
trust, having served for some years as a U. S. 
commissioner, also as a justice of the peace, 
while from the day Hartville was incorporated 
he has been mayor of that thriving town. With 
the people he is universally popular, old sol- 
diers and sailors holding him in especial es- 
teem and regard. He was reared a Roman 
Catholic and has always remained loyal to the 
teaching of the mother church, his wife and chil- 
dren also being' devout members of the same 
communion. In his social relations Mr. Haup- 
hoff is a model of kindness and generosity. His 
home, a most pleasant and happy one, is always 
open to his friends and the stranger never fails 
to share his full-handed hospitality. He believes 
in looking upon the sunny side of life and, be- 
ing kind and courteous in demeanor, naturally 
wins warm friendships. 

WILLIAM HINTON. 

This gentleman one of the old, oldtimers of 
Evanston, Wyoming, was born May 1, 183 1, in 
Scott county, Ky., the son of De Alfred and 
Betsey (Sutton) Hinton. DeAlfred Hinton, who 
was also a native of Scott county, Ky., was also 
a man of affairs, being a financier and capitalist 
as well as interested in mercantile business. 
He died in 1866, aged sixty-five, and is buried at 
Newport, Ky. His wife, the mother of William 



494 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Hinton, was born in Virginia of English parents. 
She was married in Kentucky where she lived 
until 1834, when she died and now lies buried at 
Christiansburg, Shelby county, also in that state. 
Both she and her husband were members of the 
Baptist church. William Hinton acquired his 
education in the public schools and in the old 
Augusta Methodist College in Kentucky, where 
he took a three year's course. His father wished 
him to become a physician and with this end in 
view he entered the office of Doctor Muzzey, a 
prominent physician of the time, but after a 
year of diligent study in this connection the gold 
fever, which was then raging strongly, caught 
him and he started for San Francisco by the 
Panama route. This was in 1850 and in the fall 
he went from San Francisco up into the mining 
countries, first to Feather River and later to the 
Yuba. He also established a trading-post in 
Sandy Gulch between the forks of the Mokel- 
umne River. In 1856 he went to Hannibal, 
Mo., and engaged in coalmining, in which he 



continued until I 



Selling; out he went to 



Miongona, Iowa, where he was also interested 
in developing coal mines, but having only a 
small vein of coal he again sold out and went to 
Chicago. Here he conducted an auction store 
until 1868 when he came to Carbon, Wyo., and 
was given the charge of all the mines of the 
Wyoming Coal and Mining Co. ' This position 
he held for two years and then started in coal 
mining for himself at Almy, Wyo., continuing 
his endeavors for about three years. His first 
year was successful but he soon found that the 
railroads were hard competitors and held the 
upper hand of him by their charg'es for trans- 
portation, and be was thus forced out of the busi- 
ness. Since then he has been engaged in specu- 
lating and lending money, making his home in 
Evanston, but he is now practically retired from 
active business, maintaining an office chiefly for 
his convenience and comfort. Mr. Hinton was 
married in 1858 to Margaret L. Marsb, a native 
of Ohio. Tins union resulted in one child, 
James P., of Hannibal, Mo., now engaged in the 
wholesale ice and coal business in that city and 
also in office as the cashier of the Hannibal Bank. 



Mr. William Hinton is the very oldest or almost 
the oldest one of our settlers, for there was but 
one log cabin and one tent in the town when he 
first came to and located at Almy. His life has 
been one of great usefulness, while with the 
prosperity which he has earned have come honors 
increasing with his increasing years. 

THOMAS D. HOLT. 

As a fine type of the self-made man and an 
illustration of what hard work, attention to 
business and unswerving fidelity to every busi- 
ness obligation will accomplish, no better ex- 
ample can be found than Thomas D. Holt, the 
subject of this review. Losing his parents in 
early childhood, and being thrown entirely upon 
his own resources, without friends or relatives 
to aid him as he began the hard struggle with 
the world, he has fought his way successfully 
through every hardship, conquered every ob- 
stacle that confronted him and is now (1902) in 
a fair way to become one of the leading stock- 
men of Wyoming. Born in Freo county. Tex., 
on March 5, 1857, he is the son of Robert and 
Pheta A. Holt, long-time residents of the state 
of Texas, where his father followed blacksmith- 
ing, being engaged in that business in Freo 
City up to the time of his death, which occurred 
in 1864. The mother died in the same town 
only one year later, and both were there buried. 
When he was nine years of age Thomas D. 
Holt left his home in Freo City and lived for 
a time in the western part of Texas, earning his 
living in various ways, then removed to Dodge 
City, Kan., where he found employment as a 
farm hand and remained engaged in that voca- 
tion until he was nineteen years old. He had 
little opportunity of attending school, but im- 
proved his spare time and thus acquired a fair 
education through his own efforts. In July, 1876, 
he left Kansas for Wyoming. Arriving first in 
the city of Cheyenne, then the Mecca for so 
many adventurous seekers of fortune, he re- 
mained there a few days and then went out into 
South Dakota, where he secured employment 
with a freighting outfit then doing business be- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



495 



tween Sidney, Neb., and the country around 
the Black Hills of Dakota. He continued in this 
business until 1880, when he returned to Chey- 
enne, subsequently going to the Middle Crow 
country of Wyoming, where he entered the em- 
ploy of A. B. Blue as a range rider. He con- 
tinued in this employment for three years and 
seven months, and then resigned to accept a 
better offer from McGee & Haygood, who then 
had large stock interests in the vicinity of 
South Crow Creek. He remained with this firm 
for nine years, practically having charge of their 
cattle interests during the greater portion of 
that time. In 1890 he resigned this position for 
the purpose of engaging in business for himself 
and purchased his present ranch. He began 
with little capital, purchasing the place mostly 
on credit, but by hard work, perseverance and 
strict attention to all the details of his business, 
he has been enabled to overcome the difficulties 
attendant upon the hard times of the early 
nineties and to place himself upon a sound finan- 
cial basis. In this he has been generously as- 
sisted by the friendship of Mr. Daniel Arnold, 
from whom he purchased the place. He has 
now a fine ranch property, consisting of 3,560 
acres of land, well fenced and improved, with 
suitable barns and buildings, and with about 300 
acres of the best hay land in that section of the- 
country. Having passed successfully through 
the great period of depression in business he is 
now in prosperous and satisfactory circum- 
stances and on the way to the full achievement 
of his youthful ambition, being destined to be- 
come one of the leading stockmen of the state, 
as he is now one of its most respected and hon- 
ored citizens. On December 31, 1882, Mr. Holt 
was united in marriage at Cheyenne, Wyo., with 
Miss Mary A. Lannen, a native of Illinois and 
a daughter of David and Mary (Hunt) Lannen, 
natives of Ireland. Her parents were among 
the earliest pioneers of the West. Emigrating 
early from Ireland, they first settled in La Salle 
county, 111., where they engaged in farming. In 
the fall of 1859 they removed from that state 
to the then territory of Kansas and settled near 
the present site of Topeka, here engaged in 



farming and resided until 1871, when they start- 
ed overland to Wyoming, where they arrived 
in 1872, being among the first settlers and pio- 
neers of that section. Here the father engaged 
in cattleraising with great success up to the 
time of his decease, which occurred in 1891. He 
left a large estate, consisting of over 12,000 
acres of land and large herds of cattle and 
horses, being one of the leading stockmen of 
Wyoming. The mother died on January 19, 
1899, and lies buried by the side of her husband 
in the city of Cheyenne. Six children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Holt, viz : Guy E., Maud, 
W. David, Hilga H., Eugene and Cora W., and 
their home life is conspicuous for the many evi- 
dences of consideration and affectionate regard 
shown by all the members of the family in their 
friendly relations. The marriage union of this 
worthy couple has been an exceptionally happy 
one, and Mrs. Holt has been in the best sense 
a companion and helpmeet to her husband, be- 
ing consulted by him in his business transactions 
and much of his success being attributable to 
her wise counsel and conservative judgment. 
Mr. Holt is affiliated with the order of Wood- 
men of the World as a member of the lodge at 
Cheyenne and takes an active interest in the 
social and fraternal life of the community. 

JOSEPH S. HOSACK. 

Among the many successful stockgrowers of 
Wyoming, is Joseph S. Hosack, whose ranch is 
located four and one-half miles south of Granite, 
in that state. A native of Pennsylvania, he was 
born on May 17, 1850, in Armstrong county, 
the son of John M. and Mary A. (Woods) Ho- 
sack, also natives of that state. His father was 
a millwright, who removed from Armstrong 
county to Clarion county, where he still lives re- 
tired from active business. The mother died in 
1893, and was buried in Clarion county. Joseph 
S. Hosack grew to manhood and received his 
early education in the schools of his native coun- 
ty, and there he remained residing with his pa- 
rents, until he was seventeen years old, when he 
accompanied them to Clarion county. Here he 



496 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



continued and completed his education, and he 
accepted an apprenticeship under his father to 
the trade of millwright, which occupation he 
followed until he had attained to the age of 
twenty-two years, when he purchased a sawmill, 
and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In 
this business he met with considerable success, 
but at the end of two years, having an opportunity 
to sell out at a handsome profit oxx his investment, 
he disposed of the property and immediately pur- 
chased a farm in Armstrong county, Pa. Here 
he pursued farming and the growing of stock 
until 1882, when he disposed of his farm and 
removed to the then territory of Wyoming. Af- 
ter his arrival at Cheyenne he traveled over var- 
ious sections of the territory, looking for a suit- 
able location for the live stock business. Subse- 
quently, desiring to acquire a practical knowledge 
of the business before starting in it independ- 
ently, he secured a good position on the ranch 
of Hay & Thomas located on Lone Tree Creek, 
and remained with them for about fourteen 
months. The firm then disposing of their ranch 
and stock interests to the Warren Live Stock 
Co., Mr. Hosack accepted from the latter com- 
pany the responsible position of foreman of their 
horse department. Here he remained for nearly 
four years. In 1886 he resigned this position 
and entered the employ of G. B. Goodell, being 
appointed as foreman of his large trotting-horse 
establishment, that was located on Lone Tree 
Creek, about nine miles west of Cheyenne. Here 
he remained until January, 1889, when resigning 
his position to go into business for himself, soon 
after purchasing his present ranch property on 
Duck Creek, about twenty-five miles southwest 
of Cheyenne, where he engaged in highly suc- 
cessful cattleraising, and has continued in it up 
to the present time (1902), being now the owner 
of over 1,850 acres of fine land, patented, while 
he controls several thousand acres of leased state 
land. He is steadily enlarging his operations, 
and has one of the finest hay and stock ranches 
in that section of the state. He puts up each' 
year large quantities of the finest hay, most of 
which is consumed on the place by his own stock. 
On Christmas day, T872, Mr. J. S. Hosack was 



united in marriage in Armstrong count}-. Pa., 
with Miss Carrie J. Baughman, a native of that 
state, daughter of David and Barbara (Nulph) 
Baughman, also natives of that state. Her 
father was a prosperous farmer of Armstrong 
county, where he resided until his death, which 
occurred in 1895. Her mother is now making 
her home with her children that are living in 
Armstrong county. To Mr. and Mrs. Hosack 
six children have been born. Minnie M., Clara, 
William, Eva, David and Bruce, and all are 
living. Mr. Hosack is a member of the Repub- 
lican party, who for many years has taken an 
active and prominent part in public affairs. He 
served one term as constable of his township 
with credit to himself, and has been often soli- 
cited to accept other positions of trust and honor, 
but has steadily declined to do so, preferring to 
devote his time and energy to his private busi- 
ness affairs. By industry and strict attention to 
his business, Mr. Hosack has built up a fine 
property from small beginnings, and his admir- 
able traits of character have won for him the re- 
spect aUd esteem of all with whom he has been 
associated. 

MARRIOT G. HOWE. 

One of the leading ranch and stockmen of 
Converse county, who has done much to develop 
the resources of that section of Wyoming. Hon. 
Marriot G. Howe, whose address is Orin, Wyo., 
was born on June 19, 1858, at Sharon. Windsor 
county, Yt., the son of Marriot G. and Dollie 
(Tinkham) Howe, the former a native of Massa- 
chusetts and the latter of the Green Mountain 
state. His father followed the occupation, of 
farming in Vermont and there remained en- 
gaged in that pursuit up to the time of his de- 
cease, which occurred in T883. The mother died 
in 1889, and both were laid to rest at Sharon, 
near the scenes of their long and useful lives. 
The immediate subject of this review grew to 
manhood in his native state and received his 
early education in the public schools of Sharon, 
until 1876, when he left his old home and went to 
New Hampshire, where he secured employment 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



497 



in the White Mountains for about one year, in 
the spring of 1877 he went to Illinois, and located 
near the city of Aurora and there found work 
on a farm in its vicinity for about one year, 
thence removing to Nebraska, where at the 
town of Beatrice he engaged in the sheep busi- 
ness for about one year and then returned to 
Aurora and again took up the occupation of 
farming. In the spring of 1881 he resolved to 
seek his fortune in the far West and removed 
his residence to the then territory of Wyoming, 
where he soon found employment on a ranch 
near the city of Laramie for one year, when he 
was placed in charge of the management of the 
ranch of the Mechanic Live Stock Association, 
situated near Laramie Peak, Wyo. He man- 
aged this property successfully until 1885, when 
he resigned his position that he might engage 
in business for himself. Taking up a ranch at 
the head of Horseshoe Creek, near Laramie 
Peak, he entered upon the business of sheep- 
raising and wool growing, in which he continued 
with marked success until 1888. He then dis- 
posed of his ranch to good advantage and re- 
moved his sheep to Crawford, Neb. Here he 
continued the same business for about fifteen 
months and returned with his stock to Converse 
county, Wyo., carrying on the business with 
large profit until 1892, he then sold all his hold- 
ings and in the fall of 1894 came to Orin Junc- 
tion, where he purchased the buildings and prop- 
erty which he now occupies, and engaged in the 
hotel and livery business, in which he is still 
largely interested. In all of his enterprises he 
has been conspicuously successful and is count- 
ed as one of the solid business men and sub- 
stantial property owners of that section of the 
state. In 1900 he again entered largely into the 
sheep and woolgrowing industry on his ranches 
on Walker Creek. On September 5, 1885, Mr. 
Howe was united in marriage at Bethel, Vt, 
with Miss Mabel B.' Spalding, whose parents 
were well-known and highly respected citizens 
of Vermont, where she was born. Of their 
union was born one child, Mollie E., who re- 
sides with her father, the mother having died 
on July 4, 1888, being buried at Crawford, Neb. 
On September 2, 1890, at Douglas, Wyo., Mr. 



Howe was again married to his present wife, 
who was then Mrs. Emma J. Churchill, a na- 
tive of Connecticut. Two children by her for- 
mer marriage, Amy R. and Harry D., were 
adopted by Mr. Howe and make their home 
with him. Mrs. Howe is a most estimable 
woman, being a member of the Congregational 
church, active and foremost in all works of re- 
ligion and charity in the community. Their 
home is extensively known for the gracious and 
generous hospitality which they take pleasure 
in dispensing to their large circle of friends and 
acquaintances, and the family enjoys the high 
esteem and affectionate regards of all who know 
them. Mr. Howe is affiliated with the Masonic 
order as a member of the Blue Lodge at Doug- 
las, Wyo., and also with the Woodmen of the 
World, and he takes an earnest interest in the 
fraternal life of the neighborhood where he 
maintains his home. He is a staunch member 
of the Republican party, one of the most trusted 
of the supporters of that political organization 
in both Converse county and the state. Always 
prominent in the party, he has been often solic- 
ited to become a candidate for positions of trust 
and honor in the public service, but has stead- 
fastly declined to do so, except on one occa- 
sion, when in 1896 he consented to become a 
candidate, for the State Legislative Assembly and 
was elected by a handsome majority, serving 
in that capacity for one term with distinguished 
ability and with fidelity to the interests of his 
constituents. Many measures of legislation 
now on the statute books of Wyoming owe their 
origin to his wisdom and the patriotic manner 
in which he discharged his public duty. At the 
expiration of his term of office he declined to 
become a candidate for reelection, his exten- 
sive private business interests requiring all his 
time and attention. 

J. G. HUNTER. 

A leading and an erudite practitioner of the 
law, a successful farmer of Sheridan county, one 
of the board who laid out the town of Sheridan 
and presided over its birth and infancy and one 
who is identified with every enterprise for the 



49 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



advancement and improvement of his town, 
county and state, J. G. Hunter is a potential 
factor in the professional, commercial, social and 
political life of Wyoming, and has to his credit 
a record of good service in behalf of all these 
that any citizen might be pleased to have. He 
is a Wyoming pioneer of 1880 when he brought 
to its needs and the duties that awaited him here 
a wide and valuable experience gathered on 
other fields of action. His life began in 1846, 
near Philadelphia, Pa., where his parents, Wil- 
liam and Lucy L. (Orrey) Hunter, resided for 
many years, the former being a native of Ireland 
and the latter of England. When they came to 
the United States they took up their residence 
sixteen miles south of Philadelphia, and here and 
in the city of Philadelphia their son passed his 
childhood, and attended school until he was ten 
years of age. In 1862 he went to Canada to live 
and the family thither followed him one year 
later, and in that country his father died in 
1874 and his mother in 1886. After leaving 
school J. G. Hunter engaged first in farming and 
later in railroad work until 1869, wdien he mar- 
ried with Miss Charlotte E. McAllister, a native 
of Canada, and soon thereafter they removed to 
Montgomery county, Kan., where he took up a 
homestead and occupied, improved and culti- 
vated it until 1875. He then went to Colorado 
and conducted a freighting business until 1880, 
when he came to Wyoming and "stuck his 
stake" adjacent to what is now the town of Sher- 
idan and there farmed until 1888. At that time 
be took up the study of law and pursued it with 
such application and constancy that he was ad- 
mitted to practice in the subordinate courts in 
1890. and since then he has been actively en- 
gaged in professional work, being in 1897 ad- 
mitted to practice before the- Supreme Court of 
the state. To his professional duties Mr. Hunter 
has given the same care in preparation, the same 
vigor and intellectual force in management, and 
the same judicious application of scientific prin- 
ciples that distinguished his other labors and with 
the same gratifying results. It has been noted 
that Mr. Hunter was one of the board who laid 
out the town of Sheridan. The interest in the wel- 



fare of the municipality he thus exhibited has 
never w r aned. He owns and retains his original 
tract of land adjacent to the town site, having 
increased it to 210 acres, but his land is not 
nearer to the city than its best interests are to his 
heart. He served its people for two terms as 
justice of the peace and has given freely of his 
time and energies to the needs of the progressive 
city in a public way on all occasions. He also 
owns valuable property within the city limits. 
There have been two children born to Mr. Hun- 
ter and his wife, Franklin C, a highly re- 
spected resident of Sheridan; and Effie M., who 
resides near Boston, Mass., and is the principal 
of an important public school of a high grade. 
Mr. Hunter procurred a divorce from his wife 
in 1874, and has since remained unmarried. He 
is a member of the Old Settlers' Club and takes 
an active part in its proceedings, contributing to 
the interests of its meetings and aiding in col- 
lecting and preserving its valuable records of a 
past that is fast fading away to come no more. 

WILLIAM McREYXOLDS. 

One of the representative business men of 
Converse county, Wyoming, is William McRey- 
nolds of Manville, the president of the Man- 
ville Mercantile Co. He was born on August 
26, 1869, in McLean county. 111., the son of 
Perry and Susan .(Eaton) McReynolds, both na- 
tives of Indiana. The family is of ancient Scotch 
individuality, his paternal great-grandfather be- 
ing a native of bonnie Scotland, who removed to 
Kentucky when a young man and was truly one 
of the earliest pioneers of that state, where he 
followed stockraising. His son, Leonard Mc- 
Reynolds, the grandfather of the subject of this 
sketch, removed in early life to Indiana, where 
he married, subsequently removing with his fam- 
ily to Illinois. His son, the father of Mr. Mc- 
Reynolds, still makes his home in that state, be- 
ing the owner of a fine farm near Stanford. He 
has practically retired from business and is 
passing the later days of his life in the ease and 
comfort earned by his many years of activity. 
He is one of the leading citizens of his section 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



499 



of Illinois and has been the mayor of the town 
of Stanford. . Mr. McReynold's mother is also 
living at the family homestead near Stanford. 
Of the family of six children born to his worthy 
parents, Mr. McReynolds is the third child. He 
received his preliminary education in the public 
schools in the vicinity of his boyhood's home 
in Illinois, and subsequently attended the Pres- 
byterian University at Lincoln in that state. 
Upon leaving that institution he engaged in 
farming and remained with his father until 1888, 
when he came to the state of Nebraska, where 
he remained for about five years, engaged in 
farming and stockraising with considerable suc- 
cess, in the spring of 1893 coming to Wyoming, 
and to Manville, where he has since resided. 
Here he embarked in the raising of stock, which 
he followed with great success up to the spring 
of 1901, when he disposed of his extensive hold- 
ings and made a visit to his old home. Upon 
his return to Wyoming he organized the Man- 
ville Mercantile Co., of which he became the 
president, and erected a fine store building at 
Manville for the accommodation of the large 
stock and business of this house. The build- 
ing is large and modern and the company car- 
ries an extensive and well-selected stock of gen- 
eral merchandise, and conducts a profitable and 
constantly increasing trade and Manville post- 
office is located at their store. On August 18, 
1881, Mr. McReynolds was united in marriage 
with Miss Martha Simpson, a native of Tazewell 
county, 111., and a daughter of Henry Simpson, 
one of the representative men of that county. 
To their union have been born five children, 
Abbie, now the wife of C. W. Roush of the busi- 
ness college at Brokenbow, Neb. ; Delia, Alice, 
Perry, and Mertin, deceased. , They all are prom- 
inent in the social life of the community where 
they reside and Mr. McReynolds has recently 
completed a large and fine modern residence at 
Manville, which is the center of a generous and 
genial hospitality. Fraternally, he is affiliated 
with the order of Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica and also with the Woodmen of the World. 
Politically, he has served the people of his 
county and district as a member of the board of 

31 



county commissioners and also as a school trus- 
tee, and takes an active and prominent part in 
all public affairs. He is one of the leading fac- 
tors in the business and public life of his sec- 
tion of the state and one of the progressive, suc- 
cessful and rising men of Wyoming. 

MERRIS C. BARROW. 

Newspapers are most powerful factors in the 
development of any community and upon their 
early establishment the rapid growth of any in- 
cipient city largely depends, and where the one 
who stands as the directing head is a man of wis- 
dom and sagacity, its power is multiplied and 
the journal reaches into a larger area as a force- 
ful power in the advancement of the weal of the 
state. Among the unique, original and very ably 
edited newspapers of Wyoming, Bill Barlow's 
Budget takes no second place, and in this volume 
devoted to the review of the Progressive Men of 
Wyoming, its editor and proprietor has a well- 
defined place. Mr. Barrow was born at Canton, 
Bradford county, Pa., on October 4, i860, the 
son of Rev. Robert C. and Helen (Harding) 
Barrow, the father being a native of New York. 
The father was early educated for a ministerial 
life, as a young man going to Pennsylvania, and 
there entering the ministry of the Christian 
church and also forming his matrimonial relation. 
In 1861 he went to Missouri and two years later 
to Nebraska for a two year's residence in that 
state at Nemaha, concluding his migrations by a 
residence in Johnson county until his death in 
1896. Merris C. Barrow was the eldest of the 
four children of his parents and his school edu- 
cation was acquired in Nebraska, he thereafter 
learning the printer's trade at Tecumseh in that 
state, in 1876 leasing the Tecumseh Chieftain. 
Two years later, receiving the appointment of 
U. S. postal clerk, he removed to Omaha, .run- 
ning from there until 1878, being then transfer- 
red to Wyoming with headquarters at Laramie, 
continuing in the postoffice service until 1879, 
when he became the city editor of the Laramie 
Daily Times, and was filling this position when 
"Bill" Nye started the Laramie Boomerang on 



5oo 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



March 17, 1880. Mr. Barrow became the city 
editor of this new candidate for popular support 
and when, early in 1882 Mr. Nye severed his 
connection with the sheet, Mr- Barrow became 
the managing editor, continuing to hold this situ- 
ation until 1884. In September, 1884, he went 
to Rawlins, Wyo., to take the editorial and busi- 
ness management of the Wyoming Tribune, and 
early in 1886, he came to Douglas and established 
his present weekly journal, the unique Bill Bar- 
low's Budget, the initial number appearing June 
9th, three months before the railroad was com- 
pleted to the town. The paper was a "hit", its 
success was assured from its first issue and it 
has attained prosperity and much more than a 
local reputation. It may be proper to remark 
incidentally at this point, that Mrs. Barrow is a 
thoroughly practical newspaper worker, who dur- 
ing Mr. Barrow's absences of official duty or 
otherwise takes full charge of the newspaper, 
showing talent and ability and being justly en- 
titled to a large share of the credit for the suc- 
cess of their periodical. A stalwart Republican, 
when the U. S. land-office was established at 
Douglas in 1890, Mr. Barrow was appointed its 
first receiver by President Harrison, and was in 
charge of the public moneys until removed in 
1894 by President Cleveland, thereafter, on 
June 12, 1897, being reappointed to the same of- 
fice by President McKinley and later, in 1901, ap- 
pointed as his own successor by President Roose- 
velt for the term he is now serving. In the ses- 
sions of the State Legislature of 1894 and 1896, 
he was the chief clerk of the house, but since that 
time he has not been eligible for the office as he 
was in U. S. service. He has also been the mayor 
of Douglas for two successive terms and was the 
worshipful master of the local Masonic lodge in 
1899, 1900 and 1 901, being a Knight Templar, 
and a noble of the Mystic Shrine in that frater- 
nity. On March 17, 1877, Mr. Barrow and Miss 
Minnie F. Combs, a native of Macomb, 111., 
were wedded and they have had three children, 
Lizzie M., now Mrs. H. B. Fay, who maintains 
her home at C. P. Diaz, Mexico ; Merris C. Jr., 
who died on November 10, 1884; Helen M., 
now Mrs. Fred N. Brees, of Douglas. 



FRANK H. JAMES. 

The popular and efficient sheriff of Uinta 
county, Wyoming, whose name heads this arti- 
cle, is a native of Wisconsin, having been born 
about eight miles from Waldwick in that state 
in 1 86 1. His parents were Richard and Emily 
(Rowe) James, natives of England, whence the 
father, Richard James, came when young with 
his parents to America. They settled first in 
Pennsylvania, later moved to Wisconsin and 
followed farming, but in 1849 Richard took an 
ox team and crossed the plains to the goldfields 
of California, where he was successful and later 
returned to his farm life in Wisconsin, and at 
present he is living near Mineral Point in that 
state, being among the early settlers of that 
state, where he is now a prominent school officer 
and an active Republican in politics and also an 
ever-ready helper of the poor and needy, as he 
has ever been. His wife, who was also brought 
from England by her parents in early life and 
was married in Wisconsin, still lives with her hus- 
band in the state of their mutual adoption. 
Frank H. James learned his trade of harness- 
making at Mineral Point, Wis., where also he 
first engaged in business on his own account, 
but selling out in 1886 he went to Omaha and 
worked a few months for Marks Bros., whence 
he came to Evanston, Wyo., arriving here on 
May 30, 1887. Here he was employed at A. C. 
Beckwith's training stables as harnessmaker and 
remained at this employment until March 1, 
1888, when he again went into the harness busi- 
ness for himself, at the urgent request of Cash- 
man & Co. of Evanston, however, he soon quit 
this and assumed charge of their large harness 
and saddlery department, continuing here in this 
employment for nine and one-half years, mak- 
ing a record of which to be proud. From Evan- 
ston he went to Kemmerer. Wyo., and estab- 
lished a harness and saddlery business for him- 
self, which he continued until the fall of 1900, 
when he was elected sheriff of Uinta county on 
the Republican ticket. He has since held this 
office to the complete satisfaction of his fellow 
citizens and the increase of his own renown. 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



501 



serving also in 1900 on the board of county com- 
missioners, filling the vacancy left by George 
Gill. Socially, Mr. James is affiliated with the 
Freemasons and with the Maccabees. He is 
a man of sterling worth, well-known and highly 
esteemed, being a man of good cheer, a loyal 
citizen and a true friend, always frank and open, 
he is also careful and prudent and a safe busi- 
ness man and conservative adviser in financial 
matters. He was married in 1885 with Miss 
Mary Uren, a native of Wisconsin, who has 
borne him five children, of whom three survive, 
Henry M., Nellie and Mildred. Two others have 
passed away, one, Cora, died at the age of two 
at Mineral Point, Wis., where she had been 
taken in the hope of benefit. The other, Rich- 
ard R., a general favorite everywhere he was 
known, was drowned at the age of eleven and 
one-half years while crossing the Ham's Fork 
River in a wagon, being in the company of an- 
other boy and the driver of the team. The 
driver escaped, but both boys and the team per- 
ished. Mrs. James is the daughter of William 
C. and Ellen (Riley) Uren. The mother died 
in November last, aged fifty-five years, and is 
buried at Mineral Point, Wis., which is the home 
of the father, a native of England. 

MORTIMER JESURUN, M. D. 

The potency of lineage and environment are 
strongly exemplified in the life of this learned 
physician and pioneer citizen of the city of 
Douglas, Wyoming, for he traces his ancestry 
back in an unbroken line to the twelfth century 
and to a distinguished prime minister of the 
king of Spain, the family from that time being 
numbered among the proudest in Spain's proud 
chivalry. Doctor Jesurun was born on July 18, 
i860, in Curacao, South America, the son of M. 
Jesurun, who was born in Venezuela on the 
north coast of South America, and his cultured 
wife, Luna (Peixotto) Jesurun. His maternal 
male ancestors were all noblemen of Spain and 
Fonseca Peixotto, president of the republic of 
• Brazil, was a near relative of his mother. In 
1864 the father, who had been U. S. consul at the 



port of Curacao from 1857, made his home in 
New York City, becoming a shipowner and hav- 
ing large shipping interests with which he was 
identified until his death in 1880. The mother is 
still living. Dr. Jesurun received his early liter- 
ary education from special tutors at his own 
home, at eleven years of age going to Germany 
to continue his studies, which were pursued in 
the gymnasium and higher educational insti- 
tutions of the famous old maritime city of Ham- 
burg, during his summer vacations making 
many trips over Europe and voyages to various 
ports connected with the commerce of Ham- 
burg. In the course of time he voyaged to Bra- 
zil and from there came to the United States, 
and in 1878 became a resident of Fetterman, 
Wyo., and embarked in the stock industry. To 
this he gave his personal attention and services 
in the summer seasons, returning to New York 
for the winters and there devoting himself to the 
study of medicine under competent tutelage, 
thereafter matriculating at and receiving in- 
struction in the medical department of the 
University of the City of New York, being also 
graduated from that creditable institution in 
March 1892, with the degree of M. D. The 
Doctor was one of the original settlers of the 
town of Douglas, has aided in its growth and 
advancement and has been associated with its 
prosperity as one of its leading and most pro- 
gressive citizens, showing administrative qual- 
ities of a high order during his acceptable ser- 
vice as mayor of the infant city. In his pro- 
fession Doctor Jesurun has attained high rep- 
utation and a representative practice of the 
best character, while during the Spanish-Amer- 
ican War he won prestige by his professional 
services as major chief surgeon of the Second 
U. S. Volunteer Cavalry under Col. J. L. 
Torrey, and as chief surgeon of the hospital of 
the Third Division of the Seventh Army Corps 
under Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. In multitudinous 
ways is Doctor Jesurun an honor to the state 
of his adoption. He is aiding in the improve- 
ment of the stock interests of Wyoming through 
his connection with the Fetterman Hereford 
Co., which on its extensive ranches is devoting 



502 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



care, skill and capital to the raising of thorough- 
bred Hereford cattle, while as a member of the 
last Territorial House of Representatives he ex- 
hibited truly statesmanlike qualities in his leg- 
islative action, also in an intellectual and ed- 
ucational way he is doing good service on the 
board of trustees of the State University. In 
the midst of his great activities he has taken 
time to gather one of the most valuable col- 
lections of skins of native birds ever collected, 
taking great interest in the Douglas Gun Club 
and being its leading spirit. He is a member 
of the American Ornithologists's Union and 
of the Linnaean Society of New York City. His 
political affiliations are with the Republican 
party, while fraternally he is associated with 
the Freemasons as a Knight Templar and in 
his pleasant home, hospitality reigns supreme. 

JAMES R. JOHNSTON. 

Unfortunately but few of the earliest pion- 
eers of the far West, those who blazed the 
trails for civilization as early as 1849 anc ^ I 8S0, 
are now among the living. As a class, they were 
unique in the history of the world. They were 
Argonauts, explorers, frontiersmen, builders of 
highways for those who were to come after 
them. Brave souls they were, filled with the 
spirit of adventure, afraid of no danger or hard- 
ship, aflame with enthusiasm and determined to 
conquer the desert and the wilderness and to 
make them willing servants of civilization. They 
were appalled by no danger, discouraged by no 
defeat, unconquerable under every vicissitude. 
We who come after them and enjoy without 
effort the fruits of their sacrifices and of their 
heroic endeavor, must be blind and ungrateful 
indeed, if we do not accord to them the full 
need of commendation and just praise for what 
they have done for the welfare and the com- 
fort of the present and all future generations. 
Prominent among the men of this class, fore- 
most in every movement fraught with danger and 
adventure on the frontier, being formerly a res- 
ident of Little Horse Creek, Wyoming, was 
the late Hon. James R. Johnston. He was a 



pioneer of three states, first going overland to 
California in 1849, thence to Oregon and subse- 
quently returning to Wyoming, through which 
he had passed many years before on the old over- 
land trail on his way to the Pacific coast. He 
had an extraordinary career and his life was full 
of experiences rare even in the history of the 
West. He was a strong character, who always 
rose superior to his surroundings, no matter 
how hard or forbidding. When danger men- 
aced, his courage rose with the occasion ; when 
difficulties threatened to defeat his purpose, his 
resolution and strength increased with the ne- 
cessity and he crushed down all opposition. 
Born on June 17, 1827, amid the mountains of 
Allegheny county, Pa., he was early accustomed 
to the hardships of frontier life and learned in 
the hard school of experience the wholesome 
lessons of industry and frugality. He grew to 
manhood in the rugged surroundings of his 
early home and received there his education, 
although the opportunities of schooling were 
limited. He, however, acquired a fair common- 
school education. Upon completing his school 
life, he engaged in farming in Allegheny county 
until 1849, when reports of the fabulous dis- 
coveries of gold in California having reached 
Pennsylvania and created so great excitement 
among the young men of that locality, that Mr. 
Johnston and his brother, the late John L. 
Johnston, resolved to go to that distant land 
in search of their fortune. They procured an 
outfit for overland travel and started on the 
long journey across the continent. With a large 
company of emigrants they followed the old 
overland trail which passed through what is 
now Wyoming, passing by Fort Laramie, thus 
travelling very near the scenes of his later busi- 
ness activities. Arriving in California, the 
brothers opened a store at Weavertown, where 
they did a prosperous business for one year. 
They then engaged successfully in the livestock 
business near Sacramento, where they contin- 
ued until 1853. They then engaged in the lum- 
ber and sawmill business some miles east of 
Sacramento. This enterprise they conducted 
successfully for seventeen years, supplying a 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



503 



large portion of the lumber and mining timbers 
used in that section of California. In 1870, 
they sold their mill and lumbering interests to 
good advantage and engaged in farming and 
stockgrowing in Butte county, until 1873, when 
they drove a large band of cattle into Oregon, 
where they established themselves in Grant 
county in cattle and horseraising. In 1878 
they disposed of a portion of their stock in 
Oregon and drove a large band of horses over- 
land to the East, disposing of the greater por- 
tion of them in the cities of the Middle West 
making a handsome profit. Returning to the 
West, they remained in Denver until October, 
1880, when they came to Wyoming and took 
up large tracts of land on Horse and Little 
Horse Creeks, and engaged in their former 
business of cattle and horseraising and in gen- 
eral ranching, being among the early settlers 
of that section of Wyoming. In 1883 Mr. 
Johnston purchased the fine ranch property on 
Little Horse Creek which he largely added to 
and improved and owned and occupied up to 
the time of his death, on January 20, 1897. His 
brother, John L., with whom he had so long 
been associated in business, died December 16, 
1897. United not only by ties of blood, but by 
many years of toil and struggle side by side in 
their endeavors to accumulate a fortune on the 
frontier, the affection which existed between 
the two men was such that it was the subject 
of frequent remarks by all who knew them dur- 
ing their long and busy lives together. As- 
sociated together in a way so marked by broth- 
erly love and fidelity during all of their lives, 
they are not separated in death, both being 
buried in the cemetery of Cheyenne, Wyoming. 
Both of these men were admirable types of the 
hardy pioneers of the West and their memories 
will long be honored in the localities where they 
lived. On January 22, 1861, Mr. Johnston was 
united in marriage at Pine Grove, Calif., with 
Miss Lizzie Dane, a native of Boston, Mass., 
and a daughter of John and Elizabeth Dane, 
also natives of Massachusetts. Her parents 
emigrated from Massachusetts to California in 
1856 where they resided until they died. Mr. 



and Mrs. Johnston had seven children, one of 
whom, Mary M., died at the age of one year. 
Those living are : Phebe J., now Mrs. Kracaw, 
and residing at Telluride, Colo. ; George D., a 
prosperous ranchman of Wyoming, who has 
been traveling for a number of years ; Homer 
H., now engaged in the mining business at 
Cripple Creek, Colo. ; J. Lafayette, one of the 
leading ranch and stockmen of Wyoming; 
James H., now mining at Cripple Creek, Colo. ; 
Elizabeth C, now Mrs. Buck, and residing at 
Telluride, Colo. Five of the children were born in 
California, while the two youngest are natives 
of Oregon. Mr. Johnston was a life-long mem- 
ber of the Democratic party and for many years 
he took an active part in party affairs. He was 
early elected to the office of justice of the peace, 
which in the pioneer days of the West was a 
position of great importance in its relation to 
the welfare of the community and the pres- 
ervation of public order. He served as post- 
master from 1884 until his death, and in every 
relation, either of public or private life, he was 
a capable and conscientious officer, a good 
business man, successful in his undertakings 
and a highly respected citizen. 

J. LAFAYETTE JOHNSTON. 

J. Lafayette Johnston, of the Little Horse 
Creek, Wyoming, is one of the leading stock- 
men of that state. He is a native of the county 
of Butte and state of California, born on Septem- 
ber 1, 1871, the son of James R. Johnston, one of 
the prominent pioneers of California and Wyo- 
ming, and Mrs. Lizzie (Dane) Johnston. The 
reader' is referred to the preceding sketch of 
the eventful history of James R. Johnston. 
Immigrating with his parents into Wyoming 
when he was nine years of age, he received his 
early education from his mother, who was a very 
superior woman and from the primitive schools 
of the district where he resided. To his moth- 
er's excellent teaching, however, he owes most 
of his valuable training and his early knowl- 
edge of books." After completing his education 
he remained at the home ranch, assisting his 



5°4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



father in the management and conduct of their 
extensive stock interests, since 1896 he has had 
the full control and supervision of the prop- 
erty of the family. This comprises four large 
ranches, including, with lands held under lease,, 
about 20,000 acres, stocked with large numbers 
of cattle, horses and sheep. Their chief hold- 
ings are in cattle, and while his brothers are 
interested with him in the business, all is con- 
ducted under the name of J. Lafayette Johnston, 
being wholly under his management and con- 
trol. He has been very successful in- the cat- 
tle business and is looked upon as one of the 
most thorough-going and progressive stockmen 
of Wyoming. Inheriting from his father his 
characteristics of pluck, perseverance and in- 
tegrity, he has very largely increased the former 
holdings and is steadily adding to his already 
extensive interests. On September 20, 1899, 
Mr. Johnston was united in marriage at 
Greeley, Colo., to Miss Maud Ewing, a native 
of Pennsylvania and the daughter of James W. 
and Anna M. Ewing, also natives of that state. 
Her parents came from Pennsylvania to 
Greeley, Colo., in 1882. Here the father en- 
gaged successfully in dairy farming and is still 
(1902) following the same pursuit at that place. 
The mother died in 1894, being buried at 
Greeley. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston one child 
has been born, William R., the date of his birth 
being October 21, 1900. The young man al- 
ready gives promise of being a worthy successor 
of his father and his grandfather. Fraternally, 
Mr. Johnston is affiliated with the Masonic 
order as a member of the lodge at Cheyenne. 
While still a comparatively young man, Mr. 
Johnston has already made for himself an hon- 
ored place in the business life of Wyoming and 
is highly esteemed in the community where he 
resides. Born and raised in the West, he is 
thoroughly Western in every respect, having 
the sturdy elements of character, energy, keen 
intelligence, push and level-headedness peculiar 
to the successful men of that section. He is 
looked upon as one of the rising men of his 
state and as destined to occupy a prominent 
place in its future history. 



HON. W. E. JACKSON. 

The competent and efficient superintendent 
of the Big Horn Forest Reserve of Wyoming 
was born in Indiana on March 7, 1843, tne son 
of William and Hester (Copeland) Jackson, the 
father being a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, 
where he was born in 1818, his death occurring 
in Iowa. The mother was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born in 181 1. She died in Illinois in 
1848, the family having settled there a short time 
before. In 1859 the elder Jackson removed his 
family to Iowa, locating in Page county and 
there engaging in farming and raising stock 
and there the son, W. E. Jackson, finished the ed- 
ucation in the public schools which he had begun 
in those of his former residence and, in 1861, 
when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in 
the Union army as a member of Co. A, Fourth 
Iowa Cavalry. He served faithfully through the 
war, performing his full share of its arduous 
duties and bearing the marks of its burdens, hav- 
ing been wounded twice, once near Little Rock, 
Ark., and once at Guntown, Miss. The wound 
received in Arkansas was in the wrist and the 
other in the breast, and in that portion of his 
body he still carries the bullet that brought him 
low. He was discharged at the close of the 
war as first sergeant of his company, having 
ri'sen to this rank by meritorious service. He re- 
turned to his Iowa home and a short time after- 
wards came west to Denver, and for three years 
was engaged in mining at Central City. He 
then returned to Iowa and was married. From 
there he went to Kansas and passed seven years 
cultivating the soil, of Lincoln county, serving 
also a part of this time as sheriff of the county. 
In 1880 he came to Wyoming and, locating near 
Bighorn, took up a homestead and began to 
cultivate and improve it. He has increased his 
land to 500 acres and has a large and valuable 
lot of stock. He has always taken an earnest 
interest in county affairs and the improvement 
of his neighborhood, was one of the promoters 
of the irrigating canal in his part of the county 
and served as a county commissioner of Sheri- 
dan countv and also held the same office in Tohn- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



505 



son count}' before it was divided. In these offi- 
ces he gave excellent service and general satis- 
faction, an unusual occurrence, for the office of 
county commissioner is one of the most difficult 
and exacting in the gift of the people. As a 
member of the board he helped to organize Sher- 
idan county and get the new political division 
safely on its feet. In 1896 he was elected to the 
Legislature and in that body actively championed 
the usury law of the state, which has been of 
great assistance apd protection to the borrowing 
class. At the end of his term he was appointed 
the superintendent of the Big Horn Forest Re- 
serve, and is filling this office with diligence, in- 
telligence and with conscientious devotion to his 
duties. Mr. Jackson belongs to the Masonic or- 
der through blue lodge, chapter and comman- 
dery relations, being also an Odd Fellow and 
he finds much pleasure in the meetings of the 
orders. In 1869 he was married in Iowa to Miss 
Amanda Davis, a native of Missouri and a daugh- 
ter of Matthew L. and Mary (Whelpley) Davis, 
natives of Kentucky. The father died some years 
ago in Iowa and the mother makes her home with 
her daughter. Three children have come to the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Minnie, mar- 
ried with L. E. Martin, of Bighorn, of whom 
specific mention is made elsewhere in this vol- 
ume ; Frank, a prosperous stockgrower of Uinta 
county; Edna, wife of Dr. W. B. Carver, of 
Denver, Colorado. 

JACOB JENNE. 

This energetic and prosperous sheepman, 
whose modern residence of graceful architecture 
is one of the attractive features of the thriving 
town of Douglas, Wyoming, was born in De 
Kalb county. III, on July 1, 1870, being the son of 
J. W. and Rosa (Schmidt) Jenne, who came 
from Germany early in their married life and be- 
came successful agriculturists of DeKalb county, 
111. Jacob received a practical education in the 
public schools of his native county and thereafter 
was employed at farm labor in Missouri, in 1891 
coming to Wyoming and at once engaging in 



sheepherding, continuing to be thus employed for 
two years and becoming skilled in all depart- 
ments of the sheep industry. He then started in 
the same line for himself, making Converse coun- 
ty his headquarters and being prospered as the 
logical result of his care and his discrimination, 
later making Sand Creek his permanent center 
of operations, where he has continued to give 
his personal attention to the care of his flocks, 
running as high as 20,000 head. On October 18', 
1889, Mr. Jenne married with Miss Annie Elrod, 
a native of Indiana, and they have one son, 
Frederick. Mr. Jenne holds distinct opinions on 
public matters, joining himself to the Republican 
political party as the best exponent of his politi- 
cal faith, but having no desire for the acquisition 
of public office for himself, content to be a pri- 
vate citizen, who enjoys the good will, confidence 
and esteem of a large range of acquaintances, 
being a loyal and valued member of that worthy 
organization, the Woodmen of the World, him- 
self and family also taking a distinct place in 
the social circles of their friends, while a hospit- 
able welcome is extended to all comers at their 
beautiful home, which is elegantly located on the 
eastern declivity of the hill overlooking the city, 
commanding a lovely view. Mr. Jenne is an 
example of the success obtainable in the fair 
state of Wyoming by a man who is willing to 
lead a hard-working, painstaking life, and en- 
counter hardships and deprivations for a few 
years, and he is successful because he deserves 
success, having acquitted himself manfully in 
all relations of life. 

CHRISTOPHER HARRISON JONES. 

One of the most successful ranchmen and 
stockgrowers of Albany county, Wyoming, is 
Christopher H. Jones, who is a resident of Lar- 
amie. He was born in Ireland in 1S53, the son 
of John and Eliza (Stevenson) Jones, natives 
of that country. His father continued in ag- 
ricultural pursuits in Ireland until his death, 
which occurred when he had attained to the 
age of seventy-one years being buried in Glas- 



506 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



gow, Scotland. He was the son of John and 
Margaret (Harrison) Jones, residents of Ire- 
land. John Jones was of English descent and 
had moved from his native country of England 
and established his home in Ireland in early 
life. The mother of the subject of this sketch 
was a woman of remarkable character, living 
to the age of seventy-three years and being the 
mother of eleven children, seven boys and four 
girls. She died in Glasgow, Scotland, and lies 
buried there by the side of her husband. Her 
fattier, Rev. Archibald Stevenson, was a native 
of Scotland, and at the time of his death, in 
Ireland, was rector of the parish church at Cas- 
tle Ellis, County Rexford, Ireland. Christopher 
H. Jones grew to man's estate in his native coun- 
try and received his early education in the pub- 
lic schools of the vicinity of his boyhood's home. 
When he had attained to the age of twenty-one 
years, he determined to free himself from the 
hard business conditions which surrounded him 
in his native land, and to seek his fortune in 
the free country of America. He therefore left 
the old home, and with a number of other 
young men of adventurous spirit, set sail for the 
New World, proceeding first to Michigan, 
where he remained for about one year, and 
then removed to Ohio, where was his home 
until 1876, when he came to the then territory 
of Wyoming. Locating at Laramie, he secured 
employment with the Union Pacific Railroad, 
afterwards accepting a position with the W. H. 
Holliday Co., a leading mercantile house, as 
bookkeeper, remaining in the latter employment 
until 1881, when he purchased his present 
ranch property and entered upon the business 
of cattleraising. He has been very successful, 
being now the owner of one of the finest stock 
ranches in that section of the state. Beginning 
in a small way he has added to his holdings, 
botli of land and live stock, until he now pos- 
sesses a large and model place and his barns and 
buildings are the largest and best equipped in 
that section of Wyoming. His success has been 
clue to his industry, perseverance and keen busi- 
ness ability, and he is now counted as one of 
the solid business men and substantial prop- 
erty owners of the county.' In 1881 Mr. Jones 



was united in marriage with Miss Mary Mc- 
Kinley, a relative of the late Pres. William Mc- 
Kinley, one of the most estimable women of 
the community where they maintain their home. 
She is a daughter of Andrew and Margaret 
(Wilson) McKinley. The father from Scotland 
emigrated to Canada in a very early day, where 
he still resides and is one- of the prosperous 
and well-known farmers of his section. His 
wife died when Mrs. Jones was but a child. To 
their union nine children have been 'born, Bruce 
S., John M., George A., Harrison C, Charles, 
Mary E., Archibald, Margaret and Helen, all 
of whom are living, excepting Margaret and 
Helen, who died in childhood. The home is 
one noted for its hospitality and for the gra- 
cious and generous good cheer which they take 
pleasure in dispensing to their wide circle of 
friends. The family are highly esteemed in Al- 
bany county. Mr. Jones is a stanch adherent 
of the -Republican party, and an earnest advo- 
cate of the principles of that political organi- 
zation. In 1902, his capability for efficiently 
holding public trust was recognized by his 
party, who nominated him as its candidate for 
county commissioner. The people emphatically 
ratified that nomination at the polls on Novem- 
ber 4th, bv a gratifying vote and his election, 
Mr. Jones having the honor of receiving the 
highest vote on 'the county ticket with one ex- 
ception, the popular candidate for coroner lead- 
ing him. He is deeply interested in educational 
matters and has served his district as a mem- 
ber of the school board, devoting much time 
to that service without expectation of reward 
except the consciousness of having discharged 
his duty as a public spirited citizen. No man 
in his section of the state holds a higher place 
in the regard of his fellow citizens and none 
have done more to promote the growth and de- 
velopment of that portion of Wyoming. 

KILPATRICK BROS. & COLLINS. 

The great American republic has in many 
ways reset the conditions of life and changed 
long established beliefs in numerous lines of 
thought and action. Until the gigantic enter- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



507 



prises which distinguished the development of 
her enormous Northwestern territories were put 
into successful operation, no one thought of 
looking for mercantile or business industries of 
magnitude outside of the mighty marts of com- 
merce. America has taught the world that they 
can be conducted on an enormous scale in the 
very heart of an almost unbroken wilderness and 
one of the most impressive illustrations of this 
fact is furnished by the career and achievements 
of Kilpatrick Bros. & Collins, a firm consisting 
of William H., Robert J. and Samuel D. Kilpat- 
rick and Chester W. Collins, which is doing an 
enormous business and covering an immense 
extent of country, having its headquarters at 
Cambria, Wyoming. The business enterprises 
which they have put in motion and conducted to 
emphatic success are of such a character and 
magnitude as to forcibly engage attention and 
almost stagger belief, even here in the West 
where men have their vision adapted to colossal 
proportions in everything. Yet, while their op- 
erations are vast in scope and far-reaching in 
variety, they are so systematized that it is as 
easy for these gentlemen to conduct them suc- 
cessfully and without friction as it would be for 
many a man to carry on a corner grocery ; for 
to them the science of industrial development in 
all its bearings has seemed as easy of mastery as 
the acquisition of their native tongue. They be- 
long to the class whose mental capabilities run 
naturally to the acquisition and large use of 
money, who handle propositions involving its 
manipulation on scales of magnitude with due 
caution, yet with a facility and a fruitfulness sur- ■ 
prising to all who witness the operations. The 
leading industries which engage their attention 
and are the offspring of their fecundating finan- 
cial ability are the Newcastle Mining and Im- 
provement Co., having a capital stock of $1,000,- 
000, the Cambria Mining Co., with a capital stock 
of $300,000, the Newcastle Water Supply Co., 
with a capital stock of $100,000, the Wyoming 
Trading Co., with a capital stock of $60,000 and 
the Wyoming Farming and Live Stock Co., with 
a capital stock of $50,000. All of these corpora- 
tions have assets far in excess of their capitali- 



zation in value and, while their fiscal boundaries 
may be definitely stated, the employment they 
give to labor, the brawny arms and busy brains 
they keep in action, the homes they furnish with 
the comforts of life and the otherwise widening 
currents of active goodness they continually pour 
out among men, may be conjectured, but not ex- 
pressed in figures or in words. The firm con- 
sists of William H. Kilpatrick, whose home is 
in Newcastle, Wyo., Robert J., whose headquar- 
ters are at Beatrice, Neb.; and Samuel D., who 
calls Cambria his home, but is seldom allowed 
to be there long at a time, the exigencies of the 
business keeping him on the road most of the 
year. Mr. Collins lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. The 
first business enterprise of the Kilpatricks was 
a general contracting industry, mainly connected 
with railroad work, their oldest brother, John 
David, deceased, being at its head and its opera- 
tions extended over the entire Northwest. In 
1887 they came into Wyoming to prospect for 
coal and finding good promise of abundant stores 
of this valuable mineral in the section which they 
are now developing with such gratifying results, 
they bought largely of the land appearing to con- 
tain it, some 18,000 acres in extent, nearly all in 
one body, and at once began to bring forth its 
product for the market, using the name and 
style of the Cambria Mining Co. They found 
the coal too hard to be worked by hand and 
equipped the mines with machinery for the pur- 
pose, making their first shipment on December 
4, 1889. Since then the mines have steadily 
increased their working's and enlarged their out- 
put until they now are the largest in Northern 
Wyoming carrying 700 men on their payrolls and 
yielding annually half-a-million tons of superior 
coal, the most of which is used by the Burlington 
Railroad and Black Hills enterprises. Their op- 
eration is conducted on thirty-five miles of un- 
derground track, all steel, requiring ten miles of 
wire cable, with an ever-increasing demand in 
these respects. For some time they have been 
replacing mules with compressed air locomotives 
as draft-power in a part of their workings. They 
also have in successful operation a coking plant 
with seventy-four bee-hive ovens, their coal be- 



5 o8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ingf the onlv variety now mined in the state that 
will produce coke. The output of this industry, 
amounting to about 17,000 tons annually, is used 
by the Golden Reward Smelting Co. of Dead- 
wood. Early in their experience they were con- 
fronted with a scarcity of water for the mines 
and the other enterprises incident thereto. Know- 
ing that Nature has always in her bounteous ar- 
cana immense stores of whatever is needed for 
the sustenance and use of her children and that 
she yields them without stint when properly im- 
pleaded, they went to work with systematic dili- 
gence to supply the want, and sunk an artesian 
well to a depth of 2,345 feet. This yielded water 
with a wealth more abundant than the rock in 
the wilderness, when smitten by Moses for the 
famishing children of Israel, and the little coun- 
ty seat in the range of the Black Hills, near the 
border of two great states, was enriched with a 
generous portion of the sparkling fluid. The 
water from the well is lifted to the surface and 
distributed through its conduits by" means of 
compressed air and supplies the mines, the town 
of Newcastle, and the Burlington & Missouri 
River Railroad. The pressure is 900 pounds to 
the square inch and the length of pipe to the tank 
is 1,840 feet. The well has been in operation 
since December, 1901, with an unfailing flow. 
W. E. Mouck, the present superintendent of the 
mines, has been in charge since February, 1893, 
succeeding Joseph Hemingway, the former su- 
perintendent, and he has been connected with the 
mining company from its organization. L. T. 
Wolle was made secretary also in February, 1893, 
and is now the company's chief representative at 
Cambria. He was previously for years assistant 
chief engineer for the Union Pacific system. He 
is a man of mark, recognized as a resourceful 
and accomplished engineer wherever he is 
known, being also esteemed for the sterling vir- 
tues and force of his private character. In ad- 
dition to the mining interests proper the Kilpat- 
ricks own all the buildings, stores, and commer- 
cial agencies appurtenant thereto, and under the 
name of the Wyoming Trading Co. carry on an 
extensive mercantile business. They are also 
largely interested in stock, conducting an im- 



mense business under the name of the Wyoming 
Farming & Live Stock Co. Until recently they 
owned the Antlers Hotel at Newcastle, which 
was established in a brick building which they 
erected and equipped when the town was started. 
They are still carrying on their contracting busi- 
ness on a scale of great magnitude, having the 
name of being the largest and most responsible 
company in this line on the American continent. 
As a silent partner in these enormous industries 
Chester W. Collins is a potential aid, but the man- 
agement, both in general and in detail, is in the 
hands of the Kilpatricks, whose capabilities are 
equal to its requirements, whose success is com- 
mensurate with its magnitude and whose fame 
therein is coextensive with the country. 

HENRY KLASSERT. 

Among the citizens of the state of Wyo- 
ming who are of foreign birth, whose industry, 
thrift, and enterprise have done so much to 
build up the institutions of the commonwealth, 
is Henry Klassert, now a prominent resident 
of Wheatland. A native of the great German 
empire, his birth occurring on June 10, 1849, 
he is the son of John J. and Eva (Stumpf) Klas- 
sert, both natives of Germany. The parents 
emigrated from their native country to Airier- • 
ica in 1859 and established their home in Wood- 
ford county. 111., where they engaged in farming, 
the same pursuit they had followed in the land 
of their nativity. Here they resided until their 
deaths, the father passing away in 1887 and 
the mother surviving until 1900. They are bur- 
ied in Woodford county. 111., near the scenes of 
their long and useful lives, both having lived 
to the age of eighty vears. Henry Klassert 
grew to man's estate and received his early ed- 
ucation in Woodford county, where his parents 
resided. After completing his education in the 
public schools, he remained at home, assisting 
his father in the work and management of the 
farm, until he had attained twenty-six years of 
age. Then desiring to establish an independent 
position in business he went to Saunders coun- 
ty, Nebraska, and engaged in farming until 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



509 



1886, when he removed his residence to the 
county of Cheyenne, in the same state. Here 
he purchased a farm, and continued in agricul- 
tural pursuits until 1895. Then disposing of 
his property in Nebraska, he came to Wyoming 
and purchased his present ranch property, sit- 
uated about five and one-half miles south of 
Wheatland, and engaged in stockraising. In 
this business he has met with marked success 
and by hard work, perseverance and attention 
to his business, he is building up a fortune, and 
is already counted as one of the solid stock- 
men and substantial property owners of his 
section of the state. On August 16, 1876, be- 
fore setting out for his new home in Nebraska, 
in Woodford county, 111., Mr. Klassert wedded 
Miss Jane Lincoln, a native of that state and 
a daughter of John E. and Rachel (Davis) Lin- 
coln, the former a native of Michigan and the 
latter of Kentucky. Her parents were among 
the earliest of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, 
the father conducting farming operations in 
Woodford county up to the time of his decease, 
which occurred in 1871. He is buried in the 
county where he had passed all his active life. 
After the death of the father, the mother re- 
moved to Saunders county, Neb., where she is 
now living at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. 
Klassert have four children, John H., Charles 
A., Samuel and Edward, all of whom are liv- 
ing. The family are devout members of the 
Roman Catholic church and take a deep interest 
in all work of religion and charity in the com- 
munity where they maintain their home, being 
among the most deserving citizens of the state 
of their adoption. 

HON. JESSE KNIGHT. 

It has been well said that the law is a jealous 
mistress and demands of her votaries an un- 
divided loyalty and singleness of purpose and 
this is exemplified in the career of every con- 
scientious man who chooses this most exacting 
of all professions for a life-work. The bar of 
Wyoming has ever maintained a high standing 
and among- its individual members in Laramie 



county is Hon. Jesse Knight, associate justice 
of the Supreme Court, who enjoys distinctive 
precedence as one of the leading jurists of the 
state. A native of Oneida county, N. Y., he 
dates his birth on July 5, 1850, being the son 
of Jesse and Henrietta (Guion) Knight, both 
parents having been born in the Empire state. 
Paternally, the Judge is descended from an old 
sturdy New England ancestry, his grandfather, 
Isaac Knight, claiming Rhode Island as his 
place of birth and in this commonwealth the 
emigrant forefathers of the family settled in an 
early day. Isaac Knight migrated to New York, 
locating in the wildwoods of Oneida county, 
where he lived the life of a pioneer tiller of the 
soil to the end of his days. In the same year 
in which his son, now the Hon. Jesse Knight, 
of this review, first saw the light of day, Jesse 
Knight started for California by the Isthmus of 
Panama, but did not live to reach his destin- 
ation, contracting the Panama fever, which re- 
sulted in his death while crossing the isthmus. 
Judge Knight is indebted to the public schools 
of his native county for his preliminary edu- 
cational discipline and subsequently he pursued 
the higher branches of learning in the Falley 
Seminary, at Fulton, N. Y. When about sev- 
enteen years old he severed home ties and went 
to St. Peter, Minnesota, where he lived with an 
uncle until 1869, then made his way to Omaha, 
Neb., and accepted a clerkship in a mercantile 
house, later becoming the head bookkeeper for 
the firm, removing to South Pass, Wyoming, in 
1871, and entering the employ of Sydney Tick- 
nor. He remained in that gentleman's estab- 
lishment about one year, when he • was ap- 
pointed clerk of the court for the Third Ju- 
dicial District, in addition to which he was also 
made postmaster of South Pass, Wyo. He dis- 
charged his dual duties until 1874, at which time 
the district was reorganized, necessitating his 
removal to Evanston, where he continued as 
clerk of the District Court for ten years longer, 
meanwhile devoting his leisure to the study of 
law, being duly admitted to the bar in 1877, and 
some time thereafter he opened an office at Ev- 
anston and entered upon the active practice of his 



5i° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



profession in the courts of Uinta county. In 
1888 he was elected county attorney and served 
in that capacity until 1890, making an honor- 
able record as an able and judicious official, 
adding to his already well-established reputa- 
tion as one of the successful attorneys of the 
Evanston bar. In the latter year at the time 
of the first state election he was further hon- 
ored by an election to the district judgeship, 
in which position he exhibited judicial abilities 
of a high order and won much more than a 
local repute by his faithful and conscientious 
administration of the office, his career on the 
district bench demonstrating great aptitude and 
capacity for high judicial station. Accordingly 
after seven years of service in this connection 
he was appointed in 1897 to fill the unexpired 
term of Judge Conway as associate justice of 
the Supreme Court and a year later he was 
elected his own successor for a full term of eight- 
years, and is now efficiently discharging his 
official functions with credit to himself and to 
the entire satisfaction of the people of the state, 
by whom he has been so signally honored. 
Judge Knight's rapid rise in his profession has 
scarcely been paralleled in the annals of juris- 
prudence. From the beginning of his career to 
the present time his course has been a series 
of advancements, as his elevation to the high- 
est judicial tribunal in the state abundantly tes- 
tifies. He possesses a keen, incisive intellect, 
broad capabilities and carries forward to suc- 
cessful completion every undertaking to which 
he addresses himself. As already indicated he 
won by patient study and indefatigable industry 
a leading- place at the bar of the state, and his 
position as a profound lawyer and distinguished 
jurist is fully assured. In the practice of law 
he was able and patient in the preparation of 
his cases, and in their trial skillful and success- 
ful, while in the preparation of a case and 
its presentation to court or jury he has had few 
equals in discovering in advance all of the con- 
trolling points and so marshalling the testimony 
and handling it in argument as to .produce the 
conviction that the cause of his client is just 
and ought to prevail. He is a good judge of 



human nature and remarkably conversant with 
the modes of thought on the part of juries. With 
these, and other equally meritorious qualifica- 
tions, together with his ability in the way of 
public addresses, he is forcible and successful 
in jury cases. Judge Knight brought to the 
Supreme Bench not only a personal reputation, 
but a character for integrity unquestionable and 
unquestioned, a wide knowledge of the law and 
of the difficulties which attend its administra- 
tion and practice ; a mind, which while it does 
not readily adopt for his own opinion the opin- 
ion of others, is quick to comprehend an argu- 
ment and ready to follow it to a logical con- 
clusion, however far that conclusion may differ 
from an opinion previously entertained. What 
has been said regarding his character and at- 
tainments as a lawyer, affords the key to his 
career on both the Circuit and the Supreme 
Benches. To his many friends throughout the 
state, who have carefully scrutinized his work 
as a jud^'e, no word is necessary: to the gen- 
eral public it need only be said that the same 
careful, conscientious application of thought 
and study is given to his official duties as judoe 
as secured his success at the bar : the result be- 
ing uniformly satisfactory alike to litigants. 
the legal profession and the people. In the 
capacity of an able, unbiased arbiter of justice, 
he has served with the fullest appreciation of 
the duties and responsibilities imposed upon 
him by the exalted station with which he has 
been honored. Outside the line of his profes- 
sion the Judge has long been identified with the 
public affairs of Wyoming j n a prominent way. 
He was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention of 1890 and took an active interest in 
its deliberations. In politics he is an orthodox 
Republic n of the Lincoln. McKinley and the 
Roosevelt school, and as such has been prom- 
inent in the councils of his party local, state 
and national. Tn matters pertaining to the in- 
dustrial improvement of the state he is by no 
means a passive spectator, but to the limits of his 
ability he has aided and abetted all the move- 
ments and enterprises having a laudable object in 
view. Tn the private walks of life his name 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



5 11 



stands above reproach and those who knew him 
best are not only proud to have won, but ap- 
preciate his citizenship. He is one of the most 
prominent Freemasons in the West, having risen 
to the Thirty-third degree in that ancient and 
honorable fraternity, a distinction which but 
few attain. He is also identified with the 
Commandery and the Mystic Shrine, having been 
honored with high official position in the dif- 
ferent departments of the order. He is also a 
member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men and of the Maccabees. Referring to the 
domestic life of Judge Knight it is learned that 
he was united in marriage on February 14, 
1876, with Miss Mary L. Hezlep, of Ohio, a 
union blessed with five children, namely : Har- 
riet, a graduate of the State University, and the 
New York School of Journalism ; Jesse, Mar- 
garet, Joseph C. and Dorothy E. 

ROBERT H. KNITTLE. 

The Knittle family is of German lineage, the 
first American representative settling in Schuyl- 
kill county, Pennsylvania, early in the eighteenth 
century, where he established a manufactory, the 
family continuing to follow industrial mechanics 
down to the grandfather of the subject of this me- 
moir, Dan Knittle, who passed his active life in 
the same vocation as did his fathers. The great- 
grandfather and several of his brothers were ac- 
tive patriots of the Revolutionary period and 
on the Colonial side. Robert H. Knittle is a son 
of Frank and Emily F. (Allison) Knittle, and 
was born in the same locality as were all of his 
American predecessors, Schuylkill county, Pa., 
the father being a prosperous merchant of Port 
Carbon for many years, but earlier enlisting in 
1 86 1 at sixteen years of age in the Ninety-sixth 
Pennsylvania Infantry, and following the guid- 
ons of his command in the Army of the Potomac 
through some of its most sanguinary battles, be- 
ing wounded at-Spottsylvania and made a pris- 
oner, thereafter passing gloomy months in Libby 
prison, being entered on the records of his com- 
pany as "missing in battle." Escaping from 



Libby, he lay sick in a farmhouse for many 
weeks, returning as soon as his slowly recovering 
health would permit to his home and later being 
replaced on the muster rolls of his regiment and 
honorably discharged, although he never fully 
recovered from his wounds. His son, Robert 
H. Knittle, was the eldest of the seven children 
of his parents and, in connection with his at- 
tendance at the public schools, he acquired a 
knowledge of merchandising in his father's store, 
thereafter becoming a commercial traveler for 
some years, then in the fall of 1888 coming to 
Wyoming and locating at Douglas, in the service 
of C. P. Organ, and here he has since resided 
and been in constant business. Purchasing Mr. 
Organ's stock in 1890 he organized the Douglas 
Hardware and Lumber Co., of which he was the 
general manager until 1897, when, by reorganiza- 
tion, the company became the Florence-Howe 
Co., Mr. Knittle becoming the general manager 
and secretary of the new company, which has 
a large and well-appointed store building on Sec- 
ond street, where is displayed their extensive 
stock of hardware, while on city lots they own 
adjacent to their store, is located their black- 
smith, machine and woodworking shops, their 
lumberyards occupying six or seven city lots in 
close proximity to the shops. Their business is 
one of great scope and importance, a large annual 
trade being conducted and their products going 
into a wide-spread area of country. Mr. Knittle 
is a wide-awake and popular gentleman, count- 
ing his friends in number as his acquaintances 
and, possessing those traits of personal character 
that are most available in action for the public 
good, he has been the efficient treasurer of the 
city since 1899 an d nas a l so held position as one 
of the city fathers. In 1894 he was nominated, 
and elected by a complimentary vote, as the can- 
didate of the Republican party for member of 
the State Legislature. He is high in favor with 
his brother Freemasons and Odd Fellows, hold- 
ing membership in the local lodges. On July 17, 
1894, were consummated the nuptial rites uniting 
Mr. Knittle and Miss Gertrude King, who was 
born in Illinois and is the daughter of the prom- 



512 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



inent C. H. King of Casper, Wyo. Their chil- 
dren are Florence, Markie and Frances. The 
family holds distinctive precedence in the best 
society of the city and has a wide range of loyal 
friends, not bounded by city or county lines. 

THOMAS H. McGEE. 

No man in the state of Wyoming has had a 
more interesting, varied or exciting experience 
in his life on the frontier than Thomas H. 
McGee, for he freighted into Fort Laramie as 
early as 1856, long before many of the large 
cities of Wyoming were dreamed of and many 
years before there' was a railroad within the 
boundaries of the present state. A native of 
Morgan county, Mo., he was born on November 
3, 1838, a son of Thomas and Susan (Donald- 
son) McGee, the former a native of Kentucky 
and the latter of Tennessee. Both his parents 
came to Morgan county when children, and they 
met and were married in that county and here 
the father engaged in farming operations up to 
the time of his death, in 1846, and he lies buried 
in that county, where he had passed the greater 
portion of his active life. The mother survived 
him until 1898, when she also died and. was bur- 
ied in Comanche, Tex. After the death of the 
father the family remained in Morgan county for 
about three years and then removed to Johnson 
county in the same state. Here the son, Thomas, 
received his early education and remained at 
home until he had arrived at the age of fifteen 
years when, desiring to make his own way in 
the world and also to assist his mother in the 
support of the family, he secured employment 
with an overland freight train and came across 
the plains to old Fort Kearney, Neb., soon there- 
after returning to the city of Leavenworth, Kan., 
whence he set out on another freighting expedi- 
tion to Fort Riley. In the fall of 1855, he re- 
turned to Johnson county, Mo., remained during 
the winter and in the spring of 1856 joined an- 
other freighting outfit and came to Fort Laramie. 
The next winter also he passed in Missouri and 
in the spring of 1857 he engaged in freighting 
for the U. S. government, following the army 



under command of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, 
which was then marching across the plains to 
Utah, and furnishing supplies to the troops. On 
this expedition Mr. McGee went as far as In- 
dependence Rock, Wyo., again returned to Mis- 
souri, where he also passed the next winter and, 
once more, in the spring of 1858, he set out with 
another overland freight train to Fort Laramie. 
During this season he made two trips to that 
fort, wintering this year on Sybylle Creek, Wyo., 
building for this purpose the first cabin ever 
erected in that vicinity. During the season of 
1859 he continued freighting operations for the 
U. S. government from Fort Laramie to Salt 
Lake City, Utah, and passed the winter of that 
year at Fort Worth, Texas. In the spring of 
i860 he was employed to drive a herd of cattle 
overland from Fort Worth to Chicago, and was 
occupied for five months with this employment. 
The following winter was passed at his old home 
in Johnson county, Mo., and in May, 1861, he 
enlisted for a period of six months in a Missouri 
regiment for service in the Confederate army. 
After serving out his term of enlistment he re- 
mained at his Missouri home until June, 1862, 
when he engaged in freighting from Fort Leav- 
enworth to New Mexico, making two trips that 
year. The next year he freighted from Fort 
Leavenworth to old Fort Garland and in 1864, he 
again joined the freighting line from Fort Leav- 
enworth' to Fort Laramie for some months and 
was then employed by Erwin, Jackman & Co. in 
riding the range. In 1865 he had charge of an 
overland freight train bound for Salt Lake City, 
Utah, and returning to Fort Leavenworth. In 
1866 he was Occupied in freighting from Fort 
Leavenworth to Fort Saunders and Fort Casper, 
passing the winter at Fort Laramie. In 1867, 
he returned to Johnson count)'. Mo., where he 
remained for four years -engaged in farming. In 
1871 he came to Greeley. Colo., and later he 
brought a large herd of cattle to Wyoming, 
where he remained for three years as foreman on 
the cattle ranch of S. D. Hunter, located at 
Antelope Springs. In 1874 he went to Iron 
Mountain, where he was the manager of a large 
horse ranch for one year. In August, 1875, he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



513 



left that' position that he might engage in busi- 
ness for himself, and took up his present ranch 
on South Crow Creek, Laramie county, Wyo., 
about seventeen miles west of Cheyenne. Here 
he has since made his home and has been contin- 
uously engaged in cattle and horse raising, giving 
his attention chiefly to cattle. He has met with 
marked success in his operations and is now the 
owner of a fine ranch of over 4,000 acres of land, 
with many thousands of acres of leased lands, 
which he holds from the state. Mr. McGee 
handles mostly the Hereford breed of cattle, find- 
ing that line the most profitable. He has a large 
band at the present time (1902) and is constantly 
adding to his large stock holdings. On March 
5, 1869, Mr. McGee was married in Johnson 
county, Mo., to Miss Sreldia Jackson, a native 
of Illinois and a daughter of James and Mary 
(Heska) Jackson, the former a native of Ken- 
tucky and the latter of Pennsylvania. Her fa- 
there was long an extensive contractor and build- 
er, first operating in Illinois and later in Mis- 
souri. In 1873 ne removed from Missouri to 
Wyoming, and settled on Horse Creek, where 
he engaged in ranching and cattleraising until 
1878, the year of his death. The mother died in 
1900 and both were buried in Cheyenne. Four 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McGee, 
Lula M., Maud I., Hugh W. and J. Hobart. Mr. 
McGee has all his life been identified with the 
Democratic party and, while taking a patriotic 
interest in public affairs, he has never been a 
strong partisan or sought political preferment. 
He is a man of sterling traits of character, whose 
long and varied experiences of life have enlarged 
and liberalized his views, and it is both interesting 
and instructive to hear him relate the story of 
his early life on the frontier. For many years 
he has seen the making of history in the West 
and has assisted materially in that making. Dur- 
ing many of his early freighting expeditions, the 
Indians were hostile and very troublesome and 
he had many escapes, which now seem almost 
miraculous. His good judgment and courage 
Often carried him through places where men less 
strong and dauntless would have perished. Al- 
though engaged in many skirmishes with the In- 



dians on the plains during those exciting days, 
he was never seriously injured and was always 
ready to go back over the trail by the next over- 
land train and try his luck again. His industry 
and business ability are building up for him and 
his children a fine property, while his admirable 
and manly qualities have earned for him the good 
opinion and high regard of all with whom he has 
' come in contact. 

JAMES McLOUGHLIN. 

One of the pioneers of Wyoming and also 
one of the representative stockmen of that state, 
who has now retired from active business and 
turned over the management of his extensive 
stock interests to his sons, James McLoughlin, 
a leading citizen of the city of Cheyenne, was 
born on April 26, 1846, in County Westmeath, 
Ireland, the son of James and Bridget (Ger- 
aghty) McLoughlin, also natives of Ireland. The 
father was engaged in merchandising at the 
town of Moat, through a long life and up to 
the time of his decease, which occurred in 1846. 
The mother died in the same year and both 
were buried in the land of their nativity. Left 
an orphan during infancy by the death of his 
parents, James McLoughlin was received into 
the family of an uncle, and there he grew to 
man's 'estate, receiving his early education in 
the schools of Moat in his native land. He was 
educated for the priesthood, but was compelled 
to leave school at the age of nineteen years and 
before he had cbmpleteci his education. In 
1865 he left the home of his childhood and early 
manhood and came to America to seek his for- 
tune' in the New World. After arriving in New 
York, he soon started for Omaha, Neb., and up- 
on arriving at that place ■ secured employment 
in the construction department of the Union 
Pacific Railroad, then building through that 
section of the country and continued in that 
occupation continuously until 1886. In 1875 ne 
was transferred. from Sidney, Neb., to the town 
of Otto, Wyo., remaining there during his sub- 
sequent railroad work. In 1886 he purchased 
the ranch property which he now owns, sit- 



5i4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



uated on Duck Creek, about twenty-five miles 
from the city of Cheyenne, Wyo., and which is 
extensively known as the Twin Mountain ranch. 
This is one of the historic spots of Wyoming, 
it having been formerly an important station on 
the old overland Laramie stage road, being one 
of the first ranches established in the early days 
of Wyoming. It has been the scene of many 
exciting experiences of frontier life, and is 
known to all the frontiersmen of the Western 
country. Here he engaged in cattleraising with 
great success, adding to his holdings, both of 
stock and land, until now he is the owner of a 
fine ranch, comprising some 3,600 acres of 
land, well fenced and improved, one of the finest 
hay ranches in that section of the state. A 
leading and representative stockman of that 
portion of Wyoming, he is counted as one of 
the solid business men and substantial prop- 
erty owners of the state. In 1901 desiring to 
withdraw from the cares of active business pur- 
suits, he turned over the management of his 
ranches and cattle interests to his three sons, 
who now control them and handle the prop- 
erty along the same successful lines followed 
by the father. He then removed his residence 
from the ranch to the city of Cheyenne, where 
he now maintains his comfortable home and 
is enjoying the ease and repose to which he is 
justly entitled after his industrious and well- 
spent life. On May 7, 1876, at Lincoln, Neb., 
Mr. McLaughlin was united in marriage with 
Miss Sarah Daly, a native of that state and a 
daughter of James and Ann (Scott) Daly, natives 
of Ireland. Her father came to America from 
his native country in 1823 and the mother came in 
1824. The father always followed the occupation 
of blacksmithing during the active years of his 
life, dying in the city of Wheatland, Wyoming, 
in 1899 at the advanced age of ninety-six years. 
The mother still survives and makes her home 
in Denver. Mr. and Mrs. McLoughlin have had 
five children, Thomas F., Catherine E., now 
Mrs. McPhee, Theresa A., now Mrs. Murray; 
James G. and Maurice F., all of whom are 
living. The active and industrious sons are all 
residing at the original home ranch on Duck 



Creek, Wyo. The family are members of the 
Roman Catholic church, and take an earnest 
part in all works of religion and charity in the 
community where they reside. Politically, Mr 
McLoughlin is identified with the Democratic 
party, and takes an interest in public affairs, but 
has never sought or desired public office, pre- 
ferring to give his entire time and attention to 
the management of his extensive business in- 
terests and the care of his family. 

MRS. ALICE IDEN. 

Mrs. Alice Iden, a prominent member of the 
Old Settlers' Club and a welcome addition to the 
best social circles of Sheridan, who is the widow 
of the late S. A. Iden, whose death in that city 
on November 17, 1901, removed from its citizen- 
ship one of the most useful, most esteemed and 
most picturesque of its members, is a native of 
Wisconsin and a daughter of William G. and 
Louisa (Westrope) Snead, the former born and 
reared in Tennessee and the latter in Jackson 
county. 111. Her mother's father was a nephew 
of Daniel Boone and in Illinois in the time of the 
Black Hawk War he bore a gallant and highly 
appreciated part. Family tradition tells us that 
ancestors of her father came over in the May- 
flower and in all the early history of New Eng- 
land they were conspicuous in peace and war 
in the service of their adopted land. They were 
hardy, thrifty people and boldly took their place 
in the front rank of every movement for the 
development and improvement of the country, 
clearing the forests, fighting Indians, establishing 
governments, commencing schools and building 
churches. They were men of enterprise in mer- 
cantile affairs and some of them went "down to 
the sea in ships," daring the dangers of all the 
oceans. Mr. Iden was born in Virginia on May 
23, 1827, a son of James and Margaret (Rus- 
sell) Iden, descendants of old families that had 
lived in the Old Dominion from Colonial times 
and had done in that section for the advance- 
ment of American progress and development 
what Mrs. Iden's forefathers had done in New 
England and elsewhere. And when the strnsrele 





S. A. IDEN. 



MRS. ALICE IDEN. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



515 



for Independence came, members of both lines 
warmly espoused the cause of the Colonies and 
fought for their release from foreign domination 
until it was accomplished. When Mr. Iden was 
seven years old the family moved to Ohio and 
when he reached the age of eighteen he made his 
residence in Illinois and there started in life. He 
was married soon after to Miss Elmira Robinson, 
and settled down on a farm where he worked and 
prospered for many years, going however dur- 
ing this time to California where he devoted five 
years to mining and returned to Illinois. In 
1869 his wife died and two years later he was 
married to Miss Alice Snead. Soon after their 
marriage they moved to Hopkins, Mo., and en- 
gaged in farming and stockgrowing, for a time 
also conducting a merchandising enterprise with 
success. In 1882 they came to Wyoming and, 
taking up some of the choice land on Big Goose 
Creek near Beckton, continued in this more fa- 
vorable field the stockgrowing and farming in- 
dustries they had begun in Missouri. In these 
they were very successful, increased their land to 
1,300 acres and improved it as time passed until 
it became one of the most productive and beauti- 
ful places on the creek. In 1900 advancing age 
made Mr. Iden desirous of retiring from active 
effort and the ranch was sold, a handsome resi- 
dence was built in Sheridan and there they hoped 
tc pass long years of quiet retirement in the 
evening of . life, surrounded with every comfort 
and secure in the esteem of their hosts of friends, 
but two years later Mr. Iden died and since that 
time his widow has occupied the Sheridan home. 
Mrs. Iden has had an eventful career. She was 
the first white woman who settled on Big Goose 
Creek and was called on to meet all the exactions 
and bear all the hardships of a life so entirely 
lonely and pioneer, being often alone and sur- 
rounded by Indians. But she was of resolute 
spirit and not only met the requirements bravely, 
but aided vigorously in subduing the wilderness 
and making it fruitful. She was also practically 
a pioneer in Missouri, for when they moved to 
that state the part where they located was un- 
developed and sparsely settled, and there she be- 
came inured to frontier life and learned to endure 
its privations with patience. 

32 



MARK MANLEY. 

This versatile gentleman is well classed 
among the leading spirits and sterling pioneers 
of Wyoming and he is a true son of the West, 
having been born at Salt Lake City, Utah, on 
November 17, 1865, a son of James and Sarah 
(Myers) Manley, his father being a native of 
Zanesville, Ohio, born on March 2J, 1827, and 
his mother of Nauvoo, 111., where she was born 
on March 16, 1845, a daughter of George and 
Anna (Yost) Myers, who were Pennsylvanians 
of Holland ancestry and farmers by vocation. 
James Manley was a glassblower by trade and 
he came to Utah with General Connor when he 
brought his California volunteers to quell the 
Mormon uprising, remaining in Utah until 1867. 
He then came to Fort Bridger and engaged in 
merchandising' in the old town of Merrill. An 
energetic, educated and public spirited person, 
he was an important factor in all matters affect- 
ing the public weal and when Uinta county was 
organized, with the temporary county seat at 
Merrill, he was the first deputy county assessor 
of the new organization. His marriage occurred 
at Salt Lake City, in September, 1864, and three 
children came to them, Mark, Sarah B., now re- 
siding in California, the wife of David E. Stay- 
ton, and Blair, who died in infancy. Both of 
the parents died at Fort Bridger, the mother on 
February 12, 1873, and the father on April 8, 
1874, and they were interred at Salt Lake City. 
Mark Manley attended the public schools of Salt 
Lake City, attaining such proficiency as to en- 
able him to engage in teaching, at the age of six- 
teen,' however, coming to Fort Bridger and be- 
coming the mail-carrier between the Fort and 
Carter and Henry's Fork. Later he for two 
years taught very successfully in schools at Hil- 
liard and Burnt Fork, assuming then a clerical 
position in the poststore at Fort Bridger, in which 
he continued for two years, winning many 
friends by his courtesy, attention to business and 
his numerous good qualities. Deeming it desir- 
able to have an independent business, he started 
ranching, taking up the land of his present home, 
where he is nicely arid eligibly located, owning 
320 acres of productive land and happily occu- 



5 i6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



pied in caring for his fine herd of graded Here- 
ford cattle, which is yearly increasing in size 
and importance. He is considered one of the 
able and reliable citizens of the county, being 
a valued member of the Woodmen of the World 
and prominently allied with the Democratic party 
and was the candidate of his party in 1894 for 
member of the State Legislature, receiving a 
very complimentary vote but, owing to the su- 
perior numerical strength of the opposing party, 
he failed of an election. He has, however, done 
excellent service as a deputy assessor. Where 
non-partisan issues are. in discussion his judg- 
ment and opinions are carefully weighed and con- 
sidered. At Ogden, Utah, on January 11, 1889, 
were solemnized the marriage ceremonies unit- 
ing Mr. Manley.and Mrs. S. M. Hamilton, the 
widow of R. H. Hamilton, of Michigan, and a 
daughter of Philip and Sarah LaCroix, also na- 
tives of Michigan. Three children brighten the 
beautiful home over which Mrs. Manley presides 
with grace and entertains with hospitality. 

EDGAR W. MANN. 

The subject of this sketch, Edgar W. Mann, 
has had so successful a professional and official 
career that it marks him as one of the distin- 
guished men of the city in which he resides. In 
one of the most exacting of the learned profes- 
sions he has won a prominent place among the 
ablest of his contemporaries, while as a legisla- 
tor his record has become a part of the history 
of Wyoming. He is a native of Dane county, 
Wis., and one of the leading members of the 
Cheyenne bar, being the son of Robert and Har- 
riet N. (Warner) Mann, and was born near Mad- 
ison, on November 18, 185 1, and after the death 
of his parents, which occurred before he had 
reached his tenth year, he found a borne with 
his grandparents by whom he was reared to man- 
hood. His primary education acquired in the 
public schools of his native county was supple- 
mented by a full course at Beloit College, enter- 
ing the preparatory department of that institu- 
tion at the age of fourteen and from this educa- 
tional institution he was graduated in 1873. De- 



ciding to make legal business as his life-work, 
he entered the law department of the State Uni- 
versity at Madison, graduating therefrom in 
1874, and the same year was admitted to the bar, 
after which he entered the office of J. C. McKen- 
ney of that city, remaining with him for six 
months, when leaving Madison, he entered the 
office of Bingham & Jenkins at Chippewa Falls, 
Wis. After practicing there until March, 1876, 
he came to Wyoming and accepted a clerical po- 
sition with W. W. Corlett, one of the leading law - 
yers of the Laramie county bar, subsequently 
opening a law-office of his own and being in prac- 
tice for four years, at the expiration of which 
time he was appointed register of the L T . S. land- 
office, entering upon his duties of the position in 
April, 1880. Mr. Mann held the above office 
four years and four months, retiring therefrom in 
August, 1884, and the following fall was further 
honored by being elected county attorney. Mean- 
time, in 1879, he had served as a member of the 
Territorial House of Representatives, in which 
body he took an active part in the proceedings, 
serving on several important committees and par- 
ticipating in the public discussions during the 
open sessions. At the expiration of his term of 
service as county attorney, he resumed his pro- 
fession. On December 15, 1896, he was ap- 
pointed city attorney of Cheyenne, which office 
he still holds, having been reappointed on Febru- 
ary 8, 1899. In politics Mr. Mann is a stanch 
supporter of the Republican party, ready and 
earnest in the defense of his convictions, and is 
one of its recognized leaders in the city and 
county. He has contributed much to the suc- 
cess of the local and state tickets, taking an act- 
ive interest during the progress of campaigns as 
an adviser and worker with the rank and file. 
In his profession Mr. Mann may be regarded as 
standing in the front rank at a bar long noted 
for the high order of its legal talent. As a prac- 
titioner he has few equals among his associates, 
as the success which has invariably attended his 
efforts abundantly attest. He is a man of pro- 
nounced individuality and untiring industry, and 
his opponents often find when a case comes to 
trial that the questions involved are entirely dif- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



517 



ferent from what they had previously conceived 
them to be and, as a consequence, discomfiture 
usually follows. In the trial of suits he is in the 
main successful, for his careful arrangement, his 
watchfulness, his ability to perceive and lay hold 
of the strong points of his cause and, above all, 
his acknowledged honesty of purpose make him 
an exceedingly strong and formidable opponent 
before either court or jury. He is also consid- 
ered a safe and reliable counsellor and as a con- 
sequence has built up a lucrative business aside 
from the duties of the office which he so accept- 
ably fills. Mr. Mann is an ardent believer in re- 
vealed religion and for a number of years has 
been an active and' consistent member of the 
Congregational church. He has always endeav- 
ored to measure his life by the true standard of 
Christian manhood as found in the Sacred Scrip- 
tures, and all who know him bear witness that 
his daily walk and conversation are in harmony 
with his profession as an humble disciple of the 
man of Nazareth. He has been a member of the 
board of trustees of the local Congregational 
church and untiring in his efforts to build up 
the congregation and promote its usefulness. 
Fraternally, he is one of the leading Odd Fel- 
lows of Wyoming, having served as grand mas- 
ter of the grand lodge, also as grand patriarch 
of the Grand Encampment of the state. In these 
official capacities he became widely known among 
the fraternities throughout Wyoming and his 
name is a familiar sound wherever an organiza- 
tion of either brotherhood meets. Mr. Mann 
was happily married at St. Joseph, Mo., on May 
18, 1881. The maiden name of Mr. Mann was 
Emma J. Corlett; she is the daughter of Wil- 
liam and Ann Corlett and has borne her husband 
two children, Walter C. and Mary E., both of 
whom inherit many of the sterling qualities of 
head and heart for which their parents are noted. 

JOSEPH A. MANORGAN. 

A leading merchant and representative cit- 
izen of Converse county, Wyoming, Joseph A. 
Manorgan, whose residence and place of busi- 
ness is at Manville, is a native of Newport, 



Ky., where he was born on September 22, 1865, 
the son of Margaret Manorgan, the former a 
native of Scotland and the latter of England. 
Shortly after the birth of Mr. Manorgan the 
family removed to Cincinnati, where in a few 
months he lost his father, when the mother re- 
moved with her family to Henry county, 111., 
where they made their residence until her son, 
Joseph, was six years old when she also died. 
He was then taken in company with his broth- 
ers to Athens county, Ohio, where he received 
his early education in the public schools. Sub- 
sequently in company with his older brother, 
George, he went to Taylor county, Iowa, where 
he resided for about five years, then in Ring- 
gold county, Iowa, he was employed for two 
years as a clerk and later engaged in buying 
grain. In 1886 he removed to Sydney, Neb., 
and in the same year came to the then territory 
of Wyoming, locating at the town of Manville, 
where he was employed in different occupa- 
tions for a time and then engaged in railroad- 
ing. He continued in this pursuit up to the 
fall of 1893, when he gave up this employment 
for the purpose of engaging in mercantile pur- 
suits. In June, 1894, in company with Mr. 
William McReynolds, with whom he is still 
associated in business, he started a general 
store at Manville, which was continued until 
the fall of 1896. At that time he purchased the 
interest of his partner in the establishment. In 
1901 the Manville Mercantile Co. was organized, 
Mr. McReynolds becoming the president and 
Mr. Manorgan the treasurer of the company, 
which erected a commodious building in Man- 
Ville^ in which they carry an extensive stock 
of general merchandise, and conduct one of the 
largest and most successful mercantile enter- 
prises in that section of Wyoming, which has 
been built up very largely by the ability, en- 
ergy and the careful attention to business of Mr. 
Manorgan, who is looked upon as really 
one of the representative business men of Wyo- 
ming. On December 7, 1893, Mr. Manorgan 
was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie E. Kern, 
a native of Illinois, who for some time had been 
engaged in teaching in the public schools of 



5i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming. To their union has been born three 
children, only one of whom is living, Harold 
G., and their home is one noted for its sur- 
roundings of refinement and comfort. Fra- 
ternally, Mr. Manorgan is affiliated with the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He was one 
of the organizers of the First Methodist church 
of Manville and has ever taken an active and 
leading part in all work calculated to promote 
the moral and religious wellbeing of the com- 
munity. He assisted in the organization and 
is at present the superintendent of the Sun- 
day-school in connection with his church, and 
his earnest endeavors have been toward the 
upbuilding and education of the people. Suc- 
cessful in his business affairs and giving a 
large portion of his time and energy to the 
public welfare, Mr. Manorgan is a fine type 
of what an American citizen should be, high- 
minded, public-spirited, and enjoying the re- 
spect and confidence of his fellow citizens. 

FERGUSON S. MITCHELL. 

Among the progressive men of the younger 
generation of stockmen of Wyoming, and one 
who is sure to be a prominent figure in the 
future industrial life of the state, is' Ferguson 
S. Mitchell, whose address is Uva, in Laramie 
county. He is a native of Scotland, born in 
Aberdeenshire, on May 3, 1873, the son of 
George and Barbara J. (Shives) Mitchell, na- 
tives of Scotland, where his father was a 
farmer, and engaged in raising thoroughbred 
and graded cattle, in which pursuit he con- 
tinued in his native land until his death, which 
occurred in 1892, being buried in Aberdeen- 
shire. The mother is still living in the city 
of Aberdeen, although she is at present (1902) 
paying a visit to her sons in Wyoming. Fer- 
guson S. Mitchell grew to man's estate in his 
native country, and received his early educa- 
tion in the schools of Aberdeenshire, attend- 
ing during most of the time the institutions of 
the city of Aberdeen. When he had completed 
his education, he entered the employ of a large 
woolen factory in Yorkshire, England, having 



in view the possibility of following that pur- 
suit in after years, and remained there for 
about three years. The death of his father in 
1892, however, changed his plans for the fu- 
ture, and shortly after that unfortunate event, 
he determined to go to America and seek his 
fortune. Arriving here in 1892, he proceeded 
to Casper, Wyo., and engaged in sheep hus- 
bandry for about two years, when he came to 
Laramie county and entered into partnership 
with his elder brother, George Mitchell, form- 
ing the Mitchell Cattle Co., and they there con- 
tinued in that business up to the spring of 
1898, when he sold his interest to his brother 
George, and purchased the ranch property 
which he now owns and occupies on the North 
Laramie River, about five miles west of Uva, 
in Laramie county. Here he engaged in rais- 
ing cattle, and he has since that time been con- 
tinuously engaged in that occupation. In this 
enterprise he has met with success and is now 
the owner of a fine, improved ranch property, 
with a modern residence and all suitable and 
necessary barns and buildings for the carry- 
ing on of a general ranching and cattleraising 
business. He is yearly adding to his holdings, 
both of land and cattle, and is counted as one 
of the rising young stockmen of Wyoming. 
Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic 
order as a Thirty-second degree mason of the 
Scottish Rite, a member of Consistory, No. I, 
and also of Commandery No. 1, of the city of 
Cheyenne. Politically, he is identified with the 
Republican party, and takes an active interest 
in public affairs, although not to the extent 
of either seeking or desiring political office. 
He is one of theorising men of Laramie coun- 
ty, being held in the highest esteem by all 
classes of his fellow citizens. 

L. E. MARTIN. 

L. E. Martin, a prosperous and enterprising 
ranchman and stockgrower of Sheridan, located 
near Bighorn, Wyo., is a native of Pennsylvania, 
where he was born on June 17, 1857, and where 
also his parents, Robert and Catherine (Emery) 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



5i9 



Martin, were born and reared. He grew to 
manhood on his father's farm and had the usual 
experience of country boys in his class and sec- 
tion, working at home during the summers and 
attending the district schools in the winters. 
When he reached the age of twenty-one he be- 
gan farming for himself and followed this occu- 
pation in his native state until 1878. He then 
removed to Kansas and for two years was en- 
gaged in farming in that state. In 1880 he 
made another change of base to Boulder, Colo., 
there conducting an active business as a contrac- 
tor. After three years of success in this line he 
came to Wyoming in 1883 in charge of the Colo- 
rado colony, which had land near Bighorn and 
had constructed a large irrigating ditch for its 
proper supply of water. He bought a farm in 
the same neighborhood and settled down to cul- 
tivate it as well as to act as manager and superin- 
tendent of the interests of this colony. In this 
capacity he was employed until 1890 and since 
then he has been doing contract work in build- 
ing reservoirs and raising stock, handling both 
horses and cattle, and he has an interest in the 
•Bighorn creamery. His farm is a valuable and 
productive one, well located and highly improved. 
He is a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. On February 16, 1888, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Minnie Jackson, a native of Iowa 
and a daughter of W. E. and Amanda (Davis) 
Jackson, natives respectively of Indiana and 
Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have two chil- 
dren, Lona and Edward, both of tender years. 

IRA O. MIDDAUGH. 

Few are there among the younger generation 
of business and professional men of the state 
of Wyoming who hold a higher place in the pub- 
lic esteem, or have brighter prospects for the 
future, than Hon. Ira O. Middaugh, the editor 
and popular proprietor of the Wheatland World 
of Wheatland. He is a native of Michigan, 
born in the city of Kalamazoo, on February 
13, 1868, a son of Harmon and Maria (Graham) 
Middaugh, the former a native of the Domin- 



ion of Canada, and the latter of Rochester, 
N. Y. The father was one of the very earliest 
pioneers in Michigan, having come to that 
state in 1831, when his parents settled in the 
county of Oakland. In 1845 ne married and 
removed to Kalamazoo county, where he en- 
gaged in farming up to the time of his de- 
cease in 1898. He lies buried at Richland Cen- 
ter, Kalamazoo county. The mother passed 
away in September, 1882, and was buried by 
the side of her husband. Ira O. Middaugh 
grew to man's estate and received his early 
education in the graded schools of Kalama- 
zoo, pursuing a thorough course of study. In 
1883, after the death of his mother, he went 
to Beloit, Kansas, to make his home with his 
older brother, John, who was r siding there, 
engaged in the practice of law. Here he com- 
pleted a course of study in the Beloit high 
school, and subsequently, when at the age of 
sixteen years, he secured employment in a 
printing-office at that place, and entered upon 
his • career as a newspaper-man, in which he 
has made a conspicuous success. He re- 
mained in this position for two years, at the 
same time reading law in the office of his 
brother. In 1886, he left Beloit and went to 
Abilene, in the same state, to accept a po- 
sition in the office of a daily paper, continuing 
in that employment at Abilene and Harper, 
Kansas, until 1888. In the latter year he de- 
termined to seek his fortune on the Pacific 
coast and went to Seattle, Wash., where he be- 
came a member of the Typographical Union, 
and held various positions on daily papers. 
The following year he returned to Kansas and 
purchased the Plainville Times, which he con- 
ducted successfully until 1894, when he dis- 
posed of his interests in Kansas, and removed 
to Wheatland, Wyo. Here, in October, 1894, 
he issued the first number of the Wheatland 
World, a progressive and popular newspaper, 
which he has conducted with great success 
from the date of its first issue. Its circulation 
has gradually grown from year to year until 
now it is among the largest of the country pa- 
pers of the state. This has been due to the 



520 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



energy, fairness and progressive spirit in which 
the paper has dealt with the public in its busi- 
ness relations and the manner in which it has 
discussed all questions concerning the welfare 
of the community in which it is published. 
Politically, Mr. Middaugh is a stanch adherent 
of the Republican party, having affiliated with 
it from the time he became a voter, and the 
Wheatland World being one of the- principal 
Republican organs of Wyoming. In 1896 Mr. 
Middaugh was elected a member of the Leg- 
lature of Wyoming from Laramie county and 
served a term in that capacity. His record dur- 
ing that time was such as to do credit to his 
party and to his county, and to reflect honor 
upon himself, much of the legislation enacted 
during that session standing as a monument 
to the able and patriotic manner in which he 
performed the duties of his office. In May, 
1897, he was appointed postmaster at Wheat- 
land, and has continued in that position to 
the present time. During his residence in 
Plainville, Kansas, he was elected as city clerk 
of that place and served in that capacity up 
to the time of his removal to Wyoming. On 
April 8, 1890, at Plainville, Kansas, Mr. Mid- 
daugh was united in marriage with Miss Allie 
M. Kerns, a native of Illinois and the daugh- 
ter of David and Mattie E. (Wilson) Kerns, 
both natives of Ohio. Emigrating from Ohio, 
the father of Mrs. Middaugh settled in Stark 
county, 111., and there followed the occupation 
of farming until the death of his wife, which 
occurred on December 27, 1879. She is buried 
at Wyoming, in that state. Shortly after this 
unfortunate event he removed to Kansas, es- 
tablished his home in Rooks county and en- 
gaged in farming and stock-raising. He con 
tinued in this pursuit until 1895 when he dis- 
posed of his property in Rooks county and 
retired from actual business, making his home 
in Topeka, Kan., where he died on May 1 1, 
1901, and where he is buried. He was a suc- 
cessful man of business affairs, who enjoyed 
the esteem of his neighbors and large circle of 
friends and did much to build up the commun- 
ities in which he made his home. To Mr. and 



Mrs. Middaugh have been born three daughters 
to bless their home life, Florence M., Kath- 
leen M. and Marjorie L., all of whom are liv- 
ing. Their home in Wheatland is noted for 
its comfortable surroundings and for the gra- 
cious and refined hospitality there dispensed. 
Fraternally, Mr. Middaugh is a prominent 
member of the Masonic order, being a charter 
member of Wheatland Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
and having been its first worshipful master. 
He is also a member of the commandery of 
Knights Templar, the chapter and consistory 
at Cheyenne, having taken the Thirty-second 
degree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a 
charter member of Wheatland Lodge of Odd 
Fellows, and is past grand of that lodge. He 
is also affiliated with the Modern Woodmen 
of America and the Woodmen of the World at 
Wheatland, and takes an active interest in all 
matters calculated to promote and advance the 
fraternal life of the city where he maintains his 
home. In addition to his other business in- 
terests Mr. Middaugh is interested in fire in- 
surance, loans and collections, and is one of 
the most active and enterprising business men 
in his section of the state. He is progressive, 
popular, successful and enjoys the admiring es- 
teem and support of a large and growing con- 
stituency. 

GEORGE W. METCALF. 

Descending from very early Colonial stock of 
New England, both sides of his lineage having 
been conspicuously identified with the movements 
leading up to the Declaration of Independence 
and to the Revolutionary War and also with 
the campaigns and battles of that heroic struggle 
for independence, one of his maternal ancestors 
being the distinguished Colonel Chadwick in 
whose memory, for his gallantry in that contest, 
a handsome monument was erected in Worcester, 
Mass., and is still standing, an historic landmark 
of that city. George W. Metcalf, the represent- 
ative merchant of Douglas, Wyo.. has inherited 
many of these New England qualities of intelli- 
gence, thrift, business sagacity and ability, which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



52i 



placed "its sons at the very front of the business 
operations of every locality where circumstances 
have located them. Mr. Metcalf was born on 
January 25, 1855, in the intellectual village of 
Northfield, Vt., a son of A. D. and Martha J. 
(Chadwick) Metcalf, both being natives of the 
old town of Barton in that state. His maternal 
grandfather was a leading merchant of his sec- 
tion of Vermont, while his father was a contrac- 
tor and builder of Northfield, passing there all 
' the years of his manhood until his death. He fre- 
quently represented Northfield in the State Leg- 
islature and was very active in town and public 
matters.' George W. Metcalf was the eldest son 
of the family. His early literary training was 
acquired in Northfield, thereafter attending the 
Norwich (Vt.) University and later entering the 
University of Vermont at Burlington, from the 
failing of his health being forced to terminate his 
studies, to relieve his illness coming to Wyoming, 
where he was so pleased with the country and 
its climatic purity that in 1880 he became a per- 
manent citizen of the state, locating first at Fort 
Laramie, then in Johnson county, there signing 
the petition for its creation, in 1882 making his 
residence at Fort Fetterman, where in 1884 he 
engaged in merchandising and was commissioned 
postmaster. After four years of successful busi- 
ness life there he removed to Casper, trading 
there as Metcalf & Williams until 1890, when 
purchasing Williams' interest he continued busi- 
ness individually until 1899, when was formed 
the Webel Mercantile Co. In 1885 Metcalf & 
Williams had opened a clothing store in Doug- 
las, which, with the before-mentioned interests, 
became the full property of Mr. Metcalf in 1890, 
and this store he still conducts. He has been a 
resident of Douglas since the creation of the 
town, and the second store- building of Casper 
was erected by him. He holds a large block of 
the stock of the Webel Mercantile Co. and is 
the president of the company. It could hardly be 
expected that a man of Mr. Metcalf 's practical 
eye to business results would confine his attention 
to merchandising during the long years of his 
Wyoming life, when the great potentialities of 
that most alluring and profitable source of rev- 



enue, the stock industry, presented their attract- 
ive features. And he did not do so. He owns a 
ranch of great value on Sand Creek, fifty miles 
north of Douglas, having twenty miles of water, 
one on the Cheyenne River and yet another place 
in Weston county, all devoted to stockraising, 
Mr. Charles H. Weely being his partner in the 
sheep and ranching business, and they are run- 
ning over 20,000 head of sheep. On February 
22, 1888, Mr. Metcalf was married to Miss Susan 
Webel, a sister of his associate in the Webel 
Mercantile Co. and they have two children : Mil- 
dred and Catherine Eleanore. In Douglas Mr. 
Metcalf has erected a modern brick store 45x100 
feet in size, with a basement, and in this is 
housed and displayed an extensive stock of dry- 
goods, clothing, groceries, boots, shoes, etc., all 
well suited to the wants of the people of the sur- 
rounding country, having also a large warehouse, 
25x100 feet, beside the railroad and a substantial 
brick residence of neat architectural design and 
modern equipment, all showing the prosperity of 
his financial condition and adding to the favor- 
able appearance of the flourishing city of his 
home. In political relations Mr. Metcalf has 
been of faithful adherence to the principles so 
dominant in his former New England home 
and is a pronounced Republican, although always 
conceding to every man the certain right to cast 
his ballot in accordance with his own convic- 
tions. In Masonic circles he is not only 
a Knight Templar, but he has also attained to 
the Thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, 
being widely known to the brotherhood of the 
state. He is also a member of the Woodmen of 
the World, being also a representative of the 
best commercial operators of the state, a fortun- 
ate and successful business man and a good citi- 
zen, standing well in the esteem of the leading- 
people of a wide extent of country. 

GEORGE MITCHELL. 

One of the most prominent stockmen of the 
state of Wyoming is George Mitchell, whose ad- 
dress is Uva, in Laramie county. He comes of 
the Scottish race, which has contributed so 



522 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



many of the successful men of America, and es- 
pecially of the state of Wyoming. Still a young 
man, he is already a leading figure in the business 
and industrial life of the state and is destined to 
take a still more prominent part. He was born 
April 28, 1859, ™ Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a son 
of George and Barbara J. (Shives) Mitchell, also 
natives of Aberdeenshire. His father followed 
the occupation of the breeding of thoroughbred 
cattle in his native country and was also a gen- 
eral farmer. He was a successful man of busi- 
ness and a highly respected citizen of Scotland, 
where he resided until his death in 1892. He is 
buried in Aberdeenshire, near the scene of the ac- 
tivities of his long and useful life. His widow 
resides in the city of Aberdeen, being at the pres- 
ent time (1902) on a visit to her sons in Lara- 
mie county, Wyo. George Mitchell attained man- 
hood in his native county of Aberdeenshire and 
received his schooling chiefly in the city of Aber- 
deen. He remained at school until he had ar- 
rived at the age of eighteen years and then re- 
mained with his parents for about two years, as- 
sisting his father in the work and management 
of the home business. In 1879 he concluded to 
seek his fortune in the New World, and upon ar- 
riving in America made a visit to his uncle, the 
late Alexander Mitchell, the great banker and 
railroad president, residing in Milwaukee, Wis. 
While here he accepted a position with a large 
lumber company and was engaged in that em- 
ployment about two years. In 1881 he removed 
his residence to the then territory of Wyoming, 
establishing his headquarters in the city of Chey- 
enne. He looked over the country with a view 
to securing a satisfactory location and engage in 
business on his own account, and in the spring of 
1882, he organized a joint stock company, known 
as the Milwaukee & Wyoming Investment Co. 
and incorporated it under the laws of Wisconsin 
and Wyoming. He became a stockholder in this 
corporation and was elected manager. Soon af- 
ter he purchased the ranch property on the North 
Laramie River, which he now owns and occupies, 
situated about eight miles west of Uva, Wyo., 
where the company engaged exclusively in rais- 
ing cattle and carried on very extensive opera- 



tions. He remained as manager of the company 
for about eight years and conducted its business 
with great success. In 1889 he resigned this po- 
sition, although holding an interest in the stock 
of the corporation, and removed to Casper, Wyo. 
Here he became the owner of an interest in the 
Wyoming Lumber Co., which operated exten- 
sively in that section of Wyoming, having yards 
at Casper, Douglas and Lusk. He erected the 
first building in Casper, occupying it both as an 
office and as a place of residence, and was the 
manager of the affairs of the lumber company 
at that place. In 1890 he was elected the first 
mayor of Casper, and continued in business there 
until 1892. Then he disposed of his lumber in- 
terests and returned to Scotland, whither he was 
called by the death of his father. He remained 
in Scotland for about two years, engaged in set- 
tling up his father's estate and during this time 
he was married. In 1894 he again returned to 
Wyoming accompanied by his wife, and became 
once more the manager of the cattle company 
which he had organized in 1882. In 1894 he pur- 
chased the entire capital stock of the company 
and carried on the business as an individual un- 
til 1896, when he organized the Mitchell Cattle 
Co., associating his brother, Ferguson S. Mitch- 
ell, with himself in the business. In 1898 he pur- 
chased the interest of his brother, and since that 
time has practically been the sole owner of the 
stock of the corporation. He has met with great 
success in his business operations and is con- 
sidered as one of the leading stockmen of the 
state, being the owner of a fine home ranch, com- 
prising some 4,000 acres of land, and controlling 
many thousands of acres under lease from the 
state. He confines his operations exclusively to 
cattle, and is a large owner of both range and 
stall-fed stock, having a large feeding ranch 
near Shelton, Neb.; where he prepares his cattle 
for the markets of the East and South. His 
ranch on the North Laramie River is one of the 
the finest in that section of the state, having a 
large modern residence and all the necessary 
buildings and improvements for the convenient 
handling of a large cattle business. On April 
30, 1894, at his boyhood home in Aberdeenshire, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



523 



Scotland, Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage 
with Miss Jeannie Moir, a native of that country 
and the daughter of Robert and Jane (Fiddes) 
Moir, natives of Scotland and highly respected 
residents of Aberdeenshire. The father of Mrs. 
Mitchell followed the occupation of farming up 
to the time of his decease, which occurred in 1871. 
Her mother is still living, making her home 
in Aberdeenshire. To Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell 
three children have been born, Ruth, Jeannie and 
George R., all of whom are living, and their 
home is noted for the generous and gracious 
hospitality which is there dispensed to a large cir- 
cle of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church, and are deeply 
interested in all measures of religion and charity 
in the community. Fraternally, Mr. Mitchell is 
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, being a 
Thirty-second degree Mason and a member of 
the commandery of 'Knights Templar, No. 1, 
and of the consistory, No. 1, of the city of Chey- 
enne. He takes an active and prominent part in 
the fraternal and social life of his neighborhood. 
Politically, he is a stanch member of the Repub- 
lican party, one of the most trusted leaders of 
that political organization. In 1886, he repre- 
sented Laramie county in the Legislative Assem- 
bly of the territory and served the people during 
his term of office with ability and distinction. 
While a resident at Casper, Wyo., he was clerk 
of the District Court, and wherever tried, either 
in private or in public life, he has discharged his 
duty as a citizen, and as an official with ability 
and fidelity. Progressive, enterprising and suc- 
cessful, he is always interested in every measure 
calculated to promote the welfare. of the state, to 
develop its resources, or improve the condition 
of its people. No man in Wyoming holds a 
higher place in the esteem of all classes. 

WILLIAM J. MORSCH. 

Among the energetic stockmen of Con- 
verse county, Wyoming, none stands any higher 
in public esteem or is reaping better results 
from his industrious and persistent effort's than 
the very public spirited gentleman whose name 



heads this review. He comes of that good 
German stock whose qualities of thrift, indus- 
try and correct citizenship have been factors 
of great benefit in the building up of the Great 
West, his paternal grandfather, the emigrant, 
settling in LaSalle county, 111., in the early part 
of the nineteenth century and there passing 
his life in agricultural pursuits. His son, Ja- 
cob Morsch, a native of Baden, Germany, 
came in childhood with the family immigration, 
laboring in the homestead until his marriage 
with Elizabeth Smith, who was also a native 
of Baden, continuing his residence in LaSalle 
county until 1868, when he removed to De- 
Kalb county, where he and his wife still reside, 
having followed profitable farming all of his 
days, and having four sons and two daughters, 
of whom William J. was the second son. Edu- 
cated in the public schools of DeKalb county 
and remaining on the homestead farm of 600 
acres, in 1892 W. J. Morsch came westward to 
Wyoming and direct to Douglas, engaging im- 
mediately in the raising of sheep, successfully 
following that vocation, with headquarters on 
his extensive ranch in Weston county, eighty- 
five miles distant from Douglas, until the pres- 
ent time, conducting his operations "with care 
and discrimination, being prospered as the 
symmetrical result of his systematic endeavors 
and maintaining a prominent and pleasant re- 
lation with a large number of business asso- 
ciates and friends and also being- held in high es- 
teem for his companionable and social qualities. 
He holds connection with the Republican 'political 
party, while fraternally he is united with the 
Freemasons, the Woodmen of the W r orld and the 
Modern Woodmen. On December 15, 1886, he 
was united in marriage with Esther A. Beitel, 
who was born in DeKalb county, Illinois, the 
daughter of a prominent farmer, Julius T. Bei- 
tel, a native of Pennsylvania. Their residence 
in Douglas is an artistic two-story building of 
modern architecture and improvements, beau- 
tifully situated and surrounded by a fine lawn 
and shade trees, making a lovely and attractive 
home for the three children, Edna E., Jesse 
J. .and Esther, while it is a center of gracious 



5 2 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and profuse hospitality. In business, social 
and society circles this family takes a harmo- 
nious place, every plan for social enjoyment 
or neighborhood betterment meeting their con- 
currence and aid. 



FRANK M. NEWELL. 

One of the most progressive and well-to-do 
ranch and stockraisers of Albany county, 
Wyoming, Frank M. Newell, whose address is 
Spring Hill, in that county, was born on Sep- 
tember 24, i860, in Black Hawk county, Iowa, 
being the son of Harrison J. and Sarah J. (Ben- 
ham) Newell, natives of Ohio. His father 
came to Iowa when he was a small child and 
was one of the earliest pioneers of the state, 
having been there during the Indian wars and 
at the time of the first white settlements west 
of the Mississippi River. In 1847 he removed 
his residence to Black Hawk county and en- 
gaged in farming operations, in which he con- 
tinued up to 1880, when disposing of his farm 
and other property in Iowa he came with his 
family to the territory of Wyoming. He pros- 
pected and mined for about four years in the 
vicinity of Eagle Mountain with varying suc- 
cess and in 1884 took up land on Horseshoe 
Creek, and entered upon the business of rais- 
ing cattle. He has continued there, engaged in 
the same pursuit "down to the present time, and 
has met with great success, being" now one of the 
representative business men and property owners 
of that section of the state. Frank M. Newell 
grew to manhood in Black Hawk county, Iowa, 
and also received his early education in its 
public schools. His opportunities for obtain- 
ing an education were somewhat limited dur- 
ing his early life, owing to his having to as- 
sist in the work and management of the home 
farm in Iowa, but he improved every oppor- 
tunity that was offered and has all his life been 
a student and a reader of books, thus making 
up in large measure the deficiencies of his 
childhood's early education. After coining to 
Wyoming he was occupied in prospecting and 
mining at Eagle Mountain and. vicinity until 



1884, when he took up the ranch he now owns 
and occupies, situated in Horseshoe Park, one 
of the most favored sections of Wyoming. 
Here he engaged in raising cattle and has since 
been interested in that business, although not 
all of the time giving his personal attention to 
it. For two years he was occupied in the saw- 
mill business, and a portion of the time his 
other engagements required him to be in the 
East. During recent years, however, he has 
had his residence on the ranch on Horseshoe 
Creek, and for the greater portion of his time 
has given his personal attention to the man- 
agement of his property and stock interests. 
He is the owner of one of the finest ranches 
in that section of the state and is interested in 
both cattle and horses. He has a large and 
modern residence, with all modern conveni- 
ences, and his ranch is equipped in the best 
manner possible for the successful carrying on 
of an extensive livestock business. On De- 
cember 23, 1 881, Mr. Newell was united in 
marriage in Black Hawk county, Iowa, with 
Miss Eliza J. Stanton, a native of New York, 
who died on June 21, 1891, being buried at the 
family burying ground near their home. On 
May 21, 1893, he was again married at Doug- 
las, Wyo., his second wife being Miss Maggie 
Silver, a native of County Waterford, Ireland, 
and the daughter of Patrick and Catherine 
( Mauraney) Silver, both natives of Ireland, 
and well-known and highly respected residents 
of that country. Her parents left their native 
land in 1866 and established their residence at 
Cedar Falls, Black Hawk county, Iowa, where 
they resided up to the time of their decease. 
The father passed away in December, 1894, 
and the mother also in March, 1902, and both are 
buried at Cedar Falls. Politically. Mr. Newell 
is identified with the Democratic party and 
takes an active and prominent part in public 
affairs. Without seeking or desiring public of- 
fice, he believes it to be the duty of every citi- 
zen to interest himself in the public business 
sufficiently to see that it is conducted honestly 
and in an efficient manner. He has often been 
solicited by his friends and party associates to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



525 



become a candidate for public position, but has 
invariably declined to do so, preferring to 
give his entire time and attention to the care 
and management of his large interests. He 
is a highly respected citizen of the community 
where he maintains his home and one of the' 
leading business men of Albany county. 

GEORGE STOLL. 

In reviewing the life-work of the "oldtimers"' 
of Wyoming there are many things to interest, 
entertain and instruct. To become a pioneer of 
a new country involves a life of hardship and en- 
durance, but it required the "pick and choice" of 
the country to attempt to become a pioneer of 
the Great West. Courage, endurance and skill 
had here to be combined with constant watchful- 
ness against a merciless and savage foe, whose 
attacks were made insiduously and without warn- 
ing, while nature here put on her most unpromis- 
ing mood, demanding incessant vigilance and an 
unremitting industry to unlock her portals of 
wealth. Mr. George Stoll, now of Henry's Fork, 
near Burnt Fork postoffice in Sweetwater coun- 
ty, is a true type of the early western pioneers 
and his experience covers a wide range of life, 
from the early gold operations of California to 
the quiet life of ranching in Western Wyoming. 
It is with the biographies of such men that the 
true historv of the state is connected, and the 
material prosperity that has come to him is but 
the natural reward of the labors wrought among 
the many dangers encountered in long years of 
activity and of the manifold hardships endured 
while assisting to lay broad and deep the founda- 
tions of civilization. Mr. Stoll was born in 
Germany on December 26, 1836, a son of John 
and Elizabeth (Lohr) Stoll. being the second of 
their three boys. His mother died when he yvas 
but eight years old and George very soon there- 
after crossed the Atlantic with his uncle, George 
Lohr, whose name he bore, and for about four 
years he was a member of the Lohr family in 
New York. When he was about fourteen years 
old the resolute and adventurous spirit of the 
lad induced him to take the voyage to California, 



and he sailed thither with Captain Madigan, on 
the good ship John Baring, arriving at San 
Francisco in May, 1 85 1, after a voyage of nine 
months. He at once yvent to the mines, where 
he successfully conducted mining for fully eleven 
years, amassing a fine return for his labors. In 
j 862 he went to the Nevada mines, folloyved min- 
ing until in 1863 he enlisted in the First Nevada 
Cavalry in General Connor's command, and with 
his regiment yvas in service at Fort Churchill, 
Salt Lake City and Fort Douglas during the 
time of the military operations brought on by the 
actions of the Mormons. In the spring of 1864 
the troops came north, crossing the mountains 
near Burnt Fork and taking up their quarters 
at Fort Bridger, yvhere they acted as escorts and 
guards for the L T . S. mail-carriers until 1866, 
when they- returned to Fort Douglas and were 
mustered out. Mr. Stoll then engaged in the 
brewing business at Bridger, conducting this un- 
til 1868, when he yvent to Burnt Fork, taking up 
the place he noyv occupies as his home in 1870 
and in 1873 he located here as the second perma- 
nent settler, Philip Mass being the only one 
resident here on his arrival. Mr. Stoll noyv holds 
in fee-simple 360 acres of most excellent land, 
yvhich he has brought to a high degree of im- 
provement, and here he for a long series of years 
has carried on lucrative cattleraising operations 
of large scope and importance. He has here 
yvrested a fortune from yvhat but a feyv years 
since yvas an unproductive yvilderness, and has 
recently practically retired from active business. 
He has ney-er taken an active part in politics nor 
sought political preferment, but has taken a deep 
interest in matters of the public and in local af- 
fairs, and has served most capably as a deputy 
sherift in the furtherance of layv and order for a 
number of years. He yvas married in Salt Lake 
City on March 20, 1866, to Miss Mary A. Smith, 
a daughter of William and Mary (Grimshaw) 
Smith, natives of England. Of the eleven chil- 
dren that came to the Stoll household, nine are 
living : George ; William ; John, yvhose family 
home is at the Shoshone agency in Wyoming ; 
Alice, yvife of H. E. McMillin ; Robert; Eliza- 
beth, wife of Fletcher Kirkendall, resides in 



$26 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Idaho; Mary, now Mrs. Thomas Welch, of the 
Henry's Fork district; Edith and Lillie, while 
Daniel was killed by a deer at the age of six 
years and an infant died in early life. The busi- 
ness career of Mr. Stoll has been eminently for- 
tunate, and himself and family are good exem- 
plars of citizenship, enjoying the esteem and con- 
fidence of the public, while an air of bounteous 
h6spitality surrounds his attractive home, which 
is presided over with true womanly courtesy and 
dignified by the .cherished wife and mother. 

William Stoll, the second child of George and 
Mary A. (Smith) Stoll, was also born at Fort 
Briclger, on April 3, 1869, when it was an incor- 
porate part of the great territory of Dakota, and 
his education was acquired in the schools of 
Uinta and Sweetwater counties, supplemented 
by diligent home study and general reading. It 
may be said that he came up in the cattle busi- 
ness, as he was at an early age a valuable coad- 
jutor to his father in his operations, soon ac- 
quiring a competent knowledge and an experi- 
ence that was of value to him in his own later op- 
erations of raising and shipping horses and stock. 
Iv, 1894 he took up a homestead on the creek ad- 
joining his father's ranch, and, after properly 
arranging matters and providing a suitable resi- 
dence, on March 10, 1897, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Ida Sadlier and established bis 
bome upon his own ranch, which he has steadily 
and rapidly improved into a convenient and 
pleasant property and residence. Mrs. Stoll is 
a daughter of William and Emma (Edwards) 
Sadlier, her father being a native of Georgia 
and her mother of Utah. She herself was born 
at Melville, Utah, and they have three children, 
Ray W., Ruth and Edgar. Mr. Stoll is quite ex- 
tensively operating in the raising of graded 
Shorthorn and graded Hereford cattle, for ten 
years conducting a business of importance in 
shipping horses from Wyoming to Iowa, Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Tennessee, 
Mississippi and Louisiana. His business life 
has been active and irreproachable and he is 
counted as one of the representative citizens and 
stockmen of this part of the state of Wyoming. 
George Stoll, Jr., the popular and ever agreeable 



postmaster of Burnt Fork postoffice, was born at 
Fort Bridger on April 20, 1867, and his parents 
are the venerable pioneers, George and Mary A. 
(Smith) Stoll, whose interesting life history is 
briefly outlined on preceding pages. Receiving 
the best advantages given in the district schools 
of Uinta and Sweetwater counties, it was an in- 
evitable result that he should become identified 
with stockraising, for this is the chief industry 
of this section of country and his father was one 
of the largest stockmen. He, however, conducted 
merchandising for a short time, abandoning it 
to give his entire- attention to his herd of finely 
graded Hereford cattle. In this industry he has 
been successfully employed from that time, giv- 
ing some time however to the shipping of horses 
to the eastern states. He took up his homestead 
in 1 901 and has commenced a systematic devel- 
opment of its possibilities, using care and a wise 
discrimination in all of his methods. He was 
made postmaster in 1895 and is now in office. 
Miss Lillian McDougall, a daughter of James 
and Jane (McColloch) McDougall, became his 
wife at Evanston, Wyo., on November 4, 1890, 
and their family consists of four children, Earl 
S., Frederick M., Alta M. and an infant un- 
named. Mrs. Stoll was born in Iowa, her pa- 
rents and a line of uncounted generations of an- 
cestry having been natives of Scotland.' The 
family is one of the highly respected ones of this 
section and laudably give assistance to every 
worthy cause of public or private character. 

FRANK W. STRONG. 



Among the rising young men of Laramie 
and the state of Wyoming, who by their en- 
ergy, enterprise, and progressive spirit are rap- 
idly coming to the front in the business life 
of the countv and doing so much to promote 
the development of the state, is Frank W. 
Strong, who is a native of Iowa, his birth oc- 
curring at Marshalltown on July 12, 1877. He 
is the son of Wesley A. and Mary E. (Smith) 
Strong, the former a native of Ohio and the 
latter of Illinois. His father was long engaged 
in railroading; in Iowa and removed his resi- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



527 



dence in 1885 to Nebraska, where he estab- 
lished his home in the county of Cheyenne, 
purchased a farm and engaged in its cultiva- 
tion until 1895, when he disposed of his prop- 
erty in Nebraska and removed to Wheatland, 
Wyo., where he purchased a farm on Wheat- 
land plats, about five miles south of the city 
of Wheatland, and there continued successfully 
in farming and stockraising until March, 1901, 
when he sold his property on the Wheatland 
Flats and removed to the city of Wheatland, 
where he has since resided. Frank W. Strong 
received his early education in the public schools 
of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Cheyenne county, 
Neb., growing to manhood in the latter state. 
Coming to Wyoming- at the age of eighteen 
years he remained at home, assisting his father 
in the work and management of the farm at 
Wheatland Flats until 1898, when he engaged 
in farming on his own account in the same vi- 
cinity and also in cattleraising. The following 
year he disposed of his farming interests and 
took service with the Wyoming Development 
Co. of Wheatland, remaining in its employ 
until June, 1901. He then saw a favorable op- 
portunity to engage in business for himself in 
Wheatland and, resigning his position, at once 
began the erection of the buildings which he 
now occupies and upon their completion en- 
tered upon the livery and feed business, in 
which he has since been engaged. He has met 
with marked success in his undertaking, and 
although only one year has elapsed since he 
opened his place of business, he has by hard 
work, faithful attention and careful methods 
built up his enterprise until now he is trans- 
acting the principal part of the business in his 
line in the community where he resides. His 
success is an illustration of what pluck, indus- 
try, and business ability can accomplish in 
bringing a young man to the front in any pur- 
suit. Fraternally, Mr. Strong is affiliated with 
the Modern Woodmen of America, being a 
member of the lodge at Wheatland, and is also 
a member of the Fraternal Union of America. 
In all matters connected with the fraternal life 
of the community in which he resides, as well 



as in all measures calculated to benefit the city 
or promote the public welfare, he takes an 
active interest. He is one of the men who are 
sure to have a leading position in the business 
and public life of that section of Wyoming. 

HON. PATRICK SULLIVAN. 

Born in County Cork, Ireland, on March 
17, 1865, no better representative of the abil- 
ity, wit, unbounded energy and the alert mental 
powers of the enthusiastic Irish race is found 
in a wide range of country than the distin- 
guished Patrick Sullivan of Natrona county, 
Wyoming, where his home and center of busi- 
ness activities. is maintained in the prosperous 
young city of Casper. His ancestors from 
time immemorial were Irish farmers, owning 
their own small estates and being people of 
character and consideration in their community. 
The four generations of the family that are 
sufficient to trace the lineage back to the 
eighteenth century are his great-grandfather, 
John Sullivan, his grandfather Timothy, his 
father John and then himself. His parents were 
John and Margaret (McCarthy) Sullivan and 
his early life was passed on the ancient home-' 
stead, lying in a most beautiful location, sixty 
miles west of the city of Cork on the beautiful 
bay of Bantry, where the tides of the great At- 
lantic ocean agitated the waters daily. Emi- 
grating in 1888, in that same year Mr. Sullivan 
came to Rawlins, Wyo., and at once identified 
himself with the sheep industry of the state. 
By his indefatigable diligence and by his earn- 
est zeal in whatever his hands found to do, he 
soon became proficient in the care of sheep, 
as conducted on the plains and in the valleys 
of Wyoming, and in 1890 he formed a partner- 
ship association with John Mahoney in stock 
operations, they purchasing a band of sheep 
in Uinta county and conducting operations, in 
a very prosperous way for two years, their 
flocks increasing in a highly satisfactory man- 
ner and their operations rapidly extending. In 
1892 Mr. Sullivan made his home in Casper, 
where he has erected a model residence on the 



528 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



border of the city, it being of the most recent 
architectural design, embracing all modern im- 
provements and conveniences, and being one 
of the attractive homes of the town, a place 
where the generous hospitality of the owner 
finds frequent exemplification, his numerous 
friends considering it one of the "bright spots'' 
of enjoyable life," the sunshine of the host be- 
ing amply increased by the courtesy and enter- 
taining society of the mistress of the house, 
who was, previous to her marriage to Mr. Sul- 
livan, on July 7, 1893, Miss Nan Mahoney, also 
of County Cork, Ireland, and born near the 
birthplace of her husband. Their children are 
named Margaret, Eileen, Catheline, Patricia and 
Evangeline. In business Mr. . Sullivan has 
never scattered his energies, sheep being his 
sole care and solicitude, and they have gener- 
ously repaid the efforts he has so long persist- 
ently and discriminately bestowed upon his en- 
deavor, feeding large bands in summer in the 
Big Horn Mountains and in winter on Salt 
Creek and numbering ofttimes as many as 
30,000 sheep under his ownership. He is ac- 
counted one of the most brilliant and success- 
ful operators in his line in all this section of 
■the state. Not alone as a leading stockman 
and public-spirited citizen, but as a man who 
has capably and efficiently served in places of 
high official station, Mr. Sullivan must be men- 
tioned. He has given two creditable adminis- 
trations as mayor of Casper, while in 1894 he 
was elected to. the lower house of the State 
Legislature, being again nominated to succeed 
himself, but declining the nomination, in 1898, 
however, being again elected to this office, 
while in 1901 the voters of his senatorial dis 
trict elected him to represent them in the State 
Senate for a term of four years. He has been 
conspicuous in his attention to the proper leg- 
islation for the interests of the people and the 
wishes of his constituents, and has ever been 
able to clearly set forth his reasons for his 
course, and his arguments for or against any 
proposed measure, in a manner to attract at- 
tention and win converts. Mis labors have 
• been 'marked and effective in the passage of 



laws beneficial to the sheep industry and his 
course has met public approval irrespective of 
party lines. At the present writing (1902) Mr. 
Sullivan is a member of the Governor's staff. 
Fraternally, he is a Thirty-second degree Ma- 
son, an Odd Fellow and a Woodman of the 
World. His business life has been one of con- 
tinued success, his sound practical judgment, 
shrewdness and sagacity have been clearly 
demonstrated, his keen, intuitive perception 
and reading of all phases of human nature are 
extremely accurate, and these qualities, cou- 
pled with an open-handed, generous disposi- 
tion, and an honesty of purpose in all his deal- 
ings that no love of gain could swerve, have 
won for him a great popularity and the unlim- 
ited esteem ^nd confidence of the public. 

LEWIS J. SWAN. 

Few residents of Wyoming can boast of a 
longer line of direct ancestry without broken link 
than can this representative sheepman and ster- 
ling citizen, whose residence and headquarters 
are located in the brisk little city of Douglas, 
Wyo. Existing documents show these facts : 
Charlemagne, the great Christian Emperor of the 
West, who was born A. D. 742, married for his 
third wife Hildegarde, and the complete gene- 
alogical record, tracing down from this marriage 
to Col. Charles Swan, son of John Swan, born 
in Loudoun county, Virginia, is in Mr. Swan's 
possession, the record having been compiled by 
the late Col. S. D. Swan, of Creston, Iowa, with 
the assistance of Henry Swan of Council Bluffs 
and Florence Swan Stever, the daughter of the 
late Col. S. D. Swan. For the purpose of our 
work, however, we will only trace the family to 
John Swan, who was born in Loudoun, Va., in 
1721, the son of Joshua Swan, who married 
Elizabeth Lucas, had ten children and died in 
T799. Col. Charles Swan was the sixth child. 
born in Loudoun county in 1749. in 1772 he mar- 
ried with Sarah Van Meter. He was a man of 
large estates, a colonel in the Revolutionary War 
and is mentioned in connection with many im- 
portant and historic events oftentimes in old 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



529 



documents, and about 1800 he purchased 1,300 
acres of land in Kentucky, comprising the site 
of the present city of Lexington. So much of 
ancient history. L. J. Swan, now of Douglas, 
Wyo., was born in 'Greene county, Pa., on Octo- 
ber 19, 1846, the son of Jesse and Phebe (Jen- 
nings) Swan, both being natives of the Keystone 
state. Jesse Swan was the son of Charles Swan, 
a goodly portion of whose life was passed in 
Ohio and Kentucky. Jesse Swan removed from 
Pennsylvania to Illinois, rearing seven sons and 
three daughters and being a citizen of note until 
his death in 1857. The rest of the family remain- 
ing in Illinois, Mr. L. J. Swan came to Wyoming 
in 1874, locating in Cheyenne, making that city 
the headquarters for his extensive and cumula- 
tive stock business for about twelve years, in 
1890 changing his base of operations to Douglas, 
having been in this vicinity since 1878, and con- 
tinued to run large herds of cattle until 1886, 
when he changed his cattle for sheep, in which 
he is now carrying on operations with success, 
his well-improved ranch property lying at the 
head of Box Creek, where he is running from 
10,000 to 15,000 head of sheep. In May, 1886, 
occurred the marriage of Mr. Swan and Miss 
Emma Dyke, a native of England. They have 
one son, Roland. In 1862 Mr. Swan enlisted 
for service in the Union army of the Civil War, 
in Co. A. Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry, with 
his regiment joining the Army of the Cumber- 
land at Covington, Ky., and accompanying it to 
Louisville and later to Memphis, from there in 
December, 1862, going to Vicksburg, where, un- 
der General Sherman, they were engaged in the 
fruitless efforts to capture the city, thereafter, 
under General McClelland, being engaged at the 
battle of Arkansas Post on January 11, 1863, 
thence returning to Young's Point opposite 
Vicksburg, where General Grant was organizing 
an expedition for the lower part of Mississippi, 
which they joined, taking part in the fierce bat- 
tles of "Fort Gibson, Champion Hills and Black 
River Bridge, then swinging back in the rear of 
Vicksburg, reaching the lines enveloping that 
doomed city and holding position until after the 
surrender of the" city on July 4, 1863, the next 



day joining the forces in pursuit of Joe Johns- 
ton, participating in the battle at Jackson, Miss., 
after the evacuation of Johnston returning to 
Vicksburg, where they remained some time, 
thereafter proceeding to Northern Louisiana and 
clown to New Orleans, then by the Gulf of 
Mexico to Matagorda Bay, Tex., returning to 
New Orleans in March 1864, and going with 
General Banks on the disastrous Red River ex- 
pedition, where on April 8, they were engaged 
in the bloody battle and defeat at Sabine Cross 
Boads, then returning to New Orleans, there 
remaining through the winter of 1864 and 1865, 
guarding the rebel prisoners in that city, in the 
spring of 1865 aiding in the capture of the city 
of Mobile, they were present at the surrender of 
Gen. Dick Taylor and then remained at Mobile 
until the close of the war and they were mustered 
out of service in July, 1865. Mr. Swan's cousin, 
Col. S. D. Swan, served through the Civil War, 
winning by, his gallantry promotion to the 
colonelcy of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry. Two of 
Mr. Swan's brothers were in the Civil War, 
Thomas in the Fourth Illinois, and John in the 
Seventy-Seventh Illinois. The latter died in the 
hospital in St. Louis in 1862. 

WILLIAM H. MENDENHALL. 

A soldier in the great Civil War and still 
bearing in his own person the marks of its bur- 
dens, William H. Mendenhall has a deep and 
abiding interest in the country he fought for 
and he has given the best efforts of his life to- 
ward its development and advancement wher- 
ever, he has lived. Comfortably located now, 
far from war's dread alarms, on a fruitful farm 
in the fertile region of Wyoming, known as Can- 
yon Springs Prairie, about twenty-five miles 
northeast of Newcastle, he gives himself to the 
triumphs of peace there won over obdurate nature 
through the application of skill and industry in 
the vocation of the husbandman. He was born 
on September 26, 1841, in Morgan county, 
Ohio, the son of Isaac and Jane (Kinsy) Men- 
denhall, the father being a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and the mother of New York. Early in 



53Q 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



their married life they settled in Ohio, then the 
home and pregnant hope of the hardy pioneer, 
and. there were engaged in farming until death 
ended their labors, those of the mother in 1848 
and of the father in 1891. Their son, William 
H. Mendenhall, remained on the homestead un- 
til he reached his majority, attending the pub- 
lic schools and doing his share of the farm 
work, and in youth learned the trade of a stone- 
mason, at which he worked in his native county 
until 1880, then came west to Nebraska and 
settled on a farm he bought in Webster county, 
where he was successfully engaged in farming 
for fifteen years, in 1895 removing to Wyoming, 
taking up his present ranch on Canyon Springs 
Prairie, which he has vastly improved both in 
the matter of its cultivation and its equipment 
for the purpose. It is a desirable property in 
location, in resources and in the improvements 
with which it is furnished and adorned. In 1861 
Mr. Mendenhall promptly enlisted in Co. H, 
Twenty-fifth Ohio Infantry, as a soldier for the 
Union in the Civil War and remained in the 
service a year, until he was discharged on ac- 
count of disability caused by a wound received 
at the battle of Cheat Mountain, W.Va., after 
a military career as gallant as it was short. On 
January 3, 1863, in Morgan county, Ohio, he 
was married to Miss Mary Fowler, a native of 
that state, of Mar}dand ancestry,- her father, 
Joseph Fowler, having been born in Maryland, 
a scion of a family long and prominently known 
in its annals. Her mother was Avis (Rossell)' 
Fowler, the daughter of a prosperous shoe mer- 
chant of Morgan county, Ohio, who conducted 
a leading business there until the death of his 
wife in 1851, when he removed to Virginia, and 
in that state passed the remainder of his days, 



dying in 1 



Mr. and Mrs. Mendenhall have 



had nine children, Leicester B., deceased ; Emily 
Luella, Joseph J., deceased; Charles O., Rachel 
A., Clarence H. E. V., James F., Maggie M., 
Nina A. Two of the sons, Charles and Herbert, 
have farms adjoining that of their parents, 
while James works at home in a leading way. 
Mr. Mendenhall belongs to the Orientals in fra- 
ternal relations and he is an ardent Republican. 



C. H. GRINNELL. 

To New Bedford, Massachusetts, we look 
in part for the ancestry of C. H. Grinnell, the 
alert and capable city marshal of Sheridan, 
Wyoming, the subject of this sketch. The rest- 
less population of that city, whose all-daring 
and well nigh all-conquering enterprise lays 
Arctic seas and western wilds under tribute as 
proper fields for its triumphs, has been the chief 
source of the whale-fishing industry in this 
country for nearly two centuries. It has also 
gone forth to many frontiers as the advance 
guard of the coming army of civilization, win- 
ning in contest with the difficulties and trials 
there encountered victories as signal, as con- 
tinuous and as comprehensive as any there may 
be to its credit in other domains of energetic 
action. Mr. Grinnell was born at New Bedford 
on October 22, 1847, tne son 0I Frank and 
Marion W. (Johnson) Grinnell, the former also 
a native of New Bedford, and the latter of Ra- 
leigh, N. C. The father was born in 1820 and 
the mother three years later. She died in 1893 
at the age of seventy years ; he is still living, 
aged eighty, at Yellow Springs, Ohio, whither 
he removed from his native city in 1855, when 
his son, C. H. Grinnell. was eight years old. 
There the son was educated and passed his 
youth and early manhood. After leaving school 
he was employed in railroad work for three 
years and then engaged in farming in Ohio 
until 1875. At that time he moved to Illinois, 
and, settling near Chicago, for five years con- 
ducted a dairying business with success and 
profit, although the competition was sharp and 
active. In 1880 he came to Wyoming and took 
up a preemption claim of land on a portion of 
which the city of Sheridan now stands. He at 
once began an enterprising stock industry, 
which he carried on vigorously and successfully 
until 1899, serving also during a large part of 
the time as superintendent of the Grinnell Live 
Stock Co. In T899 lie turned his especial at- 
tention to building and contracting, laying out 
the Grinnell addition to Sheridan, and erect- 
ing many of the best and most substantial 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



53i 



houses in the town. He still owns 150 acres of 
land, much of which is in the city limits of 
Sheridan, and he also owns valuable residence 
and business property in the town. The city 
and the county and all that affects their welfare 
are dear to his heart, and to their advancement 
he has given active and intelligent support. In 
politics he was a Democrat until 1896, when he 
came out of the cataclysm of that year trans- 
muted into an ardent Republican, and has held 
to the faith of his new party continuously from 
that time. On its ticket in 1902 he was elected 
city marshal and the water commissioner of 
Sheridan, and is at this writing (1903) in the 
active discharge of his duties, performing them 
with satisfaction to the community as well as 
with credit to himself. In fraternal relations 
Mr. Grinnell is a member of the order of Free- 
masons and of the order of Elks. He was mar- 
ried in Chicago in 1873 to Miss Clara Saberton, 
a native of that city and daughter of Joseph 
and Eliza (Hodson) Saberton, natives of Eng- 
land. They had three children, Marion W., 
deceased ; Joe S., a civil engineer in Alaska ; 
Lawrence R. The marshal is a member of the 
Old Settlers' Club. Mrs. Grinnell died in 
March, 1902, aged forty-seven years. 

THOMAS P. SWEET. 

One of the first three settlers in the neigh- 
borhood where he lives, and the only one of 
the oldtimers left, Thomas P. Sweet of the 
Beaver Creek region, is a connecting link be- 
tween the peaceful present and the not dis- 
tant but exciting fruitful past' of Eastern 
Wyoming. He has been so closely identified 
with the growth and development of that por- 
tion of the state, and in so leading a way, that 
he is looked up to by all as a patriarch in its 
history, and his own record is largely written, 
in enduring and pleasing phase, in its fertility, 
productiveness, commercial activity and su- 
perior civil and educational features. He came 
from far away Rhode Island, where he was 
born on December 18, 1846, in Providence 
county. There also his parents, Thomas P. 



and Amey (Wade) Sweet, had their nativity, 
and there they were engaged in successful 
farming, as farming goes in New England, un- 
til their death. Thomas P. Sweet remained on 
the homestead, attending the public schools 
and assisting with the farm work until he 
passed the seventeenth anniversary of his birth, 
then, in February, 1864, he enlisted in the 
Union army as a member of the Third Rhode 
Island Artillery, and served until the close of 
the war, being mustered out in August, 1865. 
His army experience was almost wholly in the 
far Southern states, his command being nearly 
all the time in South Carolina. After his dis- 
charge he returned to his native county and 
there engaged in farming and lumbering until 
the autumn of 1868, when he made a trip to 
California by the way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
ama. He passed six years in California min- 
ing, hunting, trapping and farming and in 1874 
removed to Oregon, where during the next 
two years, he followed the same pursuits. In 
the spring of 1876 he returned to Rhode Island 
and, after a visit of a year among his old 
friends and the scenes of his childhood and 
youth, again turned his face westward and 
came to South Dakota, locating at Battle 
Creek, where he passed a year prospecting and 
placer mining. He then removed to Custer 
county in that state and in the fall of 1878 
was elected sheriff of the county. When he 
qualified and entered upon the duties of his 
office, he took up his residence in the town of 
Custer and soon after the end of his two-years' 
term came over into Wyoming and settled on 
a ranch near the one which he now occupies 
on Stockade Beaver CreeK. He did not at 
first fancy cattleraising, but began to cultivate 
the soil for market gardening and was quite 
successful at the business, not only seeing his 
labors rewarded by abundant yields, but find- 
ing a ready and profitable market lor all his 
products. There were but two ranches on the 
creek when he settled there, the great expanse 
of country being still virgin and untamed, and 
he is the only one now left of those who first 
laid it under tribute to civilized man's necessi- 



532 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ties. His was the breadth of view that saw 
its possibilities and his the guiding spirit that 
called them into being. Whatever the region is 
as an agricultural domain, a herdman's com- 
fort and a civic entity, it owes to him and kin- 
dred spirits, who built the foundations of its 
coming greatness and breathed its ethical and 
political form into sentient and responsive life. 
In 1882, one year after his location in the 
neighborhood, he took up his present ranch 
on the Stockade Beaver, seven miles east of 
Newcastle, and after devoting his energies for 
a number of years to market gardening, he be- 
gan raising stock, at first horses and after- 
wards cattle, in both of which he has had good 
success. In 1884 he erected a sawmill near his 
ranch, harnessing a fine water-power to its 
uses, and since that time has conducted it in 
connection with his other industries. Mr 
Sweet is a Republican in politics, but not an 
active partisan. He is deeply interested in the 
welfare of the community but is principally oc- 
cupied with his own affairs, giving attention 
to local matters in a general rather than a 
party way. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, but is not actively con- 
nected with any other fraternal organization. 
On March 8, 1892, at Newcastle, Wyo., he 
bowed beneath the flowery yoke of Eros and 
was united in marriage with Mrs. Viola (John- 
son) Hannum, a native of Ohio and daughter 
of Levi and Frances (Roach) Johnson. Three 
children have blessed their union, Stella M., 
Fred T. and Delia Naomi. Mrs. Sweet's par- 
ents were of old Ohio and Pennsylvania stock, 
sturdy and substantial, where they lived and 
were imbued with the spirit of enterprise that 
has sent the pioneers forward all over our 
land and replaced the wilds with the fruits, the 
flowers and the enduring blessings of enlight- 
ened and progressive civilization. 

CHARLES S. THOMAS. 

One of the prominent business men of the 
state of Wyoming, one whose energy, enter 
prise and business ability are rapidly accumu- 



lating for him a handsome fortune and giving 
him a place in the foremost ranks of the prop- 
erty owners of his section of the state, Mr. 
Charles S. Thomas, a leading stockman of 
Egbert, Wyo., was born on February 12, 1859, 
a native of Wales, Great Britain, and a son of 
Cadwallader and Ellinor (Morris) Thomas, both 
being natives of the little mountain country, 
whose sons and daughters in so many in- 
stances have won distinction, in all portions of 
the world and in every walk of life. Flis father 
was engaged in farming and cattledealing in 
his native country and for many years of his 
active life he was quite largely interested in 
contracting and upon an extensive scale. He 
was one of the large contractors who had 
charge of the great work of constructing the 
first tunnel through the mountains of the Alps, 
between France and Switzerland, and was en- 
gaged in many like enterprises, both in Great 
Britain and on the continent of Europe. In 
1878 the parents of Charles S. Thomas emi- 
grated, coming to America. Upon arriving in 
this country they first established themselves 
at Cleveland, Ohio, where the father engaged 
in merchandising successfully up to the time 
of his death in March, 1880. The mother sur- 
vived for many years and after the death of her 
husband removed to Wyoming, where she 
made her home with her son, Charles, until she 
passed away at a ripe old age on August 26, 
1899, and she is buried in the city of Cheyenne. 
Mr. Thomas grew to man's estate in his na- 
tive country and received his early academical 
training in the schools of that country and 
England. After completing his course of 
study in the graded schools, he matriculated 
at college and enjoyed the benefit of a 
thorough course of collegiate training before 
coming to America. When he had attained to 
the age of nineteen years, he accompanied his 
parents to the New World and established his 
home with them in the city of Cleveland. Ohio. 
Here he first secured employment in a large 
meat market and he remained there following 
that employment for about one year. In 1879, 
believing- that in the country further west he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



533 



could find large opportunities for advancement 
in business, he removed to Denver, Colo. Here 
he became a foreman for Chamberlain & Acher, 
wholesale and retail dealers in meats and sup- 
plies, and one of the largest houses operating 
in that section of the country. He remained in 
that position until the spring of 1880, when he 
resigned and came to the city of Cheyenne, 
Wyo. Arriving in that city in April he accepted 
a position as manager of the large business 
house then opened there by James Tynan, a 
capitalist and merchant, who dealt in cattle, 
hides and general supplies and had a large gov- 
ernment contract to furnish beef supplies for the 
military post at Fort Laramie. Mr. Thomas 
had entire charge of this extensive business for 
about two years, then purchased the business 
and carried it on with marked success up to 
1896. He gradually extended his business oper- 
ations, dealing in cattle, hides and supplies and 
carrying a large stock of merchandise in the 
line of groceries and provisions, his business be- 
ing one of the most extensive in that section of 
the country. He also had contracts from the 
United States for the supply of beef to the mili- 
tary post at Fort Russell and other military 
posts in Wyoming'. During this time he became 
interested in the business of ranging and cattle- 
raising, which he conducted with great success, 
his ranches and herds being in charge of a fore- 
man, while he was personally supervising his 
extensive merchandising operations. In 1896 
his cattle interests had increased to such an ex- 
tent and had proved so profitable that he dis- 
posed of his store and business in Cheyenne for 
the purpose of giving his personal attention to 
his live stock interests, and then removed his 
residence from Cheyenne to his present ranch 
property, about twenty-nine miles east of that 
city. Here he has made his home since that 
time and has been very successful in all his 
business enterprises, owning large interests in 
both cattle and sheep and being one of the heav- 
iest individual cattledealers in the state. He is 
now in partnership in business with his brother, 
John Thomas, and they are owners of large tracts 
of land in Laramie county and elsewhere in 



Wyoming and, in addition to their live stock 
holdings, are part owners in several successful 
merchandising establishments in Cheyenne. 
They are also largely interested in real-estate 
in that city, being the owners of a number of 
business blocks and city residences, and are 
considered as among the substantial business 
men and property owners of the state. On June 
1, 1892, at Stockville, Neb., Mr. Thomas was 
united in marriage with Miss Meroa Riggs, a 
native of Iowa, the daughter of Charles and 
Lillian (Stowitts) Riggs, both natives of New 
York. Her father is a successful contractor and 
builder, who removed from New York to Iowa, 
where he engaged in contracting for a number 
of years and then moved to Nebraska, where he 
has since been engaged in business at Stock- 
ville, where he maintains his home. He is one 
of the leading citizens of that section of Ne- 
braska. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have four chil- 
dren, Robert M., John C, Grace L. and Lewis 
Charles, all of whom are living, and the family 
home is noted for its many comforts and for 
its gracious and generous hospitality. The fam- 
ily are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and are deeply interested in all works 
of charity and religion in the community where 
they reside, being noted for their many acts of 
kindness and charity to the unfortunate. Po- 
litically, Mr. Thomas is a stanch adherent of 
the Republican party and takes an active and 
prominent part in the party and in the conduct 
of public affairs. He is one of the most trusted 
of the leaders of the party in Wyoming and has 
been largely instrumental in shaping the policy 
of that political organization in Laramie county 
during recent years. For many years he held 
the highly important position of state sheep in- 
spector and discharged the duties of the position 
with ability and to the entire satisfaction of the. 
stockmen of Wyoming. He has often been solic- 
ited by his neighbors and political friends to ac- 
cept other positions of trust and honor within 
the gift of his party, but he has firmly declined 
to permit his friends to bring him forward, pre- 
ferring to devote himself to the management of 
his large business enterprises. No man in his 



534 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



section of Wyoming stands higher in the esti- 
mation of the people of the state, or could more 
easily achieve high public honors. 

WINFIELD S. WALN. 

One of the most favored sections of Wyo- 
ming is the Horseshoe Creek country in Laramie 
county. It would be difficult to find anywhere 
in the entire West a section better fitted by na- 
ture for the cattle industry, and its advantages 
have naturally attracted a large and prosperous 
settlement of thrifty and successful men. Promi- 
nent among this number is Winfield S. Wain, 
whose address is Glendo, Wyo. A native of Put- 
nam county, Indiana, he was born on June 6, 
1852, the son of William, and Leah (Wilkinson) 
Wain, both natives of Ohio. His parents re- 
moved from Ohio in very early life to Indiana, 
where the father was engaged in contracting and 
building. Subsequently they removed to Keo- 
kuk, Iowa, where the father continued in the 
same pursuit until 1854, when he removed to 
Osage county, Kan., still following the same call- 
ing. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil 
War, he enlisted as a member of the Kansas 
militia for the defense of the Union, and was 
killed in battle in 1864, near Lawrence, during 
Price's raid through Eastern Kansas. After his 
death the mother disposed of her property in 
Kansas and returned to Putnam county, Ind. 
A year later they removed to Iowa, purchased a 
farm in Marion county, and there remained up 
until the mother's decease, which occurred in 
September, 1898. She is buried at Knoxville, 
Iowa. Winfield S. Wain grew to manhood in 
Indiana, Iowa and Kansas and received his early 
education in the public schools of the two former 
states. His opportunities for attending school 
were very limited for he was early compelled to 
contribute by his labor to the support of his 
mother and the family. He remained at home on 
the farm in Iowa until he had attained to the 
age of seventeen years, and in 1869 determined 
to seek his fortune in the country farther west 
and came to Cheyenne, Wyo. Securing em- 
ployment on a sheep ranch near that city, he re- 



mained in that occupation for a short time and 
then accepted a position with the oldtime 
freighter, John Hunton, and conducted freigh- 
ting operations between Cheyenne and the com- 
mercial points farther to the north. He contin- 
ued in this business for about one year and in 
1870 returned to his former home in_ Iowa, 
where he remained for about one year managing 
his mother's farm, at the end of that time he re- 
turned to Wyoming. Here he engaged in 
freighting between Cheyenne and the northern 
points until 1883 and for most of this time he 
was in business for himself. In 1881 he pur- 
chased a place adjoining his present ranch on 
Horseshoe Creek, and used it as a stop-over 
point in his freighting operations. In 1883 he 
disposed of that place and located the ranch 
which he now owns and occupies, about thirteen 
miles southwest of Glendo. Here he has since 
been continuously engaged in cattleraising, in 
which he has met with great success. He is 
now the owner of one of the best stock ranches 
in that section of the state and his business is 
steadily increasing. On February 28, 1880, in 
Marion county, Iowa, Mr. Wain was united 
in marriage with Miss Clara Goodwin, also 
a native of Putnam county, Indiana, and a 
daughter of James and Catherine (McVey) 
Goodwin, also natives of that state. The father 
of Mrs. Wain was long engaged in farm- 
ing in Putnam county and afterwards he re- 
moved to Marion county, Iowa, where he con- 
tinued in the same pursuit up to the time of his 
decease, which ' occurred in 1881. The mother 
now makes her home in Marion county. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Wain have been born eight chil- 
dren, Arthur, Edith, Walter, James, Benjamin 
H., Eunice, George F. and Roy, and the home is 
one noted for its hospitality and for the enter- 
tainments given there to the young people of the 
community. The family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and take an active 
interest in all works of charity and religion in 
the neighborhood where they reside. Politically, 
Mr. Wain is identified with the Republican 
party, and is a conscientious believer in the politi- 
cal principles of this organization. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



535 



AMOS E. ADAMS. 

A native of Kane county, Illinois, where he 
was born on August 16, 1842, and a member of 
the celebrated Massachusetts family of the name 
which gave two presidents to the United States, 
Amos E. Adams of Lander has well sustained 
the traditions and forceful qualifications of man- 
hood in the great state from which he hails and 
the renowned kinship to which he belongs. His 
parents, Elisha and Eliza (Allen) Adams were 
born and reared in New York where the father 
was an industrious and faithful blacksmith and 
a devout preacher in the Methodist Episcopal 
church. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
dren and, after years of usefulness in their native 
state, removed to the West, where they died, the 
mother in 1878 and the father in 1888. Amos 
E. Adams, their eighth child in the order of 
birth, was educated in the public schools of Iowa, 
where the family was domiciled at the time, later 
attending for one term the State University at 
Fayette in that state. He was, however, obliged 
to leave school and make his own way in the 
world, so learned the miller's trade and worked 
at it while yet a boy in Illinois and Nebraska. 
In 1880 he came to Wyoming and, locating at 
Lander, built a mill in that town which he con- 
ducted for five years. Finding the business un- 
profitable, he sold out and became a stockman 
and rancher, his favorite breed being thorough- 
bred Herefords. With these he has been suc- 
cessful, and, while giving the best part of his 
time and energy to their care on the ranch, in or- 
der to secure good school facilities for his chil- 
dren he has a winter residence in Lander, at the 
corner of Garfield and First streets, a fine stone 
house of ample size, and pleasing proportions 
and adornment. On June 20, 1874, he was mar- 
ried at Geneva, 111., to Miss Jane I. Middleton, 
a daughter of Thomas and Jeannette (Fair) 
Middleton, and a descendant of two of the old 
families that figured prominently in the long wars 
of the Scottish border. Mr. and Mrs. Adams 
have had three children, all of whom are living, 
William T., the register of the land-office at Lan- 
der, of whom more extended notice is given on 



another page of this volume, Lillie M., now wife 
of S. P. Asbell, a prominent cattleman of Uinta 
county, and Edward L., still at home. Mr. 
Adams is a progressive, wide-awake man, full of 
business energy and capacity, who illustrates in 
his make-up and record the sterling qualities of 
the daring pioneer and the useful citizen. 

JOSEPH W. ALLEN. 

■ In the veins of Joseph W. Allen of the Sol- 
dier Creek region of Wyoming the blood of the 
sturdy Englander and that of the courtly Vir- 
ginian are commingled, for his father, George 
H. Allen, was an Englishman by nativity and 
his mother, Lamira J. (Oliver) Allen, was born 
and reared in the Old Dominion, the daughter 
of a family long resident there and bearing its 
due part in behalf of the state and its people in 
peace and war. Mr. Allen's life began on Nor 
vember 3, 1856, near Salt Lake City, Utah. His 
father was one of the first settlers in the Mor- 
mon dominions and suffered all the hardships 
and privations that attended this wonderful peo- 
ple in their early days in this part of the world. 
He was married in Salt Lake City and passed 
the remainder of his days near that city en- 
gaged in farming. He was gathered to his 
fathers in 1867 and buried at Ogden, amid the 
scenes and institutions he loved and had helped 
to make glorious through trial and triumph. 
His widow survived until 1900, dying then at 
Butte, Mont., where her remains repose. Their 
son, Joseph, was educated in the Salt Lake City 
schools and, after completing as much of their 
course of training as his opportunities allowed, 
he removed in 1870 with his mother and six of 
her other children to southeastern Nevada, 
where he worked in the mines. In 1880 he 
came to Wyoming and after spending about six 
months in Johnson county, returned to Nevada 
and remained two years. In 1882 he went to 
Custer county, Mont., and there rode the range 
for three years. At the end of that time he 
came again to Wyoming and, taking up his resi- 
dence in that portion of Johnson county that is 
now Sheridan county, he rode the range and 



536 



PROGRESSIVE MEN. OF WYOMING. 



worked on a ranch until July, when he took up 
the ranch he now owns and occupies on Sol- 
dier Creek, about eleven miles west of the city 
of Sheridan. The next year he settled perma- 
nently on his ranch and has made it his home 
continuously since that time. He has 300 acres 
under cultivation and raises large herds of su- 
perior cattle. In the management of his es- 
tate he gives exhibition of skillful husbandry 
and a studious attention to all modern thought 
and experience in his business, winning success 
on a liberal scale and deserving it all. The 
ranch is highly improved and is considered one 
of the most valuable and attractive places along 
the creek. Mr. Allen was united in marriage 
with Miss Annie J. Allen at Sheridan, Wyo., on 
January 3, 1898. She seconds by her skill and 
graceful hospitality in the house all his enter- 
prising and progressive efforts elsewhere about 
the place, joining in making their home the fa- 
vorite resort it has been for their numerous 
friends. In politics Mr. Allen is a confirmed 
Democrat, but not an office-seeker or narrow 
partisan, seeking the welfare of the county and 
country in which he lives rather than the suc- 
cess of any party faction, and being esteemed for 
his good business capacity, high character and 
agreeable social qualities. 

W. S. AVERY. 

A sterling descendant of one of the founders 
of the Connecticut colony, whose ancestors have 
been distinguished people in almost every line of 
professional and industrial activity in the Nut- 
meg state from early colonial days, the ancient 
and solid residence of James Avery, the English 
emigrant and founder of the American family, 
which was erected before 1700, being recently 
burned on the old Avery homestead in the town 
of Groton in that state, William S. Avery, the 
capable young manager of the Frontier Supply 
Co. well merits attention. Members of the fam- 
ily have been conspicuously identified with the 
military service, both as officers and as privates, 
in every war America has conducted from the 
French and Indian Wars and the King Philip's 



War of New England down through the Revo- 
lution, War of 1812 and the Mexican War to the 
great Civil War of 186 1-5 and the recent Span- 
ish-American contest. Equally important has it 
shown itself in civil fields of enterprise, every- 
where and on all occasions presenting loyalty, 
business capacity, integrity of purpose, manly 
courage and sterling independence. William S. 
Avery, now of Frontier, Wyoming, was born in 
South Windsor, Conn., on September 26, 1864, 
the son of Henry W. and Abigail (Ladd) Avery, 
his mother being a daughter of Samuel T. and 
Amelia (Bearce) Ladd, also descendants from 
ancient families of the colony. Mr. Avery was 
the fourth in a family of five children, and re- 
ceived an excellent education in the graded and 
high schools of Manchester, Conn., paying espec- 
ial attention to the technical study of engineer- 
ing. In 1 88 1 he came to Wyoming and identified 
himself with the engineering, department of the 
Union Pacific Railroad at Cheyenne as a civil en- 
gineer, continuing to give most excellent satis- 
faction, and here he remained for eight years. 
He then became the manager of the store of the 
coal company at Van Dyke, one year later going 
to Montana where he was engaged in merchan- 
dising for two years, thence returning to Wyo- 
ming in 1897 and locating at Frontier and assum- 
ing the duties of his responsible position as man- 
ager of the store. When the postoffice of Fron- 
tier was established in 1900 he was commissioned 
as its postmaster, and to the duties of these posi- 
tions he has devoted his entire attention, being a 
man of excellent business capacity and one well 
worthy the success which has attended his ef- 
forts. As a Democrat he takes an active part in 
politics and in public matters, while fraternally 
he has ascended the Masonic stairway to the 
Knights Templar degree, also to the Thirty-sec- 
ond degree of the Scottish Rite, being also a 
noble of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Avery wedded 
in Connecticut on October 31, 1894, Miss Nettie 
House, being a daughter of Whiting and Alcina 
(Shurtliff) House, all natives of Connecticut. 
Tn their home the old fashioned virtues of their 
New England ancestry bloom and flourish in a 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



537 



JOHN P. BYRNE. 

The second son of Moses and Catherine 
(Cardon) Byrne, who is extensively engaged in 
stockraising on his productive ranch on the Big 
Muddy, two miles south of Piedmont, Uinta 
county, Wyoming, was born in Slatersville, Utah, 
on March 31, 1857. Inheriting from his able 
ancestors keen perceptive faculties, courage, 
self-reliance, thrift and sagacity, his practical 
spirit led him in early youth, after receiving the 
educational advantages of the public schools of 
Wyoming, to devote himself to acquiring a 
knowledge of stockraising by connecting himself 
with that industry as a herdsman of cattle. Dur- 
ing the years in which he followed this vocation 
he acquired a valuable knowledge of the busi- 
ness and, in 1884, he located himself upon a des- 
ert claim of 120 acres, where he still maintains 
his residence. This property he has greatly im- 
proved and developed, adding to it by purchase 
640 acres of land, while in his agricultural oper- 
ations he utilizes a large amount of acreage 
which he leases. Mr. Byrne has devoted himself 
to the raising of cattle Of a high grade as a 
specialty, and has made valuable improvements 
upon his property to afford suitable accommo- 
dations and facilities for his profitable branch 
of stockraising. He has a business acquain- 
tance extending over a wide area of country, 
and is familiar with the resources as well- as the 
needs of the section. His perseverance and de- 
termination, coupled with intelligence and capa- 
bility have wrought out for him a degree of suc- 
cess of which he may well be proud. On St. 
Valentine's day, in 1884, a happy concourse of 
friends in Piedmont, Wyo., witnessed the nuptial 
ceremony of Mr. Byrne and Miss Edith A. Clair, 
a native of England, a commencement of a wed- 
ded life that has continued to the present with 
the utmost harmony. Eight children are living 
of ten that have b.een born of their union. The ' 
names in order of birth are as follows : John 
W., died at the age of two years; Maud I., 
Lewis P., Nellie C, died at the age of seven 
years ; Mabel V. ; Robert C. ; Edna M. ; Walter 
M. ; Mamie E. ; Henry R. In political matters 



Mr. Byrne affiliates with the Democratic party, 
and with his family is connected with the Church 
of the Latter Day Saints. In using his privi- 
leges as a citizen he looks more to men and 
principles than to party, and supports for office 
only those whom he believes to be worthy. By 
persevering industry and consecutive attention 
to the line of business activity he early marked 
out for himself, he has attained competence, a 
position of influence, is surrounded by material 
evidence of prosperity, being now honored and 
respected by a large circle of friends, while his 
home is noted for its hospitality. 

JOHN BILLCOX. 

Among the excellent citizens of South Pass 
City, Wyoming, no one occupies a higher place 
in public regard, or is more entitled to commem- 
moration as a gallant defender of the Union in 
the great Civil War, than the unassuming gen- 
tleman whose name stands at the head of this 
article. Mr. Billcox was born in England on 
February 12, 1844, a son of Joseph and Eliza 
Billcox. From the exigencies of existence he 
left his parental home in very early life, coming 
to Canada when but five years of age, here ac- 
quiring his education and being employed in var- 
ious laudable occupations until the opening of the 
war between the states on this side of the in- 
ternational boundary, when his sympathies being 
interested on the side of the Union, he enlisted 
in 1862 in Co. A. Ninth Vermont Infantry, im- 
mediately accompanying it to the army of the Po- 
tomac and participating in the most sanguinary 
series, of battles known to history, bravely con- 
ducting himself in the face of the enemy and be- 
ing captured at Harper's Ferry and paroled on 
the field. Thereafter he was at the taking of 
Richmond and in that celebrated capital of the 
Confederacy he was honorably discharged from 
service on June 13, 1865. Returning to civil life 
he was located at Chicago until 1868 and in 
1869 he came to South Pass City, Wyo., and en- 
gaged in mining. Here he has since resided, on 
October 20, 1873, adding to his prosperity by 
his happy marriage with Mrs. Ellen (Dawson) 



538 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Cary, a native of Ireland and the daughter of 
Martin and Mary (Ryan) Dawson, her father 
dying in her early infancy and she coming to the 
United States a few years later, in 1863, with her 
mother and stepfather, Patrick Flynn, thereafter 
marrying John Cary and removing to South 
Pass City in 1869, being the mother of two chil- 
dren by this marriage, Mary A. who died in in- 
fancy, and Nellie A., now the wife of Joseph 
Gaston of South Pass City. From the vicissi- 
tudes of his army life and the manifold ex- 
posures connected therewith, about fifteen )^ears 
ago Mr. Billcox lost his sight, an event of more 
than ordinary misfortune to a person of his active 
temperament, as he was a very public spirited in- 
dividual, taking earnest part in and sustaining 
methods and plans for increasing the welfare of 
the community, and an earnest worker in the 
ranks of the Republican party. Mrs. Billcox is 
a lady of great intelligence and practical ability, 
having received a good education and through 
reading of the best literature she is keeping her- 
self well informed on the vital questions of the 
day, excelling also in the matronly duties of the 
fireside and the care of her children. She is the 
owner of the Franklin mine, has long been pros- 
perously connected with the cattle industry of the 
state and in the pleasant home a bounteous hos- 
pitality is ever in evidence. Six children have 
come to her present union, Emma, wife of Lloyd 
McGettrick of Dubois, Wyo. ; Jennie T., wife of 
Guy Hoisington of South Pass ; Mary L., wife of 
Elmer Vosburg ; Mina E., wife of John McOmie 
of South Pass; Josephine M., wife of Silas 
Yardnell ; John William. 

JOHN G. BORNER. 

One of the highly respected and well-to-do 
farmers and stockgrowers of Bighorn county, 
whose career furnishes an interesting theme for 
the pen of the biographer, is John G. Borner, 
whose beautiful and well-improved ranch of 360 
acres is located at the mouth of Grey Bull River 
and is almost wholly the product of his individ- 
ual enterprise, thrift and systematic industry. 
All the scenes and associations of his early life 



are foreign to our country and the hopes that 
animated his childhood and youth probably had 
no American coloring, for he was born, reared 
and educated in Saxony, Germany, where his par- 
ents, Tobias and Annie (Gerhart) Borner, long 
lived and flourished, and where the bones of his 
ancestors of countless generations rest. When 
he reached man's estate he longed for a sight 
of the great world that lay beyond his native 
hills and vales, and with the courage and deter- 
mination of his race resolved to have it. The 
great republic across the Atlantic was then the 
land of hope and promise to all the European 
world, and to this he came in 1859, finding a 
home and profitable occupation on a farm in 
Wisconsin. In 1861 he promptly obeyed the 
first call for volunteers and enlisted in Co. A, 
Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. After a service of 
two years in this regiment he was dicharged and 
returned to his Wisconsin home. But the war 
was at its height and the feeling of patriotism 
strong in his breast, so he reenlisted in the Fif- 
tieth Wisconsin, and served in that command 
until the close of the war. Then, when the 
great armies of the contending sections were 
again resolved into the ordinary currents of life 
and seeking among the white harvests of peace- 
ful industry forgetfulness of the red fields of 
battle, whereon great questions of human des- 
tiny had been settled, Mr. Borner came across 
the plains and settled at Salt Lake City. Two 
years later, in 1867, he came to Wyoming and, 
locating at South Pass, engaged in mining for 
two years. From that point he moved to the 
present site of Lander and homesteaded land 
which is now a part of the county poorfarm. On 
this he passed ten prosperous years engaged in 
raising stock and farming, bringing his land to 
a high state of development and furnishing it 
with good buildings and other improvements, 
and in 1887 he sold it to the state. He then 
took up his residence in the Bighorn basin on 
the land which he now occupies at the mouth 
of Grey Bull River, and to the development of 
this property he has since devoted himself. He 
owns 360 acres of good bottom land, much of 
which is under cultivation and vields abundant 



tSSM 




J. G. BORNER. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



539 



crops, and he handles on it large bands of fine 
cattle and horses. While absorbed in his busi- 
ness and giving it close, careful and systematic 
attention, Mr. Borner welcomes the recreation 
and enjoyment which comes from social and 
fraternal intercourse. He is an interested mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity and of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, and an active supporter 
of all good enterprises for the benefit of the 
community. At Lander in 1871 he was married 
to Miss Lena Canary, a native of Ohio. They 
have seven children, May, Tobias, Frances, The- 
resa, Hannah, Bertie and William, all living. 

MILO BURKE. 

Milo Burke, one of the leading stockmen and 
most influential citizens of his section of Wyo- 
ming, has been identified with the stock industry 
all of his mature life. He was born on January 
10, 1866, at North Platte, Neb., whither his pa- 
rents, John and Margaret Burke, came from 
Germany soon after their marriage, and where 
they lived and prospered, rejoicing in the en- 
larged opportunities they enjoyed in the land of 
their adoption, and making the most of them 
through thrift and industry. There, in his na- 
tive place, their son Milo grew to manhood and 
was educated, and there he engaged in the stock 
business as soon as he left school and continued 
in it until 1883, when he came to Wyoming and 
took charge of the X Cattle Company's interest 
in this part of the country until 1887, giving ex- 
cellent service to the company and also securing 
for himself a high reputation as a stockman of 
superior capacity and fertile in resources, as well 
as a man of fine integrity and straightforward- 
ness in every relation of life. In 1887 he started 
a stock enterprise for himself, locating on Ten- 
sleep River, where he now lives and where he 
has a ranch of 1,300 acres, well improved and 
brought to a high state of cultivation. When he 
settled in the neighborhood it was as yet almost 
unsubdued to the uses of civilized life, needing 
the application of just the energetic and sys- 
tematic industry he has given it, under which it 



has been made to "blossom as' the rose" com- 
pared with its former condition. Here, from the 
very waste and heart of the wilderness he has 
carved out an estate of such proportions, natural 
and acquired beauty and symmetrical improve- 
ment and cultivation, that it is considered one of 
the most beautiful and desirable stock ranches 
in the state. In justice it must be said also that 
his cattle and horses are in keeping with the ver- 
dant and picturesque acres on which they have 
their home. He has 600 fine, well-bred cattle and 
100 horses of superior breeds, all kept in the best 
condition by abundant food and the most careful 
and intelligent attention. He has also on his 
estate a sawmill of good proportions, which is 
kept busy at all times by the demands of this 
growing and productive portion of the county. 
In these ways, and others, Mr. Burke has con- 
tributed, and is contributing, to the development 
and improvement of Bighorn county, especially 
his immediate surroundings. His public spirit 
and breadth of view in local affairs, and in all 
that pertains to the welfare of the community 
in which he lives, have long been manifest in 
every line of productive energy and have made 
a visible and permanent mark on the commercial 
and industrial activities. In things that conduce 
to the advancement of his neighborhood and the 
convenience of its people he has ever been active 
and forceful as a promotive factor. He was 
among the potent influences in installing the. 
telephone system in Tensleep, being a member 
of the company which controls and conducts it. 
Fraternally, he is associated with 'the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and in politics is a ser- 
viceable and zealous Democrat, but is by no 
means a seeker of official position. He was once 
elected to the state legislature, but declined to 
serve. On August 27, 1887, he was married to 
Miss Bessie Tannehill of Kansas City, where the 
marriage occurred. She was a native of Illinois, 
and a daughter of John A. and Elizabeth (Lynn) 
Tannehill, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio. 
Her mother is dead and her father now resides 
with Mr. and .Mrs. Burke, who have four chil- 
dren, Cecil G., Bessie M., Milo, Jr., and Lynn. 



54Q 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ISAAC F. CASTO. 

Among the distinctively self-made men of 
Fremont county, Wyoming, who by his per- 
sistent energy and his business endeavors has 
raised himself from a poor lad to a position of 
competence, standing now as one of the pros- 
perous stockmen of the section, we must espe- 
cially mention Isaac F. Casto, whose productive 
and well-improved home ranch is located on the 
Little Popo Agie River, twelve miles south of 
Lander, Wyo. He was born at St. Joseph, Mo., 
on November 19, 1850, a son of James and 
Sarah (Odekirk) Casto, his father being a repre- 
sentative frontiersman and a most successful 
pioneer hunter and trapper. A harnessmaker 
by vocation, his adventurous disposition pre- 
vented him from conducting this trade in any 
one place, for he was a man of action, never 
happy unless in motion. He served gallantly 
as a soldier during the Mexican war, receiving 
quite a severe wound in one of the hotly con- 
tested engagements on Mexican soil. In 185 1 
he made the long western trip across the plains 
to Fort Bridger, his wife and family making the 
same dangerous journey later in the same year. 
Going the next season to Utah, he there met 
with an accident which crippled him for life, 
and, in 1869, removing to California, he survived 
only a few years. His widow remarried with 
•William Wallace Hendry, and their home was 
at Fort Bridger, where Mr. Hendry was acci- 
dentally killed. Mrs. Hendry died in Uinta coun- 
ty, Wyo., in July, 1898, at the age of sixty-four 
years, being a true type of the industrious and 
hospitable frontier woman, whose heart and 
home were ever open to relieve suffering. Mr. 
Casto was the eldest of the nine children of his 
parents, and from their migrating habits and 
frontier life he was deprived of school advan- 
tages, his only attendance at an educational in- 
stitution being one month's time at a public 
school in Utah. But in the school of practical 
experience, and in battling with the world, Mr. 
Casto has acquired an education of better ad- 
vantage to his situation than that received from 
books. This he be° - an as a herder in Utah at 



an early age, and the strenuous life brought 
vigor and experience, and in 1868 he had been 
so prospered that he purchased a yoke of oxen 
and engaged in freighting, making Bear Lake 
Valley, South Pass, Evanston, Green River and 
Fort Hall his objective points, conducting this 
enterprise successfully for five years. There- 
after he was engaged in timber contracts at 
Piedmont, Wyo., for about five years, when, hav- 
ing invested some of his earnings in cattle, he ran 
them in the Fort Bridger country until 1879, 
conducting his operations with skill and dis- 
crimination and with cumulative results, in the 
last mentioned year coming to Willow Creek, 
where he located, soon selling out, however, and 
making his permanent home at his present lo- 
cation, where he is the owner of 200 acres of 
productive land and is still engaged in the stock 
industry, running a band of about 150 head of 
graded Shorthorn cattle, and enjoying the repu- 
tation of being a shrewd man of affairs and a' 
good citizen, being interested in all matters of 
local and public x interest as a member of the 
Republican political party and socially in ac- 
cord with all things tending to the benefit of 
the stock industry and the community. In Utah, 
on August 13, 1875, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Casto and Miss Martha Williams, a native 
of Wales and a daughter of Joseph and Susan 
(Wellen) Williams, who were members of an- 
cient Welsh families. She was a most estimable 
woman, an affectionate mother and wife, and 
held in high esteem. Her death occurred at the 
home ranch on April 21, 1901. Of the six chil- 
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Casto, four are now liv- 
ing, Amy, who died at five years of age ; Alice, 
now Mrs. Mrs. William A. Hancock; Mary E., 
Mrs. Arthur Hallett ; William F. ; an unnamed 
infant, also deceased; Minnie. These have 
brought great joy to the household. 

CHARLES BIRD. 

From everv section and every state of our 
Union have come the men and women of nerve 
and endurance who have settled this great west- 
ern land and made it an important factor in the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



54* 



wealth and progress of the world. The parents 
of Charles Bird, a prominent stockman of Uinta 
county, Wyoming, living near Midway, were 
natives of Illinois and North Carolina respect- 
ively. They were Doctor Franklin and Perlina 
M. (Huff) Bird, and were among the early set- 
tlers of Iowa, where their son Charles was born 
in Pottawattamie county, on October 4, 1868. 
The father rendered valiant service in defense 
of the Union during the Civil War and after his 
return settled down on his farm in Iowa and 
devoted himself to cultivating- it and the rearing 
and education of his family of thirteen children, 
of whom eleven are living. Charles Bird was 
educated in the public schools of Iowa and » 
there learned his trade of blacksmith. When he 
reached his majority, in 1889, he left his home 
and passed a year in Nebraska, working at his 
trade. From there he came to Wyoming and, 
locating at Fontenelle, worked on ranches until 
1896, when he took up a portion of the place on 
which he now lives, which at this time comprises 
1,000 acres of good land, with a large part of it 
well ditched. He has improved it with a new 
two-story, twelve-room house of modern de- 
sign and conveniences, with suitable outhouses, 
sheds, corrals and also other necessary appurte- 
nances. Here he raises cattle on a commensu- 
rate scale and carries on quite extensive farming 
operations. On October 1, 1893, at Midway, 
he was married to Miss Lula C. Holden, a 
daughter of Judge C. W. and Jennie S. (Lane) 
Holclen, now living at Fontenelle. Four chil- 
dren have blessed their union, Clara M., Hilda 
V. and Elsie J., who are living, and Lillian, who 
died in February, 1898, aged about two years. 
Two years or more of Mr. . Bird's life were 
passed in running the stage and mail line be- 
tween Cora and Opal. He is an enterprising 
and progressive man and well esteemed among 
those who known him. 

SAMUEL G. CAVE. 

Born and reared amid the commercial activi- 
ties of Great Britain, pursuing fortune's winning 
smile in mercantile life in that country and our 



own from the time when "manhood darkened on 
his downy cheek" until after he had passed the 
half-century mark on the dusty highway of hu- 
man endeavor, Samuel G. Cave of Weston coun- 
ty, Wyoming-, turned easily and naturally to the 
domain of agriculture and the peaceful and pleas- 
ing- scenes of rural life for the remainder of his 
days when the hour and the opportunity came 
into his life. His parents, Eli and Margaret 
(Morton) Cave were residents of Bristol, Eng- 
land, where the father was a leading hand in 
cotton manufacturing and there the subject of 
this writing first saw the light on March 15, 
1844. He grew to manhood in his native land 
and received his education in the excellent 
schools of Lancashire, where his ancestors had 
lived for generations, and where the remains of 
his parents repose, his mother having died in 
1876 and his father three years later. After 
finishing his education Mr. Cave engaged in 
mercantile business at Manchester, handling a 
line of superior fancy goods in that busy mart, 
and later passed three years as a commission 
merchant in Ireland. This venture was not, how- 
ever, to his taste, and he returned to Manchester 
and again started his former enterprise, con- 
ducting a similar one also at Bradford in York- 
shire. In 1892 he closed out all his mercantile 
interests and coming to the United States, set- 
tled at Omaha, Neb., where he carried on busi- 
ness until 1897. He then removed to Wyoming 
and homesteaded his present ranch on Canyon 
Springs Prairie twenty-six miles north of New- 
castle, where he has 6ince been actively engaged 
in farming and stockraising. Two of his sons 
came' with him to the new state and his change 
of vocation, and they have farms adjoining his. 
On December 6, 1865, in Manchester, England, 
Mr. Cave was united in marriage with Miss 
Elizabeth J. Williams, a native of England of 
Welsh ancestry. They have eight children, Ada, 
Beatrice, Gertrude, Harry, Maggie, Arthur S., 
Samuel W. and Richard. Beatrice is married 
and living in England. All the others are resi- 
dents of the United States. In politics Mr. Cave 
is a Republican, having a deep interest in the 
welfare of his party but without desire for its 



542 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



honors or emoluments. He and his wife are act- 
ive members of the Episcopal church and are 
connected in a helpful way with the benevolent 
and charitable enterprises in which the church 
has an interest, and with whatever concerns the 
good and progress of the community. 

JOSIAH C. COOK. 

One of the leading merchants of Basin in 
Bighorn county, and a citizen prominent and 
active in other lines of productive enterprise, is 
Josiah C. Cook, a pioneer of 1882 and since 
then a devoted worker for the advancement and 
improvement of Bighorn county, earnestly in- 
terested in everything that pertains to her gen 
eral welfare. The state of his nativity is Ohio, 
where he was born on March 13, 1858. His 
parents, Thomas J. and Jane (Workman) Cook, 
were also natives of Ohio, where they passed 
their lives in the tranquillizing and peaceful vo- 
cation of the old patriarchs as tillers of the soil. 
In his native place their son Josiah attained the 
age of eighteen years and received a common 
school education. In 1876 he left the parental 
fireside and boldly stepped out into the world 
to make his own way, coming west to Kansas. 
He spent two years in that state and then went 
for an extended tour of observation through 
New Mexico and Arizona. Four years were 
passed in this adventurous expedition, at the 
end of which he came to Wyoming, reaching the 
state in 1882 and taking up land where the town 
of Lovell now stands. By assiduous effort he 
secured the establishment of a postoffice at that 
point and for a number of years thereafter he 
served as postmaster. The community was 
sparsely setttled at first, but through his efforts, 
and those of others, in providing for its uses 
many of the conveniences of life, that would oth- 
erwise have been long delayed, it built up and im- 
proved rapidly, and its present prosperous and 
progressive condition is the proof of their wis- 
dom and the result of their enterprise. He es- 
tablished a general store, one of the first in 
the Bighorn basin, which has kept pace with 
the times and is now one of the leading mercan- 



tile enterprises of its kind in this part of the 
county. In 1894 he sold this business and re- 
moved to Basin, where he at once opened a 
similar store, which he has been conducting 
since with an expanding volume of trade and a 
corresponding increase in its scope and equip- 
ment, adding new departments, as occasion re- 
quired and enlarging his stock to meet the 
growing demands of a progressive community, 
keeping it up-to-date in every particular. In 
addition to his merchandising business, he has 
been a mail contractor, and in this capacity he 
has been able to render the outlying country 
material service by increasing its mail facili- 
. ties in many ways. He also built and conducts 
the Antlers Hotel, and has a large and well- 
equipped feed and livery barn. All his work in 
the town, in the way of improvements, has been 
well done and stands to the credit of his fore- 
sight and public spirit. His store is a fine two- 
story stone structure, which not only gives 
room for the advantageous display of his large 
and varied stock of goods, but adorns in an 
architectural way the portion of the town in 
which it is situated. He has left without his 
active aid and support no enterprise for the 
improvement of the town or the convenience 
and comfort of its people. When it was pro- 
posed to introduce water into the city, he was 
among the first to give the project encourage- 
ment and substantial assistance and he is now 
the heaviest stockholder in the company which 
controls the works. On September 18. 1894, 
he was married at Billings, Mont., to Miss Char- 
lotte A. Anderson, a native of Sweden, but 
since 1881 a resident of America, living since 
1891 in Wyoming. 

H. M. BULLOCK. 

Born in Provo, Utah, on May 28, 1862. and 
the son of early Mormon emigrants, who, in 
their devotion to their conception of right, en- 
dured the dangers and perils of the long journey 
across the wearying distance of the great plains 
and the resulting hardships of the establishment 
of civilization in an apparently barren desert, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



543 



Harry M. Bullock, now a representative stock- 
man of Uinta County, Wyoming, has seen much 
of both the pleasant and the unpleasant sides of 
pioneer existence. His parents were Jarred J. 
and Rhoda L. (Greene) Bullock, his father being 
a native of New York and his mother of Illi- 
nois. The conditions of his childhood were 
those of the place and period, attendance at the 
primitive public schools intermingled with labor 
and youthful sports. His father removed to 
Uinta county in 1872 and established a stock 
business on the then almost illimitable range. 
He was prosperous, and when Harry was 
twenty years old he embarked in the same un- 
dertaking, in 1888 taking up the land forming 
the original center of his finely improved tract 
of 480 acres, which is not only eligibly located, 
but well improved, with a commodious residence 
and barns, sheds, corrals and the necessary ac- 
companiment's of an increasing and prosperous 
stock business. By his energetic efforts Mr. 
Bullock has greatly improved his estate, making 
it most desirable in attractiveness and comfort, 
as well as in productiveness, and has brought 
it fully up to the highest standards of a stock- 
man's home. He is interested in public matters 
as a member of the Democratic political party, 
and exercises a beneficial influence in his com- 
munity in furthering all schemes and plans of 
public and private improvement. He is consid- 
ered as one of the most useful citizens of the com- 
munity and his family are accorded position in 
the ranks of the best society. By his marriage 
with Miss Nancy C. Johnson, a daughter of 
Snelling M. and Sally H. (Greer) Johnson, na- 
tives of Georgia, he brought the southern qual- 
ity of courtesy to grace his home and also a 
willing and cheerful companion and helpmeet. 
His widowed mother resides at Meadowville, 
Utah. Their children are, Evan M., Lionel and 
Rhoda M. 

THOMAS CONNORS. 

The ancestors of Mr. Connors have for gen- 
erations been residents of Ireland, where he 
himself was born in the citv of Cork, the son 



of Thomas and Mary (Meegan) Connors, both 
natives of the same city. The four children of 
these worthy parents are now widely separated, 
"scattered to the four winds of heaven," neither 
of them knowing anything concerning the 
others. Thomas Connors was early engaged in 
mining, but still earlier assisted his father in 
his lumbering operations until his death about 
1856. Coming to the United States in early life 
it was not long before Mr. Connors was en- 
gaged in arduous but profitable labor in the coal 
mines of Pennsylvania, after some years remov- 
ing to Ohio and there continuing the same vo- 
cation until 1873, when he came to Laramie, 
Wyo., and was connected with the labor of the 
rollingmills until he came to Kemmerer in 1885 
and resumed his old trade of mining, being 
prospered in his undertakings and having many 
friends, particvdarly in the fraternal order of 
the Red Men, of which he is a member. In 
politics Mr. Connors supports the Democratic 
party as the best for the country. 

HON. JAMES H. CLAUSE. 

The present very efficient and popular mayor 
of the city of Rawlins, James H. Clause, was 
born in Springfield, 111., in i860, where he was 
reared and educated. His father was Joseph 
Clause, a native of Germany, who, on coming to 
the United States, settled on a farm in Illinois, 
where he passed the remainder of his life, dying 
at the age of sixty-five years. Joseph Clause 
married in Illinois, Miss Elizabeth McClure, a 
native of Ireland, who passed away in 1882, at 
the age of seventy-two, the mother of six chil- 
dren, among whom was the present mayor of 
Rawlins, James H. Clause, who had lived in 
Springfield until the death of his mother, then 
came to Wyoming, as presenting a field in which 
a young man might find scope for the develop- 
ment of his innate ambition, or, at all events, of 
bettering his conditions in life. He arrived in 
Rawlins in March, 1882, and at once became en- 
gaged in the saloon business, with which he has 
been ever since connected, and also became 
identified with the Osborne Live Stock Co., and 



544 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



with the real-estate business, the ice business, 
the grain trade and mining, in all of which he 
still retains his interests, and in all of which he 
met with invariable success, thus realizing the 
anticipations of his early years. It is perhaps 
necessary to say however that this success has 
been due to his own superior business qualifica- 
tions, foresight, shrewdness, tact in availing him- 
self of opportunities as they presented them- 
selves, and also indefatigable industry, with all of 
which faculties Mr. Clause is happily endowed. 
In 1890 Mr. Clause was united in marriage with 
Miss Ella Omeria, a native of Ireland and a 
daughter of Robert and Julia Omeria, who came 
from Ireland to the United States in 1882 or- 
1883 and settled in Rawlins, where both parents 
passed the remainder of their lives and died at 
the same age, seventy years, in 1901. On Feb- 
ruary 11, 1901, Mrs. Ella Clause was called away 
by death, being a devout Catholic, an affectionate 
wife, a very loving mother and possessing most 
domestic habits. She left behind her, to mourn 
her irreparable loss, her disconsolate husband and 
five children, who are named William, Esther, 
Vinson and Veronica (twins) and James R. 
Li politics Mr. Clause has been a* stanch Demo- 
crat ever since he has been old enough to exer- 
cise his franchise, and his faithful work for his 
party bas culminated by his being rewarded in 
his election to his present exalted office of mayor 
of Rawlins to which on April 14, 1903, he was 
elected for another term by a highly gratifying 
and complimentary vote. But he has served ex- 
cellently well in other public positions, such as 
city trustee for six years and city treasurer for 
two years, and his faithful performance of the 
duties pertaining to these offices* bas, it will be 
seen, culminated in his election to his present 
honorable and highly useful office. 

JAMES EARLY. 

In the review of the life of Mr. Early we are 
to write a brief synopsis of the activities of 
a brave soldier, much of whose life has been 
passed in dangerous campaigns against wily 
savages, who has been in numberless "perils by 



land and sea." He is now a useful citizen, per- 
forming in the "plain times of peace" the same 
earnest attendance to the call of duty and the 
same industry in its performance. He is now the 
owner of a pleasant home of 160 acres of land, 
and engaged in ranching and stockraising. 
James Early. was born in County Tyrone, Ire- 
land, in March 1829, the son of Hugh and 
Sarah (Kearney) Early, descendants of old-time 
honored families of the Emerald Isle. In 1854 
Mr. Early emigrated from Ireland to the United 
States and soon after landing enlisted in the 
U. S. military service, in which connection he 
was sent to Oregon and to Fort Vancouver, 
passing six years of eventful life on the coast 
and meeting with many thrilling experiences. 
After his muster-out he reenlisted in Xew York 
City in June, i860, and for a time was engaged 
in drilling recruits in that city, not long there- 
after being assigned to his old organization, Co. 
K, Fourth U. S. Infantry, whose eventful for- 
tunes he followed for three more years, receiv- 
ing an honorable discharge at Fort Sedgwick, 
Colo., in 1863, soon reenlisting, for his third 
term of service, and proceeding to Laramie, 
Wyo., and from there to Frankfort, Ky., where 
was passed the remainder of his enlistment. 
Once more a free man, he almost immediately 
reenlisted in the same company and accom- 
panied it to Fort Wayne, Mich., and to Omaha 
Neb., but soon, on account of Indian troubles, 
it was despatched to the far West. In 1871 he 
was stationed at Fort Bridger under General 
Flindt. His term of service here expiring, he 
again became a soldier by another enlistment 
in his old company. This term was a compara- 
tively quiet one, as his regiment was kept on 
garrison duty at Fort Bridger until again he 
received his discharge. Mr. Early saw the va- 
rious wars with the Nez Perces, the Kiowas, the 
Spokanes and other hostile tribes, and from 
7855 and i860 valiantly participated in some 
hard fighting and met with many hardships and 
thrilling episodes. A brave old soldier, he ever 
enjoyed the confidence of his comrades and of- 
ficers, being for a long time sergeant of his 
company. In 1876 he located t6o acres of gov- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



545 



eminent land a short distance below Fort Brid- 
ger, and made that his home and at the pres- 
ent writing (1902) he is looking after the 160 
acres owned by his daughter immediately at 
the old fort. He has ever been a stalwart 
Republican and with his family are faithful mem- 
bers of the Catholic church. In 1861 he mar- 
ried Miss Ellen B. Norton, who shared his joys 
and sorrows for thirty-eight years and died on 
December 19, 1902, at her home in Fort Bridger. 
By this marriage there has been four children, 
Christopher J., who lives near his father; John 
F., who died on September 11, 1896; Mary D., 
a professional nurse of Salt Lake City ; Kath- 
erine. C, a stenographer of the same city. It 
must be pleasant indeed after so long a life of 
discipline to have the bands relaxed and to live 
in peaceful quiet in the consolation of having 
done life's work well and blest with children 
who occupy useful and honored positions in 
society. May the twilight of life be long and 
filled with sunshine for this old veteran. 

GEORGE N. GRIFFIN. 

Long the assistant superintendent of the 
Diamond Coal and Coke Co., at Diamondville, 
Wyo., and now the efficient superintendent of 
the plant of the Washoe Copper Co., at Storrs, 
Mont., Mr. George N. Griffin is a native of 
Lowestuft, England, where he was born on 
July 16, 1861, a son of William and Susanna 
(Nichols) Griffin, the former of whom followed 
the precarious and dangerous calling of a fish- 
erman and sailor, to which he superadded the 
fish commission business, although his parents 
were farming people. William Griffin was a 
devout member of the Congregational church 
and also an able associate of John B. Gough, 
the famous apostle of temperance, and died in 
King Park county, Colo., having first settled in 
Illinois when coming to the United States in 
1879. William and wife had born to them eight 
children, George N. being the youngest, and 
of these eight there are seven still living. 
George N. Griffin received a common-school ed- 
ucation in his native land and this was supple- 



mented by an attendance in the schools of 
America, to which country he came in 1880. He 
had started at work when ten years old in the 
coal mines in his native land and was well 
trained to his calling, which experience has 
stood him well in hand throughout his later 
years. He came to Wyoming in 1886, was 
elected as a member of the First Legislative 
Assembly of the state from Uinta county, and 
about this time became a fire boss, which position 
he held for eighteen months when the mines were 
shut down and Mr. Griffin changed his residence 
to Colorado, was there engaged in a coal mine 
for about nine months and then accepted the 
position of mine foreman for the Sheridan Fuel 
Co., at Higby, Wyo., the duties of which he 
most satisfactorily administered for three years. 
Mr. Griffin next bought an interest in the Felix 
Coal Co., and for two years was the superin- 
tendent of the plant. He then went to Diamond- 
ville and acted as foreman of No. 1 mine about 
two and one-half years, and after a highly ap- 
preciated service here of time passed as fore- 
man and assistant superintendent, he became 
the superintendent of the entire plant of the 
Washoe Copper Co., located at Storrs, Mont., 
his present position. In 1890 Mr. Griffin was 
elected on the Republican ticket as a member 
of the Wyoming State Senate, an office which 
he filled from the first to the credit of himself 
and to the unalloyed satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. Mr. Griffin has not confined his ser- 
ices in behalf of his fellow citizens to his leg- 
islative functions alone, but is also president of 
the State Arbitration Commission, also being 
a member of the school board, and a member of 
the town council of Diamondville. He finds 
his place of worship inside the doors of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, of which his wife is 
also a devoted member. Fraternally, Mr. Griffin 
is a member of the A. O. U. W., in the work 
of which he takes an active and interested part, 
and in his domestic relations is a model family 
man, Mrs. Griffin furnishing him in her per- 
son one of the ablest of auxiliaries in this re- 
spect and making of the home an earthly par- 
adise. The marriasre of G. N. Griffin was eel- 



546 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ebrated in Rock Island, 111., on May 8, 1882, 
with Miss Catherine Proud, a daughter of John 
and Hannah (Wilkes) Proud, natives of Eng- 
land, and to this happy union have been born 
nine children, of whom eight are still living, 
Edith, Arthur, Maud, Ruth, Bessie, Harry P., 
Philip A. and Walter. Mr. Griffin has taken 
a course in the correspondence school of Scran- 
ton, Pa., and holds a certificate from that school 
as a graduate from the mining course, which 
is a guarantee of his standing on a high plane 
in mineralogy. 

EDWARD EATON. 

Edward Eaton, of Tensleep, the stock fore- 
man of the Osage Cattle Co., of Bighorn county, 
has come to his knowledge of the stock business 
through a wide and varied experience, embrac; 
ing every phase of it as exhibited in various 
places and under a great variety of circum- 
stances. He rode the range in Colorado and 
Wyoming in his earlier years, he was active in 
the industry under the summer sun of New 
Mexico, he has served in several capacities with 
a number of the leading cattle companies of the 
Northwest, so that he is through long practice 
a thorough stockman, and he had by nature 
and early inclination a decided aptitude for the 
business. Among the men engaged in it in 
this part of the world few are better known or 
hold a higher rank for practical knowledge of 
its different branches. Mr. Eaton was born on 
February 6, 1858, in the state of New York, the 
son of William and Anne (Blackner) Eaton, the 
former a native of Kentucky and the latter oi 
Massachusetts. When he was three years old 
they removed to Minnesota and in 1868 farther 
west to Kansas, locating in Marshall county, 
and there he attended school at intervals be- 
tween work on the farm and reached the age 
of seventeen. Then, in 1875, he took up his 
residence in Colorado and for three years rode 
the range in the cattle industry in that state 
and Wyoming. He also spent a year in New 
Mexico connected with the same industry. In 
1879 ne came to Wyoming and settled here per- 



manently, living until 1892 in Johnson county 
and working for the 71 Cattle Co., and other 
cattle outfits. In 1892 he came to the Big Horn 
basin and for a number of years was with the 
Bay State Cattle Co., in a leading capacity, aft- 
er which he became a stock foreman for the 
Osage Cattle Co., a position which he still fills 
with great credit to himself and to the satisfac- 
tion of the company. In this capacity he has 
general charge of the stock belonging to this 
great organization and all the facilities which 
his long and varied experience has given him 
are called into play. The duties are exacting 
and responsible to a high degree, great readi- 
ness and resourcefulness being required in their 
proper discharge. There is scarcely an hour in 
the day or night when some unexpected emer- 
gency may not arise and the man in charge 
must ever be on the alert. Mr. Eaton's famil- 
iarity with all phases of the business and his 
knowledge of the men engaged in it, give him 
special fitness for the successful supervision of 
a large outfit like the one with which he is 
connected, and make his services of unusual 
value in this regard. It is much to say of any 
man who is employed in a place of great trust 
and responsibility that he meets its require- 
ments in a complete and masterful manner ; but 
this is true of Mr. Eaton, and it is but a just 
tribute to merit to place it on record here. 

NORRIS W. GRIGGS. 

Beginning the battle of life for himself at 
the age of twelve and since then making his 
own way in the world, Norris W. Griggs, of 
Bigpiney, Uinta county, Wyoming, got his ed- 
ucation in the hard school of experience and 
fully paid the price of that exacting school- 
master in toil and struggle for every foot of 
progress he has made. He was born on De- 
cember 29, 1864, in the state of New York, 
where his parents, Reuben and Asenath (Aik- 
ens) Griggs were born and reared, flourished 
and grew old, the father, who was educated for 
the ministry but followed farming as an occupa- 
tion, dying in 1892. He was a man of great 




o 

§ 
o 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



547 



public spirit and popularity and had an honor- 
able record in many official stations. The 
mother still lives in New York and both were 
of old Colonial stock of English ancestry. Mr. 
Griggs was one of a family of six children, five 
of whom are still living. He attended the pub- 
lic schools at intervals until he was twelve years 
old, and then going to live with a sister, worked 
for himself from that time forward. At the 
age of sixteen he came west and locating on 
the Fontenelle, engaged as, a hand on a ranch. 
In 1880 he came to his present location and 
for four years was employed by McKay & Budd. 
After this he worked for A. W. Smith five years 
while he had the "circle" cattle. In the mean- 
time he had taken up land and at the end of 
his employment with Mr. Smith he began a 
cattle business on his own account. Devoting 
himself assiduously to his work, bringing to 
bear on its improvement all his natural facul- 
ties of mind' and body, he has built up his in- 
dustry to proportions of magnitude and value 
and increased his landed estate to 1,000 acres. 
His land is fertile and bountiful in product, 
yielding large annual crops of excellent hay and 
much grain. His cattle are graded Herefords 
and his horses of superior breed. He is rec- 
ognized as one of the leaders in the business 
and has high standing among the people who 
know him in business or socially. On January 
6, 1895, Mr. Griggs was united in marriage with 
Miss Marcia Merrill, a native of Ohio and a 
daughter of Orson and Rebekah (Allen) ■ Mer- 
rill, the father a native of Maryland and the 
mother of Ohio. The)' emigrated from Ohio to 
Utah and died in that state. Mr. and Mrs. 
Griggs have two children, Percy M. and Norris 
R. Their home is a pleasant resort for their 
many friends who find in it an inspiring and 
gracious hospitality. 

DUDLEY N. HALE. 

Coming to Wyoming on the verge of his 
early manhood, and when he was but nineteen 
years of age, and since then being closely iden- 
tified with the exhilarating life and progressive 
institutions of the Northwest, contributing on 



every field of duty to their advancement and 
development, Dudley N. Hale, of Bighorn coun- 
ty, a highly esteemed citizen of Basin, has won 
the place he holds in the regard and confidence 
of his fellows and demonstrated his right to hon- 
orable mention on the roster of the progres- 
sive men of Wyoming, wherever it is displayed. 
He was born in Wisconsin on June 2, 1861, the 
son of Nelson and Jeannette (Curley) Hale, the 
former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter 
of New York. When he was eleven years of 
age the family moved to Kansas and he re- 
mained in that state until 1879, attending the 
public schools and assisting his parents on the 
farm. He then started out in life for himself 
and, after a year of effort in Kansas, in 1880 
came to Wyoming, where for a year he enjoyed 
the free and exciting existence of a hunter and 
trapper in the primeval solitude where the foot 
of civilized man had seldom rested. At the 
end of that year he went to Custer county, Mon- 
tana, and for a few years there followed the 
same occupation. In that county he was ap- 
pointed deputy sheriff and served two years. 
Returning in 1888 to Wyoming, he located a 
ranch and until 1900 resided on it, actively en 
gaged in the stock business. He was then ap- 
pointed sheriff of Bighorn county and at the 
end of his term he sold his ranch and stock and 
took up his residence in the town of Basin, in 
which he has since been a forceful and poten- 
tial element in matters of public enterprise and 
improvement and managed his large and val- 
uable mining properties. He is a stockholder in 
the Bighorn Canal Co., and was one of the orig- 
inators and promoters of its enterprise. He 
is also connected in a leading way with other 
industrial and commercial factors in the life 
of the community, and to every duty of an ex- 
alted citizenship gives due and conscientious 
attention. In 1884, in Custer count)', Mon- 
tana, Mr. Hale was married to Miss Sarah E. 
Scott, a native of Minnesota, whose parents 
were early settlers in the Northwest. They have 
three children, Nettie, Rosa B. and Bessie E. 
The head of the house is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America and 
also of the Royal Neighbors of America. 



548 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



JOHN D. HOPKINS. 

John D. Hopkins, now one of the prominent 
stockgrowers and farmers of Bighorn county, 
living near Bigtrails postoffice, is a Western 
man in every particular and glories in the prog- 
ress,, development and potency of the section 
to which he belongs. He was born on October 
14, 1862, at Santa Rosa, California, the son of 
Richard and Mary Hopkins, and when he was 
a year old they removed to Arizona. There he 
lived to the age of sixteen and received his ed- 
ucation. In 1878 he came to Wyoming and, lo- 
cating in the vicinity of Cheyenne, he rode the 
range in the cattle industry for several years. 
He then went to New Mexico and trailed cat- 
tle to this state, for three years repeating this 
work and getting his cattle at different places in 
the South. In 1882 he settled on Bridger 
Creek and laid the foundations of Deranch, and 
two years later came to the Bighorn basin and 
passed two years in the service of the X Cat- 
tle Co., one with Milo Burke and one with the 
Embar Cattle Co. In 1888 he entered the em- 
ploy of the Bay State Cattle Co., and remained 
with that organization until 1892. For three 
years he served as deputy sheriff of Johnson 
county, at the close of his term of office en- 
gaging in the stock business for himself on 
land he had taken up and which he has since 
improved with good buildings and fences, sup- 
plied with every appliance for his work and 
beautified and adorned as a home for himself 
and his family. His ranch comprises 480 acres 
and his herd at this writing consists of 600 fine 
cattle and seventy-five horses of superior breeds. 
In public local affairs he has always been deeply 
and intelligently interested, endeavoring to 
lead the progressive thought of his community 
along the lines of healthy development, freely 
giving his aid to all good enterprises tending in 
this direction. Imbued with this species of 
public spirit he has not hesitated to take his 
place either in the ranks of the people or in 
official station, as circumstances seemed to de- 
mand, and to work towards the desired end. 
He was the first assessor of Bigfhorn county and 



administered thei affairs of the office with a ju- 
dicious discrimination, looking both to the wel- 
fare of the county and the rights of private cit- 
izens. In 1894, at Redbank, Wyo., he married 
with Miss Stella Goodrich, a native of Colorado, 
and a daughter of Jacob and Martha Sartain, 
natives of Indiana and Missouri, and three 
daughters have blessed their union, Elsie, Mar- 
garet and Bessie. To the beautiful home in 
which they live, which is one of the architect- 
ural and artistic triumphs of the neighborhood, 
they add sunshine and grace and aid in making 
it one of the most attractive homes of- the county. 

CHARLES DANIELSON. 

One of the most popular as well as prosper- 
ous farmers and stockmen of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, Mr. Charles Danielson, has his home- 
stead on Bear River, about twenty miles south 
of Evanston. He was born in Sweden in De- 
cember, 185 1, and is the tenth child in the pro- 
lific family of Daniel Oleson, who was a son 
of Ole Watson. Charles Danielson was edu- 
cated in the excellent schools of his native land, 
which the law compelled him to attend until he 
was fourteen years of age, after which he was 
engaged in mining until 1887, when he came to 
the United States, settling in Wyoming and 
found employment in Evanston, where he re- 
sided until 1897, when he came to his present 
location and purchased a homestead of 320 
acres, where he has since devoted his time and 
attention to raising and dealing in cattle. He 
was joined in marriage in Sweden in 1872 with 
Miss Sophia Israel, daughter of Israel Johnson, 
and this union has been graced with eight chil- 
dren,- Selma B., who died in Sweden at the age 
of five years, eleven months ; Anna, now the 
wife of Henry Snow, and living near Evanston, 
Wyo. ; Carl G. ; Mary E., who died in Sweden at 
the age of four years ; Mary Wilhelmina ; Hy- 
rum and Joseph, twins ; Halmer. The parents 
are members of the Mormon church, active in 
following all of its beneficent teachings, and in 
the good work of the church they take an act- 
ive part. To the industry and enterprise of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



549 



such men as Mr. Danielson the prosperity of all 
new states is due, for the reason that the na- 
tives of Europe are trained to useful manual 
occupations, which in after life are employed 
practically in the development of the resources 
of the new countries in which they pass their 
remaining years, as the recompense for their 
labor far exceeds that which they would receive 
for the same exertions in their native land, and 
results, as a rule, in retirement in advanced life 
on comfortable competences. The success of 
Mr. Danielson is perhaps to be envied, but all 
credit should be given to him, as well as to all 
others who overcome frontier hardships. 

JOHN T. HUFF. 

John T. Huff, of Atlantic City, Wyoming, 
descends from old Colonial stock, his great- 
grandfather Van Houten gallantly participating 
in the War of the Revolution on the roster 
of the Patriots, while his grandfather showed 
equal patriotism in the War of 1812. The mil- 
itary record of the family was broken by the 
death of Mr. Huff's father early in the Civil 
War, but he himself had experiences enough 
of a soldier in that great contest to amply main- 
tain prestige for the family. Mr. Huff was born 
in Waterloo, N. Y., on' February 12, 1842, a 
son of Richard and Hannah (Van Houten) Huff, 
both natives of New York state, the father be- 
ing a carpenter and diligently pursuing that 
trade until his death in 1862 at the age of fifty- 
six years, the mother surviving him until 1869 
when occurred her death. The common schools 
of New York furnished the education acquired 
by her son, John T., who early became inter- 
ested in practical life by migrating westward 
and identifying himself with railroading as a 
fireman oh the C. B. & Q. Railroad, soon there- 
after relinquishing this position to enlist, in 
August, 1862, in Co. E, Eighty-ninth Illinois 
Infantry, whose historic fortunes on tented 
fields and bloody marches he was connected 
with until transferred in 1863 to the First Mis- 
sissippi Marine Brigade, serving with this or- 
ganization until its muster-out in February, 



1865. The war record of Mr. Huff was a noted 
one. ' He was a participant in numerous hotly 
contested battles, took part in the historic 
siege of Vicksburg, also accompanied General 
Banks on the disastrous Red River expedition, 
and was in many lesser engagements and con- 
tests with bands of guerrillas. On the return of 
peace he returned to railroading and to firing 
and was employed in that capacity on the 
Chicago and Northwestern in Iowa before that 
road was completed to Council Bluffs. In the 
spring of 1867 he entered the civilian service of 
the United States and was employed in the 
construction of the fort at Cheyenne, Wyoming. 
One year passed in government service and 
then he came to Atlantic City, engaged in suc- 
cessful mining and here he has since made his 
home and been associated with various branches 
of business activity. From 1873 to 1885 ne con " 
ducted the brewery, and for a time he was quite 
extensively connected with sheepraising, being 
now the owner of a fine ranch of 640 acres of 
land on the Big Sandy River, where he is con- 
structing an irrigation ditch at the estimated 
cost of $8,000. Fie is now the genial landlord 
of the chief hotel of Atlantic City, besides being 
in the saloon business. He is an active mem- 
ber of society, interested in all matters of gen- 
eral and local improvement, and is prominently 
identified with the principles and policies of 
the Republican party. Mr. Huff is a good cit- 
izen, a popular townsman and a business man 
of integrity and sterling honesty. In May, 
1872, the marriage rites uniting Mr. Huff and 
Miss Ellen McCarty were celebrated. She was 
a native of New York. They have four chil- 
dren, Maud, wife of Henry Williams ; Alma ; 
Viola E. ; Ellen. The family holds distinctive 
rank in the social circles of the town, the home 
being a center of attractive hospitality. 

JOHN DONAHUE. 

The ancestry of John Donahue, originally 
from Ireland, was established in Indiana early in 
its history, and in that state his father and 
his mother, William and Tempie (Mendenhall) 



55o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Donahue, were born and reared. They became 
residents of Iowa and there in 1847 their son 
John was born. When he was nine years old 
they removed to Linn county, Kan., and there 
he received a limited education in the public 
schools. When he reached the age of fifteen he 
started in life for himself, going to Dakota and 
becoming a postrider in the service of the U. S. 
government and serving in that capacity for a 
number of years. From Dakota he soon went to 
Texas and for a time was a range rider in that 
state. He made seven trips from Texas north 
with cattle and in 1877 he came to Wyoming, 
settling in the Sweetwater country where he 
again rode the range, continuing the occupation 
until 1892. He then for a short time was en- 
gaged in farming and raising stock on Powder 
River, within the same year coming to the Big 
Horn basin and began in that section of the state 
the farming and stockgrowing operations which 
he is still conducting with success and profit, 
handling from sixty to fully one hundred head of 
fine-blooded cattle. He also owns and manages 
a hotel and a feed-stable in Hyattville, Wyo., 
being popular as a boniface and as a caterer, 
while his stable is a great resort for persons 
having need of its accommodations. Mr. Dona- 
hue has been active in politics wherever he has 
lived long enough to acquire a residence and 
his counsel as a party adviser has been much 
sought and appreciated. He was one of the early 
deputy sheriffs of Johnson county and as a pub- 
lic official fully sustained the esteem in which he 
was held as a private citizen and business man 
and one of the forceful and enterprising fac- 
tors in the community. He was married in 
Hyattville on February 11, 1893, to Miss Callie 
Hatten, a native of Ohio. 

HENRY HOMER. 

This veteran stockman, whose ranch is on 
Bear River, eighteen miles south of Evanston, 
Uinta county, Wyo., was born in Milwaukee, 
Wis., on April 12, 1850, a son of Andrew and 
Ingabar (Adams) Homer, both natives of Nor- 
way and who came to the United States in 1848. 
Andrew Homer was a farmer by calling and on 



coming to America he located in Salt Lake coun- 
ty, Utah, in i860, after having passed the inter- 
vening time in the East, and later came to Uinta 
county, Wyo., dying, however, in Utah in 1890, 
his remains being interred in Mill Creek Ward 
cemetery. He has been a very prominent leader 
in the Church of the Latter Day Saints and was 
also very active in the management of the local 
affairs of his county, filling several minor offices 
with the sole purpose of being of use to his fel- 
low citizens, rather than for the sake of the emol- 
ument they afforded. Mrs. Ingabar (Adams) 
Homer died in Wisconsin in 1854 and was buried 
in Milwaukee. She had borne her husband five 
children, as follows : Henrietta, the deceased 
wife of H. O. Young, of Park City, Utah ; Ellen 
M. ; Netta; Malinda; who all died young, and 
Henry, whose name heads this biographical 
narrative. By his second wife, Jennie, to whom 
he was married in 1855, in Wisconsin, Andrew 
Homer had four other children, Jerry, now liv- 
ing in Kansas, Summit county, Utah ; Andrew, 
a well-known resident of Bigpiney, Uinta county, 
Wyo. ; Maggie, now residing in Salt Lake City ; 
Hiram, whose residence is in Park City, Utah. 
Henry Homer was educated in Utah and after 
quitting school he was steadily engaged in min- 
ing in that state for about seven years. He next 
engaged in farming and stockraising, which he 
continuued to follow in Utah until 1884, when he 
came to Wyoming and entered the homestead in 
which he now lives, where he owns a ranch of 
about 800 acres, which he devotes to cattlerais- 
ing. He was united in the bonds of matrimony 
in Utah, on October 8, 1874, with Miss Kate 
Johnson, daughter of Andrew and Mary Eliza- 
beth (Johnson) Johnson, both natives of Norway. 
Her father was a son of Andrew and Elizabeth 
Johnson and the mother a daughter of Christo- 
pher Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Homer have had 
a family of eleven children, viz : Elizabeth H., 
who died at the age of six years and whose re- 
mains were interred in Summit county, L T tah; 
Irene M., wife of Robert McClaren, of Park City, 
Utah, died July 24, 1896, at the age of twenty- 
two years, and was buried in Park City ; William 
H., who died at the age of two years and was 
buried in Marysville, L T tah ; Henry W. : Rodney 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



55* 



F. ; Emma E. ; Frank T. ; Curtis L. ; Ralph C. ; 
Burtch D. ; Robin J., all still living. The father 
of Mrs. Homer died on March 27, 1896, in New 
Mexico at the age of seventy-four years and her 
mother is now living in that place at the advanced 
age of eighty-four years. She bore her husband 
five children, as follows : Margaret, now the 
widow of Rodney Dutcher; Kate, who is Mrs. 
Henry Homer; Mary A., wife of Albert Farns- 
worth of New Mexico ; James, deceased ; Emma, 
wife of James Jensen, of New Mexico. Mr. 
Homer has been very successful as a cattleraiser 
and dealer since he took up his abode in Wyo- 
ming, and is now one of the prominent citizens 
of Uinta county. He is a very public spirited 
citizen, being ever ready with his means to aid 
in the promotion of improvements of all kinds and 
encourages all projects designed for the increas- 
ing the comforts of the general public, by whom 
he is held in the highest esteem. 

SAMUEL W. HYATT. 

It is much to any man's credit to well sus- 
tain the institutions, the interests, the reputa- 
tion and the spirit of the community in which 
he is born and reared, and help to carry for- 
ward by his character and industry its life and 
activities along the lines of healthy progress 
and beneficence. But it is perhaps a far higher 
tribute to his credit to carry those activities into 
a new country, to there establish them in full 
force and vigor as a new center of civilization 
and benefaction, from which may radiate their 
good influences for the stimulus of every com- 
mercial, educational and moral force throughout 
a large environment. That he has done this is 
in brief the life story of Samuel W. Hyatt, of 
Hyattville in Bighorn county, a pioneer in that 
vicinity and the founder of the town which bears 
his honored name. He was born in North Car- 
olina, April 2, 1838, the son of George W. and 
Mahala (Hammons) Hyatt, the former a native 
of Maryland and the latter of Pennsylvania. 
His parents took him to Georgia in their re- 
moval thither when he was but seven years old 
and he there resided until he reached the age 
of nineteen and was educated there. In 1857 



he went to Browiiwood, Tex., and in 1861 en- 
gaged in merchandising, continuing this busi- 
ness Until he enlisted in the Confederate army 
in which he gave most gallant service and at- 
tained the commission of colonel of the Sixteenth 
Texas Volunteers, C. S. A., during his military 
life receiving four wounds. In 1884 he came to 
Buffalo, Wyoming, where he conducted a mer- 
cantile enterprise until 1886, when he removed to 
the location which he now occupies and opened 
a store as the nucleus of a settlement and se- 
cured land around his buildings. As time 
passed the need of a definite town organization 
become more and more urgent and, with char- 
acteristic public spirit, he laid out the town site 
which was named in his honor. He was its first 
postmaster, its leading merchant, its impelling 
spirit and its vital breath for a number of years, 
and has the satisfaction of seeing his faith and 
works therein realized in the beautiful and 
thriving political entity to which it has risen. 
When he was appointed postmaster of this of- 
fice he was the only postmaster in the Big Horn 
basin, which indicates the undeveloped con- 
dition of the country and the courage and en- 
terprise of the man who was willing to forego 
all the advantages of a more advanced civiliza- 
tion and endure the privations and perform the 
labors necessarily incident to life on the fron- 
tier. He- was just the man for the time and the 
place. He worked assiduously in getting mail 
routes in this part of the country and, in con- 
nection with the late Governor Richards, estab- 
lished and put into operation a system of gen- 
eral public education, having the dark smoke of 
schoolhouse fires ascending to greet the morn- 
ing wherever the circumstances required. On 
his arrival in this locality he took up home- 
stead and preemption claims and increased the 
volume of his land to 400 acres by subsequent 
acquisitions. Hyattville was laid out in 1887 
and he continued to merchandise there until his 
store was destroyed by fire in June, 1900. Since 
then he has given his attention mainly to the 
interests of his ranch and his stock business. 
It need scarcely be said that his ranch is one 
of the features of the neighborhood, impressive 
in its extent, its variety of soil, elevation and 



552 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



products, also in the advanced state of im- 
provement to which it has been brought, with 
its attractive buildings arranged with a view to 
the convenience of the work on the place and 
also for artistic unity and picturesqueness. His 
cattle and horses are of good quality and well- 
bred, the standard being high. In addition to 
the interests concentered on the ranch Mr. 
Hyatt conducts a livery and feed business in the 
town, and he also owns valuable land in Texas. 
In the town he founded he has always a deep 
and a serviceable interest, ever forward in aid- 
'ing whatever may be conducive to its welfare 
and progress. He was potential in its creation 
and he has been zealous and constant in stim- 
ulating its growth and directing the trend of 
its moral and mercantile energies. He is also 
connected in a leading way with the Basin Wat- 
er-works, giving to the affairs of the company a 
due share of his attention and time. In fra- 
ternal relations Mr. Hyatt is identified with the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. His first 
marriage occurred in Texas in i860 when he 
was united with Miss Emeline Majors, a native 
of Tennessee, who died in Texas. They had six 
children, of whom three are living, Mattie, Lee 
and Emeline. His second marriage was to 
Miss Sarah Johnson, then of Paris, Texas, where 
she died. He married a third time in Texas, on 
this occasion with Miss Melissa Bradshaw of 
Paris. She died at Buffalo, Wyoming, leaving 
one child, Ida. The fourth marriage, which was 
to Miss Elizabeth Calhoun, took place at Lead- 
ville, Colo., on November 27, 1890. They have 
one child, Samuel C. Mrs. Hyatt is a native of 
Virginia, but has long been a .resident of the 
Northwest and, one of the leading ladies in her 
portion of the state, she is active in works of 
benevolence and highly esteemed in social 
circles. In his military service Mr. Hyatt was 
wounded at Shiloh, was in the siege of Vicks- 
burg, participated in the successful Red River 
campaign, was active in the battle of Pea 
Ridge and at New Orleans, and was connected 
with numerous other hotly contested and his- 
toric battles of the Civil War,' serving under 
Generals Scurry, McCullough and Kirby Smith. 



H. R. JONES. 

A prosperous stockman of Carbon county, 
Wyoming, and a pioneer of that section of the 
state, H. R. Jones, of Encampment, is a native of 
Ashtabula county, Ohio, born on April 24, 1845, 
the son of H. L. R. Jones and Cornelia (Richard- 
son) Jones, natives of Connecticut. His father's 
family were prominent in the Colonial history of 
America and many of them bore distinguished 
part in the- early days of the republic. His pater- 
nal grandfather, Drayton Jones, was a native of 
Connecticut, one of its leading citizens. His pa- 
ternal great-grandfather, Israel Jones, a colonel 
in the Revolutionary army, was with Washington 
at Valley Forge, and gallantly served until the in- 
dependence of the colonies was conceded bv 
Great Britain. His mother's family also took a 
foremost part in early American history, his 
maternal grandfather, Gideon Mills, a lieuten- 
ant in the Colonial army, being one of the 
heroes of that memorable contest. Both the 
Jones and Richardson families removed to the 
Western Reserve of Ohio, among the earliest 
of the pioneers of that lovely section. Col. 
Israel Jones was also an officer in the War of 
1812 and one of the foremost American patriots 
of his time. The Jones family followed dairying 
in Ohio, while the Richardsons were chiefly en- 
gaged in lumbering and sawmill industries. 
The father of H. R. Jones disposed of his Ohio 
property in 1854 and removed to Wisconsin. 
He remained there one year and then went to 
Iowa, and soon passed on to Minnesota. Here 
he engaged in farming and dairying for a num- 
ber of • years, meeting with considerable suc- 
cess. In 1865 he disposed of his farm in Min- 
nesota, and traveled over the long trail to Col- 
orado. Here he remained one year, then es- 
tablished his home in Kansas, where he followed 
agricultural pursuits for a number of years, 
thence removing to Wyoming, where was his 
home for about four years, when he moved with 
his family to Salt Lake City, Utah. Here he 
was residing at the time of his decease, which 
occurred in 1899. He left a family of four chil- 
dren, the subject of this sketch being the eldest. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



553 



His early life was passed in Minnesota, where 
he received his education. In October, 1861, he 
enlisted in Co. K, Third Minnesota Infantry, 
and was mustered into the U. S. service under 
Colonel Lester, at Fort Snelling, and was then 
sent to Louisville, Ky., and assigned to the 
Western Reserve of the Federal army. He 
served with this department until the close of 
the war and participated in the siege of Vicks- 
burg, the battle of Green River, and other en- 
gagements. He was mustered out at Duvalls 
Bluff, Ark., on September 2, 1865, and then 
made his home in Denver, Colo., where he re- 
mained until 1867, when he came to the ter- 
ritory of Wyoming, at first making his head- 
quarters at Fort Saunders. Here he carefully 
looked over the country to select a favorable 
location for his operations in a cattle and live- 
stock industry and finally located on his present 
ranch, situated about seven miles northwest of 
the city of Encampment. He has here been en- 
gaged in general ranching and stockraising, and 
has met with success, being now the owner of 
a fine property with a large herd of cattle, and 
he is constantly adding to his holdings of both 
land and stock. On November 14, 1880, Mr. 
Jones was united in marriage to Miss Florence 
Brewer, a native of Bureau county, 111., and a 
daughter of William and Rosalie (Bartholomew) 
Brewer, the former a native of Indiana, and 
the latter of New York. The paternal grand- 
father of Mrs. Jones, Richard Brewer, was also 
a native of Kentucky, being one of its leading 
citizens. The ancestors of the American branch 
of the Bartholomew family came from Holland 
and were prominent in the affairs of that little 
country, which has filled so large a page in the 
world's history. ' Mr. and Mrs. Jones have three 
children, Maud, Frank and Florence and they all 
are living. Their home is noted for its gen- 
erous and genuine hospitality. 

W. S. KIMBALL. 

While the race is not always to the swift or 
the battle to the strong, the inevitable laws of 
destiny accord to tireless energy, industry and 



ability a successful career. The truth of this as- 
sertion is abundantly verified in the life and busy 
activities of Mr. Kimball, the popular druggist of 
Casper, Wyoming, who, by diligent attention to 
the business at hand, determined purpose and 
laudable endeavor, has risen rapidly to a promi- 
nent standing as a newspaper man and a repre- 
sentative commercial factor of'Converse and Na- 
trona counties. He has been conspicuous among 
his associates, not only for his success, but for 
his probity, fairness, honorable methods and un- 
bounded energy. Wilson S. Kimball, son of 
Emerson H. and Lizzie M. (Smith) Kimball, 
was born in Sandwich Centre, Carroll county, 
N. H. under the shadow of the majestic Sand- 
wich range of the White Mountains, on July 22, 
1866. For ancestral history and family narra- 
tion the reader is referred to the biographical 
sketch of Emerson H. Kimball, on other pages 
of this volume. The eldest child of his parents, 
the early educational discipline of Mr. Kimball 
was acquired in the schools of Iowa, this being 
■ supplemented by a thoroughly technical training 
in the "Art preservative of all arts" under the 
competent tutelage of his distinguished father 
of which he availed himself for some years and 
for one year after the home of the family had 
been transferred to Wyoming. Then Mr. Kim- 
ball returned to McDonough county, 111., where 
on May 29, 1887, he was wedded with Miss 
Edness Merrick, a lady of high culture and 
education, who for several years had been 
a highly successful teacher in the public schools 
of Illinois, the state of her birth. She is the, 
daughter of John and Mary C. (Leach) Mer- 
rick, early citizens of McDonough county, 111. 
Immediately on his return to Wyoming, Mr. 
Kimball engaged in newspaper work in Glenrock, 
continuing to be pleasantly and profitably thus 
employed for three years, when his editorial and 
business ability became so manifest that the 
leading citizens of the brisk city of Casper, per- 
suaded him to establish a newspaper plant in 
their midst and for this purpose a stock company 
was organized for a paper, of which Mr. Kim- 
ball was made "editorial manager" and the out- 
fit for which he purchased in the east. Then 



554 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and thus was founded the Wyoming Derrick, and 
for one year Mr. Kimball's energies were given 
to this vigorous, young aspirant for public recog- 
nition, he then becoming interested in a small 
drug business, conducted in a building 14x16 feet 
in size, and, to give his time to this, he tendered 
his full resignation of his newspaper position. 
Things were moving on under his guidance so 
satisfactorily that the company was loth to let 
him go and at the urgent solicitation of the 
stockholders he consented to remain for a time, 
but two months later the drug business had as- 
sumed such proportions that he was forced to de- 
vote his whole time to its interests. Two years 
later, when the trade had largely increased, Mr. 
Kimball purchased the interests of his partner, 
C. F. G. Bostelman, and has since conducted it 
in his individual name and with almost marvel- 
lous prosperity. The insignificant structure it 
first occupied has been replaced by a large, com- 
modious and up-to-date building in the center of 
the city, affording adequate accommodations for 
the very extensive trade there conducted in the 
wholesaling and the retailing of drugs, paints, 
oils, glass, etc., and with a large side line of jew- 
elry of the most attractive character, employ- 
ing quite a number of clerks and also a com- 
petent and highly skilled jeweler and watch-re- 
pairer, receiving a most gratifying patronage of 
scope and importance of a decidedly cumulative 
character. Mr. Kimball is also fortunate in the 
great stockraising industry of Wyoming, having 
a fine band of sheep on the range and also being 
the owner of a desirable and eligibly located 
ranch of 480 acres of land on the Platte River, 
six miles east of Casper, on which he is now con- 
structing an irrigating ditch, which will shortly 
convey to the ranch an ample supply of water for 
its thorough irrigation. He is also the owner of 
some of the best city property in Casper, his resi- 
dence, of modern design and architecture, being 
one of the finest in the city and an ornament to 
the place, while he has quite a number of desir- 
able properties which he devotes to tenement 
purposes. A sterling Democrat, his political 
creed has found an able and convincing advocate 
in Mr. Kimball and he has led the cohorts of his, 



the minority party in his legislative district, 
evincing his personal popularity in the number of 
votes polled for him for member of the Legisla- 
ture, although failing of an election, and he has 
given an admirable administration as mayor of 
his home city for one term. In 1903 he was 
elected mayor a second time. There was a con- 
test on councilman, but he was endorsed on both 
tickets, no other candidate being nominated on 
any ticket. When in the spring of 1903 the Cas- 
per Chamber of Commerce was organized with 
a membership of over 100 men of prominence in 
the county, Mayor Kimball was unanimously 
chosen president of this organization. Frater- 
nally, in Masonic circles he is a Knight Templar 
and past master of his local lodge, and he is also 
a member of the Woodmen of the World. His 
home circle is completed by two interesting chil- 
dren, Wilson S. and Edness M., and here their 
parents disperse- a cultured and generous hospi- 
tality to their numerous friends. 

C. AUGUST LEHMBERG. 

There is no more steady or persistent worker 
in any field of labor or mine of learning than 
your sturdy Prussian. Wherever the German 
nationality makes a stand, unfavorable conditions 
vield, natural forces come forth and obey, hidden 
resources of wealth and power are brought to 
light and usefulness, and the flowers and fruit 
of advancing civilization are seen on every hand. 
It is with this people that C. August Lehmberg 
of the Star Valley of Wyoming, claims kindred, 
for he was born in Prussia on November 5, 1830, 
the son of Johann G. Lehmberg. both parents be- 
ing natives of that country and belonging to fam- 
ilies long domesticated on its fruitful soil. He 
received a limited education in the state schools 
of his native land, then worked in the mines 
near his home until 1866 when he came to the 
United States and. locating in Utah, engaged in 
farming on shares for eleven years, persevering 
in his laudable efforts in spite of several suc- 
cessive destructions of his crops by grasshoppers. 
In 1887 he abandoned Utah on this account and 
came to Wyoming and settled in Star Valley 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



555 



when there were few residents within its limits, 
his nearest neighbor being five miles distant. He 
took up a quarter-section of government land 
and, by thrift and industry and a studious atten- 
tion to its needs and skill in supplying them, he 
has transformed its wild luxuriance into the sys- 
tematic productiveness of a well conducted farm, 
improving it also with good buildings and with 
tastefully arranged shrubbery and grounds. His 
land is mostly meadow and is well adapted to the 
cattle industry in which he is actively engaged. 
He also carries on a dairying business of large 
proportions with prudence and judgment, giving 
it close attention and prosecuting it vigorously. 
In the circles of the Church of Latter Day Saints 
he is prominent, active and influential. His 
services to the organization have been extensive 
and are highly appreciated. He is one of the 
elders and has a well-established place in the es- 
teem and confidence of the church people. In No- 
vember, 1854, in his native land, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Amelia Krinkey, who was 
born and reared there, a daughter of Karl and 
Amelia Krinkey. Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Lehmberg 
have nine children, of whom three are living : 
Harmon, married and residing near his father's 
place ; Charles, living at home ; Sarah, now wife 
of Sorcle Rolph of Lower Star Valley. The 
others are Franklin Oscar, died in Prussia in in- 
fancy; Joseph William, died on the plains in in- 
fancy ; John William, died in infancy in Utah ; 
Robert, died in Utah at the age of fifteen ; 
August, died when six years old ; Mary Rebecca, 
who also died in infancy. 

ROBERT McAULEY. 

More than thirty-five years have passed since 
Judge McAuley became identified with life in 
the West and during the counting of all of these 
links in the chain of time has he been known as 
one of its alert, public spirited and useful resi- 
dents. Each successive year has but increased 
his reputation in all that constitutes the well-be- 
ing of a new country and his experiences in the 
wild epoch of Indian ferocity has given him a 
marked prestige among the now fast vanishing 



class of pioneers, while his unselfish zeal in all 
matters pertaining to the public weal have placed 
him in the ranks of the state's most valued citi- 
zens. Not to know him is to acknowledge one's 
self a "tenderfoot" in this section of the West. 
Judge Robert McAuley, who acquired his honor- 
ary title by his unusually long tenure of the office 
of justice of the peace at Atlantic City, Wyo., 
was born in East Troy, N. Y., on November 22, 
1837, a son of George and Mary (Miller) Mc- 
Auley, the father being the son of Gen. William 
McAuley, a distinguished officer of the British 
army and a native of Scotland, who was long in 
command of the troops stationed in Dublin, Ire- 
land, where he displayed great diplomatic powers, 
winning great popularity as well as military 
prestige, and the mother was a native of Edin- 
burg, Scotland. George McAuley came to 
America immediately after his graduation from 
Trinity College in Dublin and was for years a 
confidential bookkeeper and a successful teacher 
in New York, and in later life made his home in 
Illinois. He had seven children, the only sur- 
vivors now being the Judge and his brother John, 
of Chicago, 111., who before the great fire was 
there prominent in the boot-and-shoe trade. 
Robert received a limited education in the coun- 
try schools of Illinois, but, being a youth of 
early mental maturity, he was engaged in the 
manufacture of fanning mills for himself before 
he was fourteen years of age, continuing his 
studies through the winter months and attend- 
ing and graduating at the age of eighteen from 
the first commercial college ever established, 
Bell's Commercial College of Chicago. Soon 
after this school experience he became a buyer 
for a Chicago lumber syndicate, in this service 
visiting, examining and purchasing much timber 
land in Wisconsin and Minnesota, later becoming 
a pilot of rafts on the Black and Mississippi 
Rivers, in 1856 removing to Kansas and being a 
participant in the exciting events of that 
troublous period of Kansas' history, then engag- 
ing in the practice of law at Fort Scott in asso- 
ciation with Hon. G. A. Crawford, later governor 
of Kansas, thereafter, on account of failing 
health, crossing the plains to Pike's Peak with an 






556 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ox-team train, pursuing mining from 1858 to 
i860, then with his brother returning to Chicago 
to enlist' in the Union army, but on- arriving 
there found that his younger brother, who was 
in command of the Chicago Board of Trade 
regiment, had been seriously wounded at the bat- 
tle of Shiloh, having been shot twice, once 
through the body, and had returned to Chicago 
within three months from the departure of his 
regiment in a sad state ' of invalidism, and he 
then took care of him, and, later, as three of his 
brothers were already' in service, he did not en- 
list, but gave his time to the care of his parents 
until the close of the war. After the war he 
came west, engaging in freighting to Denver and 
the Rockies, and also establishing himself in 
merchandising thirty miles west of Julesburg, 
Colo., here having much trouble with the Indians. 
Once he discovered a "band of fifty Indians try- 
ing to stampede his horses and mules, and with 
two of his men he drove off the savages, the 
Judge killing the foremost one and the others 
retreating. The Indians soon met his partner, 
Watson Coburn, and were about to kill him when 
the Judge killed the horse of the leader, the ball 
passing through both of the legs of the Indian 
while he was in the act of shooting Coburn who 
escaped. The famous "Jene" Baker, who was 
driving a stage on that route, came up at that 
time with the government escort of soldiers and 
the situation was relieved, the story of the con- 
test being later published in the Rocky Moun- 
tain News. His place was the only one on the 
entire stage route that was not captured by the 
Indians. This is but one of the many Indian 
episodes in which the Judge has taken active 
part. He then in 1868 moved to Julesburg, later 
going to Cheyenne where he was occupied with 
government contracts for a year, in 1869 coming 
to Atlantic City, where for thirty years he was 
in merchandising, then selling out and now liv- 
ing retired. For many years the Judge was in- 
terested in the stock industry and in mining ven- 
tures. Atlantic City was at one time a place of 
great activity, the population numbering 1,500 
for several years, Judge McAuley's store being 
the center of greatest interest, he keeping two 



scales for weighing gold-dust. He was also the 
efficient and popular postmaster for twenty-four 
years, the justice of the peace for sixteen years 
and he still holds a commission as notary public. 
He was one of the founders of the Republican 
party of Wyoming and a delegate to- the first 
Republican convention of the territory, it conven- 
ing at Point of Rocks in 1869, and he was nomi- 
nated as the member of the Legislature at large 
and made an interesting campaign, running 
ahead of his party's normal strength by over 
1,900 votes, but failing of the election by thirty- 
six ballots. His membership in the Masonic 
order dates back many years, his affiliation being 
with the lodge at Nebraska City, Neb. Possess- 
ing quite a literary taste, the Judge writes 
fluently and easily and is a frequent contributor 
to various magazines and periodicals. In Ne- 
braska City, Neb., on May 3, 1865, occurred the 
ceremony uniting the Judge in matrimonial 
bonds with Miss Lydia E. Cook, a native of 
Indiana and a daughter of Stephen and Patience 
(Marshall) Cook, natives of North Carolina. 
Their children are Robert S., born in Cheyenne, 
Wyo., on November 5, 1868, now married and 
maintaining his home in Atlantic City : John, al- 
so making his home in the same place; Lydia 
May, died in infancy. One more incident of life 
on the frontiers seems appropriate to mention 
here. In connection with an older brother and 
one Wilkinson the Judge went to locate the oil 
springs on Little Popo Agie River. The Indians 
were endeavoring to drive off stock and fired 
upon the party from a ridge. Thinking they had 
killed the Judge they started to capture the team, 
but he shot the first one and reached the camp 
safely. As the Indians numbered nearly 500 
they carried off the stock of the camp, but the 
Judge safely escorted the women and children to 
Atlantic City, where they were safe. 

JOHN J. MARRIN. 

One of the stirring, energetic and capable 
business men of South Pass City, Wyoming, is 
John J. Marrin, who was born in Luzerne 
county, Pa., on October II, i860, a son of John 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



557 



and Mary E. (Lane) Marrin, natives of Ireland, 
the father long pursuing the dangerous work of 
a Pennsylvania miner and dying in that state in 
1875, at the early age of forty-six years, the 
mother surviving him and now maintaining her 
home at Nashville, N. C. Mr. Marrin was the 
fourth in order of birth of eight children of his 
parents and received the educational advantages 
of the locality of his birth, early in life becoming 
acquainted with machinery, soon attaining suf- 
ficient competency and proficiency to secure a 
position as a stationary engineer, continuing to 
be thus employed, and in other technical mechani- 
cal operations, until he came to Park City, Utah, 
in 1885 to take the superintendency of the Crisso 
mine at South Pass, later taking a bond and 
lease of the mine and working it with profit for 
a year when he disposed of his interest. Taking 
a trip to the East at this time, on his return he 
engaged in his present business at South Pass 
City, having a wide acquaintance and many 
friends. He has other and profitable business 
undertakings in mining and stockraising opera- 
tions and is justly considered as one of the solid 
and reliable citizens of the community, being an 
active and generous supporter of all matters of 
public improvement of a local nature and hav- 
ing' a generous and kindly disposition. Fraternal- 
ly, he is a prominent member of the Catholic 
Knights of America, while he is in political ac- 
cord with the Republican party. On September 
30, 1887, Mr. Marrin was united in holy matri- 
mony with Miss Nettie McOmie, a native Of 
Utah and a daughter of John and Jeannette 
McOmie, natives of Scotland and early pioneers 
of Utah. One son completes the family of Mr. 
Marrin, a bright lad who carries the ancestral 
name, John Marrin. 

MICHAEL MARIALAKY. 

A scion of a noble ancestry and born in 
Debreczin, Hungary, on June 22, 1853, Michael 
Marialaky, the one of whom we write, is a son 
of Michael and Julia (Nenctky) Marialaky, but 
he has become an American citizen and a stirring 
man of business in this new hemisphere, where a 



man's success and reputation depend not on titu- 
lary honors or personal emolument, but on the 
dignity of his character and the inherent powers 
of his own personality. In this diversified field 
Mr. Marialaky has shown himself of equal 
powers with the keenest of his business competi- 
tors, having wrought out a success, that is not 
only very satisfactory in a financial point of 
.view, but also greatly redounds to his personal 
credit as a business man of eminent ability. His 
honored father was a son of Michael and Susan 
(Kollat) Marialaky, and the noble family has 
been entitled to bear arms since 163 1, having 
distinguished record in books of heraldry. His 
preliminary education was acquired under com- 
petent tutors and his advanced education was re- 
ceived in Rosser College, at Buda-Pesth, the 
beautiful twin-city capital of Hungary, which is 
charmingly located on the banks of the Danube. 
He was one of sixteen children, of whom seven 
are still living. Mr. Marialaky is the only one 
now living and bearing the name of Michael in 
the family, which has been the name of all the 
noblemen of his house. After his school days 
Mr. Marialaky held the position of second book- 
keeper in the government bank at Buda-Pesth 
for a short time, and then received a govern- 
mental position in the custom-house which he 
filled with great acceptability for about three 
years. He then, in 1873, came to the United 
States and located at Carlstadt, N. J., engaged 
in agriculture for a time and then, proceeding to 
Utica, N. Y., he there worked on a farm for a 
few months. His ambition however was to go 
to the West where opportunities were greater, 
and his' chances for success were not so circum- 
scribed. In Missouri and Iowa he followed agri- 
culture and then worked in Davenport, Iowa, as 
a steam-fitter. Neither of these occupations fully 
tealizing his ambition, he came still further west 
to Wyoming and to Cheyenne. Here he was 
fascinated with and enjoyed life on the plains as 
a cowboy, and from 1863 he continued this occu- 
pation in Uinta County for two years. In 1885 
he took up 160 acres of government land, where 
he now resides and to'which he has since added 
until his estate now comprises 280 acres. On 



558 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



this property, which he has developed and im- 
proved in a high degree, he has since been suc- 
cessfully engaged in raising horses and cattle. 
His diligence, attention and care and the dis- 
criminating methods of procedure which he has 
employed could bring but one result and that he 
has attained, success. In 1889 Mr. Marialaky 
returned to Hungary, where, on July 4, of that 
year, he wedded Miss Emelia Fabry, a daughter 
of Frank and Rosa (Varga) Fabry. -Her grand- 
father, Frank Fabry, was a wholesale iron mer- 
chant who married Caroline Burknod, of German 
ancestry, and his son, Frank, her father, was also 
successful in merchandising as a wholesale 
grocer. Mr. and Mrs. Marialaky are the parents 
of two children, Viola E. and Charles, and the 
home circle is noted for its thoroughly western 
hospitality. Both of his parents died in his na- 
tive land, his father on Christmas day, 1865, at 
the age of. sixty-five. Mr. Marialaky is the oldest 
settler on Hilliard Flats and is held in the 
highest esteem by all who have the pleasure of 
his acquaintance or with whom he has business 
transactions. He is a loyal American, being 
thoroughly imbued with the principles of this 
great republic and the spirit pervading Ameri- 
can institutions, and he expects to pass the re- 
mainder of his life as a citizen of the United 
States. He is a living exemplification of the 
truth that "blood will tell." His scorn of all 
trickery, dishonesty and deceit is a fundamental 
trait of his character, and has been a potential 
factor in his life. No consideration of self-in- 
terest or policy ever prevailed against it or in- 
duced him to condone, either in public or private 
life, actions or tendencies in the slightest degree 
repugnant to his sense of justice. Mr. Marialaky 
is in fullest accord with the principles advocated 
by this young American republic, and loyally 
sustains its cause. He is also an honored mem- 
ber of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, in 
which he holds the office of one of the Seventy. 

JAMES I. MAY. 

Prominent in church, social and business cir- 
cles and occupying his position of influence and 
consequence as the result of his natural ability, 



lifelong industry and thrift and the force of 
character for which he is well-known, James I. 
May of Gros Ventre, or Ditch Creek Flat, post- 
master at Grovont, Uinta county, presents in 
the story of his useful life an interesting and 
suggestive theme for the student of history and 
the observer of human nature. It was at 
Bountiful in Davis county, Utah, on November 
29, 1857, that his life began, his parents, James 
and Martha (Allen) May, being there pros- 
perous and successful farmers, the father being 
also a leading man in the affairs of the Mormon 
church. He was a native of England who, com- 
ing to America as a convert to the doctrines of 
that faith, took firm and actiye hold of its in- 
terests and rose by merit to be a high priest and 
counsellor to the bishop at Call's Fort, and is 
president of the high priests' quorum at Alberta, 
Canada, where he makes his home. The mother, 
who was born in Iowa, a daughter of Jude and 
Mary A. (Nichlos) Allen, is also living. The 
father was a farmer of the state of New York 
and died while crossing the plains to Utah in 
1852. Mr. May w T as one of fourteen children, of 
whom all but one are living. He was allowed 
by the exigencies of his early life to attend the 
public schools of his native state only about six 
months, getting his education mainly from read- 
ing, observation and contact with the world. In 
1880, when he was twenty-three years old, he 
removed to Idaho and went to farming and 
raising cattle on land which he took up near 
American Falls. He continued this enterprise in 
that section until 1896 and then finding the range 
too limited he sold his interests in Idaho and 
settled in the Jackson Hole country of Wyoming, 
taking up land which he has since expanded to 
320 acres, and which by skillful cultivation 
yields him large annual crops of grain, hay and 
other farm products, and handsomely supports 
Ids extensive herds of cattle. His farming and 
stock interests are considerable and exacting, his 
church work occupies much of his time and his 
best energies, his social duties claim a due share 
of his attention, but no personal business or 
pleasure can obscure or overbear his interest in 
all that concerns the welfare of the community, 
in the service of which he is constant, intelligent 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



559 



and influential. He has been a justice of the 
peace in Idaho and a gamewarden in Wyoming. 
He and his wife are active and zealous members 
of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Two 
years of his life were spent as a missionary in 
Mississippi in behalf of the church and he has 
been a ward teacher and a Sunday-school teacher 
for years. He is now and has long been an elder, 
is one of the Seventy, and has been set apart as 
a presiding elder. On January 29, 1876, Mr. 
May was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
A. Henrie, a native of Utah and daughter of 
Joseph and Susanna (Lasley) Henrie, the 
father of English ancestry and the mother de- 
scended from old Maryland and Virginia fam- 
ilies. Four children have blessed their union, 
James Henrie, Ira A. and Joseph A., who are 
living, and Archeantus, who died at Rockland, 
Idaho, when nine months old. 

JACOB S. MEYER. 

The record of a well-spent life is a glorious 
legacy to leave to a man's children, and among 
the honored pioneers and active public men of the 
state, long connected with its advancement and 
its public institutions, creating and maintaining 
an unblemished record, the name of the late 
Jacob S. Meyer will long be remembered for his 
grand work as a citizen, and the financial success 
which rewarded his honorable and diligent ef- 
forts, leaving as he did a valuable estate to his 
widow and children, and also the far more valu- 
able heritage of a noble life. Mr. Meyer was 
born in Holt county, Mo., on March 10, 1856, 
a son of George and Mary A. (Kunkel) Meyer, 
the father being a native of Baden, Germany, and 
the mother of Pennsylvania. The parental 
grandparents of Mr. Meyer, Andrew and Mary 
Meyer, who emigrated from Germany about 
1833, located eventually in Holt county, Mo., 
where their son George was long engaged in 
farming* and stockraising, and with his cherished 
wife is still residing, being retired from business 
and tranquilly passing the evening of their lives 
in the beautiful home their industrious energies 
have created. In his earlier years George Meyer 



was much in public life and was a valiant sol- 
dier of the Union in the bitter struggle of the 
Civil War. His wife was a daughter of Jacob 
and Barbara (Acton) Kunkel, natives of Penn- 
sylvania and descendants of German and Eng- 
lish ancestors, her father being a farmer and 
stockman and a prominent man in the commun- 
ity. This worthy couple had thirteen children, 
five of whom are living. Jacob A. Meyer, after 
instruction in the public schools of his home dis- 
trict, attended a commercial college at Leaven- 
worth, Kan., thereafter being identified with 
merchandising in the employ of his father, soon 
becoming associated with John A. Ross as a 
partner in their store at Forbes, Mo., where they 
were successfully engaged in trade. On account 
of failing health in 1878 Mr. Meyer visited Wyo- 
ming, where the invigorating climate, so restored 
him that. in 1880 he returned to Missouri and 
sold all of his interests in that state to become 
a permanent resident of this young, vigorous 
commonwealth. Here he at once engaged largely 
in the raising of sheep, subsequently changing 
his flocks to herds of cattle, and continuing in 
this profitable branch of agriculture until his kv 
mentable death on July 30, 1898. His own busi- 
ness, although of scope and importance, did not 
occupy his time and energies, for his aid and 
personal influence were largely given to the sup- 
port of measures and operations of public in- 
terest and utility, being long a most useful mem- 
ber of the board of State Farm Commissioners 
and its honored president. In many other ways, 
and in widely varying directions, were his ser- 
vices rendered for the public good, and at the 
time of his death he was very efficiently holding 
the superintendency of the State Experiment 
Farm. In the higher relation of social and re- 
ligious life Mr. Meyer held a conspicuous place. 
He was prominently connected with the organi- 
zation and upbuilding of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church of Lander, where' he held member- 
ship and was an efficient and liberal officer of the 
same. In* Masonic circles he was held in high 
regard, being affiliated with the lodge at Lander 
and with the Woodmen of the World in the 
same city. On his homestead, on which he filed 



560 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in 1880, having bought the improvements already 
made on the place, he made valuable improve- 
ments, increasing the acreage until it now con- 
sists of 480 acres of prolific meadow land, pos- 
sessing plenty of water and timber for all its 
needs, containing a most productive orchard of 
excellent varieties of select fruit. In this branch 
of his husbandry Mr. Meyer took great interest 
and was of practical benefit to the community, 
by the object lesson afforded by the result of his 
horticultural endeavors. On December 22, 
1880, Mr. Meyer and Miss Carrie B. Blum were 
united in marriage. She was born on October 
26, 1858, at St. Joseph, Mo., a daughter of 
Henry -and Theresa (Westerman) Blum, na- 
tives of Germany, her father, a cabinetmaker by 
trade, coming to the United States when a young 
man and, after a valiant service in the Mexican 
war, making his home in Missouri and becom- 
ing an active man of affairs, holding many pub- 
lic offices with pronounced credit, serving among 
the number as councilman and sheriff. Both her 
parents are now residing in the fulness of years 
in their Missouri home at St. Joseph, her pater- 
nal grandfather, Henry, and his good wife also 
passing their later life in the same state. Mr. 
and Mrs. Meyer were parents of three children, 
Julia A., Minnie P. and Nellie P., and on the 
pleasant, homestead, sanctified to her by so many 
associations of her dear departed husband,, Mrs. 
Meyer maintains her home, cheered in her lone- 
liness by the thought that the entire section of 
the county of her residence remembered her hus- 
band as a loving husband, an affectionate father 
and a worthy citizen of unblemished character. 

JOSEPH M. MILLER. 

It is with pleasure that the historian takes pen 
to trace the life of a truly self-made man, who, 
after long years of toil, exertion, deprivations 
and thrilling experiences, at last finds himself 
in independent and prosperous circumstances, 
maintaining a position of honor and dignity 
among his fellows, and having the satisfaction 
of knowing that this has been brought about by 
bis own industry, his own thrift and the daily 



exhibition of valuable characteristics of the best 
citizenship. These sage reflections have passed 
through our mind in considering the life and ac- 
tivities of Joseph M. Miller, a prosperous ranch- 
man on Smith's Fork at Robertson, Wyoming, 
who has well earned the noble position in which 
he stands among his 'neighbors, who have known 
and prized him for many years. Mr. Miller was 
born near Hagerstown, Md., on May 5, 1.851, and 
he has consequently more than rounded out a 
half-century of useful activities. His parents 
were Michael and Wilhelmina (Powley) Miller, 
his paternal grandfather, Jacob Miller, being a 
worthy descendant of his German ancestors who 
came to Pennsylvania in years far antedating the 
American Revolution. Both the Powley and 
Miller families continued to inhabit Pennsylvania 
soil for generations and here both the father and 
mother of Mr. Miller had birth. Being doubly 
orphaned at an early age, his home for some 
years was with one of his aunts in Pennsylvania, 
but, while yet in his teens, his spirit of indepen- 
dence induced him to take his fortune in his own 
hands and carve out his livelihood and acquire 
wealth by his unaided efforts. So he engaged 
in rafting on the Susquehanna River and soon 
commenced his long western journey by remov- 
ing to Missouri, where were given his initial 
efforts in the care of stock, a business ultimately 
to become one of great importance to him. He 
also was there connected with railroading, mov- 
ing on to Kansas, he was there industriously en- 
gaged in agriculture until 1881, which year 
marks the date of his entry to Wyoming. Mak- 
ing his home at Fort Bridger, he was in the em- 
ploy of the Carters for a time, and had a con- 
tract to put up hay on the adjacent meadows, 
continuing this until the reservation was thrown 
open for settlement, when he made the third 
claim on the land of the reservation, filing on 
and thus securing the 160 acres where is now his 
home, which is but a short distance from the 
site of Fort Supply, which was built by the Mor- 
mons in the first exodus to Utah. His ranch is 
quite a hive of industry, for in addition to his 
fanning and stock-raising operations, Mr. Miller 
owns and conducts a store, at which is located 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



56i 



Robertson postoffice, of which Mrs. Miller is the 
capable postmistress, she having been commis- 
sioned to that office in 1893, upon the establish- 
ment of the office, and being in tenure of that 
position until the present time, with the excep- 
tion of an interval of two years when she resigned 
it. Mr. Miller married Miss Helen Creekmore, 
a daughter of Calvin L. and Mahala (Ross) 
Creekmore, near Winston, Md., on November 1, 
1880. Her father was a son of Horatio and 
Lourania (Meadows) Creekmore, both natives of 
Virginia, tracing their lineage back to France 
but through long years of American residence, 
while her mother's parents were John and Eliza- 
beth (Chitwood) Ross, also natives of Virginia. 
Her father was a lawyer of reputation and ability, 
being a popular county attorney for eight years, 
still later acquiring added dignity by his admin- 
istration of justice as a circuit judge of Whitley 
county, Ky. An honored and esteemed couple, 
himself and wife are pleasantly passing the 
evening twilight of their lives at Richmond, Ky. 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had ten children, Clyde 
M., died in infancy ; J. Nestor, deceased; Mabel 
M. ; Maud J. ; Nellie W. ; Clara ; Wilhelmina and 
Joseph M. (twins) ; Agnes; Hazel, all living ex- 
cept the first two named. Mr. Miller is one of 
the school trustees of his district, and his in- 
fluence is strongly felt in all important matters 
of the community. In business operations he 
devotes himself principally to his fine herd of 
thoroughbred and graded Hereford cattle and 
is one of the representative stockmen of his 
district. 

DAVID M. MORRIS. 

For more tha twenty-seven years this gen- 
tleman has resided in Wyoming and his name 
is inseparably connected with the almost illimit- 
able cattle interest as one of the oldest and most 
experienced range men of the state. He is thor- 
oughly western in his spirit and his loyalty to his 
employers and his ability to discharge worthilv 
important trusts long since gained the unbounded 
confidence of the large corporation he formerly 
served, besides winning for him a permanent 
place in the esteem of the- public. Among his 



leading characteristics are his fine sense of or- 
der, complete system and the habit of giving care- 
ful attention to details, without which success 
in any undertaking is never an assured fact. He 
is a gentleman of high intrinsic worth, being 
well entitled to mention in this compendium of 
biography devoted to Wyoming's representative 
men of affairs. David M. Morris is a native of 
Greene county, Pa., where his birth occurred on 
October 6, i860. His father, Jonathan Morris, 
is also of Pennsylvanian birth and a descendant 
of old families represented in the United States 
ever since Colonial times. By occupation Jona- 
than Morris is a farmer and is still pursuing 
that calling in his native county and state. He 
served gallantly during the great Civil War as a 
lieutenant in a Pennsylvania regiment, entering 
the army at the beginning of the struggle and 
remaining with his command until its close, par- 
ticipating in many of the bloody battles of the 
rebellion. Charlotte Rinehart, wife of Jonathan 
Morris and mother of the subject of this review, 
was born in Pennsylvania, there married her hus- 
band in Greene county, where she is now living. 
Their son, David M. Morris, remained with his 
parents until fifteen years old when he left home 
and entered the struggle of life upon his own re- 
sponsibility, coming to Wyoming in 1875 an ^ 
shortly after his arrival entered the employ of the 
Swan Brothers Cattle Co., at that time under 
the management of S. Doty, who initiated the 
lad into his new line of duty. He remained un- 
der Mr. Doty for three years but continued with 
the company ■ until 1898, the name of the firm 
changing three times during the intervening 
time, the last style being the Swan Land & Cat- 
tle Co. During the last seven years passed with 
this corporation, Mr. Morris was the roundup 
foreman, in which capacity he had full charge 
of all the range work, spending the greater part 
of the time on the Chugwater. His repeated pro- 
motions from a very subordinate position to the 
most important station within the gift of the 
firm was a glowing compliment to his integrity 
and bore eloquent testimony to his ability and 
sound judgment as a manager of that very im- 
portant work. He won the unbounded confi- 



562 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF IVY MIX G. 



dence of his employers and was frequently con- 
sulted by them relative to the business policies to 
be pursued. His record while thus engaged is 
without the shadow of suspicion, and, when he 
resigned his position in 1898, the management 
parted with his services with much reluctance. 
After severing- his connection with this company, 
Mr. Morris in the above year took up a home- 
stead about nineteen miles southwest of Wheat- 
land, Wyo., and engaged in cattleraising, one 
year later purchasing a ranch on Sybylle Creek, 
in the same locality, which from that time to 
the present he has occupied, devoting the sum- 
mer seasons to putting up hay and passing the 
winters in running cattle on the range, with his 
headquarters on the homestead ranch. The lat- 
ter place consists of 160 acres of fine range land, 
the ranch on the creek embracing an area of 
240 acres, all well irrigated and finely adapted for 
the raising of a superior quality of hay. The 
two places join and together form a fine estate, 
which in time will become one of the most valu- 
able landed properties in this part of Laramie 
county. Mr. Morris was married in Laramie, 
Wyo., on August 21, 1897, to Miss Daisy M. 
Curtis of Iowa, a daughter of Wells and Caroline 
(Wemple) Curtis, natives respectively of New 
York and Pennsylvania. For five years prior 
to her marriage Mrs. Morris taught in the pub- 
lic schools, principally in the county of Laramie, 
and was favorably known as an experienced and 
successful instructor. She is the mother of one 
child, Jonathan M. Morris, born August 14, 1901. 

JAMES KIME. 

A typical pioneer, with a frontier experience 
of thrilling interest in at least two states, a serv- 
iceable and valued public official, with a genius 
for administration, ably displayed at critical 
times, a business man of capacity and breadth of 
view, an enterprising, progressive and estimable 
citizen, James Kime has exemplified the sterling 
traits of character belonging to long lines of dis- 
tinguished ancestry, which have at all times won 
recognition in the annals of the great Northwest. 
He was born in Chester county, Pa., on March 



7, 1836, the son of John and Catherine (Urner) 
Kime, natives of Pennsylvania, descended from 
old Colonial families that emigrated from Hol- 
land in very early American times. Both fami- 
lies distinguished themselves in the Revolution 
and made honorable records in all the subsequent 
wars of our country ; both have held also high 
places in every line of civil and official life. John 
Kime was a hotelkeeper and farmer in his na- 
tive state, and there were reared his family of 
five children, three of whom are now living. 
James Kime attended the public schools and as- 
sisted on the farm and in the hotel until he was 
twenty-one years of age, then sought the large 
field and waiting opportunity presented in the fair 
virgin West as it existed then, himself and his 
brother, Levi Kime, being among the first white 
men to turn over the sod of Nebraska, where 
Levi continues living. He remained in that 
region two summers and also one winter. In 
1858, under the gold excitement of the period, 
he joined an expedition to Pike's Peak, arriving 
on Cherry Creek about the middle of November 
and camping on the ground now covered by the 
city of Denver. There he bought lots and built 
cabins, intending to make the place his home for 
a while, but in the spring of 1859 the gold ex- 
citement swept over the settlement and he joined 
the stampede. After an experience of three 
years in the mountains he concluded that mining 
was not his proper calling, and moving to the 
vicinity of Colorado Springs, he engaged in 
ranching. Owing to bad health he soon after 
abandoned this enterprise and started a mercan- 
tile business, in its interest traveling through 
southern Colorado and New Mexico. While do- 
ing this he stopped for a year at Leadville or Oro 
City, and also passed one season on Cache Creek, 
a tributary of the Arkansas. This was in 1866, 
when the Union Pacific was building. When 
news of the laying-out of Cheyenne reached him 
he went there with two teams, arriving at the 
place while it was yet but a city of canvas, hav- 
ing only one house and that built of logs. The 
railroad was then 100 miles from the tented 
city and Mr. Kime conducted a freight and pas- 
senger line from its terminus to Chevenne. con- 






JAMES KIME. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



563 



tinuing the business until the great highway 
reached the town, then engaging in a transfer 
and express business in the city. In the midst of 
his prosperity, and while he was pushing his pro- 
fitable business for all it was worth, he was laid 
up with a severe attack of rheumatism, which kept 
him a prisoner for three years, much of the time 
m a helpless condition, and exhausted 'the most 
of the earnings of his life so far, the balance be- 
ing taken by a trusted but unfaithful employe. 
With two small teams and wagons, all that he 
had saved from the wreck of his fortunes, he 
came to South Pass City, Wyoming, locating at 
Atlantic City, and began hauling material and 
cordwood to the Miner's < Delight. region, follow- 
ing these commodities after a short time with 
general merchandise. In 1871 he there estab- 
lished a small store, and in 1872 he was appointed 
postmaster at Miner's Delight. This position he 
held continuously until 1900, a period of twenty- 
seven years. He kept on merchandising until 
1 90 1 when he removed to his ranch on the Little 
Popo Agie, twelve miles south of Lander and one 
west of Dallas. In 1873, and for some time af- 
terwards, he owned a controlling interest in the 
Miner's Delight mine, mill and other appurten- 
ances, and during this time the Indians were 
very troublesome, the Arapahoes making at least 
monthly raids for the stealing of stock. Fre- 
quently they killed settlers and destroyed prop- 
erty which they did not carry off. In one raid 
ten or twelve men were killed and four of Mr. 
Kime's mules were stolen. Mr. Kime has at 
all times taken an earnest and an intelligent in- 
terest in all community affairs and in 1872 was 
elected the county commissioner of Sweetwater 
county on the Democratic ticket. This large 
county at that time embraced an immense extent 
of country, including all of the mining camps, 
Green River, Rock Springs and several hundred 
miles along the line of the Union Pacific Rail- 
road and it extended as far north as the Yellow- 
stone Park. The duties of his office were prodig- 
ious in volume and difficult, yet he discharged 
them with such intelligence and fidelity and 
with such general satisfaction, that he was re- 
elected in 1874 and made chairman of the board. 
35 



In 1886 he was elected to the lower house of the 
Territorial Legislature and in 1892 was chosen 
State Senator from his county. In the larger 
forum thus opened to him he well sustained the 
reputation for knowledge of affairs and skill in 
administration which he had won in a smaller 
one. Fraternally, he is identified with the order 
of Freemasons, having been made a Mason in 
1864 at Colorado Springs, Colo. He was mar- 
ried on April 11, 1874, -to Miss Caroline Chapin, 
a native of Baden Baden, Germany, where she 
was born on July 3, 1828. The ceremony was 
performed at South Pass City, where the bride 
was then living. She owns a ranch of 160 acres 
on Twin Creek and Mr. Kime has one of 320 on 
Little Popo Agie. Both of these ranches are de- 
voted to the production of superior breeds of cat- 
tle and horses and both yield large returns. Mr. 
and Mrs. Kime occupy an exalted place in pub- 
lic esteem and are ornaments to the social life and 
citizenship of the county. 

GEORGE A. MYERS. 

A native son of the West, as a child and a 
man witnessing its marvelous and unparalleled 
growth and prosperity, by his enterprise and in- 
dustry and successful business operations taking 
an active part in its development, George A. 
Myers of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, was born on 
August 7, 1865, in that portion of Utah, that by 
later segregation is now Wyoming. He is the son 
of John W. and Sarah Myers, both natives of 
England, and was the youngest of their five chil- 
dren, whose names we will here record : Mrs. 
Leonard ; George ; John, deceased ; Mary, de- 
ceased ; Frank B., of Alamogordo, N. M. ; Nellie, 
wife of W. L. Leonard of Evanston ; George A. 
The father was a pioneer of Utah and one of the 
makers of its civilization. In England he re- 
ceived an excellent technical education in the 
trade of carpentry on the estate of an earl and 
in this new part of the world his services were 
greatly in derrtand. He was a man of strong 
character, took a leading part in the affairs of the 
Democratic party and was conspicuous as a mem- 
ber of the Church of Latter Day Saints. He 



i 



564 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



possessed a fine stock ranch on the Bear River, 
where he gave careful attention to the extensive 
raising of superior breeds of cattle and horses, 
dying, after an unusually active life, on April 
27, 1901, being survived by his wife. In the pub- 
lic schools of Hilliard, Wyo., George A. Myers 
received the foundation of his education, but the 
knowledge there acquired has been largely sup- 
plemented by self-culture, extensive reading and 
in the comprehensive school of experience. In 
1894 he engaged in sheepraising, purchasing as 
his initial band 500 lambs. Under his careful 
oversight they rapidly increased and he now runs 
a band of over 3,000 sheep, being prospered in 
his undertakings as a result of his discriminating 
care and watchful attention. Mr. Myers and 
partners are the owners of a fine sheep range 
of 8,400 acres situated in -Summit county,' Utah, 
which is well-watered by mountain streams and 
very suitable for the conduct of this branch of 
agricultural enterprise. He is an esteemed mem- 
ber of Shelton Lodge, No. 92, Knights of 
Pythias, located at Shelton, Neb., joining this 
lodge during a residence at that place from 1889 
to 1894. Aside from this period of time his en- 
tire life has been passed in the West, and here 
he has made many friends and is in the full tide 
of a prosperous enterprise that bids fair to 
bring him wealth. Mr. Myers is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and a man of 
broad and accurate judgment in religious, politi- 
cal and civil life. He is allied in politics with the 
Republican party, but has no desire for politi- 
cal office or emoluments, being one of the best 
types of the citizens of the state. 

HENRY WILLIAM BANKS. 

This representative citizen of Hilliard Flats 
is a native of England, where he was born in 
Staffordshire near Bilston, on July 5, 1838, a 
son of William and Lydia (Cooksey) Banks, 
natives of England, where his father was an im- 
portant man and a successful mine owner for a 
long term of years, and where his death occurred 
at an advanced age. His mother also came of an 
oldtime English family and, like his father, died 



in England. Henry William Banks received the 
advantages of a public school education and also 
instructions under tutors and at excellent pri- 
vate schools during his early youth and, upon 
assuming the responsibilities of life for himself, 
engaged in the grocery business which he con- 
ducted for about five years. He was a thought- 
ful and a devout youth and while engaged in 
merchandising prepared himself for a classical 
life by close application to and study of religious 
and theological works and, entering the ministry 
of the Primitive Methodist church, he preached 
with great acceptability for about five years. De- 
voting himself then to civil engineering he be- 
came interested in mining and to this important 
enterprise he devoted about twenty years of his 
active life, and then, in 1882, emigrated to the 
United States and settled at Alma, Wyoming, 
where his first connection with American in-, 
dustries was as one of the bosses of the pit in a 
mine. In 1885 he came to Hilliard Flats and lo- 
cated 160 acres of government land and also pur- 
chased a ranch also containing jc6o acres, it be- 
ing one of the finest on Hilliard Flats, and on 
this fine estate he has since made his home and 
developed the property into a profitable and at- 
tractive ranch, which he conducted with eminent 
success for some years but, fortune having 
favored his efforts, he is now living practically 
retired from active business operations, and his 
home is one of the pleasantest places of L T inta 
county. On October 18, 1862, Mr. Banks was 
married in England to Miss Elizabeth Robinson, 
a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Wastel) 
Robinson, natives of Yorkshire, England, where 
her father was a farmer. Mr. Banks has al- 
ways taken an active part in political affairs, and 
has been prominently connected with the Re- 
publican party with whose principles and policies 
he has been in pronounced accord and to which 
he gives his active support. His intelligent pre- 
sentation of public matters has caused his opinion 
and judgment to be highly respected and won 
him a host of friends in his party relations. He 
has not placed himself as a seeker for political 
office, but has accepted the useful position of 
school trustee and is also the justice of the peace 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



565 



for his precinct. In local circles he is widely 
known as a public spirited man and a leader in 
all public enterprises to which his time, atten- 
tion and financial support are freely given. 
Leadership and prominence do not come to in- 
dividuals as occurrences of chance, but, like 
everything else, they are subject to the universal 
laws of development and selection, and arise from 
powers inherent in and concentered in the organ- 
ization of the man himself. The leader places 
his individuality upon a movement, and its suc- 
cess is well-nigh assured. Men everywhere 
flock to second the efforts he has originated and 
to support him by their combined energies and 
creative skill. Such has been the history of 
many successful causes and of critical epochs in 
the lives of nations. The same qualities are re- 
quired to originate and develop affairs and plans 
of action in small communities and in the smaller 
civil and political divisions as to forward national 
affairs to success. The difference is merely one 
of degree, and Mr. Banks has ably demonstrated 
by his successful results in the past that he 
possesses the necessary elements of character 
and abilities to win honors in a wider field and 
amid larger opportunities. 

WILLIAM T. ADAMS. 

Prepared for business and public usefulness 
by careful training in the public schools of Alma, 
Neb., and by association through life with en- 
terprising and progressive men, William T. 
Adams, register of the U. S. land-office at Lan- 
der, Wyoming, is realizing the promise of his 
youth and exemplifying the lessons of his com- 
munion with men. He was born at Geneva, 
Kane county, III, on July 2, 1871, a son of Amos 
E. and Jennie I. (Middleton) Adams, the latter 
of whom was born on the Atlantic during the 
passage of her parents from England to the 
United States. Their eldest child, William T. 
Adams, after completing his education, entered 
commercial life as a clerk and salesman for E. 
Amoretti, Sr., following his usefulness to him 
with valued service in the same capacity for 
Messrs. Baldwin & Earle, whose employment he 



left to accept the position of deputy county 
clerk, which he held for nearly two and one-half 
years. He was then in charge of the electric 
lighting plant of Lander for nearly a year and 
passed the next five years as clerk and book- 
keeper in the lumber business. On December 14, 
1898, he was appointed by President McKinley 
as register of the U. S. land-office at Lander, a 
position of great responsibility and importance, 
as its operations cover all transactions within its 
scope in Bighorn county and portions of Fre- 
mont and Uinta counties. In the discharge of 
his official duties he has won golden opinions as 
to his capacity and fidelity from all classes of 
people, and given satisfactory service to a large 
body of patrons, fully justifying the expecta- 
tions concerning his efficiency raised from a 
long and active participation in public affairs in 
the county and state, this being fully demon- ' 
strated when in 1903 he received a reappoint- 
ment as register at the hands of President 
Roosevelt. He has served acceptably as secre- 
tary of the Republican county central committee 
and its executive committee in important cam- 
paigns, and has contributed essentially in that 
position to the welfare of his party, in 1902 be- 
ing the unanimous choice of his party for the 
office of county clerk and clerk of the District 
Court. He has also secured by industry and 
thrift a considerable interest in the stock busi- 
ness of Natrona county. Fraternally, he is 
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity in Lander 
Lodge No. 2, holding membership also in the 
order of the Woodmen of the World at Lander. 

• 

OYER C MORGAN. 

Oyer C. Morgan, proprietor of the Mountain 
View Hotel and the Black Horse livery barn, 
and also of the leading meat market in Basin, 
and owner and manager of one of the most pro- 
ductive and desirable ranches on the No Wood, 
is one of the 'influential, enterprising and pro- 
gressive citizens of Basin, to whom the town and 
surrounding country owes much of its advanced 
state of development and improvement. He was 
born and reared in Iowa, living, from his birth 



5 66 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



on February 7, 1846, to his legal majority on a 
farm in that state which belongs to and was 
worked by his parents, Anson D. and Sarah A. 
(Bonine) Morgan, who settled there on moving 
from their native Illinois in their early married 
life. His first venture in business on his own 
account was farming in his native county, which 
he followed for years, then moved to Dakota and 
farmed there for two years more, at the end of 
that time returning to Iowa, where for four 
years he was engaged in a fruit and confec-' 
tionery business at Perry. In 1884 he went to 
California and after a residence of two years in 
that state came to Wyoming, locating at Hyatt- 
ville. There for two years he was clerk and 
salesman in the store of S. W. Hyatt and then 
moved to Bonanza, where he conducted a hotel 
for two years. Tiring of this business, he located 
the fine ranch which he still owns on the No 
Wood, and which comprises 240 acres of excel- 
lent land, admirably adapted to the stock in- 
dustry in which he has since been actively en- 
gaged, handling both cattle and horses of high 
grades. He also carries the mails by contract 
between Garland and Basin and Basin and 
Hyattville. In 1902 he took up his residence at 
Basin, becoming proprietor of the excellent hos- 
telry known as the Mountain View Hotel and of 
the Black Horse livery and feed-barn, both of 
which he has since been conducting with enter- 
prise and breadth of view, keeping them up-to- 
date in every particular, and extending their, 
patronage and popularity with a steady and un- 
broken enlargement. Since coming to the town 
he has also opened a rr;eat market, which is one 
of the mercantile features of the place and en- 
joys a large and valuable trade among the best 
people of the community, it being conducted, as 
all his enterprises are, with integrity, close at- 
tention to the wants of its patrons and a strict 
application of good business principles. In 
fraternal relations Mr. Morgan is an esteemed 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows and the Modern Woodmen of America. 
He was married at Buffalo, Wyo., on June 16, 
1887, to Miss Belle Gabbert, a native of Iowa. 
They have two sons, Noel and Ursal C. 



FRANK BULL. 

The spirit of resolute determination, religious 
independence and restless, all-conquering energy 
that drove the Pilgrim Fathers from their native 
land into the dangers and privations of the New 
World, enabling them to build in the very wil- 
derness an empire imbued with their lofty ideals 
of freedom and their unconquerable spirit, sur- 
vives in their descendants with the modifications 
engendered by circumstances and shows itself 
wherever they plant themselves in opposition to 
adverse conditions. The Doty ancestors of Frank 
Bull of Rome, Wyoming, a member of the firm 
of O'Neall & Bull, merchants and cattlemen with 
headquarters at that place, came over in the May- 
flower with the first pilgrims, and were zealous 
and energetic in all the subsequent history of 
New England. Both the military -and the civil 
annals of' that section of our country are bright- 
ened by their patriotic devotion to the interests 
of their adopted land and every walk in which 
they have been found has been dignified and 
adorned by their presence. Mr. Bull was born 
on February 3, 1855, in the state of New York, 
where his parents, Henry and Rebecca C. (Doty) 
Bull, were also born and where he lived until he 
reached man's estate, was educated and prepared 
for the duties of life. At the age of twenty- 
one he left his paternal roof and started to make 
his own way. in the world. He came west to 
Chicago and there for four years was employed 
as a stenographer in the passenger department 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 
In 1885 he came to Wyoming, located at Chey- 
enne and was there employed as bookkeeper for 
a cattle company for a number of years. From 
there he went to South Dakota and remained un- 
til 1893, when he came to Casper, Wyo., and be- 
came bookkeeper in the banking establishment 
and store of Richards & Cunningham. He 
served them faithfully until he was elected coun- 
ty treasurer of Natrona county. This occurred 
in 1896 and he was reelected in 1898. In 1900 at 
the end of his second term he removed to his 
present location and in company with Charles 
O'Neall (see sketch elsewhere in this volume) 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



567. 



started an active and high class stock business 
and a merchandising enterprise of commanding 
proportions and wide scope. Their stock is var- 
ied and extensive, complete enough to cover all 
the requirements of the neighborhood, for which 
it is especially selected with great care and ex- 
cellent judgment, being served to their patrons 
with a considerate attention and a courtesy of 
manner that gives additional pleasure in purchas- 
ing it. On their large and well-improved ranch 
they have a herd of nearly 300 fine cattle, well- 
kept and very carefully looked after, and which, 
through the attention bestowed on them from 
first to last, easily hold high place in the cattle 
markets. These enterprising gentlemen have 
awakened a new spirit of progress in the com- 
munity by their breadth of view and generous 
attention to every public interest and have 
stamped themselves indelibly on the public mind 
as leading citizens and promoters of the best ele- 
ments of citizenship. Mr. Bull is a member of 
the orders of Freemasons and Odd Fellows, be- 
ing active and influential in the councils of both. 
He was married at Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 
1898, to Miss Lovina \< T anhorn, a native of Kan- 
sas. His home, like that of his partner, Mr. 
O'Neall, is a center of generous hospitality and 
good taste. He and his wife are esteemed mem- 
bers of the best social circles and connected with 
every good work in the community in which 
their lot has been cast. 

SELAR CHENEY. 

One of the customs of our country, which 
has general approval 'and is almost universally 
followed, is to commemorate in local geography 
the names of the daring pioneers whose invad- 
ing footsteps first stir the wild luxuriance of 
natural growth and start the annals of civilized 
man in a new country. Selar Cheney, of South 
Park in the Jackson Hole country of Wyoming, 
prominent in ranching and the cattle industry, 
influential in the affairs of the Mormon church, 
of which he is the presiding elder in his district, 
and a leading man in social circles, is thus me- 
morialized in the name of the postoffice over 



which he presides as the first postmaster, which 
was established in May, 1902. He was bom at 
Springville, Utah, on June 16, 1859, 'a son of 
Elam and Talitha (Garlic) Cheney, the former 
a native of Seneca county, N. Y., and the latter 
of the then Bedford county, Pa. The father was 
a farmer but learned the trade of a carpenter. 
He built a flouring mill and long conducted it in 
Utah and he is still living in Arizona. The 
mother died in Idaho in April, 1902, aged sev- 
enty-nine years. Selar Cheney was educated in 
the public schools of San Pete county, Utah, and 
after leaving school engaged in farming there 
until 1888 when he removed his family to Wyo- 
ming, and located on their present estate of 240 
acres, being among the first settlers in the region 
and having since made in it an enduring mark 
of progress and improvement. On August 10, 
1879, Mr. Cheney was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary A. Wilson of Utah, a daughter of 
Sylvester and Mary Wilson, whose career is re- 
corded on other pages of this work. The Cheney 
family consists of six children : Selar S., mar- 
ried and living near his father ; Ralph W., David 
H., Joseph H., the first white boy born in the 
Jackson Hole region ; Talitha C. and John F. 
Another daughter, Mary E., died in 1888 at the 
age of four and one-half years. As indicative 
of the early advent of this family into this sec- 
tion of country it may be noted that Effle Wilson, 
a daughter of Ervin and Mary J. Wilson and a 
granddaughter of Mrs. Mary Wilson, was the 
first white child born therein and her cousin, Jo- 
seph H. Cheney, was the first white boy. Mr. 
Cheney has been successfully engaged in ranch- 
ing and stockraising on an ascending scale and 
has made his home an attractive and valuable 
property. He has also given an impulse of 
quickening power to all enterprises that seemed 
likely to improve or advance the community, has 
taken active and fruitful interest in the cause of 
education and good government and aided by 
both precept and example every moral influence. 
In politics he is a firm and consistent Republican, 
but is a patriot rather than a partisan, a good citi- 
zen rather than an active official, discharging his 
duty in each capacity without fear or favor. 



568 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ALBERT A. CONANT. 

Through the struggles and triumphs of war 
and peace, through the contests of the unrolling 
columns on bloody battlefields and the milder and 
less strenuous, but more beneficent and produc- 
tive battles in commercial, industrial and politi- 
cal life, Albert A. Conant, of Basin, has come to 
his present estate of competence and comfort, of 
tranquillity and public esteem, among the peo- 
ple in whose midst nearly thirty years of his life 
have been passed. He was born in the state of 
New York on November 14, 1836, the son of 
Shubael and Clara (Hill) Conant, natives of 
Connecticut. In his native state he grew to the 
age of seventeen, working in the factories from 
childhood and in 1853 removing with his pa- 
rents to Michigan. They located near Grand 
Rapids, and he assisted in the work of the 
forest farm on which they settled until 1861, 
when in April, soon after the bombardment of 
Fort Sumter, he enlisted in the Union army as 
a member of Co. F, Third Michigan Infantry, ' 
and served in that regiment until he received at 
the battle of Fair Oaks a wound in the hand 
from a minie ball which crippled him for life. 
He was then discharged and returned to Michi- 
gan, the next year, 1863, he went to Kansas 
where he remained a year, then crossed the plains 
to Montana, reaching Alder Gulch, or Virginia 
City, after a long, tedious and dangerous trip, 
and there for three years he engaged in ranching 
and mining. But the spirit of adventure, awak- 
ened and nourished by his past experience in 
daring and hazardous pursuits, could not rest 
in the quiet of such an existence and he again 
started forth in search of something different. 
He and two companions brought to notice the 
geysers in what is now the celebrated Yellow- 
stone Park and he found himself ere long there- 
after at Eagle Rock, Idaho, now Idaho Falls, 
where he engaged in mining - for a time and then 
went to Arizona where he remained a year and 
a half. From there he came to Utah, and from 
Utah to Fort Hall, Idaho, where he bought a 
herd of cattle which he brought to Bighorn 
county, Wyo., where he settled and prosecuted 



a vigorous business in raising stock until 1882, 
then selling his stock and again engaged in min- 
ing, following this exciting but precarious in- 
dustry for three years. In 1885 he became in- 
terested in the Bonanza oil-fields and is now a 
large stockholder in the company organized to 
develop them. He also owns 160 acres of ex- 
cellent land on No Wood River, which he is 
steadily improving and developing, and has 
valuable holdings in the Owl Mountain copper 
mines. When Mr. Conant came to this part of 
the country it was as yet almost wholly unset- 
tled, the Indians being bitterly hostile to the 
encroachment of the whites on their domain. 
There were many conflicts between the con- 
tending forces and, in one of these which took 
place near where the city of Lander now stands, 
Mr. Conant received a dangerous wound, the 
marks of which are still prominent and the ef- 
fects are frequently felt. He had many other 
thrilling experiences during the period of this 
hostility, being in many places and situations of 
great danger. For a number of years he has 
been connected with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, in the meetings of both finding much 
pleasure and profitable entertainment. 

ERNEST E. FISHER. 

A pioneer of 1879 m Wyoming, Ernest E. 
Fisher, of near Jordan, in Bighorn county, has 
been identified with the history of the state and 
one of the forceful factors in its development 
for nearly a quarter of a century. His native 
state is Illinois, and in that great empire of the 
Mississippi valley he was born on September 
30. 1862. his parents, John W. and Nancy A. 
(Musser) Fisher, being natives of Pennsylvania 
who in their early married life settled in Illinois. 
When he was two years old they removed to 
Wisconsin and in that state he grew to the age 
of sixteen, attending the schools of his district 
as he had opportunity and assisting on the 
farm. He then began the battle of life for him- 
self by coming to Cheyenne and riding the 
range for the M. O. Cattle Co., and after three 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



569 



years of this service, in 1881, he returned to 
Wisconsin, and from there went to Arizona in 
the employ of the North Crow Cattle Co., in 
1888 driving their cattle to Nebraska, where 
he was a feeder for them until 1891. He was 
then with Becker & Deacon and had charge 
of their yards in South Omaha until 1894, 
when he took charge of Hake Bros. & Heish- 
am's cattle in northwestern Nebraska, in 1895 
coming to the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, and 
locating on the No Wood River, where he en- 
gaged in cattleraising on his own account. 
He has 480 acres of ranch land and 100 fine 
cattle on it. He is also interested largely in 
oil lands, and has connection in a leading way 
with other industrial arid commercial enter- 
prises, being an active citizen, always wide- 
awake for any element of progress or improve- 
ment in the community. Such opportunities re- 
ceive hospitable entertainment at his hands and 
have his earnest and intelligent support. And 
while he holds unwavering allegiance to the 
Democratic party, in all the essentials of good 
citizenship in local affairs he foregoes party 
considerations for the general welfare of the 
community. Yet he renders his party good 
service as a worker in the ranks, and on oc- 
casions as its standard-bearer. In 1902 he was 
its candidate for county assessor, and has 
never shrunk from his full share of labor and 
responsibility in connection with its interests. 
He is an active worker in the order of the 
Knights of Pythias and in that of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. At Central City, Neb., 
in 1891, he was married to Miss Nettie M. 
Verigg, a native of Nebraska. They have one 
child, their daughter Erna. 
• 
ZACHARY T. NOBLE. 

The sturdy independence and love of liberty 
which impelled the followers of William Penn 
to leave the home of their forefathers and plant 
their domestic altars in the unbroken wilderness 
of the New World, daring danger, courting toil 
and cheerfvrily enduring all privation incident to 
the change, have furnished forth for the civiliza- 



tion, development and aggrandizement of the 
unknown land to which they came many of the 
most valuable and productive elements of our 
citizenship and many families of our most es- 
teemed citizens in different parts of the Union. 
One of the number, who is entitled to a high 
regard on account of his own sterling worth and 
because of the forces for good which he has set 
in motion by his influence and example, is Zach- 
ary Taylor Noble of the Bigpiney district of Uinta 
county, who, born at Burlington, Iowa, on No- 
vember 7, 1848, the day on which "Old Rough 
and Ready" was elected to the Presidency of the 
United States, very properly bears his honored 
name. His parents were Richard and Elizabeth 
(Carroll) Noble, the father a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and the mother of Ohio. Mr. Noble is 
descended from an old Irish family, some mem- 
bers of which left the uncongenial soil of their 
native Erin and came to America with the great 
Quaker leader, William Penn, and settled in 
that part of his domain now Washington county. 
There the family lived and flourished, pursuing 
with commendable industry and frugality the 
fruitful vocations of peace, but, although fer- 
vently patriotic and deeply imbued with the spirit 
of freedom, never taking part in any of their 
country's wars because of their Quaker faith. 
In the course of time they spread out over the new 
country lying to the west of them and, in this 
way, Richard Noble, the father of Zachary T., 
became a resident of Ohio. He there carried on 
prosperous business as a farmer and stockgrower 
and also worked at his trade of bricklayer. In 
185 1, he crossed the plains to California, reach- 
ing the terminal of his long journey after much 
difficulty, being- obliged to walk all of the last 
thousand miles, although he had the best outfit 
that crossed the plains that year. After three 
years of successful mining and prospecting, he 
returned to New York by way of Cape Horn 
and soon after found an agreeable home in Des 
Moines county, Iowa, where he at once became 
prominent in politics, being the first represent- 
ative to the State Legislature from that county. 
He died there in 1891, aged eighty-three years. 
Zacharv T. Noble was reared and educated in 



57o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Iowa and when he left school began farming in 
that state. After following this occupation there 
for five years, he removed to Nebraska in 1871, 
and, three years later, by reason. of the hard times 
then general throughout the country, he was 
obliged to relinquish all of his interests in the 
place where he was residing and locating then 
at North Platte, where he at once engaged in rid- 
ing the range for various large compan- 
ies, among them Bratt, Coe & Carter. He 
also rode with Cody and North and afterwards 
conducted an outfit out of Cheyenne for the Fron- 
tier Co. for five years until that company went 
broke. Then on account of his wife's failing 
health he removed to Uinta county, Wyo., and, 
purchasing the claim of Walter Nichols, located 
on the land he now occupies. His ranch con- 
sists of 1,120 acres, the entire tract being fenced 
and ditched and the property well improved. It 
is one of the pleasant and desirable homes of the 
section, largely owing its attractiveness to his 
industry and skill in. caring for and improving it. 
He also owns 320 acres in the Fall River basin. 
He is largely engaged in raising Hereford and 
Shorthorn cattle and superior breeds of horses. 
In fraternal relations Mr. Noble is connected 
with the order of Freemasons, holding member- 
ship in a lodge at Danville, Iowa. At Mount 
Pleasant, Iowa, on October 8, 1872, he was mar- 
ried with Miss Sarah E. Webster, a native of 
Lee county, Iowa, and a daughter of Caleb and 
Margaret A. (Wiggins) Webster, natives of 
Ohio. Her father was a cousin of the great 
American commoner, Daniel Webster. They 
have no children save an adopted son, Charles 
Powers, whose mother died at the time of his 
birth, and his father, a railroad engineer, was 
killed in the performance of his duty in a wreck 
on the road. This adopted son, Charles Powers, 
was born at Joplin, Mo., on April 28, 1880. 

CORNELIUS EDWARDS. 

The little country of Wales has sent many 
of her sons to the United States and they invari- 
ably prove sterling citizens, intelligent, industri- 
ous and manifest forces for usefulness in the 



' communities where they have established their 
homes. Cornelius Edwards, the popular and ef- 
ficient chief engineer of the Kemmerer coal mines 
is one of this class. He was born in South Wales 
hi August, 1856, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Thomas) Edwards, who descended from fam- 
ilies resident in Wales from time immemorial. 
At an early age becoming practically acquainted 
with the theories of engineering, it did not take 
Mr. Edwards long to acquire the actual workings 
of that trade and, after the family migration to 
Utah in 1873, as a portion of the Mormons 
yearly addition to the population of the Prom- 
ised Land, which he accompanied, the new home 
was made at Evanston, Wyoming, where the 
mother is now residing, the father closing his 
stay on earth in October, 1895, at the age of 
seventy-eight years. Cornelius Edwards, one of 
the ten children of his parents now living, was 
thoroughly equipped for his life in the West by 

, his complete knowledge of his trade and took 
the position of chief engineer at the U. P. mines 
at Almy, Wyo., holding this with great capabil- 
ity until the mines were closed as the result of 
the great explosion, following which he was en- 
gaged in the same capacity at Spring Valley, 
performing here his duties in the same compe- 
tent manner that had characterized his work at 
Almy. In 1900 he took charge of the mining 
machinery at Frontier, and is the present incum- 
bent of the chief engineer's office, being sober, 
industrious and capable and one to whom the 
higher trusts can be safely given. He is a public- 
spirited citizen, popular in the community and in 
the fraternal societies of the United Workmen 
and the Woodmen of the World. His earnest la- 
bors in the business field have brought him satis- 
factory financial results, tangible evidence of this 
being shown in his fine residence at Evanston 
and the productive ranch on Black's Fork in the 
Fort Bridger country, where he is quite exten- 
sively engaged in profitable stockraising. In 
Evanston, Wyo., on April 22, 1874. Mr. Ed- 
wards and Miss Eliza Blight, a daughter of 
Philip Blight, were joined in matrimony and 
from that union has resulted eleven children. 
Mary |., the wife of Arthur E. Robinson of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



571 



Frontier ; Christmas, married and living at Ev- 
anston, where he is employed in the railroad 
shops; Gertrude, wife of George Fife of Evans- 
ton; Cornelius; Hattie ; Philip; Simon; Edna; 
Otto and Effie (twins) ; and one who died in 
infancy. The family occupies a distinguished 
position in the community and are in the mem- 
bership of the Church of the Latter Day Saints 
in Evanston, being loyal to their church, them- 
selves and the well-being of society. 

AARON MYERS. 

One of the leading attorneys of Southern 
Wyoming, one who is earning a high rank as 
a mining and an irrigation attorney, is Aaron 
Myers, now of the city of Encampment, Carbon 
county. A native of Urbana, Ohio, he was born 
on October 27, 1872, the son of Wildey and 
Eliza (Waugh) Myers, the former a native of 
Ohio and the latter a native of the county of 
Orange in Virginia. His paternal grandfather, 
whose name was also Aaron Myers, was also a 
native of Virginia, who removed to Ohio during 
the early period of the settlement of that com- 
monwealth, being one of its earliest pioneers. 
He established his home in the county of Cham- 
paign and followed farming. His maternal 
grandfather, Alexander Waugh, also a native of 
Virginia, enlisted as a private in the U. S. army 
of the War of 18 12, and served with distinction, 
being promoted for gallantry in action and being 
mustered out at the end of his service as cap- 
tain. At the close of the war he returned to his 
former home in Virginia and there remained un- 
til his death in the later fifties. He was a large 
property owner, the proprietor of one of the 
great plantations of Virginia, and the owner 
of many slaves. The father of Aaron Myers 
was a prominent scholar of Ohio, and a professor 
in various institutions of learning of the state up 
to the time of his death, which occurred at the 
early age of thirty years. He possessed ability 
and high attainments and his untimely death was 
a distinct loss to the cause of education. He 
left but one son, Aaron. After the death of the 
father, the mother disposed of a portion of her 



property in Ohio, and with her son removed to 
Kansas. Here she purchased a large farm in 
which she still owns, and where she has since 
the Snokomo Valley, in Wabaunsee county, Kan., 
resided. Here her son passed his early boyhood, 
and acquired his elementary education. At the 
age of eleven years, his mother placed him in the 
preparatory department of Washburn College, 
at Topeka, Kan'. Here he pursued a thorough 
course of study and was graduated from the in- 
stitution in 1891 at the head of his class. He 
then entered the Johns Hopkins University at 
Baltimore, Md., there remained two years, his 
principal studies being Roman law, history and 
political economy. When he had completed this 
course he accepted a position as a professor in 
the New Windsor (Md.) College, after one year 
resigning this position, to enter the law depart- 
ment of the University of Maryland, where he 
pursued a full course of study. He was gradu- 
ated in the class of '96, which contained sixty- 
five members, among which he ranked as fifth. 
He was admitted to the bar in that year in the 
Baltimore courts. The death of his grandfather 
occurring in Ohio, he went to that state for the 
purpose of settling up the large estate and was 
occupied for several years in this. In 1899 he 
came to Denver, Colo., bringing with him a 
strong letter of recommendation from Hon. 
George R. Peck, the well-known railroad at- 
torney, which gave him standing and he entered 
the office of the law-firm of Rodgers, Cuthbert 
& Ellis, and remained with them about two 
years, being associated with the firm in a large 
amount of important litigation, and having an 
opportunity to familiarize himself with many im- 
portant points of practice. He was very success- 
ful in' his methods of procedure, was a close stu- 
dent and earned for himself an enviable position 
at the Denver bar. In 1901, having acquired 
some important interests in the new copper min- 
ing camp of Encampment, Wyo., he came there 
and concluded to remain there in the practice of 
his profession. He opened an office, and has 
met with great success. While engaged in the 
general practice of the law, he has confined his 
investigations, so far as he was able to do so, to 



572 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mining and irrigation law, believing that these 
are the most important branches of the law in the 
West. He has recently (1902) received the ap- 
pointment of city attorney for Encampment, and 
is fast earning for himself a high place in the 
legal profession. Fraternally, he is affiliated 
with the order of the* Modern Woodmen of 
America and takes an active interest in the fra- 
ternal and charitable life of the community in 
which he maintains his home. He is held in 
high regard by all classes of his fellow citizens, 
and is destined to become a prominent factor in 
the business and professional life of the state. 

JOHN C. DEWEY. 

A leader of thought and action in many ways, 
always first, or among the first, with any project 
for the advancement of his community or the 
benefit of its people, quick to see, vigorous to 
apply and intelligent to observe results, when 
any new effort is made or suggested for the mul- 
tiplication of the fruits of labor, John C. Dewey 
of Fairview, Uinta county, proprietor of the 
Dewey House, the only hotel in the place and 
also prominent as a farmer and merchant, is 
justly entitled to honorable mention in any rec- 
ord of the progressive men of Wyoming. Utah 
is the state of his nativity and he was born on 
April 12, 1859, his parents, John C. and Mary 
(Allen) Dewey, being natives of England and 
Iowa respectively, who came to Utah in 1852. 
The father was a farmer and a citizen of great 
enterprise and public spirit. In 1855 he settled 
on land now occupied by the city of Dewey and 
saw the town develop and grow to size and con- 
sequence around him. He was the bishop of the 
Mormon church in that district until his ■ death 
in 1897. His wife was the daughter of Jude and 
Mary A. Allen, who were born and reared in 
Iowa and came to Utah in 1847. Her father was 
a prominent man in local affairs, with influence 
in every circle of thought and effort. Mr. Dewey 
was one of tbe thirteen children of his mother, 
bis father having married twice and being the 
parent of nineteen. Twelve of these are living 
and prospering in various lines of enterprise. 



John was educated in the public school of Brig- 
ham City and after there completing his stud- 
ies he engaged in both farming and stockgrow- 
ing until 1888, when he travelled to Wyo- 
ming, and, here locating on government land 
before it had been surveyed, immediately be- 
gan to experiment in raising grain, princi- 
pally wheat and oats. He was the first man to 
make the attempt to grow the cereals in this val- 
ley and his experiment was watched with close 
attention. In time he came to be recognized as 
the model farmer of the neighborhood, for his 
example was in many ways stimulating and help- 
ful to others. In 1896 he purchased a property 
suitable for the purpose and started a mercantile 
business which he has since been conducting. 
He also bought the hotel property now known as 
the Dewey House, and has from his purchase 
conducted it as a hotel of excellent character and 
complete and comfortable equipment. It is the 
only hotel in the town, but is not on that account 
neglected by its management, or left short of 
anything required for its proper conduct and the 
welfare and enjoyment of its guests. Mr. Dewey 
still owns his home farm, a highly improved 
tract of eighty acres, one-half its original size. 
He is interested in cattle, being also a busy and 
forceful promoter of many utilities for the bene- 
fit of the community. He is president of the Fair- 
view Waterworks Co., was one of the committee 
to get the local telephone plant installed, they be- 
ing obliged to guarantee an annua! revenue for it 
of $2,500 to secure it and he was on the commit- 
tee charged with the construction of tbe Stake 
tabernacle at Afton. From youth he has taken 
an active part in politics and also in church af- 
fairs. He has served as chairman of the county 
central committee of his party and also as pre- 
cinct chairman and was the postmaster at Fair- 
view for six years. In 1900 he was nominated 
for the lower house of the State Legislature, but 
notwithstanding his popularity was unable to 
overcome the large hostile majority which is 
normal in his county. In church affairs he has 
been prominent and influential, serving from 
1889 to 1898 as the first bishop of his ward, and 
giving freely of his time and energy to church 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



573 



work in many other ways. A few years ago, 
conceiving the idea that fruit could be success- 
fully grown in this valley, he set out a number 
of trees and was eminently successful in the ven- 
ture, having had the pleasure of raising the first 
apples ever produced in this section. His or- 
chards are 'young, but very promising and their 
product is of superior quality. On January 24, 
1878, at Salt Lake City, Mr. Dewey married 
with Miss Sarah A. Child, a native of Utah, 
daughter of Orville R. and Sarah U. (Rawson) 
Child, the former born and reared in New York 
and the latter in Illinois. The father was a man 
of intelligence and breadth of view, highly es- 
teemed as a citizen and very active and useful 
in the councils of the church. He was a coun- 
sellor to the bishop for a number of years and at 
one time was a missionary among the Indians. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dewey have had ten children, six 
are now living. They are : Annie Urinda, "now 
the wife of Chester Sessions of Fairview ; Mary 
Eliza, now the wife of Joseph Manghan of Pres- 
ton, Idaho; John C, attending the Brigham 
Young College at Logan, Utah ; and George W., 
Horace R. and Jennie Myrtle, living at home. 
Those deceased are Orville L., who died in Sep- 
tember, 1898, aged thirteen ; Ida Matilda, who 
died in July, 1901, aged thirteen; Joseph V., who 
died in September, 1901, aged seven; Lula, born 
on April 26, 1903, and died the same day. 

REGINALD C. HUNT. 

Holding a leading place among the busi- 
ness men of Fremont county, and with an ac- 
quaintanceship extending among the represen- 
tative people of the state, Reginald C. Hunt, 
the popular and efficient postmaster of Atlantic 
City, Wyoming, finds here the lines.of life run- 
ning in smooth and symmetrical grooves. Hold- 
ing a high place among the citizens of this sec- 
tion, by his natural ability, his superior educa- 
tion and his correct manner of living a record 
of his life is demanded in this record of the pro- 
gressive men of Wyoming. Descending from 
families for long generations holding high 
rank in commercial circles in England, his fa- 



ther being a wealthy shipowner and merchant, 
buying and selling entire cargoes of vessels, Mr. 
Hunt was born in London, England, on Jan- 
uary 26, 1 87 1, a grandson of Robert C. Hunt 
and a son of Joseph C. and Jemima L. (Wild) 
Hunt, the father dying when Reginald was but 
three years of age, while the mother still main- 
tains her home in London, two of her three 
children also residing in England. The young- 
est of the family, on the education of Reginald 
C. Hunt much pains and money were well ex- 
pended. He was a natural and enquiring stu- 
dent and, following the early educational dis- 
cipline he received in the ablest preliminary 
schools of London and Germany, he was ma- 
triculated at the celebrated University of Heid- 
elberg, where he took and maintained a high 
rank, and was duly graduated therefrom. Re- 
turning to London he soon emigrated to 
America, coming to Wyoming in 1888, and en- 
gaging in various occupations until 1893, when 
he formed a business association with J. J. 
Steffen in a drug establishment, and, being 
prospered and making many friends, not long 
thereafter he purchased his partner's interest, 
becoming the sole proprietor, adding to the 
stock and departments of trade until he has now 
a complete line of drugs and medicines, and 
a valuable stock of clocks, watches, jewelry, 
etc., having an appreciative patronage and 
possessing a rapidly increasing trade of cumu- 
lative dimensions. His business methods have 
met the approval of the people and on August 
16, 1900, he was appointed the postmaster of 
Atlantic City and is now the incumbent of that 
responsible office, meeting with general ap- 
proval in his administration. He is a very 
public spirited gentleman, taking interest in 
and aiding every movement for the benefit and 
moral uplift of the community, and has efficient- 
ly, filled the office of city marshal. An active 
member of the Republican party, his services 
are loyally given to -the support of its candidates 
and principles, while fraternally he belongs to 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, hold- 
ing membership at Douglas. In social and 
society life the family of Mr. Hunt takes prom- 



574 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



inent station, standing among the leaders in 
entertainments and social functions, his mar- 
riage with Miss Lenora Harsch, on March 8, 
1899, connecting him with the best pioneer 
elements of the state, her parents, Philip and 
Elizabeth Harsch, being oldtimers, and she a 
native of Atlantic City. For ancestral data of 
Mrs. Hunt, the reader is referred to the his- 
tory of Mr. Harsch, appearing elsewhere in 
this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have a 
widely extended acquaintance, which covers a 
large area and is not confined to Wyoming, 
and among their personal friends are the lead- 
ing citizens of the state. 

JOHN ALBERT GUILD. 

One of the active, progressive sons of the 
West, whose enterprising spirit is a decided 
factor in the business, social and political 
circles of Ujnta county and in its surrounding 
territory, John A. Guild, of Lyman, Wyoming, 
can well feel assured that he has a large num- 
ber of strong and effective friendships among 
the people of his section, who esteem him not 
only for his marked business capacity and 
financial shrewdness, but also on account of .his 
many winning and pleasing qualities of head 
and heart. His parents are Charles and Mary 
M. (Cardon) Guild, honored pioneers of Pied- 
mont, and their interesting careers and ances- 
try are preserved on other pages of this volume. 
Their son, John A. Guild, was born in Lehi, 
Utah, on January 4, 1865, and in early life he 
came with his parents to Wyoming. He has 
grown with the growth of the state, acquiring 
his education not only in the public schools, 
but in the broad and comprehensive school of 
experience that his diversified business opera- 
tions have brought him through. His initial 
commercial activities were undertaken at Rock- 
Springs, Wyo., where he conducted a mercan- 
tile establishment until 1900; and during the 
years from 1890 to 1894 he was in a business 
association in butchering and selling meat with 
A. Luman. For the first year of his stay at 
Rock Springs he was also the manager of the 



meat business of Charles Guild & Sons, at that 
place. In 1900 he disposed of his interests 
there and, then removing to Lyman, became the 
superintendent and manager of the store of 
the Guild Mercantile Co., being one of the di- 
rectors of the corporation and also a director 
of the Guild Land & Live Stock Co., being 
also the president of these two companies for 
the year ending February 1, 1903. Mr. Guild 
is a working member of the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter Day Saints, giving freely of 
his time, means and energy to advance its 
cause, and. is the present superintendent of the 
religion classes of Woodruff Stake. Always in 
terested in public issues and political questions 
from a Democratic point of view, he has been 
much in evidence in the local counsels of his 
party, where his influence has often been a de- 
cisive feature. He was once the Democratic 
candidate for State Senator, but the large ad- 
verse majority in the county was too much for 
even his popularity to overcome, and he was 
defeated, but by only 48 votes. At another time 
he was his party's nominee for treasurer of 
Sweetwater county and showed his strength 
among the people as a minority candidate by 
the remarkable feat for a Democrat in that 
county by coming within thirty-two votes of 
an election. He has clone good service as a 
school trustee and, on October it, 1900, he 
was commissioned by President McKinley as 
the postmaster of Bench, and when the name 
of the office was changed to Lyman, he was re- 
commissioned on December 14. igoi. In Og- 
den, Utah, on December 18, 1888. was solem- 
nized the marriage of Mr. Guild and Miss Mina 
Anderson, the parents of the bride being Peter 
and A'lartha (Hanson) Anderson, natives of 
Norway. Three children, Ethel, Yeda and Har- 
old Kensel. have come to the family home, 
where their many friends always receive a cor- 
dial reception and a bounteous hospitality. 
The Guild Mercantile Co. has recently erected 
a new and commodious building in which to 
display the extensive stock they carry, which 
comprises a large line of drygoods, groceries, 
furniture, boots and shoes, hardware, agricul- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



575 



tural implements, in fact all things their great 
range of customers desires, and the business 
is conducted along legitimate and logical lines 
of procedure and holds a representative patron- 
age, expanding its growth and prosperity with 
that of the country. 

WILLIAM J. McGINNIS. 

The affable gentleman whose name heads 
this review and whose wife is the present post- 
master at Midway, Uinta county, Wyoming, and 
who has most efficiently filled the position since 
December 23, 1898, Mr. William J. McGinnis 
was born in Adair county, Ky., in 1848, a son of 
Anderson and Nancy (Preston) McGinnis, also 
natives of the Dark and Bloody Ground. An- 
derson McGinnis was of Irish parentage and 
was a planter. From Kentucky he moved to 
Nebraska, and then to Davis county, Mo,, where 
his death occurred in 1900 at the age of eighty- 
one years, his remains being interred at Wins- 
ton, Mo- Nancy (Preston) McGinnis was of 
Scotch descent, bore her husband six sons and 
four daughters, of which family five are still 
living. Of these ten children, William J. was 
the fourth and the eldest boy. The mother of 
this family was untimely called away in 1865 at 
the comparatively early age of forty-one years. 
Mr. McGinnis was educated in Kentucky and in 
early manhood emigrated to Utah and Nevada, 
where for about twenty years he was engaged 
in silver mining. In 1887 he came to Wyoming 
and took up a preemption claim of 160 acres, 
and a desert claim of 240 acres where he now 
lives and which he has all under irrigation, and, 
it is needless to add, under a good state of culti- 
vation. Here he also owns a large herd of cattle. 
Mr. McGinnis was joined in matrimony in Salt 
Lake county, Utah, in 1876, with Miss Mary H. 
Moore, a daughter of Samuel and Mary C. 
(Hawke) Moore. Samuel Moore was born in 
Massachusetts on January 19, 1804, died on 
October 26, 1883, and was buried in Utah. The 
maternal grandfather of Mrs. McGinnis was 
William Hawke, a native of Pennsylvania. The 
marriage of William J. and Mary H. McGinnis 



has been crowned with eight children, of whom 
seven are living, Caroline M. of Nebraska; An- 
derson L. ; Miranda ; Lucilla A. ; William J. ; 
Olive H. ; Frank R. E. The deceased child, Asa 
E., was born on July 17, 1889, and died at La- 
Barge, Wyo., November 15, 1890. Besides en- 
during the hardships of frontier life in the far 
West and assisting materially in the development 
of the country, Mr. McGinnis served as a 
Union soldier in the great Civil War in Co. C, 
Thirteenth Kentucky Cavalry, having enlisted on 
December 26, 1863, and being mustered out on 
March 1, 1865, during which period he partici- 
pated in many a hard-fought battle, among them 
that of Salt Works, Ky. Since his residence in 
Wyoming, Mr. McGinnis has done much toward 
the development of the country, with three others 
taking out the first irrigation canal in the Green 
River Valley, and in the promoting of its pros- 
perity, and with this prosperity his own has kept 
pace. He is public spirited and enterprising, 
ever ready to extend a helping hand to' the in- 
coming stranger. He believes in progress, and 
few men in Uinta county take a greater interest 
in its development. 

HON. GEORGE FERRIS. 

The gentleman whose eventful life it is now 
our high privilege to review, was during his life- 
time one of the best-known citizens of Carbon 
county, Wyoming, and one of the most honorable 
and enterprising cattlemen of the Platte River 
valley. He was born on a farm in Michigan, 
where he received the usual education of farm- 
ers' lads and passed his early manhood in the pur- 
suit of agriculture. He was a son of Samuel 
Ferris, a native of New York, who was born 
in 1800 and came with his wife, Sally (Spears) 
Ferris, to Michigan, in which state he died when 
nearly eighty-six years old. He was truly an 
American patriot and at the breaking out of the 
Civil War he flew to the defense of the flag of 
his country, enlisting in Co. D, Seventh Michi- 
gan Cavalry, served four years and was mus- 
tered out as lieutenant, having been promoted 
from the ranks for meritorious conduct in the 



576 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



presence of the enemy. This muster-out took 
place at Camp Douglas, Utah, from which point 
Mr. Ferris returned to Michigan. Mr. Ferris 
shared in all the marches, battles and engage- 
ments in which his regiment took part and was 
never known to shirk his duty or to be absent 
from his post, except when laboring under a dis- 
ability caused by sickness or wounds. On his 
return to Michigan he remained there one year, 
then came to Carbon county, Wyoming, and em- 
ployed himself for a short time in hunting and 
prospecting, but soon entered into the all-per- 
vading cattle business, in conjunction with Joe 
Hurt, securing a ranch on the Platte River, twelve 
miles below Fort Steele. In 1889 Mr. Ferris 
sold out his cattle interests and turned his at- 
tention to sheepraising, which occupied his time 
until four years ago, when he sold his interest in 
this industry. Among his other experiences in 
the mines of Wyoming in which he had taken an 
interest, Mr. Ferris and his associates once grub- 
staked Ed. Haggarty, who later discovered the 
now famous Ferris-Haggarty mine. Soon after 
the discovery of this mine, before much work 
had been done, one of his associates offered to 
sell his interest to Mr. Ferris, which offer was 
quickly accepted by him, and he at once, with 
that indomitable pluck and energy so character- 
istic of him, devoted his whole time and means 
to the development of the mine ; with what suc- 
cess can be best judged from the fact that in 
September, 1902, the Ferris-Haggarty mine was 
sold to the North American Copper Mining Co. 
for $1,000,000; and to George Ferris belongs the 
credit of the stability of the mining industry, as 
it exists in Carbon county today. In politics Mr. 
Ferris was a stanch Republican and twice repre- 
sented his party in the Wyoming Legislature 
as well as in the constitutional convention which 
admitted the territory of Wyoming into the sis- 
terhood of states. Among minor offices he held 
that of county commissioner and he was always 
a faithful and intelligent official in every capac- 
ity which he was called upon to fill. He died full 
of honor in August, 1900. Mrs. Julia Ferris, 
the honored widow of George Ferris, who bore 
the maiden name of Julia Cbilds, was born in 



New York, a daughter of John Childs, a native 
of the same state, who died in i860, when but 
forty-seven years of age, being also a son of 
Jonas Childs, himself a native of New York. 
The mother of Mrs. Ferris was born in Ohio and 
passed away in 1864 at the age of forty-four. As 
Mrs. Ferris was very young when bereft of her 
parents she was kindly taken in charge by J. Ar- 
nold, a warm friend of her father, and by him 
was tenderly reared to womanhood. To Mr. 
and Mrs. George Ferris were born these chil- 
dren, May, deceased ; Edna, deceased ; Frank 
Ray ; Yern ; Ralph ; Cecil. 

EUGENE R. NOBLE. 

What was to the last generation a living, 
struggling, controlling reality, to this one a fad- 
ing, but still potential, entity and institution, and 
what will be to the next a memory and a remin- 
iscence, the cowboy of the wild West, is interest- 
ing from even- point of view. Poets have car- 
oled about him, historians have fixed his place 
in the course of empire in this new domain, nov- 
elists have made him their engaging theme, and 
dramatists have gladly welcomed his coming up- 
on their mimic stage "to bold, as 'twere, the 
mirror up to nature." It is not within the prov- 
ince of these pages to deal with types abstractly, 
but to take them in concrete form and to show 
thereby how they have aided, all, in building here 
great states and polities, a refuge and a home for 
men of every clime and kin. Eugene R. Noble of 
Bigpiney, Uinta county, Wyoming, is a cowboy 
of the olden time, having good service to his 
credit in every phase of the range rider's wild 
life, exhibiting in himself all the essential traits 
and holding fast to all the traditions of the class. 
Mr. Noble was born on May 3, 1854, in Henry 
count}', Iowa, where his parents, Richard and 
Elizabeth (Carroll) Noble, had settled and were 
engaged in farming. His father was a native 
of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio, but 
only one generation removed from Scotland, the 
home of her ancestors, her father having emi- 
grated from that country to America when 
he was in youthful years. Their son, Eu- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



577 



gene, was educated in the good public schools 
of Iowa and, leaving school at quite an early 
age, he at once began farming and rais- 
ing stock near the paternal home, remaining there 
until 1877, when he removed to Nebraska and 
there devoted his energies wholly to the cattle in- 
dustry. He helped to drive the first herd that 
went in on the Middle Loup River, 100 miles 
north of North Platte City. This herd belonged 
to D. R. Rankins, now living in Missouri, and 
contained about 9,000 cattle. In the spring Mr. 
Noble returned to North Platte, during the next 
three years working there for Nichols, Beach & 
Co., riding the range, herding cattle and perform- 
ing the other duties of the alert and accomplished 
cowboy. Following his service for this firm, he 
worked for two years in the employ of Coe & 
Carter in Nebraska, then went to Missouri to buy 
cattle and set up in business for himself. Find- 
ing the stock there in poor condition he went to 
Wisconsin and bought a herd which he drove 
to Nebraska, which, after herding and feeding 
them for two years, he sold to advantage and 
again engaged in range-riding for Mr. Rankins. 
He kept at this in Mr. Rankins' employ for two 
years and then engaged to work on Hat Creek 
for Richard Fruin, taking a herd of cattle to the 
Missouri River. There he was in the service of 
Mr. Fruin's brother, Morton Fruin, driving 9,500 
head of cattle from Buffalo, Wyo., to the North- 
west Territory, Canada, remaining there in charge 
of the outfit for a year, when he returned to Ne- 
braska and later to his former home in Iowa, 
where he passed the winter. In the spring he 
came west again, taking charge of an outfit 
in Colorado and Wyoming for Nelson Morris of 
Chicago. Soon after, finding that the range in 
the neighborhood where he was located was 
eaten out by sheep, he came to Uinta county and 
took the management of the 67 outfit and con- 
tinued in charge of it until 1897 when he home- 
steaded on part of the land he now owns and 
occupies, increasing his holding by purchase un- 
til it now embraces 1,000 acres, most of it ex- 
cellent meadow land and admirably adapted to 
stockgrowing, in which he is extensively en- 
gaged, running principally graded Herefords, 



but he also raises horses of a superior breed. He 
has prospered financially by his care and know- 
ledge; his close attention and fair dealing, and has 
grown strong in the esteem of his fellow men. 
His interest in the affairs of the community has 
been constant, earnest, serviceable, and his influ- 
ence for good on every enterprise for the welfare 
of the people has been potent and active. He is 
connected with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and holds his membership in Lodge 
No. 55, at Cozad, Neb. On New Year's Day, 
1900, he was married in Iowa, to Miss Margaret 
A. Pence, a native of that state and daughter of 
William and Mary (Thomas) Pence, the mother 
being a native of Wales and the father of Lycom- 
ing, Pa. Mr. Pence belonged to an old Colonial 
family, whose members have always been at the 
front in the service of their country, whether 
called by military or civil life. One of his ances- 
tors fought under Washington at Fort Duquesne 
where Braddock fell, and he and others followed 
that great commander through the Revolution. 
The family settled in Iowa in 1838, and were 
pioneers where they "pitched their tents." 

JOHNSON J. FENTON. 

Prepared for his arduous and trying duties 
by a long experience in hazardous occupations 
which quickened his faculties, taught him self- 
reliance, developed and established his courage, 
and gave him a knowledge of men which is 
extensive and exact, Johnson F. Fenton is par- 
ticularly well qualified for the position of sheriff 
of Bighorn county, Wyoming, to which he was 
elected in 1902 and which he is filling with 
great credit to himself and to the satisfaction of 
the public. He is a pioneer of 1888 in the 
state and for nearly two decades has been iden- 
tified with its history and the interests of its 
people, acquiring their habits of thought and 
action, sharing- their ambitions, filled with their 
local patriotism and firmly attached to their in- 
stitutions, which he has helped to make, pro- 
tect and develops Mr. Fenton was born on 
October 30, 1867, in Pennsylvania, of parents 
also natives of that state, his father being John 



578 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and his mother Rebecca (Harris) Fenton. 
When he was yet an infant they moved to 
Marshalltown, Iowa, where they resided until 
1881. From that time until 1888, their home 
was at Grundy Center ; and at these various 
places he received a common-school education, 
and was trained for the duties of life in active 
experience in various useful employments. In 
1888 he came to Wyoming and, entering into 
the spirit and attaching himself to the prin- 
cipal pursuit of the region in which he had 
sought a new home, he became a rangerider 
and followed this exhilarating but dangerous 
occupation for a period of two years in the vi- 
cinity of Pratt and for three more near Fort 
Collins, Colo. Five years sufficed to give him 
all the experience in- this line he desired and, at 
the end of that time, he became a railroad con- 
tractor in Nebraska, a business in which he 
continued until 1894. In that year he came to 
the Bighorn basin and bought a ranch on Shell 
Creek, comprising 320 acres of good land, on 
which he has since been actively engaged in 
conducting a flourishing stock industry, run- 
ning an average of 150 cattle and other kinds of 
stock. Throughout his career he has been a 
zealous and progressive developer of the re- 
sources of the section in which he has lived 
and a willing contributor to the visible proofs 
of enterprise. He built the first frame house 
in the town of Otto and three of the early 
structures erected in Basin. The houses in 
Basin still belong to him and he has other prop- 
erty in the county. He is one of the heaviest 
stockholders in the city water-works, and was 
one of the most active and influential pro- 
moters of the, introduction of the plant. His 
general excellence as a citizen, his wide ex- 
perience in life and the manly qualities which 
distinguish him have given him force and 
potency in political affairs, also marking him 
as a suitable man for the administration of 
official duties of a responsible and important 
character; so, in the fall of 1902, he was elected 
sheriff of the county, entering upon the dis- 
charge of the work of his office with the full 
confidence of the public that he would perform 



it well and that confidence he has fully justified. 
He was married at Fort Collins, Colo., in 1892, 
to Miss Zuna Ames, a native of Michigan. 
They have three children, Verna, Zula and Ora. 

ROBERT P. ALLAN. 

Among the many successful, progressive and 
enterprising men of the state of Wyoming who 
have accumulated fortunes in the cattle busi- 
ness, no one stands higher or is held in greater 
esteem than Robert P. Allan, of Iron Mountain. 
Coming into the then territory in 1881, when a 
young man, with little or no capital, save his 
energy, ability and a determination to succeed 
in the new country which he had adopted as his 
future home, he has steadily increased his busi- 
ness operations from year to year, adding to his 
holdings from time to time, as opportunity of- 
fered and his means permitted, until now he has 
perhaps the finest ranch property in his section 
of the state, and is considered as one of the most 
substantial business men of Wyoming. He is 
a native of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, that 
land which has contributed so many of the names 
most prominent in American history, as well in 
business as in the professions and in public life. 
He was born on March 5, 1854, the son of John 
and Margaret (Perrie) Allan, natives of Scot- 
land, where his father followed mining. The 
family emigrated to America in 1869, first going 
to Pennsylvania, and soon after arriving there 
the home was established in Luzerne county. 
Here the father became superintendent of one of 
the mines of the Pennsylvania Coal Co., and re- 
mained in that position for over twenty-five years, 
then received a promotion and is still in the em- 
ploy of the same company. The mother died in 
1875, and lies buried in Avoca, Luzerne county. 
Robert P. Allan received his early academical 
training in the schools of Glasgow, Scotland, and 
of Avoca, Pa. He then accepted a position in 
the mines of Luzerne county and remained in 
that employment until the .spring of 1881, when 
the spirit of enterprise led him to seek his for- 
tune in the West. He came to Cheyenne. Wyo., 
and soon secured employment on a ranch then 








SP /faz^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



579 



owned by Mr. Andrew Gilchrist, about sixteen 
miles west of Cheyenne. Here he continued until 
the fall of that year, when in company with a 
friend, R. B. Anderson, with whom he had come 
from Pennsylvania, he purchased a ranch on 
Middle Crow Creek, about sixteen miles west of 
Cheyenne, and together they embarked in cattle- 
raising. They remained in this business for 
about one year when Mr. Allan sold his interest 
to his partner and came to Iron Mountain, where 
he took up a ranch on Chugwater, about forty- 
five miles northwest of Cheyenne, very soon 
thereafter, however, he disposed of an interest 
in it to Andrew Gilchrist and others and a stock 
company was organized for the purpose of enter- 
ing into the cattle business on a large scale, Mr. 
Allan becoming manager of the company. He 
continued in this position one year when he sold 
his stock and resigned his position. In the year 
1884, he formed a partnership relation with J. 
C. Baird and they purchased a ranch on the 
Chugwater and engaged there in the cattle busi- 
ness, Mr. Allan having entire charge of the busi- 
ness. He remained here until 1892, the enter- 
prise growing in extent. There was a dissolu- 
tion of the partnership arrangement and a di- 
vision of the joint property in 1892, Mr. Baird 
retaining the lands and Mr. Allan taking the 
horses and cattle as his portion. He then re- 
moved to Bear Creek and there established him- 
self on a ranch about three miles from his pres- 
ent ranch, buying more stock and entering ex- 
tensively into stockraising. Since that time he 
has steadily added to his holdings; both of lands 
and stock, purchasing ranches adjoining his orig- 
inal place, until now he is the owner of over 
3,500 acres of fine land well fenced, well irrigated 
and improved, besides controlling leased lands, 
used by him for range purposes. Of recent 
years he has confined his operations mainly to 
cattle, finding that that line yields a larger re- 
turn on the capital invested, and he now is the 
possessor of the finest ranch property on Bear 
Creek, one of the leading stock sections of Wyo- 
ming. His beautiful home at that place (which 
he occupies only as a summer residence, residing 
in his spacious home in Cheyenne during the 

36 



winter months) has all modern improvements, 
and the family dispense here in summer a gen- 
erous and refined hospitality to their many 
friends. On June 6, 1886, Mr. Allan was united 
in marriage at the city of' Cheyenne, to Miss An- 
nie W. Brown, a native of Scotland, a daughter 
of James and Elizabeth (Hunter) Brown, natives 
of that country. The parents of Mrs. Allan em- 
igrated to America in 1867, and settled at Avoca, 
Pa., where they were later neighbors of the Al- 
lan family, and Mr. and Mrs. Allan have known 
each other from early childhood. The father of 
the latter, who was engaged in mining, passed 
away in August, 1883, and was buried at Avoca, 
where the mother is still -living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Allan have had but one child, Alexander B., 
born on October 11, 1888, and giving promise of 
a bright and vigorous manhood, yet he suddenly 
sickened and died when but twelve years of age, 
on October 17, 1900, and was buried in the city 
of Cheyenne. Mr. Allan is affiliated with the 
Masonic order, as a member of the lodge at Chey- 
enne, and also with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows at Cheyenne. He is identified with 
the Republican party and is a loyal supporter 
of its principles and candidates. He takes an 
active part in the management of party affairs, 
being prominent in conventions and a leader in 
all movements calculated to advance the welfare 
of the party, but has never desired or sought po- 
sition for himself, preferring to give his entire 
time and attention to the management of his 
large business interests. By reason of his habits 
of thrift and industry, inherited from a long line 
of Scotch ancestry, as well as by good judgment 
and fine business ability, he has built up one of 
the most extensive and best paying ranch and 
stock properties in Wyoming, and there is no 
more substantial business man, or more highly 
respected citizen in his section of the state. 

JAMES M. NOBLE. 

One of the substantial and progressive men 
of Fremont county, Wyoming, whose impress 
is seen on all the elements and evidences of 
advancement and improvement in his section 



58o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of the state, and whose public spirit, enterprise 
and breadth of view have helped to raise the 
standard of citizenship in the farther West, is 
James M. Noble, a prominent rancher and 
stockgrower on the New Fork near Cora, Wyo. 
He is a native of Burlington, Iowa, where he was 
born on January i, 1863, and where his par- 
ents, Richard and Elizabeth (Carroll) Noble were 
for long years highly respected and influential 
citizens. The father was a native of Pennsylva- 
nia and the mother of Ohio. They came to 
Burlington early in life, where the father fol- 
lowed his chosen pursuit as a stonecutter and 
contractor, also building and operating the first 
flouring mill in Burlington, then but a small, 
yet promising town not far from the frontier, 
just beginning to have an extensive river com- 
merce. It was a promising field for the elder 
Noble's enterprise and public spirit and there 
he flourished and rose to prominence, was one 
of the leading business men of the inchoate 
city, chosen by its people to represent them 
in the state legislature from time to time. In 
1894, after a career of usefulness and honor, 
he passed away at the age of seventy-seven, 
and his remains were buried amid the scenes he 
loved and had helped to make interesting, be- 
side those of his wife who preceded him to the 
other world by a quarter-of-a-century, she hav- 
ing died in 1869, aged forty-five. Both were 
of old Colonial stock, natives of the state of 
New York and of Scotch and English ancestry, 
whose sterling traits they well exemplified. 
Their son, James M. Noble, was educated in 
the public schools of his native city and at 
Howe's Academy at Mount Pleasant in the ad- 
joining county. On leaving school he removed 
to Nebraska and there for eight years was en- 
gaged in ranching and raising stock. At the 
end of that time he sold his interests in Ne- 
braska and tried his hand at mining in Colorado, 
Utah and Idaho until 1895, when he came to 
the Bigpiney region of Wyoming, and for two 
years conducted there a stock industry. In 
1897 he settled in the locality where he now re- 
sides and on a portion of the land which now 
forms his very valuable and attractive ranch of 



640 acres of good meadow land, which 3'ields 
him large annual crops of hay, an increasing 
acreage of grain and generously supports his 
extensive herds of superior cattle. The in- 
terests of his ranch are extensive and exact- 
ing, but they are not sufficient to occupy all 
his time or engage all the faculties of his active 
and comprehensive mind. Accordingly he has 
recently built a commodious store building and 
is conducting a mercantile establishment of 
great promise with energy and vigor. A gen- 
tleman of fine public spirit, Mr. Noble takes a 
great and helpful interest in all the affairs of 
the community in which he lives, being closely 
identified with every movement for its progress 
and improvement. He was made postmaster 
at Cora in 1899 and has conducted the affairs 
of the office with signal ability and close atten- 
tion. In this, as in everything else, he has ex- 
hibited excellent business qualifications, com- 
mendable breadth of view, a generous consider- 
ation for the comfort and welfare of his fel- 
lows and an exalted standard of citizenship. He 
has had much to do with the development of 
the county and state, much that is of value in 
local institutions stands to the credit of his in- 
fluence and inspiring example. He was mar- 
ried on Bigpiney in December, 1897, to Miss 
Pauline Rahen, a native of Switzerland. They 
have three children, Ida, Frieda and James R., 
all living at home and adding to the bright- 
ness and cheer of a home known far and wide 
as a center of genuine and gracious hospitality, 
where friends are always cordially received and 
reputable strangers are not unwelcome. No citi- 
zen stands higher in public regard. 

CHARLES B. KERSHNER. 

Charles B. Kershner, the county assessor of 
Bighorn county, came to Wyoming in his youth, 
completed his education in her schools and en- 
tered upon the active duties of life and citizen- 
ship as a part of her body politic, thus being 
closely identified with her history, her interests, 
her development and her progress. He first 
saw the light of this world on November 14, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



58i 



1872, in Illinois, whither his father, George W. 
Kershner, had come from Ohio, the state of his 
nativity, and where he had met and married 
Miss Cynthalia Layton, the capable mother of 
Charles. The parents were well-to-do farmers 
in Illinois and a record of the father's life is 
given in another part of _this work. When 
Charles was nine years old the family removed 
from Illinois to Kansas and, after a residence in 
that state lasting six years they came to Wyo- 
ming, locating where the father now lives on 
Horse Creek. Since then Charles has been 
continuously a resident of Wyoming and from 
her soil he has drawn his stature and his 
strength. When he left school he began work- 
ing for himself at various occupations and by 
thrift, energy and frugal living, acquired the 
means for a more ambitious undertaking than 
working for others at a salary. In 1893 he lo- 
cated a homestead on White Creek, not far from 
his paternal fireside, and there proceeded to de- 
velop and improve his property and also to ex- 
pand a very modest cattle industry which he 
there started. After a few years of diligent and 
profitable .labor on this place, he sold it and 
bought a partially improved ranch on Beaver 
Creek, which he still owns, and on which he 
conducts a nourishing stock business, handling 
horses principally, and also doing a good busi- 
ness in general farming. His ranch comprises 
160 acres of excellent land, well adapted to his 
uses, and in its well improved and highly cul- 
tivated condition it is largely the product of his 
enterprise and skill, the expression of his taste 
and wisdom in the occupation he has chosen. 
His fellow citizens of the county have found 
him capable and worthy, and have shown their 
convictions on this score by electing him as- 
sessor for the county, choosing him to fill this 
office in 1902, finding since then in his admin- 
istration of its duties abundant evidence of the 
wisdom of their choice. On January 5, 1898, he 
was married to Miss Nellie Trone, a native of 
Maryland, but living at the time of her mar- 
riage at Sheridan, Wyo., where the nuptial rites 
were solemnized. They have three children, 
Minnie, Jennie and Myrtle. 



OSCAR HUNSINGER. 

Born and reared in Ohio and when he reach- 
ed manhood making his way to the Northwest 
and halting in several states for different periods 
as he came, working at various occupations here 
and there, but always in the country, it may be 
said that Oscar Hunsinger, of the Hyattville re- 
gion in Bighorn county, has passed all of his 
life in rural pursuits and belongs essentially to 
that class, which is the hope and salvation of 
every country in every crisis, the rural popula- 
tion. His life began on October 23, 1869, in the 
same neighborhood in which his father, Henry 
Hunsinger, and his mother, nee Mary Newell, 
were born and reared in Jackson county, Ohio. 
He remained at home until he was twenty years 
old, being reared in the city of Jackson, attend- 
ing the public schools for a few years in the 
winter months and assisting on the farm at other 
times. As he grew toward manhood he yearned 
for a view of some of the world that lay beyond 
his native hills and vales, and accordingly he 
came west, where there were immense tracts of 
unoccupied land and hundreds of mines of 
every mineral just opening their mouths to pro- 
claim their hitherto hidden stores of wealth, also 
vast forests long waiting for the blade of the 
axeman ; where mercantile enterprise, commer- 
cial energy and industrial activity were harness- 
ing art and human intelligence to the car of prog- 
ress, with small supplies of brawn and brain to 
direct their forces. In due time he reached Mon- 
tana and, after a short stay in that state, came to 
Wyoming, locating in the Bighorn basin, where 
he was engaged in rangeriding and farming for 
others for a time, and until he entered into a 
partnership with F. P. Carr for the purpose of 
carrying on a stock business of good proportions. 
The partnership lasted until 1903, when Mr. 
Hunsinger sold out, went to Hyattville and 
opened a busineess in merchandising which he 
is still conducting with vigor and success. In 
the development of the town and the promotion 
of good enterprises for its advancement he takes 
a lively interest and in political affairs gives a 
loyal and active service to his party. He was 



582 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



married at Hyattville, on December 25, 1900, to 
Miss Maud Hammond, a native of Utah, and 
Mrs. Hunsinger is the postmistress of the town. 
They have one child, a daughter named Mary. 

JAMES I. PATTEN. 

Born and reared on farms in the Mississippi 
Valley, serving a useful apprenticeship as clerk 
and salesman in a Chicago store, submitting for 
a short period to the stern discipline of the army 
and daring the dangers of war in that period, 
subsequently crossing the plains with a team and 
in various places carrying on mercantile enter- 
prises of differing magnitude and character, en- 
during at the same time all the privations of 
frontier life, James I. Patten of Basin, a pioneer 
of 1867 in Wyoming, and now one of its promi- 
nent and successful merchants, was trained to 
resourcefulness, accuracy and self-reliance by 
an experience more varied and more filled with 
instructive and helpful features than that which 
falls to the lot of most men. Amid the peaceful 
scenes of rural life in Ohio he first saw the light 
of this world on February 4, 1840. His parents, 
Alexander and Elizabeth (Hunter) Patten, were 
born and reared in Pennsylvania and in the 
strength and hopefulness of their early married 
life they came as settlers to Ohio. From their 
home in that state, when their s"on James was 
two years old, they removed to Illinois and, in 
1855, thirteen years later, took another flight to- 
ward the farther West to Iowa. In these two 
states the boyhood and youth of Mr. Patten were 
passed and in the latter state his first efforts in 
his own behalf to secure a foothold among men 
were made after he left school. In 1864 he went 
to Chicago and worked as clerk and salesman in 
a shoestore for a short time, and then enlisted 
for service in the Civil War in Co. C, One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry. At the 
end of his six-months' enlistment he was dis- 
charged and returned to his former position in 
Chicago where he remained until 1866. He 
then determined to seek a home and larger op- 
portunities in the unsettled domain lying under 
the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, driving for 



this purpose a four-horse team across the plains 
to Colorado in the employ of Captain Taylor. 
Upon his arrival in that country he went to 
work diligently at mining, prosecuting his labors 
with energy and some success for a year. In 
1867 he came to Cheyenne, and the next year to 
Laramie. There he opened a drug-and-confec- 
tionery store and carried on the business until 
1 87 1 when he was appointed teacher of the 
Shoshone Indians at Fort Washakie. He con- 
tinued his pedagogic ministrations for three 
years, and then for three more was engaged in 
raising stock and farming near Lander. In 
1877 he took charge of the Shoshone reservation 
as Indian agent by the appointment of President 
Hayes. At the expiration of his term in 1880 
he returned to the farm and resumed control of 
its operations. He also opened a general store 
at Lander. This he closed out in 1896, and then 
located at Meeteetse, where he conducted a simi- 
lar enterprise for a year, in 1897 coming to 
Basin, where he started the drug-and-stationery 
business which he is now so successfully con- 
ducting. His establishment is one of the select 
ones of the town, largely patronized. by an ap- 
preciative body of customers, who are always 
sure of finding in its stock all kinds of staple 
drugs and chemicals, with the latest novelties in 
stationery, and everything new and attractive in 
fancy articles and toilet perquisites, such as are 
usually kept at a first-class drugstore, and of 
having the goods offered with courtesy and con- 
sideration, which adds materially to the pleasure 
of making purchases. Mr. Patten has always 
been active in local public affairs where he has 
lived, and has borne his share in the burden and 
had his portion of satisfaction in the triumph of 
developing the new country which has been his 
home during the greater portion of his life. He 
was the first postmaster at Lander and one of the 
earliest justices of the peace in the count}-. For 
years he has been an enthusiastic and work- 
ing Freemason and also an active member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic. His first mar- 
riage, which was to Mrs. Anza C. (Gamble) 
Haynes, a native of Kentucky, occurred at Lara- 
mie in 1868. She died at Lander in 1883, leav- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



583 



ing two children, Lois S., wife of H.. S. Boulder, 
of Colorado ; and Fanchon, postmistress at Basin. 
The first husband of Mrs. Patten was drowned in 
a serious flood at Cherry Creek, Pa. The sec- 
ond marriage of Mr. Patten took place at the 
Shoshone agency in 1887, being then united 
with Mrs. Anna (Dodge) White, a native of 
Wisconsin. They have one child, Winifred. In 
politics Mr. Patten is an ardent and loyal Re- 
publican, and as such was elected a member of 
the Territorial Legislature of Wyoming in 1887. 
He served in the body with credit, but declined 
a reelection. 

JOHN ROSE. 

From the proud little kingdom of Portugal, 
on the very edge of the Atlantic, which was 
once almost the mistress of the ocean, and 
was the head of a vast colonial empire, and 
which was also among the first of the Euro- 
pean powers to give intellectual hospitality to 
the project of Columbus to voyage in search 
of a new world, came John Rose, a pioneer in 
1883 of Wyoming, and now a prosperous and 
successful stockgrower and ranchman, living 
eleven miles northeast of Sheridan. He was 
born in 1850, a son of Alexander and Mary 
Rose, also natives of Portugal, who descended 
from long lines of ancestry in that historic 
land. In his native country he was educated 
and grew to man's estate, where he settled 
down to a life of useful toil and with no pros- 
pect of seeking another home for many years. 
But ever and anon he heard the voice of Amer- 
ica calling to him with proffers of open-handed 
bounty, until finally, in 1872, when he was 
twenty-two years of age and all his faculties 
were in the strength of early manly vigor and 
hope and aspiration still sat high on his brow, 
he determined to heed the call, came to the 
United States and for three years worked on 
a farm in Massachusetts. In 1875 ne ^t the 
Atlantic far behind him and sought a better 
destiny in California, where he labored in the 
gold mines until 1881. He then returned to 
Portugal for a visit and remained two years, but 
in 1883 he came again to America and turned his 



attention to farming and stockgrowing. Locat- 
ing a homestead in Wyoming, which is a part 
of the land he now owns, he at once began im- 
proving it, making it habitable for human kind 
and bringing it under systematic cultivation. 
His ranch is beautifully located on the Prairie 
Dog and comprises 320 acres of excellent land 
admirably adapted to the business which he is 
so successfully conducting on its broad ex- 
panse, and satisfying to the taste by its variety 
of scenery and natural beauty. His herd of 
cattle is large and continually increasing in 
size, notwithstanding his annual shipments, 
which are considerable in extent, and the grade 
he handles is high, and kept rigidly up to its 
standard. Mr. Rose was married in Massa- 
chusetts in 1883 with Miss Theresa Vieira, like 
himself a native of Portugal, and they have four 
children, Flora, John, Nellie and Theresa. Al- 
though he lived long in his native country, and 
has many of the most pleasing recollections 
connected with it, Mr. Rose is warmly attached 
to the land of his adoption, rejoicing in its 
opportunities, glorying in its freedom and its 
institutions, and proud of its progress and ad- 
vancement. He takes great and active interest 
in the affairs of his community and county, and 
is always well pleased with an element or an 
evidence of improvement to which he can give 
assistance or encouragement. 

ARTHUR ROBERTS. 

One of the leading citizens of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, and one of the representative busi- 
ness men of that state, Arthur Roberts, of 
Afton, is a native of England, born on June 
13, 1859, a son of Samuel and Mary (Peat) 
Roberts, both natives of England. His paternal 
grandparents were Thomas and Harriet (Orwith) 
Roberts, the former being for many years a 
prominent merchant of Derby, England, and 
the scion of a highly respected family of that 
section of the old country. The parents of 
Mr. Roberts came to America in 1866, the fa- 
ther believing that he would here find a more 
inviting field for his occupation of printing and 



3 8 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



publishing, and established the family home in 
Salt Lake City. The devoted mother passed 
away in 1869, at the age of forty-four years and 
there the father still resides, having retired 
from active business. The family consisted of 
seven children, of whom five are living. Ar- 
thur Roberts received his early education in 
England, subsequently attending the public 
schools of Salt Lake City, later learning the oc- 
cupation of locomotive-engineer, which he con- 
tinuously followed in Utah and other adjoining 
states for about ten years. At the end of that 
time he saw a favorable opportunity to engage 
in the mercantile business at Afton, Wyoming, 
and resigned his railroad position and em- 
barked in business. He has been very success- 
ful and now is the owner of one of the largest 
and most successful mercantile establishments 
in that section of Wyoming, or in the entire 
West. He carries a large stock of general 
merchandise, and his operations are very ex- 
tensive in the western portion of the state. He 
is also interested quite extensively in cattle- 
raising and stockgrowing, being the owner of 
a fine, improved farm situated in the valley a 
few miles from Afton, where he resides. He 
is one of the solid business men and substantial 
property owners of Uinta county, and has met 
with uniform success in his business enterprises. 
On January 5, 1884, Mr. Roberts was united 
in marriage to Miss Martha E. Reese, a native 
of Utah and the daughter of David and Martha 
(Eynon) Reese, both natives of Wales. The 
parents of Mrs. Roberts were among the ear- 
liest pioneers of Utah, being among the most 
highly esteemed of its citizens. Mr. and Mrs. 
"Roberts have five children, Kate, Mary, Homa 
Reese, Gean Valeria and Samuel Edward, all 
living. The family home is noted for the gen- 
erous and genial hospitality which is there dis- 
played. Mr. Roberts is a man of marked pub- 
lic spirit, his enterprise and activity have been 
largely instrumental in developing the resources 
of Western Wyoming and in contributing to 
the growth and settlement of the community 
where he has maintained his home. While 
never seeking political position, he is yet al- 



ways interested in public affairs, at present 
serving as the city treasurer of Afton. He has 
discharged the duties of that responsible po- 
sition with conscientious fidelity, zeal and abil- 
ity. His standing as a representative business 
man and public officer were recognized by 
President Roosevelt in February, 1902, by an ap- 
pointment to the position of postmaster at Afton. 
Mr. Roberts is one of the foremost factors in 
the public, as well as the business life of Western 
Wyoming, and his future will be watched with 
interest by a large circle of admiring friends and 
acquaintances. 

FRANK I. RUE. 

Able as he was to get but a few small draughts 
from the stream of knowledge as it gleamed and 
sparkled across his path, so far as booklearning 
is concerned, Frank I. Rue, county clerk of Big- 
horn county, is nevertheless a well-informed and 
well-educated man in the better and less tech- 
nical meaning of the term. He has been well 
taught in the hard, exacting but thorough school 
of experience, and from that has gathered good 
store of the every-day wisdom dispensed in no 
other. He became a resident of Wyoming more 
than twenty years ago and, during the period 
of his citizenship here, a period which has been 
most prolific in achievement, in invention and dis- 
covery, and in the elevation of mankind in gen- 
eral, prodigious in the triumph of human intelli- 
gence over nature and the beneficent fruits of 
the conquest in this region in particular, he has 
been a potential factor in the advance of civiliza- 
tion and the development and improvement of 
the section in which he has lived. Mr. Rue's 
parents were William H. and Martha (Lake) 
Rue, the former a native of Ohio and the latter 
of Michigan. The father left his native state in 
earlv manhood and came to Minnesota, then a 
part of the farther West, where he began to 
build his fortunes with hope and confidence on 
the virgin soil of his new home. There he met 
and married with the lady of his choice, and 
there his son, Frank, was born on December 15, 
1867. When Frank was four years of age the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



585 



family removed to Colorado, where for a num- 
ber of years they resided, living at various 
places. In 1881 they came to Wyoming and 
passed a year at the Shoshone Indian agency in 
Fremont- county. In 1882 the parents changed 
their residence to Park City, Mont., but Frank 
remained another year in this state in the employ 
of the D. D. Cattle Co. In 1883 he, too, went 
to Montana, and in that state and Wyoming was 
a daring and skillful rangerider until 1896, when 
he came to Bighorn county, locating at Cody. 
There for two years he was in the employ of 
Col. William Cody as the general foreman of 
his great cattle interests and other ranch busi- 
ness. In 1899 he was appointed deputy sheriff 
of the county and changed his residence to Ba- 
sin. At the end of his term he was appointed 
deputy county clerk and, in 1902, was elected 
clerk for a term of two years, his qualifications 
for the position being generally recognized by 
the community, whose confidence has been fully 
justified by the manner in which he discharges 
his official duties. On April 20, 1898, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Charlotte M. 
Burns, a native of Bighorn county and a daughter 
of John L. and May (Martin) Burns, who came 
to Wyoming in 1896 from Montana. Mr. and 
Mrs. Rue have one child, their winsome daugh- 
ter, Faie. Mr. Rue belongs to the Modern 
Woodmen of America and to Lodge No. 35, I. 
O. O. F., of which he is the capable treasurer. 
He takes a serviceable interest in the affairs of 
both fraternities, especially the meetings and 
proceedings of his own lodges. 

NELSON H. SCOTT. 

One of the leading merchants of Carbon 
county, Nelson H. Scott, whose address is 
Medicine Bow, Wyoming, is a native of the 
state of New York, where he was born in 1862, 
the son of James and Mary (Harris) Scott, na- 
tives of Scotland. His father was a carpenter, 
but for many years of his early life he was a 
sailor on the high seas, in that capacity having 
many thrilling experiences in and among the 
different countries and people of the world. 



Subsequently he settled in the state of New 
York, where he engaged in both farming and 
carpentering, continuing in those pursuits up 
to the time of his decease, which occurred in 
1900, at the age of about seventy-eight years. 
He was a Republican in politics, a leading cit- 
izen of the community in which he maintained 
his home. At various times he held the office 
of supervisor, was also town clerk and held 
other positions of honor and trust in the gift 
of his fellow citizens. The mother of Mr. Scott 
passed away while he was still a small boy, be- 
ing buried in the state of New York. Attain- 
ing manhood in New York Mr. Scott received 
his early education in the public schools of the 
vicinity of his boyhood's home, but at an early 
age he was compelled to leave school and con- 
tribute by his labor to the support of the fam- 
ily. Securing employment in a cheese factory, 
he remained in that employment for three 
years, when he determined to seek his fortune 
in the far West, and came to the territory of 
Wyoming. Here he located at first at Laramie 
City, where he remained for a short time, but 
not finding business conditions as favorable 
as he had anticipated, he left there in company 
with T. H. Hood, a builder and contractor and 
together they aided in building and practically 
built the entire flourishing town of Saratoga. 
Mr. Scott established a home here to which he 
took his bride. After a few years, times being 
dull, he procured work in different localities in 
Wyoming and Colorado, arriving in time at 
Fort Steele. Here he secured a position with 
Cosgriff Bros, as a carpenter, clerk and for gen- 
eral work. Soon after he was offered the po- 
sition of manager of the merchandising estab- 
lishment of his employers at Medicine Bow, 
which he accepted, and has since that time re- 
sided at this place, engaged in that business. 
He has been successful and is one of the rep- 
resentative men of that section of the state. 
He is the postmaster of Medicine Bow post- 
office and held in high esteem by all classes of 
his fellow citizens. In 1893 Mr. Scott was 
united in marriage, at Laramie City, with Miss 
Lida Hood, a lady of education and culture, 



586 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



who had been for ten years a popular teacher in 
the schools of Wisconsin and Wyoming, being a 
native of Wisconsin and the daughter of J. M. 
and Mary (Seiders) Hood, the former a native 
of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. Her 
father came in early life to the state of Wis- 
consin, where he established his permanent 
home, dying in 1882. He was engaged in the 
occupation of farming, was a man of high char- 
acter and one of the most active workers in the 
cause of the Christian religion in the community 
where he resided. In the Civil War he early 
responded to the call of President Lincoln, en- 
listing as a member of the Sixth Wisconsin 
Battery, and served throughout the war. He 
participated in many of the historic engage- 
ments of that great contest, and at its close 
was mustered out with an honorable discharge, 
showing the gallant service he had rendered to 
his country. He. was the son of S. B. and Jane 
(Miller) Hood, also natives of Pennsylvania, 
who removed to Wisconsin, and made their 
home there during the later years of their 
lives, the father being for many years one of 
the leading educators of that state. The moth- 
er of Mrs. Scott, who is still residing in Wis- 
consin, at the age of sixty-two years, is the 
daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Keifer) Seiders, 
highly respected citizens of Ohio, the former 
passing away in 1890 at the age of seventy-seven 
years, while the latter is yet living at the age of 
ninety years, making her home in Wisconsin. 
The first years of their married life were passed 
in their home at Saratoga, Wyo. Mr. and Mrs. 
Scott have had four children, Crystal died in in- 
fancy, and the youngest, Dale, dying at the age 
of three weeks, on September 5, 1902, and Win- 
field Scott. Their home is noted for its gracious 
and generous hospitality, the family being 
prominent in the social life of the different com- 
munities where they have lived. Progressive, 
public spirited and energetic, Mr. Scott has 
done much to draw the attention of capital to 
the great resources of this section of Wyoming 
and has taken a foremost part in all matters 
calculated to promote the interests of Carbon 
county, or to develop the resources of the state. 



J. VAN A. CARTER. 

It is a saying as true as it is old that Death 
loves a shining mark, and the force of it is sel- 
dom more fully exemplified than it was in the 
case of the late J. Van A. Carter of Uinta county 
Wyoming, who was ever a positive force for good 
in the state and an inspiration to others in the 
wide variety and masterful character of his use- 
fulness and his influence. Whether viewed as a 
public official or a private citizen, as the friend of 
the Indian or the advisor of the white man, as 
the agent of each in matters of business or the 
arbiter of both in the settlement of disputes, as 
the trusted employe or the manager of his own 
business, he presents a pleasing aspect of high 
integrity, unbiased fairness, excellent judgment, 
lofty courage and all-around accomplishments. 
He was born, reared and educated in the state 
of Missouri, and there also pursued a course of 
studies as a preparation for the practice of medi- 
cine and surgery, but never chose to engage act- 
ively in the profession. He came to Wyoming 
in 1866 with one of the overland caravans that 
was hauling freight from the Missouri River to 
Fort Bridger, and soon after his arrival he se- 
cured employment as bookkeeper for the exten- 
sive mercantile establishment of the late Judge 
Carter, who was then the post-trader at this 
point. Here fortune seems to have sought him 
with a double benefaction, giving him desired 
occupation and making him acquainted with the 
Judge's daughter, Miss Anna Carter, a most es- 
timable lady with whom he was, a few years 
later, united in marriage. The domestic shrine 
which was thus set up was sanctified by the birth 
of one child. Nelson Carter, who, inheriting many 
of the inestimable qualities of both parents, is 
now prominently engaged in business, in which 
his success is as pronounced as his efforts are dil- 
igent and skillful and his worth is well known. 
When Mr. Carter came into the territory there 
were but few white men living here and the con- 
ditions of life were hard and exacting. Its con- 
veniences were 'few and very costly, its ordinary 
adornments were altogether unattainable, its com- 
forts and even its necessaries were difficult to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



587 



get, and naught but the resolute and determined 
spirit of the people made it tolerable. Under 
such circumstances a man who had the vision to 
see and the power to do what was required for 
' any emergency, who knew men and methods, 
and was masterful in dealing with both, who had 
the accomplishments of cultivated life and the 
skill to make them subservient to the needs of 
a new community in the wilderness, was in all 
respects a very useful personage, and such was 
Mr. Carter. His services were in continual de- 
mand in many ways. He could write records 
in the county clerk's office, draw legal papers, 
make surveys and maps, conduct negotiations of 
magnitude and drive bargains in small trade, 
keep books and traffic in merchandise, converse 
in several languages, civilized and savage, and 
do almost everything else that occasion might 
require of a ready and resourceful man. In 1868 
he was employed by the famous Indian chief 
Washakie as his interpreter in making the treaty 
between the U. S. government on the one hand 
and the Shoshone and Bannock Indians on the 
other, and his services in this work and the high 
character and lofty manliness he displayed 
throughout the transactions won him the unwav- 
ering regard and confidence of the Indians, as 
he had that of the whites in every relation 
throughout his whole life in this country. In 
i878,or about that time, he moved into Evanston 
and engaged in the drug business. Here also 
he became a builder and developer of the town, 
erecting a row of brick buildings opposite the 
office of the Herald and adding to the progress 
and advancement of the community in many 
other ways. He was chosen for a number of 
terms in succession to serve the people in the 
important office of probate judge and county 
treasurer, and was frequently and urgently solic- 
ited to accept offices of greater prominence and 
more extended power. But he was averse to 
public life and preferred the peace and personal 
comfort of a private station. During the last 
few years preceding his early and lamented death, 
he was employed as the head accountant in the 
large mercantile house of the Blyth & Fargo 
Company at Evanston, where he died in his fifty- 



eighth year after a severe illness of about ten 
days. His remains were laid to rest at Fort 
Bridger in the western land he loved with a con- 
stant devotion, under the shadows of the Uinta 
range whose lofty peaks had often been spoken 
of by him as among the inspirations and delights 
of his early manhood, and amid the scenes which 
tinged and beautified the early years of his do- 
mestic joys. All who knew him lamented his 
departure and still remember him as one who was 
faithful to every charge, diligent in every duty, 
a friend to all mankind and worthy of every en- 
comium upon proven and established merit. 

JAMES C. SHAW. 

James C. Shaw, one of the leading and rep- 
resentative stockmen of Converse county, with 
his well-equipped and very completely furnished 
ranch of 1,600 acres lying on Platte River four 
miles southeast of Orin Junction, was born in 
Williamson county, Texas, on March 17, 1852, 
the son of John and Elizabeth B. (Norton) 
Shaw, the former a native of Lincoln county, 
Mo., and the latter of Somerset, Ky. In her 
young womanhood the mother emigrated from 
her native state to Missouri where she met with 
and married Mr. Shaw and in the fall of 1851 
they moved to Texas, where her husband en- 
gaged in the stock business and where they 
passed the remainder of their lives, dying at 
advanced ages and being buried beneath the 
soil on which they had long lived and labored. 
The Shaws were of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the 
grandfather of James C, also named James, be- 
ing a native of Ireland. James C. Shaw, the 
sixth in order of birth of the twelve children of 
his father's household, was reared on the pa- 
ternal ranch in Texas, receiving a limited 
common-school education. He remained at the 
paternal home until he reached his majority, 
then, on his own account, attended school two 
years at Elgin, Tex. After that he worked 
on a ranch for several years and in 1879 came 
to Wyoming and found employment as a 
rangerider for two years. In 1881 he became 
the range manager for the Teschemacher & De- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Billier Cattle Co., continuing in that capacity, 
until 1892, when the company went entirely out 
of business. His services were very valuable to 
this firm and were highly appreciated by all of 
its members, who were truly unstinted in their 
commendations of his skill and of his fidelity to 
their interests. In the meantime, in 1887, 
he had taken up the nucleus of the fertile 
ranch he now owns and occupies and, at the 
conclusion of his engagement with the above- 
named firm, he settled on this ranch and it has 
since been his home. He has added to its 
area until it now comprises 1,600 acres, as has 
been stated, and about 200 acres are under ir- 
rigation and have been brought to great fertil- 
ity and productiveness, yielding good annual 
crops of grain and hay. He usually has about 
2,000 cattle and 300 horses and is one of the 
substantial and well-to-do stockmen of the 
county. He landed in Wyoming with two or 
three ponies as the sum-total of his earthly 
possessions, but he had a strong determination 
to win in the battle of life and was armed with 
a stout heart and a clear head for the purpose, 
having plenty of energy and self-reliance, and 
the contest was never a losing one for him 
from the beginning. He was married on De- 
cember 21, 1885, to Miss Elizabeth Dodson, a 
native of Lincoln county, Mo., a daughter of 
James and Margaret (Norton) Dodson, Ken- 
tuckians by birth and early settlers in that part 
of Missouri, where they remained until death 
ended their useful labors. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw 
have six children, Margaret I., Clay D., Willie 
Patti, Paul N., Roscoe and Dewey. Mr. Shaw 
belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Douglas, 
while in political faith he is a Republican. 

J. & P. R. SHERLOCK. 

Of mingled Scotch and English ancestry, 
these worthy and enterprising citizens of South 
Pass City, Wyoming, inherited the best traits 
of these grand races and, by their intelligent 
and successful efforts in the varied fields of 
productive endeavor, have attained a prominent 
position in the industrial activities of Wyoming 



and occupy a representative station in the 
ranks of intelligent producers, being prospered 
in the agricultural and commercial activities 
with which they have allied themselves. John 
and Peter Sherlock are the sons of Richard and 
Janet (McOmie) Sherlock, the father being an 
Englishman, while the mother claims nativity 
in the Highlands of Scotland, coming to the 
United States in 1853 and the father in 1861, 
. both becoming residents of Utah, where they 
were married, and where Mr. Sherlock was con- 
nected with the manufacture of lumber and 
with merchandising until his coming to South 
Pass in i860, here continuing trade until his 
death in 1873, being much in public life and the 
first constable of the town of South Pass. He 
was a son of John and Margaret (Banks) Sher- 
lock. To Richard and Janet (McOmie) Sher- 
lock were born five children, Margaret, frozen 
to death in a blizzard in 1883; Peter R. ; Janet; 
John ; William H., now a stockman in the vicinity 
of Lander. Peter R. Sherlock, a son of the above 
mentioned couple, was born in Utah, and after 
receiving a preliminary education at the pub- 
lic schools of his native place and further in- 
creasing his mental acquirements at Creighton 
(Neb.) College, he engaged in mining near 
South Pass, Wyoming, following this with en- 
ergy and successfully until 1887, when, from 
the effects of an accident which occurred while 
he was assisting in the construction of the 
Granier ditch, he lost its eyesight, since which 
lamentable occurrence he has devoted his at- 
tention to the mercantile business, in associa- 
tion with his mother and brothers, being known 
as a sterling citizen of great popularity and 
strict integrity. He is much interested in 
public matters of general and local interest and 
is ever ready to aid in perpetuating everything 
of value to the community, being a strong 
supporter of the principles of the Democratic 
party, with which he stands identified. John 
Sherlock, another son of the able Sherlock fam- 
ily, brother of Peter R., was born at South Pass, 
Wyoming, on July 30, 1869. After attending 
the public schools until he attained a suitable 
age, he gave his services to the supervision and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



589 



care of the large ranching and trade interests 
of the family, himself, his brothers and his 
mother holding their possessions in common, 
owning in addition to their flourishing mercan- 
tile house a valuable ranch of 640 acres on the 
Sweetwater River, where they are raising large 
numbers of excellent horses and sheep, having 
also the only feed-barn of South Pass, where 
they also run some cattle and a band of 1,000 
sheep. Mr. Sherlock was married on Septem- 
ber 22, 1897, with Miss Lida M. Carr, a native 
of Colorado, and a daughter of James A. and 
Emily (Rhodes) .Carr, early pioneers of Col- 
orado, where they now reside. They have 
three children, Richard J., James L. and 
Donald. In 1872, Mrs. Janet Sherlock con- 
tracted a second marriage, being then united 
with James Smith, one of the pioneers of South 
Pass and a native of Ireland, a genial, wide- 
awake and progressive man, who gave splendid 
service as a soldier of the Mexican War, re- 
ceiving several wounds at the storming and 
capture of the city of Vera Cruz. He died in 
1895, leaving two children. Anna, now wife of 
B. N. Fibbals, manager of the Cresso mine, and 
James E., who is devoting his energies to mer- 
chandising. The family has ever been identified 
with the development and improvement of the 
community and stands high among its people. 

JOHN SEDGWICK. 

Conspicuous among the representative busi- 
ness men of Rock Springs is the worthy young 
eentleman whose name introduces this article. 
Being so well-known he needs no formal intro- 
duction to the people of Sweetwater county, but 
for the information of coming generations and 
the perpetuation and transmission in tangible 
form of his history and personal characteristics, 
the record herewith presented is placed before the 
public. Like many of the sturdy energetic citi- 
zens of the great West, Mr. Sedgwick is of 
English birth, for John Sedgwick, his father, was 
a native of Yorkshire, and by occupation a stock- 
raiser; the mother, who possessed the maiden 
patronymic of Alice Wilkinson, was also born 



in Yorkshire, being the daughter of Anthon and 
Alice (Sayers) Wilkinson, and this highly worthy 
couple were also married in their native coun- 
try where they happily resided until 1889, when 
they came to the United States and settled 
near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Subsequently Mr. 
Sedgwick engaged in cattleraising but later trans- 
ferred his business to Colorado, where he carried 
on stockraising quite extensively for a number 
of years. ■ The parents of John Sedgwick, Sr., 
were John and Betty (Mangham) Sedgwick, who 
were born and who passed all of their lives in 
Yorkshire. In 1886 the maternal grandparents 
of the John Sedgwick of this writing, Anthon 
and Alice Wilkinson, left their native land for 
America, locating on a cattle ranch not far from 
Cheyenne, Mr. Sedgwick himself being born on 
January 20, 1870, in Yorkshire, England, where 
he received his educational training. He grew 
up a continual source of helpfulness to his par- 
ents and especially proved a valuable assistant 
to his father as long as he continued a member 
of the home circle. _ He accompanied the fam- 
ily to America in 1889 and remained under the 
parental roof until he attained his majority when 
he started in business for himself by opening a 
meat market in the city of Rock Springs. This 
enterprise was continued with success and finan- 
cial profit until 1899, when Mr. Sedgwick sold 
his establishment for a liberal price and invested 
his capital in sheep. The latter enterprise has 
also been successful and bids fair to increase in 
magnitude and importance with each successive 
year. In addition to his regular business of 
sheepraising, Mr. Sedgwick is connected with the 
Sweetwater Land Co., and has been active in 
promoting its interests in various ways. Public 
spirited in all the term implies, he takes a lively 
interest in all enterprises tending to the improve- 
ment of the country and the development of its- 
resources, and may properly be classed with 
Sweetwater county's most intelligent and ener- 
getic men of affairs. He possesses sound busi- 
ness abilities, keen discrimination and the abil- 
ity to foresee with remarkable accuracy the out- 
come of his various transactions. When he ad- 
dresses himself to any undertaking, he never lies- 



59° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



itates short of successful consummation, a char- 
acteristic which in a great measure accounts for 
the advancement he has made since engaging in 
business upon his own responsibility. Mr. Sedg- 
wick married in 1894 with Miss Sarah Lewis of 
Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Ann 
(Thomas) Lewis,, their union being blessed with 
four children, David, Alice, John and Henry. 
Mrs. Sedgwick's parents are natives of Wales. 
They came to the United States about 1870 and 
settled in Scranton ; Pa., near which place Mr. 
Lewis engaged in coal mining. He followed that 
business until about 1898, when he moved to 
Idaho, where he is now living the life of a farmer. 
His wife died in Pennsylvania and was buried in 
the cemetery at Scranton. Fraternally, Mr. 
Sedgwick is an active and influential member of 
the order of Elks, his name also appearing on 
the records of the local lodge of Masons. To 
speak in fulsome praise of such a man as Mr. 
Sedgwick is entirely superfluous. The record of 
his career thus far on life's journey is the best 
possible evidence that his success has been 
brought about by that natural and inherent qual- 
ity of determination which marked his early ef- 
forts and has ever demonstrated to those with 
whom he came in contact that nothing could 
swerve him from a purpose when once formed. 
He is a young man of many admirable traits, 
notably among them being energy, integrity and 
an earnest desire to do as he would be done by. 
His relations with his fellowmen have been most 
pleasant and agreeable and, wherever he goes, 
friendships warm and loyal are sure to be formed. 



ARTHUR A. STEED. 

This popular and enterprising resident of 
Uinta county, Wyoming, one of the most prom- 
inent self-made men of the county, was born in 
1858 in Farmington, Utah, a son of Thomas and 
Laura L. (Reed) Steed, the former of whom was 
a native of England, born in 1826, where he was 
reared to gardening, in 1838 coming to the 
United States, settling in Illinois, where he fol- 
lowed farming for five years and engaged in 



other vocations until 1850, when he located at 
Salt Lake City, Utah. He was next located in 
Davis county, L T tah, where he became a very 
prosperous agriculturist and was classed among 
the representative citizens, being a missionary 
of the Mormon church, standing high in politics 
as a Republican and by vocation a farmer. He 
took an active part in public affairs and was ever 
foremost among the promoters of local improve- 
ments and public enterprises, among the latter 
may be mentioned the Davis Stake academy, of 
which he is a trustee, to the establishment of 
which he freely contributed financially. In 1876 
he toured the world in the interest of the Mor- 
mon church in the work of proselytism and re- 
turned in 1880. Laura L. (Reed) Steed, mother 
of Arthur A. Steed, was born in Ohio in 1829 
and still survives, a representative on the paternal 
side of the Reed family who found a footing in 
America on Plymouth Rock. The boyhood of 
A. A. Steed was passed in school in Utah until 
he was nineteen years of age, when he was em- 
ployed in trailing sheep from California to Wyo- 
ming, Colorado and Omaha for five years, during 
which period he experienced many startling ad- 
ventures, a relation of which would fill a large 
volume of print. At the end of the five years 
thus passed, Mr. Steed entered into the sheep 
business for himself, in this he continued until 
about 1900, when he sold out and embarked in 
the cattle trade. He had become interested in 
the Wyoming country in 1887, bought his pres- 
ent place of 1,290 acres in Uinta county and also 
engaged in a mercantile business at Farmington. 
He has likewise extensive interests in merchan- 
dising in Ogden, Utah, is a director in the Boyle 
Furniture Co.'s store at Ogden and owns a ranch 
of 20,000 acres in the Province of Alberta. Can- 
ada, just over the international line. His modern 
and imposing town residence is in Ogden, Utah. 
The marriage of A. A. Steed took place in 1877 
at Farmington, Utah, when he was united with 
Miss Mary Florence Bigler, a native of Florence 
county. Neb., and a daughter of Adam and Eliz- 
abeth (Compton) Bigler, which union has been 
blessed with seven children born in the following 
order : Arthur A., Grace Florence, Burton 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



59 1 



Franklin, Stanley Stanford (deceased), Mattie 
Frances (deceased), Harry Hanna and Nellie 
Virginia. In his political views Mr. Steed is a 
Republican but, while loyal to his party, never 
seeks public office nor any other reward for his 
loyalty, although he has frequently been solicited 
to become a candidate for remunerative official 
positions. He has been content to devote his 
attention to the transaction of his personal af- 
fairs, of which he has made so grand a success, 
and the pleasure afforded by the family circle 
constitute all that contribute to make up the sum 
of his earthly happiness. 

JOSEPH HARPER. 

Joseph Harper, a prosperous and successful 
farmer and stockgrower living on one of the 
finest farms in his section of Sheridan county, 
not far from Banner postoffice, was born in In- 
diana on June 22, 1841. His parents, John and 
Mary A. (Kelso) Harper, were natives of Penn- 
sylvania and early settlers in Ohio and later in 
Indiana. When their son, Joseph, was eleven 
years old they took another flight westward, lo- 
cating in Iowa where he grew to manhood and 
was educated in the public schools. When he 
was twenty years old he started life's business 
for himself as a soldier of the Union army of 
the Civil War, enlisting in Co. C, Thirty-third 
Iowa Infantry, during the three years of his 
term seeing much active and arduous service, 
but escaping unhurt save by the hardships he 
was obliged to endure. On his return home 
he began farming and raising stock in Iowa and 
later in Kansas (where he married in 1869) 
he conducted this business until 1884, when he 
came to Wyoming and, homesteading on a por- 
tion of the land he now occupies, continued in 
this new field and on a larger scale the industry 
he had successfully conducted in his former 
home, now owning a well located body of 560 
acres of superior land, with a pleasing variety 
of meadow and range, having on it a good res- 
idence, well-built barns, sheds and corrals, and 
a large herd of fine cattle. He early identified 
himself with the local affairs of his section 



here as he had done in Iowa, and was elected 
county commissioner at ? critical and important 
time in the history of the county. He served 
with great acceptability, but declined a re- 
election, preferring to give his time and atten- 
tion to his private interests, which were large 
and exacting, and to promote the welfare of 
his community from the more desirable post 
of private citizenship. Mr. and Mrs. Jeannette 
R. Harper had three children, Clara B., now 
the wife of Perry Surrena of Sheridan county ; 
William Ray and Frederick, 'both residents also 
of this county. Mrs. Harper was a native of 
Illinois and died in 1879. ^- n : 882 Mr. Harper 
was married a second time, his choice on this 
occasion being Miss Emma Fulkerson, a na- 
tive of Kansas. They also have had three chil- 
dren, Clyde, Floyd and Marion, all now living. 

JOHN STORRIE. 

One of the leading men of Converse county, 
Wyoming, is John Storrie, born on October 12, 
1846, he is a native of the city of Edinburg, 
Scotland, and a son of Adam and Catharine 
(Ramsay) Storrie, both natives of the same 
city, and the family has been long and honor- 
ably known in Scotland. The father was a man- 
ufacturer of corks in his native country and held 
at different periods the offices of freeman and bur- 
gess of the city of Edinburgh. He was the fa- 
ther of five children, John, being the eldest son, 
received his early education in the city of Edin- 
burgh, attending the George Herriot's Hospital, 
upon his graduation from that institution matric- 
ulating at the famous Edinburgh University, 
there pursuing a course of study under the direc- 
tion of Professors Black, Pillens, Calderwood and 
others of the prominent educators of this cele- 
brated school. Upon leaving the university, he 
engaged for a number of years in the produce 
business in Edinburgh. In 1876 he disposed of 
this business and came to the United States. 
Upon his arrival in this country he proceeded 
first to St. Louis, Mo., in a short time going to 
Texas. Here he determined to acquire a prac- 
tical knowledge of the stock business, and se- 



592 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



cured employment on the ranges of that state in 
charge of both cattle and sheep. He remained in 
this employment for three years, thoroughly fa- 
miliarizing himself with all the details of raising 
live stock. In 1879, he removed to Cheyenne, 
Wyoming, and entered the employ of the Swan 
Bros., then among the most extensive stock oper- 
ators of the West. He worked on the range for 
a time, then resigned his position and became a 
salesman in a store, in which employment he 
continued for. about three years. In .1883 he re- 
moved to the vicinity of Hat Creek, Converse 
county, and located the ranch property which he 
now owns and occupies. Here he engaged act- 
ively in the mercantile business and also in cat- 
tleraising. Since that time he has remained con- 
tinuously in the same business and has met with 
marked success, being now the owner of about 
2,000 acres of patented land and controlling some 
5,000 acres of land under lease from the state. 
His ranch is well improved, a large portion of it 
being under ditch, and he grows great quantities 
of hay, most of which is consumed on the place 
by his own stock. He is the owner of a fine herd 
of Hereford cattle, averaging 1,500 head, among 
which are some of the best thoroughbred stock 
of the state. He is also the owner of a large 
number of high-class Clydesdale horses and 
takes great pride in his notably fine stock, in the 
growing of which he has been conspicuously suc- 



cessful. In August, 1 



Mr. Storrie was united 



in marriage with Miss Mary L. Pease, a daugh- 
ter of Hon. Walter D. Pease, of Cheyenne, Wyo., 
one of the leading citizens of the state. To their 
union has been born one child, namely, Walter, 
and their home is noted for its generous and 
gracious hospitality, the family being the fore- 
most in all works of progress and charity. Mr. 
Storrie is a stanch member of the Republican 
party, although in no sense a politician. He 
has ably served his fellow citizens as county com- 
missioner and for four vears he has been a mem- 
ber of the Republican State Central Committee. 
He is held in high esteem by all who know him, 
and is looked upon throughout the state as one 
of the most substantial, successful and deserving 
men of Wyoming. 



RICHARD L. THAYER. 

One of the pioneer citizens of Western Wyo- 
ming, and one of its enterprising and progressive 
business men, Richard L. Thayer, whose postof- 
fice address is Dubois, Fremont county, is a na- 
tive of the state of Michigan, born at Sault Ste. 
Marie, on February 21, 1853, the son of Simeon 
and Nancy (Pace) Thayer, the former a native 
of the state of New York and the latter of Penn- 
sylvania. His father was of Irish descent and 
his mother a member of an old Quaker family 
that was among the earliest settlers of Pennsyl- 
vania. His father followed the manufacturing 
of fine cutlery and was long engaged in an active 
and a very prosperous business in Michigan 
and Indiana until the Civil War, when he re- 
sponded to the first call for troops made by Pres- 
ident Lincoln and enlisted in a regiment of Indi- 
ana infantry and during the second year of 
the war he was killed in battle and he now 
rests in an unknown grave in the South. In addi- 
tion to his son, Richard, he left a daughter, Mary, 
who is now the wife of John Scanlan, a promin- 
ent business man of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Mr. 
Thayer, by reason of the death of his father, was 
obliged to leave school at an early age for the 
purpose of contributing to the support of his 
mother and the family. In 1867, he engaged in 
teaming and freighting in Michigan and subse- 
quently came west to the Black Hills, Dakota, 
later going to the yet virgin territory of Mon- 
tana. Here he engaged in the hunting of buffalo, 
then a lucrative business in that territory. Later 
he embarked in freighting, which occupation he 
followed in Montana for a number of years and 
he was freighting for the U. S. government at 
Fort Keogh at the time of the subjugation of the 
Sioux by General Miles. Subsequently to this he 
engaged in the livery business at Sheridan. Wyo., 
and also at Bighorn, Sheridan county, where he 
had the misfortune to be burned out. so, in 1898, 
he came to Otto, on the Grey Bull River, where 
he established his home and remained two years. 
In 1900, with a number of other business men, he 
came to the site of Dubois, where they secured 
and now own the townsite and are building up 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



593 



a prosperous city, which gives promise of a 
steady growth. On May 6, 1884, Mr. Thayer 
was united in marriage with Miss Arilla Soper, 
a native of Canada. To their union have been 
born two children, namely, Ada and Simeon. 
Their home at Dubois is noted for its generous 
western hospitality. Mr. Thayer is a progres- 
sive and public spirited citizen, active and suc- 
cessful in business, and is doing much to develop 
the resources of his section. 

DAVID G. THOMAS. 

One of the most widely known and most 
progressive inhabitants of Spring Valley, Wyo- 
ming, David G. Thomas, is a native of Pitts- 
burg, Pa., where he was born in 1857, the son 
of John F. and Margaret (Griffith) Thomas. 
John F. Thomas was a native of Wales and 
worked as a puddler in the iron-works of that 
country. He came to America in 1854 and 
worked first in the coal mines at Myersville, 
Pa. From there he went to Pittsburg, where 
he remained until 1857, when he went to West 
Virginia, and was employed there in the coal 
mines until 1861. Then he moved his family 
to Ohio, where he mined until 1865, when he 
moved to Fulton county, 111. In 1869 ne went 
with his family to Macon county, Mo., later 
making the family residence at Cheer, Iowa, 
where he remained until his death at the age of 
fifty-seven. His character is well expressed in 
the sobriquet of "Honest John," given to him 
by his neighbors. He was a Republican in pol- 
itics. His father was David Thomas, an iron- 
worker, who was born, lived and died in Wales. 
Margaret Griffith Thomas was also born in 
Wales. She came with her parents to Pennsyl- 
vania, where she was married, and is now liv- 
ing in Missouri, as is also her mother. Her fa- 
ther, David Griffith, died there. David G. 
Thomas was reared to follow the calling of his 
father and worked and travelled with the latter 
as a coal-miner. At the age .of twenty-one he 
was working in the Ohio mines. In 1878 he 
went to Salt Lake City for his health and re- 
mained there about nine months, thence he 



went to Rock Springs, Wyo., where he was em- 
ployed as a foreman miner from November, 
1878, to August 19, 1901. He belongs to the 
progressive type of man and is always ad- 
vancing. He is a Republican in politics. He 
was state inspector of mines from 1890 to 1897. 
While employed as foreman miner he was also 
studying law, and he was admitted to the bar 
in 1897. In 1898 he was elected prosecuting 
attorney of Sweetwater county, resigning the 
office in March, 1900. He was mayor of Green 
River in 1900. He was a member of the last 
Territorial, Legislature, 1889-90; and it was he 
who introduced the bill giving to incorporated 
towns ■ the right to regulate gambling within 
their limits, superseding the former county reg- 
ulations. Mr. Thomas took the responsible po- 
sition of superintendent of the mines at Spring 
Valley, Wyo., for the U. P. Co. in 1891, and re- 
signed the same on August 1, 1902. Mr. 
Thomas is a member of the Knights of Pythias 
and of the Masonic lodge of Rock Springs, 
Wyo. He married in 1893 with Lizzie Jones, 
a native of 'Wales, a daughter of David and 
Elizabeth Jones. She met Mr. Thomas in Mis- 
souri and was married there. Mr. and Mrs. 
Thomas have one child who bears the eupho- 
nious Welsh name of Margaret Myfanwy. 

HON. JOHN B. THATCHER, JR. 

"The mother of states and of statesmen," old 
Virginia, has given to every part of our country 
men of heroic mold and lofty character, and they 
have aided in developing the section where they 
have settled and starting it forward on the line 
of healthful and judicious progress. Among 
those who trace their lineage to the Old Domin- 
ion in Wyoming is Hon. John B. Thatcher, Jr., 
of Star Valley, near Bedford. His life began at 
Payson, Utah, on May 22, 1859, where his par- 
ents, John B. and Rachel H. (Davis) Thatcher, 
were living and where his father was then carry- 
ing on a large industry in merchandising, later be- 
ing a stockgrower in Idaho. He is now living 
at Thatcher in that state aged sixty-eight years, 
being a native of Virginia and his wife of Ohio. 



594 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



He was early in life deeply interested in public 
affairs and became prominent in his locality. His 
paternal ancestors came to America in 1650, the 
party consisted of husband, wife and the three 
grown sons. The ship was wrecked on the coast 
of Massachusetts and the sons were all drowned. 
The parents were cast on an island, where they 
lived two years, then took up their residence 
on the mainland and a son was born to them, al- 
though they were fifty-two years old. John B. 
Thatcher, Jr., was educated in the district schools 
of Logan, Utah, but his opportunities were lim- 
ited and the schools were very primitive, both 
in method and equipment. He had a great thirst 
for knowledge and did all that he could to 
satisfy this by private study and much thought- 
ful reading after leaving school. His first 
occupation was that of a fireman on an 
engine on an Idaho railroad. He followed this 
with shop-work in the employ of the same com- 
pany for two years, then began ranching and 
dairying and, in 1890, removed to Wyoming and 
took up a ranch three miles above the town of 
Bedford, on which he has since successfully and 
profitably engaged in stockgrowing and dairy- 
ing. His ranch is one of the best in this section, 
comprises 320 acres and is improved with a good 
house of eight rooms and all the needed out- 
buildings. His herd is a superior one of graded 
Durhams, their product having a high place in 
the market. As a means of adding to its value 
and also serving the community with a needed 
industry, he promoted the establishment of the 
creamery at Bedford and has been one of its 
main sources of supply and a large part of its 
inspiration and guiding force. In public affairs 
he has always taken an active and useful interest. 
He served as justice of the peace for a number 
of years and in 1896 was elected to the lower 
house of the Fourth State Legislature. Though 
much averse to official station, he has not escaped 
the demand for good men in this line, and in 
the fall of 1902 was nominated on the Democratic 
ticket for the State Senate, but was not elected, 
the state going Republican. Mr. Thatcher may 
properly be called the father of the town of Bed- 
ford. He put in motion the forces that called it 



into being, and over its childhood he watched 
with assiduous care. He was also instrumental 
in getting the state lands in this vicinity ceded 
back to the government and opened up for set- 
tlement. For years he has been the bishop of 
the ward and has given the affairs of the Church 
of Latter Day Saints close and careful attention. 
He was married at Salt Lake City, in November, 
1882, to Miss Nellie Muir, a native of Utah and 
a daughter of William S. and Ellen (Berry) 
Muir, residents of Bountiful, and now dead. The 
Thatchers have eight children, William Wal- 
lace, Frank, John B., Rachel, May, Preston, Es- 
telle and Elise. 

LEVI WOOD. 

This worthy gentleman, who is one of the 
progressive and representative stockgrowers and 
farmers of Sheridan county, Wyoming, with a 
well-improved and conveniently equipped ranch 
of 280 acres, pleasantly located along Little 
Goose Creek, has come to his present state of 
competence and prosperity through a varied ex- 
perience and after many struggles and difficul- 
ties, triumphing over every adversity by reason 
of his pluck, enterprise, perseverance and business 
capacity. He was born at Coshocton, Ohio, on 
August 10, 1828, and remained there until he 
was twelve years of age, when he came west to 
Missouri where he worked on farms to earn his 
living, and managed to attend the public school 
for a few weeks in the winter months. In May 
1848 he left DeKalb county, Missouri, for Fort 
Leavenworth, where he enrolled as teamster to 
carry supplies to our soldiers stationed at Santa 
Fe. Guarded by U. S. troops, he with the other 
teamsters traversed the vast region between Kan- 
sas and New Mexico. Herds of buffalo were 
seen almost every day. While on this trip, his 
coffee was seasoned with grasshoppers, conse- 
quently he has not tasted the beverage since 
After an absence of six months he returned to 
Missouri. After a residence of twenty years in 
Missouri, in which he gradually won his way 
in the contests of life, he came in 1880 to Wyo- 
ming-, and for two vears he lived on Horse Creek 




LEVI WOOD. 



MRS. MARGARET J. WOOD. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



595 



ir Laramie county, engaged in the stock busi- 
ness. He then returned to Missouri for a two 
years' stay, and, in 1882, again passed through 
Wyoming, this time going into the Gallatin 
Valley in Montana, where he purchased stock 
with the view of making operations in that 
line of industry his permanent occupation. In 
the autumn of 1882 he settled on the ranch on 
Little Goose Creek, which is now his home, and 
on which he has since resided and carried on a 
flourishing stock business, raising and handling 
good breeds in large numbers, caring for his 
products in such a way as to make them worthy 
of and secure in the high rank in the markets 
which they soon reached after he began his en- 
terprise. Mr. Wood was married on July 3, 1850, 
to Miss Margaret J. Estes, of Maysville, Mo., 
and they became the parents of ten children, five 
of whom are living: William S., married to Miss 
Susan Jones, and living at Custer, S. D. ; Thomp- 
son ; Daniel J., married to Mrs. Luella Prigle, 
and living at Big Horn in this state ; Neri D., 
married to Miss Sallie Jennings and living at 
Hyattville, Wyo. ; and Frank, unmarried and liv- 
ing at Red Bank, Wyo. The children deceased 
are Andrew T., Rachel, Eli, Levi W. S. and 
George B. After forty-seven years of wedded 
life and most faithful performance of every duty 
toward her family, her neighbors and to all hu- 
manity, Mrs. Wood died in 1897 at the age of 
sixty-eight years. Mr. Wood comes of a long- 
lived family, for his father, Andrew Wood, a 
native of New York state, was sixty-five years 
old when he died, and the mother, whose maiden 
name was Nancy Thompson, and who was born 
and reared in Ohio, was ninety-nine at her de- 
cease. Mr. Wood himself has passed by nearly 
five years the limit of human life as fixed by the 
sacred writer, as he will be seventy-five on Au- 
gust 10, 1903. But he is still hale and vigorous 
in body, cheerful in disposition, clear and forc- 
ible in mental power, and self-reliant in spirit. 
The evening of life is upon him, but it is irra- 
diated and cheered by the recollection of well-em- 
ployed time in the past, by well-assured comfort 
in the present, and by the knowledge that his 
memory will linger long and pleasantly in the 
37 



minds of his hosts of friends, and of the people 
among who he has lived, after he shall have lain 
down to his long sleep. In politics he has ever 
been Democratic in principle, and now is a be- 
liever in and an advocate of Socialism, the com- 
ing benefaction to humanity. He has never 
taken an active part in campaigns or sought office 
of any kind. The work of his ranch and other 
duties have satisfied his desires for employment, 
and filled his aspirations except where the wel- 
fare of the community has been involved, and 
then he has been serviceable to every interest. 
He still owns the homestead (which has one of 
the best water-rights in the state), but resides 
with his son D. J. Wood, of Big Horn, Wyo. 

JOSIAH TWITCHEL. 

Quietly engaged in prosperous ranching on 
the LaBarge Creek, seven miles north of west 
from Viola postoffice, Uinta county, Wyo., Mr. 
Twitchel, after a life of adventurous existence 
and hard manual labor, can now take his ease, 
and recount the story of his activities in earlier 
years as incentives to the younger generations. 
And that they may not be lost to posterity we 
will permanently preserve a review of his event- 
ful life in this memorial volume. Mr. Twitchel 
was born in McDonough county, 111., on May 
20, 1842, being a son of Ephraim and Phebe M. 
(Knight) Twitchel, both of whom are natives of 
Illinois. The father was a farmer and a stock- 
man, being also a descendant of an early Eng- 
lish emigrant who came to the Massachusetts 
colony in very early days of the Colonial 
period, descendants of whom have battled pa- 
triotically for the Union in every war in which 
this country has been engaged, from the early 
French and Indian wars and the Revolution 
to the Spanish-American War. Mr. Twitchel, 
one of the ten children of the family, was only 
six years of age when he accompanied his par- 
ents, who were among the earliest to take part 
in the most remarkable religious emigration 
and immigration of modern times, to Utah, they 
accomplishing the long and hazardous journey 
across the plains with ox teams, and his young- 



596 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



er sister, Sarah C, now the wife of William 
Manhart, of Beaver City, Utah, was the first 
white child born in Ogden, where the company 
of immigrants built the first house of the place 
and established their homes. Ephraim Twitchel 
was a man of strong character, very energetic 
and a thorough American. In 1849 ne took his 
family to California, and, incidentally, we will 
mention that he aided in the erection of the 
first American house built in Sacramento, re- 
ceiving ten dollars a day for his labor. Going 
from that place to the now historic Sutter's 
Mill, he received at first $25.00 a day, and later 
$50.00 a day, while later he was further offered 
$100.00 a day to haul sawlogs to Sutter's saw- 
mill with two yokes of oxen and an old Spanish 
cart, but refused the offer, as he was anxious to 
become established in a house of his own. Dur- 
ing their residence here, Mr. Twitchel and one 
of his brothers used to steal away on Sunday 
and wash out gold at the mill, procuring at 
least three dollars in gold for each hour's labor, 
then they would hurry back so as not to be 
missed, for their father was very strict in the 
observance of the Sabbath by his family. In 
crossing Humboldt River they had to use the 
wagon-boxes for boats, paddling them across 
and swimming the stock, in their further 
journey, coming to the Sierra Nevadas, over 
which they drove on the hard snow as on a 
pavement. The winter of 1849-50 was passed 
on the Sacramento River at Vernon, where Mr. 
Twitchel took up a placer claim, from which 
he took out $150 and abandoned it. In 1852, 
while carrying $800 in $50 gold "slugs" in a 
belt buckled around him, he was attacked by 
the noted Mexican bandit, Joaquin, who had 
just broken out of Stockton jail. Mr. Twitchel 
saw him in time however to draw his pistol in 
advance of the robber, who then gave spurs 
to his horse and rode off without his expected 
booty. When the United States assumed pos- 
session of the land Mr. Twitchel's family was 
the first one to raise the American flag. The 
Spanish had been troublesome, causing the lit- 
tle colony of settlers under Mr. Twitchel's di- 
rection to do much drilling with arms, and, al- 



though the Spanish declared that they should 
not raise the flag, they had a celebration and 
the flag-raising without having any need to 
protect themselves by arms. Mr. Twitchel 
later engaged in ranching and stockraising, but 
soon returned to Utah and there he continued 
to be identified with church work. His wife 
died there in 1857 and here his life's labors also 
came to an end at an advanced age. Josiah 
Twitchel had about three months' schooling in 
California and when about twenty years of age he 
commenced his personal business life by en- 
gaging as an ox-driver on the long trail that 
reached from Salt Lake City to the Missouri 
River, traveling this to and fro until 1863, when 
he devoted himself to stockraising, in which he 
has since continued. In crossing the plains 
they saw on every trip millions of buffalo, there 
being scarcely an hour of the day when they 
were not in sight, and once the buffalo came 
near running over the train. In this vocation 
he saw many hardships. The Indians were on 
the warpath. Once the train passed through 
a village of 500 lodges full of warriors, who 
yelled and tried to stampede the oxen, but each 
driver held fast to the lead oxen's horns and 
yoke, and by this means preventing the animals 
from stampeding. He has had other and thrill- 
ing - adventures in his wild, western life and 
once their stock was stampeded by the Snake 
Indians, they losing nearly all of it, recovering 
only a small portion. In 1880 he came to 
Wyoming and located on Green River and in 
1887 he worked at sheepshearing in the Fon- 
tenelle country, making $7.75 a day net. In 1890. 
in connection with his ranching he bought a 
sawmill on La Barge Creek, which he profitably 
conducted. His landed estate now comprises 
320 acres of excellent land and he is running 
valuable herds of both cattle and horses. On 
August 20, 1865, at Beaver City, Utah, Mr. 
Twitchel assumed the bonds of matrimony with 
Miss Elmina Mangrum. Her mother, now Mrs. 
Stephens, is living at Green River City, at 
the patriarchal age of more than eighty years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Twitchel were parents of eleven 
children, five of whom are living ; P. P. ; O. M. ; 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



597 



Mary E., wife of Joseph Beattie of Bigpiney; 
Alven L. ; Nettie E. Alven L. is one of the 
greatest broncho riders of the country. He 
rode for a prize in a riding contest on July 4, 
1902, which, however, ended as a draw. Mrs. 
Twitchel was a most excellent woman, possess- 
ing those qualities of both head and heart that 
caused her to be acknowledged as a most de- 
voted wife and mother. She was held in great 
respect by all who knew her, and, on her death, 
on April 28, 1897, she was universally mourned. 
She was buried at Green River City, Wyo. Mr. 
Twitchel has ever shown great public spirit, 
devoting himself heartily to the support of 
those objects that have for their ultimate re- 
sults the improvement of the community, and 
is staunchly arrayed in support of the principles 
and policies of the "Doing Right" party, doing 
to all so far as it is given to him to know, the 
practical doctrines of the "Golden Rule," while 
he is a consistent member of the Mormon 
church, with which he has been identified for 
many years. He is held in high esteem, not 
only as a man and citizen, but as one of the 
best types of a class now rapidly passing away, 
the old frontiersman of the plains. Mr. Twitch- 
el tells of one startling incident on the plains 
well worth recording. While driving in an ox- 
train in 1863, lightning struck the old U. S 
telegraph wire, from which it jumped to a 
wagon loaded with stoves, setting the wagon 
on fire and killing five oxen. 

JOSEPH WALL. 

The fair land of Sweden has given to the 
development and settlement of the Great West 
some of its most valuable citizens, who by their 
probity, their industry and their great intelligence 
have been a credit and an honor to the land 
from which they came, and are alsb among the 
representative citizens of the land of their adop- 
tion. Notably is this the case with Joseph 
Wall, whose well improved and valuable estate 
is located two and one-half miles north of the 
brisk and prosperous town of Lyman, Wyo., 
where he is engaged in stockraising on a scale 



of scope and importance. He was born in Os- 
tertollen, Sweden, on August 15, 1848. His 
parents, Joseph and Johanna Wall, came to 
Utah in 1873, as part of a Mormon colony, and 
there they passed their remaining years, the 
mother dying in January, 1885, and the father 
in January, 1899, and both lie buried in Cot- 
tonwood ward cemetery. Joseph Wall was the 
second of their six children. Receiving his ed- 
ucation in the excellent Swedish schools, he 
came to Nebraska in 1871, and lived there un- 
til 1882, when he came to Utah and here ap- 
plied himself to carpenter work until 1892. Then 
he removed to his present location in Wyoming 
and homesteaded eighty acres of land, his right 
to more having been forfeited by his previously 
taking eighty in Nebraska. In Wyoming he has 
been prospered in his specialty of stockraising, 
his operations so expanding that he has been 
forced to lease large tracts and he now farms 
about 600 acres of land and is developing a 
fine estate, on which, at the present writing 
(1902), he is constructing- an elegant residence 
of twelve rooms, modern in style and architec- 
ture, and is also adding other necessary im- 
provements to his property. In Nebraska, on 
January 14, 1873, occurred the marriage of Mr. 
Wall and Miss Christina Larson, a daughter of 
Lars Larson, of Sweden, and to them were 
born four children, Albion, who died in Ne- 
braska in infancy; Joseph ; Anna M., now wife 
of Henry Voss, residing near Lyman, and 
Hattie V., now the wife of Oscar Erickson, of 
Mountain View. Mrs. Christina Wall died in 
Utah on April 26, 1881, at the age of thirty- 
three years and was buried in Big Cottonwood 
cemetery. On July 21, 1881, at Salt Lake City, 
Mr. Wall wedded Miss Jensine Hendrickson, a 
daughter of Henry Peterson and his wife, Anna 
Jenson, natives of Denmark. Her father de- 
parted this life in his native country and in 1871 
his widow and family came to Utah. There are 
four children of this marriage, Joseph W., Ed- 
win M., Leonard and Charlotte O. Both par- 
ents are faithful and consistent members of the 
Church of Latter Day Saints at Lyman and 
Mr. Wall has had the distinction of beina: one 



598 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of the priests of the Seventy. During the 
practice of polygamy he had two other wives, 
by one of whom, Tomina Peterson, he had 
seven children, Elizabeth M., Lawrence C, 
Sina M., Hannah T., Clara A., Henry W. and 
Francis L. By the other,. Ellen Anderson, he 
had six children, Cora S., who died in infancy, 
Raymond A., Nana V., George A., Marietta N. 
and Eunice M. 

JOHN VIBLE. 

The first settler at what is now the town of 
Newfork, Wyoming, for years its justice of the 
peace and conservator of order, now its effi- 
cient postmaster and leading merchant, John 
Vible can most justly be called one of the es- 
sential institutions of the town as well as its 
father and founder. He is a native of Den- 
mark, where he was born on January 23, 1857, 
and where his parents, Oliver and Christina 
(Terkelsen) Vible, passed their entire lives, as 
their forefathers had done generations before 
them. The father was a prosperous farmer and 
died at his home in 1874, at the age of seventy- 
three. The mother died there at the age of six- 
ty-three in 1885. John Vible was the youngest of 
his parent's family of four children, all of whom 
are living, and was reared and educated in his 
native land. As he grew to manhood he worked 
on the farm, and later saw three years active ser- 
vice in the German army. In 1884 he came to the 
United States and at once made his way towards 
the farther West, stopping in Iowa three months 
to work on a farm, and then proceeded to Mon- 
tana, where he engaged in railroading during 
the winter. In the spring of 1885 he went to 
Washington territory and passed two months 
railroading, at the -end of which time he en- 
gaged in similar work in Wyoming and Idaho, 
being employed by the Oregon Short Line until 
the autumn of 1887, serving one year as section 
foreman. Growing tired, of railroading and 
longing- for a more independent life, with 
larger opportunities, in the spring of t888 he 
located on the ranch he now occupies, which he 
has expanded to 640 acres. In addition to the 



business connected with it and with his exten- 
sive cattle industry, he conducts a general store 
and since 1899 has also been the postmaster at 
Newfork, which was made a post office in 1891. 
For ten years he has been a justice of the 
peace, and as such he had a wholesome and 
stimulating effect on the peace and prosperity 
of the community. His store is the center of 
the commercial activity of a large scope of 
country, his farm and cattle interests are among 
the most extensive and progressive in his part 
of the county, his place in the regard of his fel- 
low men is second to none and his usefulness 
to the town and surrounding country have been 
from first to last of commanding value. On 
August 12, 1890, Mr. Vible married with Miss 
Kate Broderson, a native of Denmark and 
daughter of Nelson H. and Anne Broderson. 
Four children have blessed their union and 
added to the sunshine and life of their pleasant 
home. The children are : Oliver N., Louis J., 
Anna C, J. M. and John F. 

FRANK O. WILLIAMS. 

One of the leading mining and stock men of 
Southern Wyoming, one who has borne a prom- 
inent part in the business and public life of the 
state, Hon. Frank O. Williams, of the city of 
Encampment, Carbon county, Wyo., was born in 
Litchfield county, Conn., on April 27, 1848, the 
son of Orville and Minerva (Gillette) Williams, 
the former a native of Massachusetts, and the 
latter of Connecticut. His paternal grandfather, 
Jesse Williams, was also a native of Massachu- 
setts and a prominent man of that common- 
wealth. His maternal grandfather, named Al- 
mond Gillette, married with Miss Laura Adams, 
of the famous Massachusetts Adams family. His 
great-grandfather, Benoni Gillette, was a son 
of Joseph Gillette, a distinguished officer of 
the Revolution, who served during the entire 
conflict. His great-great-grandfather Adams 
was also in the Colonial army and bore a part 
in the troublous times of that, period. Frank 
O. Williams grew to manhood in his native 
state, and received his early education in the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



599 



public schools of the vicinity of his boyhood's 
home. In 1865 the spirit of adventure led him 
to seek his fortune in the far West. Leaving 
his old home in Connecticut, he came to Kan- 
sas, where he remained until the spring of 
1866, then proceeded to Denver. Soon after he 
left that city and came to the Laramie Plains, 
then on the extreme frontier of Wyoming. Here 
he located at one of the regular road-houses on 
the old overland Laramie and California trail, 
secured employment and was soon after placed 
in charge of the business of the place. At this 
time the country was wholly unsettled and the 
Indians were very troublesome. It was neces- 
sary to go fifteen miles for wood and timber, 
and while carrying on the place he had many 
thrilling experiences and narrow escapes. For 
several years he led an adventurous life, and 
saw much western country. In 1870 he met 
his present partner in business, Mr. H. R. 
Jones, in Denver. They formed a partnership, 
which has continued to the present time, and 
came together to Wyoming. Here they first 
engaged in mining and prospecting, taking up 
the ranch which they now own and occupy as a 
side issue and a place for headquarters, while 
pursuing their mining operations. They lo- 
cated and developed the Charter-Oak mine, aft- 
erwards sold for a large figure to an English 
syndicate. They also opened up the Bridget 
mines that were situated in the old Bridger pass, 
which they disposed of to eastern parties and 
they are still the owners of a large number of 
fine mining properties in that vicinity. While 
conducting their mining operations they also 
improved their ranch, and engaged extensively 
in the stock business. They are now the owners 
of a fine ranch, comprising about 1,500 acres, 
all practically under irrigation, and they grow 
great quantities of alfalfa and of small grains, 
most of which is consumed on the place by their 
own stock. They handle cattle and horses, 
dealing in thoroughbred Herefords and Nor- 
man-Percherons, and are the owners of some 
of the most valuable animals in that section of 
Wyoming. They are among the most progres- 
sive and enterprising of the stockmen of the 



state, and have done much to improve the breed 
of range cattle and draft horses. They are 
among the solid business men and substantial 
property owners of Carbon county. Mr. Wil- 
liams is one of the leading men of his adopted 
state. At the time of the Columbian World's 
Exposition at Chicago, in 1892, he received the 
appointment of Commissioner from the state of 
Wyoming, and served in that capacity with 
credit both to himself and to the state. He 
he also served as a member of the Territorial 
Legislature, and upon the admission of the 
state he was elected as a member of the first 
State Senate. Since that time he has several 
times been elected to the State Legislature, and 
has served in that body with great distinction. 
Many measures of useful and beneficial legisla- 
tion now upon the statute books of Wyoming 
owe their origin to his industry and patriotic 
devotion to public duty. No man in the state 
stands higher in the estimation of the people, 
and the leading part which he has taken in 
developing the resources and laying the foun- 
dations of the state has been such as to give 
him a permanent place in its history and in the 
gratitude of its people. Loyal to all the in- 
terests of the state, and successful, straightfor- 
ward, both in private and in public life, he is 
held in high esteem by his fellow citizens and, 
if he desired to seek other public honors, might 
achieve any office within their gift. Progres- 
sive, enterprising, and inspired by public spirit, 
it is to such men as he that the West owes its 
rapid development from savagery to civilization. 
In Wyoming he has seen it progress through 
all the various stages from the wilderness and 
the barren plain, inhabited only by the Indian 
and the buffalo, to its present condition of civ- 
ilized happiness and prosperity. 

B. F. WICKMIRE. 

B. F. Wickmire, one of the prosperous and 
well-esteemed stockmen and farmers of the 
Hyattville neighborhood of Bighorn county, 
Wyoming, came to this state in 1882, and has 
made it his residence continuously since that 



6oo 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



time, being closely identified with its history 
and a contributor to its prosperity and devel- 
opment for more than twenty years. He is a 
native of the state of New York, born on De- 
cember 19, 1863, the son of Nathan and Oline 
(Root) Wickmire, the former a native of Connec- 
ticut and the latter of Rhode Island. In 1875, 
when he was twelve years old, the family came 
overland to Nebraska and located in Red Wil- 
low county where the father took up a home- 
stead and spent a number of years in farming. 
Before she had been many years in her new 
home the mother died, and in 1882, the son 
came to Wyoming and in the county in which 
he now lives rode the range for three years in 
the employ of John Luman. He then took up 
a homestead on the Medicine Lodge and, until 
1897, carried on there a flourishing and ex- 
panding stock business. In that year he took 
a drove of horses to Alaska, going through 
Canada to the Arctic Ocean and from thence to 
Priest River where he left the horses. He then 
continued his journey of hardship and privation 
to McKenzie River, from there to Porcupine 
River and on to Dawson. The trip was full 
of peril and almost every mile in the Arctic 
portion of it was clouded by the shadow of 
death. He got through however without serious 
mishap, and returned to his home in 1898, since 
which time he has been busily occupied with 
his farming and stockgrowing operations, con- 
ducting them on a scale of increasing magnitude 
and with more and more gratifying results 
from year to year. He has a tract of 160 acres 
of land which is naturally fertile and yields 
generously to the persuasive voice of the hus- 
bandman, and much of it is under cultivation. 
His cattle are of good quality and well bred and 
his horses are of a high grade. Mr. Wickmire 
was married at Hyattville in April, 1896, to 
Miss May Rawson, a native of California. He 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America and takes an active interest in the 
affairs of his lodge. Although he has seen less 
than half-a-century of life Mr. Wickmire has 
had experiences numerous and various enough 
to make a volume in the telling of them, and 



the narrative would be full of tragedy and the 
interest that is inseparable from perilous or 
high adventure. As a boy he took the long 
and wearying trip across the plains that was 
always attended with daily peril and uncer- 
tainty, and monotonous as it must necessarily 
have been much of the time, did, nevertheless, 
present variety of scene and incident sufficient 
to keep the interest on the alert. He assisted 
in the burial of the bodies of Rogers and 
Leeper, who were murdered on No Water, in 
1883. As a man he has dwelt in a new country, 
helped to reduce it to civilization and fruitful- 
ness and also made the journey to Alaska al- 
ready alluded to. And now with the recollec- 
tion of all the sights he has witnessed, all the 
privations he has endured, all the dangers he 
has passed, he is living the life of a peaceful 
tiller of the soil, with its pleasing round of daily 
duties that make up the prose and poetry of 
rural existence. 

MRS. MARY WILSON. 

There is scarcely any spectacle among the 
various phases of human life that more excites 
and solidifies admiration, wins respect and 
commands considerate attention, than that of a 
heroic, resolute woman, who, taking hold of 
adverse fate with a firm and ungauntleted hand, 
dominates its hard and unpromising conditions 
to her service and advantage. The pen of the 
biographer lingers with interest over such an 
individual, and, although it is an oft-told tale 
in this western land, it is none the less full of 
inspiration and high example. This inspiring 
theme is found in the life-story of Mrs. Mary 
Wilson, of South Park in the Jackson Hole 
country of Wyoming, the widow of the late 
Sylvester Wilson, who was during life a prom- 
inent ranchman, a brave Indian fighter, a hardy 
pioneer and a progressive, public spirited man, 
and whose death in August, 1895, at the age of 
fifty-five was due to disabilities incurred by ex- 
posure in the troublous times of his early resi- 
dence in the wilds of the West. Mrs. Wilson 
and her sister-in-law, the wife of her husband's 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



60 1 



brother, Nicholas Wilson, were the first white 
women to live in the valley they now inhabit, 
and well did they earn the honored name of 
pioneers. Mrs. Wilson was born in Yorkshire, 
England, on November 2, 1844. Her parents 
were George and Rebecca (Shaw) Wood, both 
of Yorkshire ancestry. Her father was a 
weaver by trade and, being an expert musician, 
was for a long time a band-leader. He came 
to the United States in 1844 and was drowned 
while returning home, just nine weeks before 
his daughter was born. Her mother came with 
her young family of four children, of whom Mrs. 
Wilson was the youngest, to Utah in 1855. 
Bravely she took her place in the battle of life 
and, after rearing her family and giving them 
the high incentive to exertion embodied in 
her own career, and seeing them well estab- 
lished among men, she passed away at the ven- 
erable age of eighty-four years, on September 
1, 1900. She was a daughter of Joseph and 
Mary Shaw, descendants of a family long res- 
ident in Yorkshire and honorably connected 
with the civil history of that section. Mrs. 
Wilson received a limited education in her na- 
tive land and in Utah, her mother being obliged 
to pay fees for her tuition in both countries. 
On May 26, 1861, she married in Cache Val- 
ley, Utah, where her mother was one of the 
first settlers, with Sylvester Wilson, a native 
of Illinois and a son of Elijah and Martha 
(Kelley) Wilson, who settled in Utah in 1852. 
The Wilsons who are the subjects of this writ- 
ing, lived in Cache Valley for six years, then 
eight years at Round Valley, now Oxford, 
Idaho, and after that for eight more at Swan 
Lake, Idaho. Fifteen years were then passed 
farther south in Emery county, Utah, at the end 
of which period they moved north and were 
going to settle in the Snake River Valley in 
Idaho, but were unable to get hay for their 
cattle, and they had been assured by Nicholas 
Wilson that there was plenty of this necessity 
to be had for the making in the part of Wyo- 
ming to which they moved, which was then, 
as has been noted, an unsettled region, into 
which they were almost the first intruders. 



Here they filed on 160 acres of government 
land which Mrs. Wilson now owns, and which 
has proven to be a judicious choice, as it is well 
adapted for their leading industry of stock- 
raising, being largely meadow and yielding 
cheerfully to the persuasive hand of skillful hus- 
bandry. Mr. Wilson's death in 1895 left his. 
widow at the meridian of life, with her faculties 
well trained in pioneer needs, her energies re- 
sponsive and enduring, her business capacity in 
full vigor and her self-reliance sufficient for 
every emergency. She has since carried on 
the business successfully along broad lines of 
progressive activity, holding her own in the 
mercantile contests incident thereto and im- 
pressing her worth and spirit on- the commun- 
ity far and near. Her husband had lived a 
strenuous life amid the scenes of savage cruelty 
and treachery, had met the Indians on their 
chosen ground and baffled them with their own 
tactics, had aided in redeeming the wilderness 
to fertility and systematic productiveness, and 
as a bishop of the Mormon church and prom- 
inent in its councils, had spread the light and 
comfort of his religious faith among the people 
whom his presence helped and cheered. And 
she has been at his side, with ever present aid, 
in all of his arduous labors and soul-harrowing 
experiences, so that her knowledge of human 
nature and of affairs was both comprehensive 
and practical. They were the parents of twelve 
children of whom eight are living and exempli- 
fying in their lives the lessons taught in his. 
They are : Mary A., married to Selar Cheney, 
of South Park ; Rebecca A., married to James 
Robertson, of Cheney ; Martha, married to 
Harmon Curtis, of Utah ; John H., living half- 
a-mile south, and Charles living two miles 
north of their mother's farm ; George A. and 
Elias, living at home ; Melvina E., who is yet 
at school. Those deceased are : Sylvester, who 
died in infancy ; Ervin, who left a widow and 
five children and was buried by the side of his 
father ; Sarah E., who died when thirteen years 
old ; Joseph, who died at the age of ten. Mrs. 
Wilson is a well-preserved lady, whose vigor 
of body, clearness of mind and sprightliness of 



6o2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



spirit give no suggestion of the years she has 
lived or of the hardships she has suffered. She 
is a very interesting survival of the devoted, 
heroic, all-daring and all-enduring pioneer 
women, a type that is fast passing away from 
human sight and personal knowledge. 

EDWARD YOUNG. 

If the ancient adage be true that "He who 
causes two blades of grass to grow where only 
one grew before is a public benefactor," what 
must be said of such a man as Edward Young, 
of the Little Popo Agie country of Fremont 
county, Wyoming, who, by his intelligent la- 
bors, his far-seeing judgment and unusual dis- 
crimination, has demonstrated to the peoole of 
his state that successful fruit growing is one of 
of the future prominent industries, and that 
Wyoming stands second to no other common- 
wealth in the yield of its fruit, in the range of 
its variety or in the flavor and character "of the 
magnificent productions of its orchards. Mr. 
Young is the pioneer and leader of the horticul- 
ture of Wyoming and his success has been hon- 
estly acquired. He is entitled to the gratitude 
of the entire commonwealth for his successful 
endeavors in this direction. Edward Young was 
born in Germany, on August 12, 1844, and in 
1863 came to the United States, first locating 
in New York, thence, in 1868, coming westward 
to Nebraska, a year later, in company with Dr. 
Harrison, now of Evanston, he engaged in 
mining operations at South Pass, where he con- 
tinued to abide until 1871, when he made his 
permanent home on a portion of his present 
beautiful estate, situated fifteen miles south of 
the thriving city of Landers. Here he com- 
menced his labors, first being a gardener and 
stockraiser, soon however, taking up the spe- 
ciality in which he has been so prospered and 
made such a reputation by setting out and ex- 
perimenting with fruit-trees, through his sa- 
gacity, care and perseverance, being now the 
proud possessor of the finest orchard of the 
state, taking the first premium for his exhibit 
at the state fair in 1890, and having in success- 



ful cultivation and bearing 2,000 trees, includ- 
ing apple, pear, plum, apricot and cherry trees, 
and numerous small fruits, grapes, etc. Mr. 
Young has 400 acres of excellent land in his 
home ranch, finely improved with a comfort- 
able dwelling, suitable buildings and accessories 
for his extensive agricultural operations, hav- 
ing also 400 acres in one body closely adjacent 
to the homestead, while in addition to these 
tracts he controls 1,200 acres of leased land. 
Upon this property he raises horses and cattle 
of a superior character, in the latter stock de- 
voting his attention to the graded Durham and 
Hereford breeds, being also a successful agri- 
culturist and enjoying the reputation of being 
one of the representative farmers of the state. 
Incidentally in this connection we will mention 
that he has a large water-wheel of twenty-two 
feet in diameter which lifts the water used on 
his home ranch from the Little Popo Agie River. 
Mr. Young has worthily acquired his pres- 
ent prosperity by his own ability and occupies 
a high position in the esteem of tne people, by 
his originality, his public spirit and his intelli- 
gent development of the resources lying dor- 
mant in the country winning and retaining 
many friends and adding to the wealth and 
prosperity of his community. In political re- 
lations he is in active sympathy with the Dem- 
ocratic party, supporting its candidates and 
principles, but never seeking political or public 
stations for himself. 

CHARLES J. ALLEN. 

Dwelling at Moran on the shore of Jackson 
lake in Uinta county, Wyoming, on the south- 
ern border of the Yellowstone National Park, 
in the midst of a region so beautiful that one 
can almost feel contact with the celestial soul 
that lights the smile on Nature's lips, and hav- 
ing by inheritance from a long line of thrifty 
ancestors and through practice on his own ac- 
count excellent business capacity, Charles J. Al- 
len, prominent in his section as ranchman, stock- 
man, merchant and hotel proprietor, and securely 
established in the regard and good opinion of his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



603 



fellow men, has in himself and his surroundings 
the elements of prosperity, comfort, cultivation 
and happiness. He was born at Bountiful, Utah, 
on May 31, 1853, a son of J tide and Mary A. 
(Nichols) Allen, natives of Ohio who crossed 
the plains to the Mormon state in 1852, and there 
the father took high rank as a public spirited 
man, with a knowledge of affairs and a deep and 
serviceable interest in church matters. He was 
a ranchman also, and prosperous in his business. 
His wife, a daughter of Josiah and Mary A. 
Nichols, of Ohio, died in 1862 at the age of thir- 
ty-five, while he lived to be eighty-two, passing 
away in 1891. They had twelve children, of 
whom eight are living. Charles J. Allen was 
educated in the public schools of his native state 
and then engaged in ranching on its fertile plains 
until 1 88 1, when he removed to the neighbor- 
hood of American Falls, Idaho, and there contin- 
ued his ranching industry until 1896. In that 
year he sold his interests and, locating at Jack- 
son, Wyo., bought a farm of 160 acres and set- 
tled on it for the purpose of carrying on ex- 
tensive farming operations, at the same time 
acting as a guide for tourists through the pictur- 
esque and impressive natural scenery surround- 
ing him. He also then bought a ranch of 160 
acres on which he now conducts a profitable 
stock business, having sold the one at Jackson. 
He is besides engaged in merchandising on an 
extensive scale and keeps a fine hotel on the 
government road to the National Park, where 
full lines of tourists' supplies are to be had and 
where the comfort of both man and beast are 
carefully provided for. On January 22, 1873, 
he was married in Utah to Miss Maria Lish, a 
native of that state and daughter of Enos and 
Maria (Alexander) Lish. They have had eight 
children, all of the living ones being residents 
of Grovont, Wyo., except the youngest three : 
Orpha M., now wife of George Kelley; Charles 
J., drowned at Rockland, Idaho, when he was 
eleven years old; Mary A., now wife of James 
Budge; Sarah Avilla, wife of Albert Nelson; 
Eunice C, wife of Harry M. Smith; and Jude 
Valdez, Andrew M. and Neil D., who are liv- 
ing at home, Neil D. being at school. In 1892 



the Aliens had a postoffice established at their 
home and Mrs. Allen was appointed postmistress 
in July of that year. The family stands high 
in social circles, have commanding influence in 
the business world, are leaders in all public en- 
terprises, and exemplify in their daily life the 
most admired elements of American citizenship. 

CICERO AVENT. 

Long ago, almost at the dawn of American 
history, the ancestors of Cicero Avent settled in 
the sunny Southland of our country, and there, 
throughout the subsequent annals of Georgia and 
Mississippi the family names appear with hon- 
orable mention in every relation of life and ev- 
ery line of productive activity. His father, F. 
M. Avent. was a native of the former state and 
his mother, whose maiden name was Harriet 
Humphrey, of the latter. Early in their mar- 
ried life they moved to Texas, and there, on 
March 14, i860, their son Cicero was born. In 
his native state he reached the age of eighteen 
and received a limited common-school educa- 
tion. In 1878 he left the parental household and 
assumed life's burdens for himself, working in 
the cattle industry with an earnestness and zeal 
which indicated that he was looking upon it 
as his permanent occupation. Two years later 
he came north with cattle to Laramie county, 
Wyoming, and in that section of the state he 
rode the range in the employ, of the yy and other 
cattle companies for four years, then came to 
the Bighorn basin as foreman in the same busi- 
ness for G. W. Baxter. He remained in his em- 
ploy until he sold out in 1887 and in 1888 was 
foreman for Otto Franc, or Franc Cattle Co. 
In 1889 and 1890 he was deputy sheriff of Fre- 
mont county and at the end of his term again en- 
tred the service of Mr. Baxter, remaining with 
him two years. In 1893 he went to Chicago and 
secured a position as foreman for the Bay State 
Cattle Co., whose headquarters in Wyoming 
were at Tensleep. During the next three years 
he gave this company faithful and appreciated 
service, and in 1896 settled on land he had lo- 
cated in 1889, which is a portion of the extensive 



604 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ranch of 1,400 acres he now owns and occupies. 
The beginning of his independent enterprise was 
small and the business was conducted under un- 
usual difficulties. He dwelt in a tent and con- 
tended with Nature's obdurate and untamed 
conditions almost single-handed, lacking nearly 
all the mechanical appliances needed for his work, 
and assailed at times by hostile forces of savage 
men, wild beasts and warring elements. But 
his faith was firm, his courage was strong, his 
perseverance was unconquerable. And so, before 
long, on the soil where he planted his foot as a 
humble though hopeful invader, he stood erect 
as a controlling lord and master. His business 
prospered and grew in magnitude, the hard con- 
ditions of his situation yielded to his energy and 
skill, values rose as mastery extended, and he is 
now one of the leading stockmen of the com- 
monwealth and his home is one of its choice and 
most highly improved estates. He has also writ- 
ten his name in enduring phrase on the institu- 
tions of his county, which owe much of their high 
character and vigor to the wise and stimulat- 
ing attention given to their interests by him 
and other men of the same far-seeing and pro- 
gressive spirit. The Grey Bull River valley has 
no more serviceable or more highly esteemed cit- 
izen, nor is there any one whose place in the 
public regard has been more honestly won or is 
more modestly enjoyed. Mr. Avent was united 
in 'marriage with Miss Fannie Aid en of Shaw- 
nee, Kan., where the marriage occurred on Dec- 
cember 13, 1893, and where she was born, but 
for a number of years prior to their union she 
had been a resident of the Northwest. They 
have three daughters and two sons, Agnes, 
Maud, Hattie, Alden and Monroe, whose pres- 
ence enlivens their beautiful home which is a cen- 
ter of attraction to their hosts of admiring 
friends. 

CLARK Z., ALLEN. 

One of the first settlers on Canyon Springs 
Prairie, taking up land for a home in that most 
fruitful section when it was an almost untrod- 
den wild, Clark Z. Allen, of Boyd, has seen it re- 
deemed from its virgin condition and blossom- 



ing as the rose for the sustenance and happiness 
of man, and has the satisfaction of feeling that 
his own labors and his enlightened and progress- 
ive spirit have been protential elements in the 
gratifying change. His life began on January 
22, 1852, in Clinton county, Iowa, the son of 
Allen and Charlotte (Sams) Boyd, natives of 
Ohio, from whence they removed to Iowa among 
the early pioneers of Clinton county. There the 
father farmed industriously for years, having as 
part of his farm much of the present town-site of 
Clinton on which he hunted deer long after his 
arrival. From Iowa he removed to Rooks coun- 
ty, Kan., in the summer of 1872 and there passed 
seventeen years in farming ; but the restless spirit 
of the pioneer still possessed him and in 1891 he 
left the civilization, which had grown up around 
him, and once more turned his face toward the 
wilderness, coming to Wyoming and taking up 
land on Canyon Springs Prairie, three and one- 
half miles west of his son's farm. He cultivated 
this land until 1899 and then went to Colorado 
and located in Gunnison county, where he now 
has a fruit farm. Clark Z. Allen was educated 
in the public schools of Clinton county, Iowa, re- 
maining there until he was sixteen years old. In 
that year he went to Kansas and took employ- 
ment on the Santa Fe Railroad, working for 
that enterprise until fall and then going to 
Rooks county where his father lived, and farm- 
ing there and in Iowa until 1876. He then came 
west to Idaho and after working three months 
for the Union Pacific Railroad, he removed to 
Montana and passed the time until 1883 in hunt- 
ing and trapping in all parts of that state. In 
1884 he came to Wyoming and took up land near 
Sundance in Crook county. He farmed there 
until 1888, then settled on his present ranch on 
Canyon Springs Prairie, twenty-four miles north 
by east of Newcastle, being one of the first of 
humankind to invade this fertile section, but be- 
ing joined by three other settlers within the year. 
Since locating here he has been industriously 
engaged in cultivating the soil, improving his 
ranch, and the other land which he owns near 
by, and building up the section in all material, 
moral, educational and social attributes. His 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



605 



ranch is one of the most desirable in that portion 
of the state, and has a name throughout wide- 
spread markets for the excellent quality of the 
horses raised on it with special care by its pro- 
gressive owner, . who is a public spirited man, 
independent in politics, looking- chiefly for the 
good of the community through governmental 
agencies rather than by the triumph of any set 
of political theories. His influence and example 
and his active efforts have been productive of 
much advantage to his people in all proper lines, 
and he is well esteemed. 

FRED C. BATH. 

Among the progressive young business men 
of Albany county who are fast taking the places 
in the commercial and industrial life of the coun- 
ty of the older generation, is the subject of this 
sketch, Fred C. Bath, a prominent stockman and 
cattleowner, whose fertile ranch is situated about 
eleven miles west of the city of Laramie, Wyo- 
ming. A native of the state of Iowa, he was 
born in 1868, and is the son of Henry and Cath- 
erine (Fisher) Bath, well-known and highly re- 
spected residents of Wyoming. Coming to the 
territory with his parents when but three months 
old, Fred C. Bath 'has passed all his life in Wyo- 
ming. He has seen the conditions change from 
those of the rude frontier to the modern civiliza- 
tion and development of today, and has had 
many interesting experiences on the plains. He 
received his early education in the public schools 
of Laramie and subsequently attended the State 
University of Wyoming, pursuing a course of 
study at that institution. During his college life 
he gave a good deal of attention to athletic ex- 
ercises, and was prominent as an athlete among 
his fellow students. He took many prizes on 
field days and was especially noted as a horse- 
man, capturing the first prize for skill in horse- 
manship. When he had completed his course 
of study at the university, he at once engaged 
in ranching and cattleraising, and is now the 
owner of a fine ranch, consisting of about three 
thousand and forty acres of land, well fenced and 
improved, with a considerable herd of cattle 



which is being increased from year to year. He 
takes an especial pride in breeding fine graded 
stock, and is the owner of some of the most valu- 
able animals in his section of the state. Mr. 
Bath is still unmarried. Fraternally, he is affil- 
iated with the Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks, and is an enthusiastic member of that great 
order, and takes a deep interest in the fraternal 
life of the community where he maintains his 
home. Politically, he is a stanch member of the 
Democratic party, and takes a leading part in the 
councils of that political organization, both in his 
county and in the state. He invariably gives 
loyal and earnest support to the principles and 
candidates of his party, and, believing it to be 
the duty of every good citizen to give a portion 
of his time to the public welfare, he has yielded 
to the solicitations of his political friends and 
associates on more than one occasion, and accept- 
ed nominations at their hands, although without 
any hope of succeeding at the election, his party 
being in the minority. He is highly respected 
in his portion of the state by all classes of his 
fellow citizens, and enjoys the loyal support of a 
large circle of friends, irrespective of political 
affiliations. He is a man of force and ability, 
popular, progressive and enterprising, and is one 
of the most prominent of the rising young men 
of Wyoming, being unanimously elected school 
director of District No. 4 at the last election. 

GEORGE BENNETT. 

One of the practical stockmen of Laramie 
county, who has acquired a thorough knowledge 
of the cattle business by years of experience on 
the range, and whose business operations on his 
own account are sure to be attended with suc- 
cess, George Bennett, a native of the state of 
Texas, was born in Williamson county on De- 
cember 21, 1856, and is the son of James and 
Margaret (Hamilton) Bennett, the former a na- 
tive of Kentucky, and the latter of Indiana. His 
father removed from his native state to Texas 
in early life, there established his home in the 
county of Williamson, where he engaged in the 
occupations of ranching and stockraising, and re- 



6o6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mained engaged in those pursuits until 1898, 
when he removed his residence to the state of 
Wyoming, where the parents have since made 
their home with their son George. Passing the 
years of his childhood and early manhood in his 
native county of Williamson, Texas, he then at- 
tended the public schools and acquired his early 
educational training. After completing his edu- 
cation, he remained at home with his parents, 
assisting his father in the work and manage- 
ment of his ranch and stock interests until he 
had attained to the age of twenty-five years. He 
then left home and engaged in business for him- 
self. He secured employment in his native state 
for a short time and then, believing that he could 
improve his condition, and place himself in po- 
sition to acquire a fortune, he determined to 
come north and engage in the cattle business. 
Arriving in Wyoming in 1883 he secured em- 
ployment with the T. & B. Cattle Co. in the 
vicinity of Uva, Laramie county, for the purpose 
of acquiring a practical knowledge of the busi- 
ness before he entered upon it on his own ac- 
count. He remained with this company until 
about 1891, when he accepted an engagement 
with the Milwaukee & Wyoming Investment Co., 
at their North Laramie ranch, well known as the 
H. R. ranch, and continued there up to 1896. He 
then left the employ of that company .for the 
purpose of engaging in business for himself, and 
in the spring of the following year took up his 
present ranch, situated on the Platte River, about 
three miles east of Glendo, in the county of Lara- 
mie, Wyoming. He has remained here since 
that time, engaged continuously in the cattle bus- 
iness, and is rapidly building up his business. 
By hard work and perseverance and a practical 
knowledge of all the details of his occupation, 
and the keeping down of expenses, he is. making 
a success of his undertaking and putting it on a 
paying basis. He has about 100 acres under irri- 
gation, and is steadily adding to his holdings 
and improvements. Politically, he is a stanch 
member of the Democratic party, and a loyal ad- 
vocate of the principles of that political organi- 
zation, being held in high esteem in the section 
of the county where he maintains his home. 



THOMAS BIRD. 

One of the eminently successful and sub- 
stantial ranchmen and leading stockowners of Al- 
bany county, Wyoming, U. S. A., is Thomas Bird, 
whose postofhee address is Centennial, Wyoming. 
A native of the great Dominion of Canada, he 
was born in 1846, and is the son of William 
and Ann (Dodd) Bird, both natives of England. 
His father emigrated from his native country to 
Canada when a young man, where he engaged in 
the pursuit of farming. Subsequently he re- 
moved his residence to New York, and there 
continued in the same occupation, up to the time 
of his demise, which occurred in 1881, at the 
age of eighty-seven years and the mother passed 
away in 1862, aged fifty- four years. She was" 
a woman of remarkable strength of character, 
and was the mother of thirteen children. The 
subject of this sketch grew to man's estate in 
the state of New York, and there received his 
early education in the public schools. Leaving 
school at the early age of sixteen years, he de- 
termined to make his own way in the world and,- 
leaving the home of his childhood in New York 
state, he came to the then territory of Colorado. 
Here he engaged in mining, which he followed 
for a period of about four years and- in 1869 he 
came to Wyoming" with a view to en°fag;inp" in 
the business of raising cattle. Locating' first in 
the neighborhood of Laramie, he secured employ- 
ment on the large cattle ranches in that section 
for the purpose of acquiring a practical knowl- 
edge of the business. In the meantime, he was 
looking about for a suitable place to select as a 
headquarters for his enterprise, and. in 1883, de- 
cided upon the ranch which he now owns and 
occupies, situated about three and one-half miles 
south of Centennial. Here he purchased at first 
(v|o acres of land, his means being limited, and 
with a small band of cattle made a modest begin- 
ning in his chosen pursuit. By hard work, per- 
severance and reasonably good judgment, he has 
gradually built up his business, adding to his 
holdings both of land and stock each year until 
now he is the owner of a good ranch property, 
comprising over 4,700 acres of land. This prop- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



607 



erty is carefully improved, well fenced and irri- 
gated, with considerable tracts under cultiva- 
tion, and with large barns, buildings, appliances 
and appointments for the convenient carrying on 
of a general ranching and stockraising business. 
His place is well known as one of the finest in 
that section of the state. He takes especial pride 
in the breeding of the best grades of Hereford 
cattle, and he is the owner of some of the finest 
animals in Wyoming. He has never married. 
No citizen of Albany county is held in higher es- 
teem, or is more deserving of the good opinion 
of his fellow citizens. 

CHARLES C. BLAKE. 

Although but a recent acquisition to the bar 
of Bighorn county, Charles C. Blake, of Basin, 
is sufficiently far from shore to be under full sail 
in his profession, and has given abundant evi- 
dence of his capacity to steer his barque to its 
desired haven. His story is like that of thousands 
among us everywhere, similar in the general 
trend, differing in the specific details, which for- 
cibly illustrate the wonderful possibilities of 
American life and the no less wonderful versatil- 
ity of the American mind. ( Entering upon the 
stage of action at his maturity in one profitable 
capacity, the requirements of which carried him 
through many scenes and events of thrilling in- 
terest, he is found after a few years pursuing a 
very different vocation, equally profitable per- 
haps, or more so, and prolific, too, of scenes and 
incidents of thrilling interest, but which confines 
him and his energies to a limited territory and 
an atmosphere of intellectual rather than of phys- 
ical activity. Mr. Blake was born on June 12, 
1876, in the state of Iowa, and is the son of 
Isaac W. and Nancy (Keiser) Blake, the former 
a native of Illinois and the latter of Iowa. In 
1884 they moved, to Sundance in this state where 
the father engaged in the stock industry, and 
where the parents are now living. There the 
son Charles grew to manhood and was primarily 
educated in the public schools of the vicinity. 
He was able to supplement the rather limited 
educational facilities thus afforded by a three- 



years' course of special training at the State 
Normal School of South Dakota located at 
Spearfish. After leaving this institution he 
was occupied in teaching until 1898, when he 
enlisted in the volunteer army of the United 
States for service in the Spanish- American War, 
becoming a member of Colonel Torrey's Rough 
Riders and remaining in this command from 
June until October. His valor and capacity 
in this service won for him the special attention 
and interest of his colonel, and, after quitting 
the command, the Colonel furnished him the 
means to prepare himself for the legal profes- 
sion. He entered the law school at Lincoln, 
Neb., in 1889, and two years later was graduated 
therefrom. He then returned for a short time 
to Colonel Torrey's Embar cattle ranch, and was 
soon afterward admitted to practice in the courts 
of Wyoming. He located at Basin and began 
his professional duties as a member of the firm 
of Blake & Lonabaugh, with an office at Basin 
in his charge and one at Sheridan in charge of 
Mr. Lonabaugh. Their practice is growing rap- 
idly in volume and value and, in the forensic 
or legal contests in which he is called upon to 
engage, Mr. Blake conducts himself with a man- 
liness and vigor, and displays a degree of legal 
knowledge and practical ability, that are win- 
ning golden opinions from all classes of observ- 
ers. He has time also for some mercantile busi- 
ness, in addition to the professional claims upon 
him, and is the secretary and treasurer of the 
Basin Land Co. The military instinct which led 
him to the front in times of danger finds food 
for activity and practice in the art of war through 
his membership in the Wyoming National Guard, 
in which he is the captain of Battery B- He also 
belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. 
On November 10, 1902, he was married at 
Smithwick, S. D., to Miss Julia Pearl Betts, a 
native of Hardin county, Iowa, the daughter of 
Giarles and Rosa (Marple) Betts, natives of 
Ohio and Illinois respectively. Mr. Blake is 
also a member of the bar of Nebraska, and has 
had interesting cases before the courts of that 
state in which he has acquitted himself with 
great credit. 



6o8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



LOU BLAKESLEY. 

Lou Blakesley, principal of the public school 
at Otto in Bighorn county, and holding an ele- 
vated place in the regard of the public as a suc- 
cessful farmer and stockgrower and a progres- 
sive and public spirited citizen, came to Wyo- 
ming in 1890 and has since that time been closely 
connected «with and potential in her develop- 
ment and the multiplication and improvement of 
her civilizing forces. Lie was born in Illinois on 
April 8, 1868, the son of Edmund and Olive 
(Lake) Blakesley, early settlers in that state, 
the former a native of New York and the latter 
of Ohio. He grew to manhood in Kansas, 
whither the family moved while he was yet a 
child, and there he was educated and learned 
something of farming on a large scale. In 1890 
he came to Wyoming and engaged in teaching 
at Lander, remaining in charge of the school in 
that town until 1893 when he came to the Big- 
horn basin and founded the Otto Courier, which 
he edited and managed until 1900. He then sold 
the newspaper and turned his attention to farm- 
ing and raising stock, having taken up a home- 
stead in the neighborhood. His farm comprises 
160 acres of good land 'and he has a herd of 
high-grade cattle. His stock business is pros- 
perous and increasing in proportions, and his 
land is appreciating in value every year by the 
improvements he is making and the advanced 
state of cultivation to which he is bringing it. 
He is still principal of the school at Otto and in 
this capacity is giving the community valuable 
and appreciated service, raising the standard of 
its education as time passes and facilities in- 
crease, and putting in motion in the community 
widening streams of benefaction to all classes of 
its people. In the local public affairs of the county 
he has, from the beginning of his residence here, 
taken a deep and active interest, and has shown 
very commendable wisdom in counsel and en- 
ergy in connection with all movements for the 
improvement or advancement of his neighbor- 
hood. He was one of the organizing commis- 
sioners of Bighorn county in 1896, and in 1897 
was appointed the postmaster at Otto, serving in 



this position until 1902. In June of that year 
he was appointed the supervisor of the Yellow- 
stone Timber Reservation, but resigned the office 
in the following October. Since the organiza- 
tion of the county he has been chairman of the 
county central committee of the Republican party 
in Bighorn county, having been of great service 
to the party in organizing its forces and conduct- 
ing its campaigns. In fraternal relations he be- 
longs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
being prominent in the order and closely and in- 
telligently attentive to its interests. He was also 
the first noble grand in Bighorn county and 
through his capable administration the organi- 
zation was quickened into a more vigorous life 
and activity and its prosperity largely increased. 
He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen 
of America. At Lander he was united in mar- 
riage in 1892 with Miss Louella Knott, a native 
of the town in which the marriage occurred. 
They have three children living, Edna, Francis 
and Hazel, all residing at home. In February, 
1903, Mr. Blakesley was tendered the position 
of superintendent of the State Water Division, 
No. 3, by the late Governor DeForest Richards, 
which office he finally accepted. This is a posi- 
tion of great importance, having to do with all 
irrigation matters in his division, and as such 
superintendent, he has full control of all water 
used either for irrigation or other purposes. 

SYDNEY FIELD BARRY. 

An old English family of good repute and 
standing is that of Barry, being long established 
at the Priory. Orpington, in Kent, and for gener- 
ations connected with maritime interests in the 
south of England. The parental grandfather of 
Sydney F. Barry was long a ship-owner of con- 
siderable extent, whose eldest son. Sir Francis 
Barry, Baronet, has for a series of years repre- 
sented Windsor and Eton in the British Parlia- 
ment. Sydney F. Barry was born at Bromley 
in Kent, England, on June 23, 1864. and is the 
second son of the late Charles Barry, whose eld- 
est son is now a resident of New Zealand, where 
he is the manager of the Waihi Gold-mining Co., 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



609 



whose immense plant and operations, already 
the most extensive and lucrative of any gold- 
mining proposition in the world south of the 
equator, bid fair to outstrip all others, even in 
the North. Sydney F. Barry was educated at 
Tunbridge Wells and at Hatcham College, there- 
after passing a few years in a London mercantile 
house engaged in the over-sea trade with Russia 
and South America. The narrow limitations 
and close confinement contingent on this voca- 
tion not appealing to Mr. Barry's tastes, he 
came to America in 1886, entering into a partner- 
ship with the Phillips Bros., under the firm name 
of Phillips Bros. & Barry, in the stockraising 
business on the Laramie plains, where, as the re- 
sult of hard winters and the bad condition of the 
stock business prevailing during the late eighties 
he went "broke," as did so many other Western 
men about that time. Never despondent, Mr. 
Barry slowly struggled back to a solid financial 
footing and, in 1900, purchased a ranch on La 
Prele Creek in Converse county, Wyo., where, 
with a herd of about 200 head, he is now engaged 
in raising Hereford cattle. Mr. Barry is a 
well-educated gentleman of cultured tastes and 
practical, progressive methods and is justly con- 
sidered as one of the useful citizens of the coun- 
ty. He married on June 23, 1894, with Miss Effie 
Williamson, a native of Saint Andrews, Scot- 
land, but who was educated in London and is 
the daughter of the late James Williamson, bar- 
rister at law, and they have two daughters, Mar- 
garet and Constance. 

JAMES BLIGHT. 

Another of the upbuilders of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, of English birth is James Blight, an 
enterprising farmer residing three-quarters of 
a mile west of Almy, who was born in Devon- 
shire, England, on November 12, 1845, a son 
of Philip and Jane (Britton) Blight, also natives 
of the same shire and the parents of six children. 
Philip Blight, a son of John and Ann (Farley) 
Blight, was a farmer by calling. He was born 
in Devonshire in 1819 and came to the United 
States in 1872, with his second wife, whose 



maiden name was Ann Harding. For one year 
they lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, thence they 
came to Almy. but now reside in North Evans- 
ton, being members of the Church of Latter Day 
Saints. James Blight while a resident of Almy 
followed his trade and earned sufficient money 
to purchase the ranch he now owns, which he 
purchased about 1900, and' where he is now de- 
lightfully situated, employing his time in the 
profitable pursuits of farming and cattleraising. 
His ranch comprises 160 acres, and no tract of 
land, of equal proportions, in the neighborhood 
is kept in better condition or presents a more 
pleasant prospect to the eye of the passerby. In 
belief Mr. Blight is a Freethinker, with which 
school he is popular in the extreme. He has also 
served his fellow citizens on the school board of 
District No. 2, Almy, with very marked ability. 
James Blight was married in England on Decem- 
ber 13, 1867, to Miss Eliza Overbury, daughter 
of John and Sarah (Farley) Overbury, natives 
of Gloucestershire, the former of whom was a 
son of John and Ann (Done) Overbury, natives 
of the same country. The marriage of James 
and Eliza (Overbury) Blight was crowned with 
nine children, Sarah, who died in Salt Lake City, 
Utah, on August 26, 1871, at the age of one and 
one-half years; James, born on March 17, 1874, 
died in Randolph, Utah, on March 22, 1874; 
William, Jr., born on August 5, 1876, died in 
Almy, Wyo., on February 19, 1895 ; Oliver, born 
on February 12, 1879, died in Almy on April 
14, 1879; Rose Ann, born on November 27, 
1880, is the wife of Peter N. Hood, of Scofield, 
Utah; May, born February 19, 1883, married 
Enoch Turner, of Evanston, a farmer ; Eliza, 
born February 4, 1885 ; Bessie, born December 
5, 1887; Philip, born on May 25, 1890, died in 
Almy on November 24, 1890. The family are 
all members of the Church of the Latter Day 
Saints, in which Mr. Blight is first counsellor of 
his ward and also a teacher, being an industrious 
and prosperous farmer, and is indeed the winner, 
through his perseverance and good management, 
of all his present good fortune. He has gained 
the unqualified esteem of all his neighbors, and 
his walk through life, which has always been up- 



6io 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



right, fully entitles him to the high place he 
holds. He is made of the best stuff from which 
is built the substantial frame of a young and 
growing state, and his presence in Wyoming 
has been one of usefulness to its citizens, as well 
as of profit to himself. 

HON. HANS HANSEN. 

The Dane of whom this brief sketch is made 
is by no means of the melancholy stamp, but is 
a wide-awake, active and leading business man 
now of Rawlins, Carbon county, Wyoming. He 
was born in Denmark in 1855, and his parents 
were Hans Clausen and Mary (Skaubo) Han- 
sen, also natives of Denmark. The father was 
a son of Claus Frandsen and was a general la- 
borer until the last few years of his life, when 
he engaged in hotel-keeping, continuing this 
vocation until his death in 1900, long outliving 
his wife, who died in i860, when she was only 
thirty years of age. Hans Hansen was edu- 
cated in Denmark and there learned the trade 
of watchmaker, which for a number of years he 
conducted in his native land and for seven years 
in Germany, it being the European custom for 
young workmen to make a tour through differ- 
ent parts of the continent in order to perfect 
themselves in their trades by coming into con- 
tact with others of the same craft and profiting 
by their experience and methods. In 1883 Mr. 
Hansen reached Rawlins, Wyo., and engaged 
in watchmaking and a general jewelry business, 
which he continued until 1896, when he entered 
into the grocery trade, to which in 1898 he 
added drygoods. In 1891 The Hansen Mercantile 
, Co. was organized and possession taken of the 
Hansen block, a handsome brick structure, the 
first to be erected in Rawlins, and here he has 
since transacted a thriving business, being 
especially fitted by nature for the vocation of 
merchandising. He is an excellent salesman, 
being suave, affable and desirous of pleasing, 
and is strictly honorable in all his transactions, 
never misrepresenting his wares nor overcharg- 
ing his patrons. Mr. Hansen has been twice 
married. First in 1878 to Miss Anna Ernestine 



Locht, who was born in 1858 and died in Oc- 
tober, 1882. This marriage was crowned with 
three children, Walter, who died on May 25, 
1879; Walter C, born October 25, 1880, died 
October 15, 1893; Hedwig, born July 15, 1882, 
died December 2 1 /, 1882. His second marriage 
was with Miss Else Marie Jensen in 1883, also 
a native of Denmark, and this union has been 
blessed with three children, Alfred, Julius, 
Anna. In politics Mr. Hansen is a stanch Re- 
publican and has ever been an ardent worker 
for his party's principles and triumphs. He has 
held several local offices of trust and honor, 
having served as city treasurer of Rawlins for 
one year, treasurer of the school board for 
seven years, chairman of the county committee 
for two years, and in 1890 was elected a mem- 
ber of the state legislature, while in the fall of 
1902 he was elected to serve a term of four 
years in the State Senate. Socially Mr. Hansen 
and family move in the best circles of Rawlins, 
and as a business man and citizen his name 
stands without a blemish. 

CHARLES E. BLYDENBURGH. 

Charles Edward Blydenburgh, the leading at- 
torney at law at Rawlins, was born on March 
19, 1854, in Brooklyn, N. Y., the son of Ben- 
jamin Brewster Blydenburgh, merchant, and his 
wife, Mary (Brower) Blydenburgh, a daughter 
of John H. Brower, Esq. The founder of the 
Blydenburgh family in the United States was 
named Augustine Blydenburgh, who, with his 
wife Silvestia, settled in what is "now New York 
City in 1676 and there died in 1686, being the 
father of five children,. Joseph, William, Benja- 
min, Samuel and Mary, wife of Harmon King. 
Of these children, Joseph in 1693 bought of 
Thomas Lloyd, of Philadelphia, the property in 
New York on which now stands Trinity church. 
In 1697 he equipped ten or twelve mariners for 
an expedition under Captain Kidd of the ship 
Adventurer, with a general roving commission 
as privateers. From Joseph and his first wife 
descended a daughter, Silvestia, and a son Rich- 
ard, who, born in 1694, died in 1772, married 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



611 



Mary lirewster, born in 1708 and died, in 1767. 
They had six children, William, Benjamin, Mary 
(or Mollie), Alma (or Amy), Samuel and John. 
Benjamin Blydenburgh, son of Richard, was 
born in 1730 and died in 1775. For his first wife 
he married Ruth Norton, and to this union two 
children were born, Mollie (or Mary) and Almy 
(or Amy), by his second wife, Ruth Smith, five 
children were born, Ruth, Betsy, Richard, Benja- 
min and Isaac. Isaac (or Isaiah) Blydenburgh, 
son of Benjamin, was born in 1775 and died in 
1858. He first married Susannah Smith, daugh- 
ter of Ebenezer Smith, who bore him Ebenezer 
S., Richard, Elizabeth, Isaac and Ruth. Richard 
Blydenburgh, son of Isaiah (or Isaac), born in 
1798 and died in 1873, first married Ruth Smith, 
daughter of Judge Joshua Smith, to which union 
were born Benjamin Brewster, Robert S., 
Charles Edward and Alma Amelia. His second 
marriage was with Charlotte Mills, who was born 
in 1802 and died in 1856, and of this marriage 
was born one child, Hannah Mills. By the third 
marriage of Richard to Hannah Green there was 
no issue. Benjamin Brewster Blydenburgh, son 
of the above mentioned Richard, was born in 
1821 and died in 1892. He married Mary D. 
Brower, a daughter of John H. Brower, who 
was born in 1824 and died in 1867, the mother 
of the following children, John Brower, Amelia, 
Ann Brower, Charles Edward, Harry Duryee, 
Benjamin Brewster and Morgan Brower. 
Charles E. Blydenburgh, son of Benjamin B. and 
Mary D. (Brower) Blydenburgh, was born in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., on March 19, 1854, and was 
educated at private and boarding schools, the 
academic department of Princeton College, class 
of 1874, Columbia University School of Mines, 
where, in 1878, he received the degree of C. M., 
having attained at Princeton in 1877 that of 
A. M. He early manifested great interest and 
skill in the use of arms, was a member of the 
celebrated International Rifle Team of 1876 and 
1877, making the best score in the great inter- 
national match at Creedmoor in 1877. His has 
been an eminently active life, the confines of 
this review only affording space for the barest 
outline of his many activities and official stations. 

38 



He came to Wyoming in the summer of 1878 
to take charge, with J. G. Murphy, of the Ter- 
ritorial Assay Office at Rawlins and also to 
practice mining engineering. Thereafter he was 
engaged in cattlerajsing, the publishing business 
and in prospecting for minerals until May, 1889, 
when, being admitted to the practice of law in 
the courts of Wyoming he opened a law-office 
at Rawlins, in the business thereto accruing de- 
voting his attention to the present writing. In 
1 88 1 and 1882 he was the very efficient county 
superintendent of schools of Carbon county, in 
1888 was sent to the Legislature as a Democrat 
tc represent the people, in 1897 he was the coun- 
ty and prosecuting attorney of Carbon county, 
was a member of and the presiding officer of the 
city council of Rawlins in 1892, 1893 and 1894, 
has been the city attorney of Rawlins for sev- 
eral terms and is at the present writing in the 
incumbency of the office. He ran as the Demo- 
cratic candidate for justice of the Supreme Court 
of Wyoming in 1898, was the chairman of the 
Democratic State Central Committee in 1896 and 
1897, was a member of the State Board of Law 
Examiners in 1899 and 1900, holding now that 
position. In 1900 he was a delegate from Wyo- 
ming to the National Democratic Convention 
held at Kansas City, and was the Wyoming mem- 
ber of the committee on resolutions. He is also 
financially interested in and the secretary and 
treasurer of the Jack Creek Land and Cattle Co., 
extensively operating in a ranching and a cattle 
and sheep industry. A Knight of Pythias since 
1880, Mr. Blydenburgh has been a past chan- 
cellor in the order since that year and has held 
all of the offices of the subordinate lodge. He 
was a charter member of Rawlins Lodge, No. 
609, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, at its 
organization in August, 1900, being at this writ- 
ing its exalted ruler. His religious associations 
have been with the Presbyterian church, with 
which he formerly affiliated. At Rawlins, Wyo., 
on June 21, 1894, Mr. Blydenburgh wedded 
Miss Isabel Cannon, a daughter of Thomas Can- 
non, and a lady of brilliancy and education, 
whose accomplishments have made the marriage 
union a highly felicitous one, dispensing as she 



6l2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



does in the attractive home a hospitality as gen- 
erous as it is cultured and refined. The chil- 
dren gracing the household are named Elener 
Mary, who was born on May 27, 1895 ; Annabel 
Brower, born on September 23, 1896; an un- 
named daughter, born on December 13, 1897, 
died at four weeks of age; Charles Edward, Jr., 
born August 30, 1899. The facts recorded in 
this brief review clearly show that Mr. Blyden- 
burgh possesses a well-defined and symmetrical 
character, the persistent force of. his strong indi- 
viduality causing him to accomplish every task 
his varied and complex official duties present to 
him, his scholastic acquirements and mental abil- 
ities placing him in the front rank of civil, so- 
cial, business and domestic existence, while his 
upright manner of life entitles him to commen- 
dation. His life in all departments has been dig- 
nified by a strict conformity to the highest stand- 
ard of ethics and his broad and genial nature 
has won for him a host of friends. 

MARION F. BROWN. 

Marion F. Brown, of Thermopoiis, Wyo- 
ming, prominent in the stock business, and as a 
pioneer of 1886, who has contributed his full 
share to the development and improvement of the 
country, is a native of Illinois, where he was 
born on March 17, 1869, .a son of John E. and 
Mary Brown, the former a native in Illinois and 
the latter in Ohio. While he was yet quite young 
his parents removed from his native state to 
Kansas, and there he grew to the age of fifteen 
years and received his limited common-school 
education. At that age he started out in life 
for himself, coming first to Colorado, and in 
1886 to Wyoming, driving cattle to the Bighorn 
basin. In that region he rode the range for 
others for a period of five years and then started 
a stock industry for himself which he conducted 
successfully until 1897. At that .time he sold 
his land in the basin and located on the Bighorn 
River, only three miles below Thermopoiis, on a 
ranch, which has been his home continuously 
since that time. This is a fine estate, which he 
has improved with good buildings, sheds, cor- 



rals, etc., and on which he handles about 600 
cattle. He also conducts a butchering business 
at Thermopoiis and owns considerable revenue- 
producing property in the town. He is a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
and is the noble grand of his lodge at Thermop- 
oiis. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen 
of America and takes a leading interest in the 
affairs of the order. He was married at Ther- 
mopoiis in 1895 to Miss Mollie Smith, a native 
of Missouri, who died on December 25, 1901. 
Mr. Brown is well-to-do in worldly wealth, and 
he has an estate of far more value in his posses- 
sion of the general confidence and esteem of his 
fellow men, among whom he has lived and la- 
bored so long and so well. 

WILLIAM H. BRUNDAGE. 

William H. Brundage, a leading citizen and 
successful ranchman and stockgrower of near 
Irma in Bighorn county, Wyoming, came to 
this state in 1881, and since that time has been 
closely and forcefully identified with its growth 
and development, especially in his own county. 
He built there the first wire fences and con- 
structed the first ditch on Irma Flat, and in all 
the lines of good progressive citizenship he has 
been in the first rank from the beginning of his 
residence in this section. He was born in Ohio 
on November 22, 1857, being the son of George 
and M. E. (Hall) Brundage, the former a native 
of Ohio and the latter of New Jersey. In 1868 
the family left the very fertile and well-developed 
land of their long-time residence and removed 
to Missouri, locating in Bates county. There 
they were engaged in farming with varying suc- 
cess until 1879 when they made another move, 
going to Colorado and two years later they came 
to Wyoming, and, taking up land in Sheridan 
county, began stockraising. William Brundage 
"homesteaded" near his father's land, and on 
this property as headquarters he conducted a 
farming and stock industry until 1890. In that 
vcar he removed to Poverty Flat and located 
on the land he now occupies and which is the 
■home of his successful and growing stock busi- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



613 



ness and of his farming operations. He is also 
interested in mining properties of value, and 
gives attention to many other kinds of business 
enterprise. In matters affecting the welfare and 
progress of the community he has always been 
zealous and active. For a number of years he 
has served as justice of the peace and been an 
important factor in the conservation of order 
and the supremacy of law among this people. 
He is held in high esteem for the breadth of 
view with which he deals with questions that 
come before him in his official capacity. He 
was married at Bighorn, Sheridan county, in 
this state, in 1883, to Miss Edith J. Martin, a 
daughter of Benjamin F. Martin. She was born 
and reared in Iowa and came with her parents 
from that state to Wyoming in 1882. Mr. and 
Mrs. Brundage have eight children, Mollie, Ben- 
jamin, William H., Jr., George, Frank, Dorothy, 
Winifred, Durnard A. Brundage. 

ARTHUR F. BURTON. 

All circles of intellectual and moral activity 
in and around Afton, Uinta county, commercial, 
social, educational and religious, are indebted to 
Arthur F. Burton, of the firm of Burton & Sons, 
leading merchants, for inspiration and high ex- 
ample. In every good line of productive energy 
for the benefit of the community he has ever been 
prominent and potential, while in consequence 
thereof he well deserves the exalted place he holds 
in the estimation of the public. He is a native of 
Ogden, Utah, where he was born on June 30, 
1873, and where his parents, William W. and 
Sarah A. (Fielding) Burton, are now living. It 
might appropriately be said that he was bred to • 
the mercantile life, for he has been familiar with 
it from his childhood, his father having been 
from his own early youth engaged therein. The 
elder Burton is the head of the establishment 
with which Arthur is connected, and is also the 
president of the Ogden Implement Co., besides 
having interests of value in other commercial en- 
terprises. He was one of the originators of 
the Consolidated Implement Co., an outgrowth 
of the brisk firm of Burton, Herrick & White, 



successors of W. W. Burton & Co. His par- 
ents were James and Isabella (Wharton) Bur- 
ton, natives of Bradford, England, who came to 
Utah in 1856. His wife is a native of Utah, her 
parents, Joseph and Hannah (Greenwood) Field- 
ing, being among the very first to cross the plains 
to the new home of the Latter Day Saints when 
the inhospitality of other sections made it ne- 
cessary for them to seek one. They also were 
natives of England, who emigrated to America 
early in their married life. Mr. Burton's father, 
William W. Burton, has been prominent and act- 
ive in public local affairs in his city and county, 
and is recognized as one of the leading citizens. 
Arthur F. Burton was one of thirty children, 
fifteen sons and fifteen daughters, born to his 
father who was married three times. Twenty- 
three of the number are living and variously en- 
gaged in pursuits of usefulness and value. Ar- 
thur was educated in the Ogden Central School 
and at the Weber Stake Academy, from which 
he was graduated in 1892. After leaving school, 
he went into the employ of his father in the store 
and there acquired the methodical and extensive 
knowledge of mercantile business for which he 
is widely known. From the position of clerk 
and salesman he rose to that of partner in the 
establishment where he was engaged, and attained 
this position solely through merit, for his father 
was a strict disciplinarian and demanded even of 
his sons value for his approval. The stock han- 
dled by the firm at Afton is as extensive and 
varied as the conditions of life there require and, 
not only meets the demands of the trade, but 
leads the- taste of the community along the lines 
of commendable progress. They embrace in 
their operations general merchandise of all kinds, 
while the volume of their business is large and 
the character of their patronage high, yet they 
satisfy fully the demands made upon them, no 
effort being omitted to keep the establishment 
clown-to-date and completely equipped. Mr. Bur- 
ton, in addition to his interests in this firm, has 
other mercantile matters of moment under his 
control, among them being the Afton creamery 
of which he is the manager. He is an active and 
zealous member of the Church of Latter Dav 



614 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



Saints, from his early manhood having been 
closely identified with its government. He is one 
of the presidents of the Seventy of the quorum 
of the Star Valley Stake, the first assistant su- 
perintendent of the Sabbath-school, and the first 
assistant superintendent of the stake superinten- 
dency of the Mutual Improvement Association. 
In every phase and branch of church work he 
takes a leading part, using wisdom with his zeal 
and much skill with his diligence. On October 10, 
1894 at Salt Lake City, he married with Miss 
Kittie C. Dixon, a native of Utah and daughter 
of Harvey and Kittie E. (Pritchett) Dixon, the 
father being a native of Utah and the mother of 
Virginia. Their family consists of four children, 
Mabel, Arthur D., Calpurnia and Helen. 

E. V. COGKINS. 

Prominent in business, active in religious and 
educational work, highly esteemed in social cir- 
cles and connected with projects for the devel- 
opment and improvement of his community, E. 
V. Cockins, of Burlington in Bighorn county, 
Wyoming, is one of the valued and serviceable 
factors in the multiform life and activity of his 
portion of the state. He is a pioneer of 1891 
in Wyoming, and since he took up his residence 
in the state he has entered into her spirit of prog- 
ress with energy and enthusiasm, espousing her 
cause in every respect with patriotic devotion and 
giving his best efforts to her advancement. He 
was born in Ohio on July 24, 1874, the son of 
Thomas C. and Clara (Monroe) Cockins, who 
were also natives of Ohio. His father died when 
he was twelve years old and he was left to shift 
for himself, and worked for his uncle on a farm 
and attended school in winter until 1891, when he 
left his native state and began to tempt fortune 
in various ways for himself, coming to Wyo- 
ming and remaining for a year, when he returned 
to his Ohio home, but after a residence there of 
two years came back, resolved to make Wyo- 
ming his permanent home and the seat of his 
career. He had tasted the independence, the 
self-reliance, the freedom and the breadth of 
view which the frontier life engenders, and, like 



many another, found the older civilizations flat 
and unsatisfying, their pleasures insipid, their 
pursuits wearisome, their conventionalities, du- 
ties and mutual dependence tedious, their oppor- 
tunities limited in number and narrow in scope. 
He located in the Bighorn basin and for nearly 
ten years devoted his best energies to educa- 
tional labors in that section of the state. In 1902 
he laid aside the hornbook and the ferule and 
embarked in mercantile life by opening a gen- 
eral store at Burlington, which he is still con- 
ducting, and which enjoys a large and growing 
trade among all classes of the people resident 
within an extensive range of country. His stock 
is carefully selected with a clear and discrimin- 
ating knowledge of the wants of the community, 
and is kept down-to-date in every particular, 
while his methods of doing business, and his 
very courteous and considerate manner toward all 
customers, are such as to satisfy the most ex- 
acting requirements. In matters affecting the 
welfare and progress of the town and county 
he is active and serviceable, and, although yet 
a young man is regarded as one of the leading 
and representative citizens of Wyoming. 

JAMES A. CARR. 

In the review of this venerated pioneer of 
the West we have to touch upon various import- 
ant phases of character. Mr. Carr is not only 
one of the honored representatives of the stock- 
raising and mining industries of Western Wyo- 
ming, but his life has been one of more than or- 
dinary value to the country through his loyal 
services as a soldier in the great Civil War, in 
which his whole family showed patriotism of a 
high degree. After an active and adventurous 
life of beneficial industry and productive useful- 
ness, he is now passing the evening twilight of 
his earthly career on his productive estate, which 
is located two and one-half miles south of Lan- 
der, on the Big Popo Agie River, secure in the 
esteem and good wishes of the entire community. 
James A. Carr was born in Belmont county, 
Ohio, on December 3, 1833, in the heavily tim- 
bered wilderness of that new state, his parents 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



615 



being Archibald and Elizabeth (McElroy) Carr, 
the father, an energetic farmer, adding to his 
possessions by lucrative contracts in the construc- 
tion of the turnpikes and canals with which Ohio 
was honeycombed at an early date. As his fa- 
ther was left an orphan in childhood and left 
his immediate relatives, all knowledge of the 
family lineage is lost. From Ohio the family re- 
moved to Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1849, 
there to undergo another pioneer experience. 
Here the industrious parents developed a fine 
home and passed their later lives, the father dy- 
ing in 1863, at the age of sixty-five years, and 
the mother surviving him until 1897, when she 
also died, having attained the patriarchal age 
of ninety years, and both are resting in the cem- 
etery at Farmington, Iowa. Of their fourteen 
children, James was the second, and only three 
are now living. Three of the sons were soldiers 
in the Union army of the Civil War, James be- 
ing a member of Co. D, Third Colorado Cavalry, 
William, now living at Loveland, Wyo., served 
in the Second Colorado Cavalry and was 
wounded in service, and John, who died from 
wounds and sickness shortly after returning to 
his Iowa home from his military service with 
Co. B, Third Iowa Infantry. Mr. Carr crossed 
the plains in the wild unsettled days of 1853, 
coming up the Sweetwater valley of Wyoming 
on his way to California, where he engaged in 
mining with more than average success and re- 
mained until 1857, then and thence removing to 
Colorado during the Pike's Peak gold excitement, 
passing through Denver, then a small, straggling 
place not as large as the present Lander. En- 
gaging there in mining, farming and in trade, 
when war came his patriotism led him to join 
the military arm of the government, as hereto- 
fore mentioned. The Indians were extremely 
hostile at this period and occasioned very much 
trouble and annoyance to the settlers, keeping 
the soldiers in great activity. After the war, 
Mr. Carr engaged in contracts for constructing 
the roadbed of the Union Pacific Railroad, build- 
ing that portion extending from Cheyenne to 
Longmont, Colo., later being occupied in the 
same capacity on the Colorado Central Railroad. 



In 1885 he moved to Wyoming with his family 
and devoted his energies entirely to stockraising, 
farming and mining, locating his home on his 
present ranch, where he is possessed of 160 acres 
of excellent meadow land, now under fine im- 
provement, and where he is running handsome 
bands of cattle and horses, in the former line 
raising very fine graded Durhams of an excel- 
lent strain. He holds interest in the Susie and 
Hidden Hand mines at Lewiston, and is one of 
the reliable citizens of the county, maintaining 
great interest in all matters intended to advance 
the prosperity of the community, and being 
greatly interested in public matters as a valued 
member of the Democratic party, although never 
seeking political honors or office for himself. 
On December 13, 1857, in Iowa occurred the 
wedding of Mr. Carr and Miss Emily J. Rhodes, 
a native of that state, and a daughter of Joseph 
and Elizabeth (Burdick) Rhodes, both natives of 
Kentucky. Seven of their eight children are now 
living, Frank B., who resides in this county; 
Platte H., a resident of Montana; John M., now 
a large stockgrower. He has rode the range 
upward of twenty-three years and is one of the 
best-known cowboys in the West.; Elizabeth K., 
wife of Charles Bates of South Pass ; William J., 
living at South Pass ; Lydia S., wife of John 
Sherlock, of South Pass; Lou E., at home with 
parents near Lander ; Lillian, who died in in- 
fancy in Colorado and was buried at Boulder. 

WILLARD S. CARPENTER. 

Perhaps the finest ranch in the state of Wyo- 
ming is that of Willard S. Carpenter, which is 
situated on the Horse Creek, about twenty-eight 
miles north of the city of Cheyenne. Mr. Car- 
penter has a beautiful home, a large frame resi- 
dence with all modern conveniences, surrounded 
by attractive grounds shaded by large trees, and 
with, a small lake in the foreground. On every 
side are evidences of thrift and prosperity, as 
well as of refined taste and culture. Mr. Car- 
penter is a native of the good old state of Dela- 
ware, having been born near • Milton, Sussex 
county, on December 16, 1856, being the son of 



6i6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING 



Benjamin Carpenter and Mary (Painter) Car- 
penter, both natives of Delaware. Benjamin 
Carpenter was long a prosperous farmer of Sus- 
sex county, Delaware, where he followed the 
occupation of farming up to the time of his 
death in 1898. The mother also passed away 
in Sussex county in the same year. Willard S. 
Carpenter remained at the family home in Sus- 
sex county attending school and working on his 
father's -farm, until he attained to the age 'of 
twenty-one years, then, in 1877, filled with a 
spirit of adventure and desiring to see the world, 
he shipped on board a merchant vessel as a sailor. 
He remained in this occupation for three years, 
visiting nearly all of the Atlantic seaports and 
acquiring a large experience of the world. In 
1882 he came to the territory of Wyoming, and 
secured employment at once at the ranch where 
he now resides, which was then owned by the 
Carey Co. He remained with this company for 
three years, riding the range and acquiring a 
thorough knowledge of the stock business. In 
1885 he resigned this position and accepted one 
in the employ of A. D. Adamson, at that time 
one of the leading stockmen of Wyoming. He 
remained with him for seven years, latterly hav- 
ing practical charge of the business. In 1892 
Mr. Carpenter purchased a ranch situated on 
Horse Creek, seven miles from his present resi- 
dence, and engaged in cattleraising on his own 
account. He was very- successful and extended 
his business until 1900, when he sold his ranch 
and cattle to Mr. D. B. Whitteger. In October, 
1901, Mr. Carpenter, in partnership with his 
brother-in-law, Duncan Clark, purchased his 
present ranch property from Mr. A. D. Adam- 
son, and they have since increased their business 
very largely. They now own 3,000 acres of fine 
land, with fine adjacent range, lying along Horse 
Creek, and are counted among the leading stock- 
men of the state. Mr. Carpenter gives his atten- 
tion exclusively to the raising of thoroughbred 
Hereford cattle, and has been very successful, 
now having a large herd, and owning some of 
the very finest animals in the United States. On 
October 28, 1892, Mr. Carpenter was united in 
marriage at the home of his wife's parents on 



Horse Creek, Wyo., to Miss Cafherine Clark, 
a native of Canada and the daughter of Donald 
and Jane Clark. The parents of Mrs. Carpenter 
are of Scotch descent and prominent pioneers and 
prosperous residents of Wyoming. Two children 
have been born to them, Mary J., aged seven 
years, and Earl W., aged five years. Mr. Car- 
penter is one of the most substantial, prosperous 
and progressive citizens of the state of Wyo- 
ming. Coming hither as a young man, with- 
out means or influence, he has brought himself 
by his own unaided efforts to a position of influ- 
ence in the state of his residence, and has al- 
ready amassed a handsome fortune. He is an 
example of what industry, unremitting attention 
to business, and integrity and strength of charac- 
ter will do in raising a man from obscurity to 
prominence and power in the business world and 
in giving him an assured position. 

ANSON V. CALL. 

The mayor of the thriving little city of Al- 
ton, Wyoming, distinguished in his ancestry and 
his record, capable in business, zealous in church 
affairs, influential and forceful in public local 
matters, and an esteemed member of his social 
circle, Anson V. Call, of Afton, Uinta county, 
is easily one of the leading citizens of his section 
of the state and worthy of the high standing he 
has attained among its people. He is a son of 
Anson V. and Charlotte (Holbrook) Call, and 
was born at Bountiful, Utah, May 23, 1855. The 
family history of his parents is told at length in 
the sketch of his brother, Joseph H. Call, on an- 
other page of this volume. Anson Y. Call was 
the second child and the first-born son of the 
family, which consisted of ten children. He was 
reared by his grandmother, and, after prepara- 
tory attendance at the public schools of his vicin- 
ity, was educated in the Deseret University, now 
the University of Utah, and had the honor of 
being the first student graduated from that insti- 
tution. After leaving college he taught at Boun- 
tiful for about seven years, then accepted a po- 
sition as manager of the cooperative store at the 
same place and filled it for three years. He was 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



617 



then sent to Europe on a two-years' mission for 
the church, and, on his return in October, 1887, 
located at Afton, Wyo., and engaged in carpen- 
tering and building, he and his brother, Joseph, 
furnishing the material and putting up all of 
the best houses in the valley, among them being 
his own residence, which is considered the best 
one in this section of country. He now conducts 
there a house of entertainment for which the 
home is well adapted. It contains twelve rooms 
besides closets, bathrooms and halls, and is also 
equipped with every modern convenience. The 
hostelry is known as The Call, and is a popular 
house of entertainment. He also has a large 
business as a carpenter and builder, and deals ex- 
tensively in hardware and building materials. 
Mr. Call has always been deeply interested in 
the cause of education and while in Utah served 
for some years as county superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction in Davis county. In the church 
organization he is one of the counsellors of the 
stake presidency at Afton. He was married at 
Salt Lake City on May 17, 1876, to Miss Alice 
Jeannette Farnham of Utah, a daughter of Au- 
gustus A. and Caroline (Pill) Farnham, natives 
of New York, and ten children have blessed their 
union : Anson V., married and living at Afton, 
at present writing (1902) on a mission to Phil- 
adelphia, Pa., for the church ; Adolphus A., mar- 
ried and living at Afton; Alice M., married to 
Thomas F. Burton of Afton ; Claude, who died 
in infancy ; Ella, married to Carl Cook of Afton ; 
and Caroline Charlotte, Farnham L., Chester A., 
an infant died unnamed, and Lorna Louise, liv- 
ing at home. 

HARRY E. CHEESEMAN. 

Harry E. Cheeseman of Bighorn county, liv- 
ing near Sunshine, has been a resident of Wyo- 
ming since 1882, and, while occupying the same 
ranch all of the time, has lived during that per- 
iod in three counties, and owed obedience to one 
territorial and to one state government, so rapid- 
ly do boundaries and conditions change in this 
western world, where the march of events tran- 
scends in activity anything in human history. 



When he "stuck his stake" in the soil of this 
state as the first settler on Wood River, his near- 
est postoffice was Fort Washakie, 150 miles dis- 
tant; and when in the early days he was elected 
county commissioner, he was obliged to go to 
Lander, an equal or even greater distance, to 
attend the meetings of the board. He is a native 
of the state of New York, where he was born on 
Christmas day, 1857, his parents, George and 
Harriet (Brewer) Cheeseman, being English by 
nativity. They came to the United States soon 
after their marriage, settling on a farm in New 
York. Here their son, Harry, was reared and 
educated, and had the customary experience of 
country boys of that portion of the country in 
those days. He attended school in winter and 
assisted on the farm between the terms, mean- 
while looking forward to an opening for himself 
of greater promise than his home surroundings 
promised, and for this he did not linger long 
after reaching man's estate. In 1879, when he 
was twenty-two, he left home and made his 
way to Leadville, Colo., where he engaged in 
mining for two or three years with moderate suc- 
cess. In 1882 he and nine companions got to- 
gether a pack outfit and prospected through Col- 
orado and Montana for a location where they 
could settle and build up homes and prosperous 
industries in the stock business. Fate led them 
to Wood River in this state and their sagacious 
judgments at once determined them to remain. 
The region was indeed the primeval solitude of 
the far West, so much spoken of in song and 
story. No sound of civilized man's presence, 
save those they made themselves, broke in on 
Nature's wild life, but they immediately began 
to make a mark in this wilderness that would 
indicate the hour of man's dominion had come. 
For want of better means they dragged at the 
saddle-horn the logs wherewith to build their rude 
shacks, and, overcame by assiduous industry 
whatever pangs of regret or loneliness their vol- 
untary expatriation caused, and, thus applying 
the universal panacea for care, found comfort 
and even happiness in their work And our 
Mother Earth, ever kind, ever responsive to the 
proper appeals of the husbandman, returned with 



6i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



interest all they committed to her care. Forth 
from the virgin soil rose smiling gardens to re- 
ward their faith, and in a little while their cattle 
and horses made other duties for them and gave 
companionship on all the neighboring hills. A 
new settlement was born into the world and other 
home-seekers were not long in coming to a share 
in its benefits and its struggles. In honor of its 
founder it was baptized Cheeseman and began its 
existence as a center of new homes and new- 
productive industries with confidence and hope. 
The land where they settled was unsurveyed 
and, when the survey was made a few years 
later, a portion of it was found to be a school 
section. They, however, retained it, proceeded 
with their improvements and development, and 
todav Mr. Cheeseman has one of the most beau- 
tiful and most highly improved ranches in his 
section of the state. It comprises 920 acres of 
well selected land, much of which has been skill- 
fully tilled, and contains a fine residence and 
other necessary, buildings in keeping. Here he 
handles a large herd of superior cattle and many 
excellent horses of high grade. Mr. Cheese- 
man has prospered in his venture and he is 
now one of the substantial men of the county. 
He has done much, too, to build up his section 
and give it every advantage of modern progress. 
He is a director and the vice-president of the 
First National Bank of Meeteetse and owns con- 
siderable property in the town. He has been con- 
nected in a leading and potential way with ev- 
ery public enterprise for the benefit of the com- 
munity, and has never hesitated to take his place > 
in the ranks of the promoters, or in any official 
station wherein he could be of service. He was 
elected county commissioner of Fremont county 
in 1892 and won great credit for the diligent and 
faithful manner in which he administered his 
office. The county was of enormous size and the 
claims upon the time and energies of its com- 
missioners-were of corresponding magnitude, but 
he met them all without thought of his personal 
sacrifices, being deeply interested in the devel- 
opment of the county and in the welfare of its 
people, and he also served some years as the post- 
master of Cheeseman. For many years he has 



been an active working Freemason, is an Odd 
Fellow,, an Elk, a Woodman of the World and 
a Modern Woodman of America. He was mar- 
ried on November 30, 1891, at Salem, Indiana, 
to Miss Belle F. Lusk. a native of that state. 
They have three children, Harrv A., Elmer W. 
and Anna J. In addition to his ranch and other 
interests already mentioned, Mr. Cheeseman is 
connected with mining properties of value at Kir- 
win, and was one of the organizers of the Big- 
horn Stock Association of which he is now sec- 
retary and treasurer. 

MIKE COONEY. 

This veteran Indian fighter and miner, now a 
resident of Green River, Sweetwater county, 
Wyoming, was born in the state of Louisiana in 
1820, a son of Mike and Margaret (McCannon) 
Cooney, the former of whom was born in Ire- 
land, and was quite young when he came to the 
United States and located in Alabama, in which 
state he for a time followed the saloon business. 
From Alabama he removed to Louisiana, where 
he passed the remainder of his life, dying at 
Baton Rouge, La. Mrs. Margaret (McCannon) 
Cooney was also born in Ireland, but her mar- 
riage took place in Mobile. Ala., and her death 
also occurred at Baton Rouge. La. Mike Coon- 
ey. the one whose name opens this biographical 
record, began his active business life in St. Louis, 
Mo., whence he went to the state of New York, 
where he followed farming for three or four 
years, he next went to New Orleans. La., and 
thence on to California, where for some time he 
was engaged in mining, but while there he en- 
listed under General Lane as a volunteer against 
the savage and hostile Indians on Rogue River. 
and for one year and ten months he fought the 
red skins with coolness, determination and un- 
flinching courage. For thirty-three years Mr. 
Cooney followed the laborious and precarious 
work of mining, principally in California, but he 
also spent two years in Australia with fair suc- 
cess. He came back to America and mined in 
the Comstock lode in Nevada for eight or ten 
years with very gratifying results. He next 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



619 



went to the Black Hills, where he remained two 
years, and then came to Wyoming and here for 
six years followed the trade of mason at Rock 
Springs, and then came to Green River, where 
he still resides. In politics Mr. Cooney is a Re- 
publican and while a resident of California, in 
1858, served as a deputy sheriff. In 1866 he was 
elected to the Nevada Legislature and served 
two years, and he was a justice of the peace at 
Washoe for another period of two years. Mr. 
Cooney has never married but, outside of matri- 
mony, he has experienced a varied and venture- 
some life, as will be seen by the foregoing record. 
Although now over fourscore years of age, he is 
still quite hale and hearty, and many years of 
enjoyable life appear to be held in store for him. 
He has lived temperately and honestly, for his 
promise, once made, has never been violated. 
He enjoys the warm friendship of a host of 
friends, who admire him for his strict integrity 
and respect him for "the dangers he has passed 
through." He is still a useful member of society, 
being broad-minded, charitable and generous, 
his extensive experience shutting out such nar- 
row views as exist in the careless minds of less 
traveled citizens. His bearing through life is 
well worthy imitation by the rising generation, 
and when the end shall come, as it must in the 
due course of nature, no man in the state will be 
more sincerely mourned. 

WILLIAM J. COLLINS. 

Descended from old Irish ancestry on his 
father's side and from a Pennsylvania family of 
consequence resident in that good old common- 
wealth from Colonial times, William J. Collins 
of Fen ton, embodies in himself the versatility of 
the Irish and the thrift and persistency of appli- 
cation of the industrious Pennsylvanian. His 
life began on October 13, 1853, and when he 
was three years old his parents, William and 
Delia (O'Connell) Collins, the former a native 
of Ireland and the latter of the Keystone state, 
moved to Chicago. Amid the stirring activities 
of that great commercial mart he grew to man- 
hood and in its schools he received his education. 



After leaving school he engaged in freighting 
and contract work of various kinds in and 
around the city for awhile, then farmed in Illin- 
ois for a period of five years. In 1896 he came 
to Wyoming with the Cody colony and located 
on Stinking Water River, where he remained a 
year or two and then moved to Grey Bull River 
near where he now resides. In 1900 he bought 
his present home of 160 acres, which is beauti- 
fully located -along the river in the neighborhood 
of Fenton, is well improved and highly cultivat- 
ed, and rewards his labors with immense crops 
of grain and hay and a generous support for his 
valuable herds of well-bred stock. Mr. Collins 
has been twice married. .By the first union he 
has four children, Andrew ; William, who is a 
law student in Chicago ; Susan and Thomas. His 
second marriage was to Miss Minnie Hayes and 
occurred in Chicago in 1896. They have one 
child, their daughter, Marian. Mrs. Collins is 
a native of Alabama, and is a refined and culti- 
vated southern lack', exemplifying in her de- 
meanor the best features of the section of our 
country in which she was born and reared. 

IVOR CHRISTENSEN. 

The capable postmaster of Hanna, Carbon 
county, Wyoming, is a progressive and capable 
young business man. A native of the Father- 
land, Ivor Christensen was born in 1869, and is 
the son of Andrew and Mary (Ericksen) Chris- 
tensen, both natives of Germany. His father 
was -born in 1840 and has always followed the oc- 
cupation of farming in his native country, where 
he is still living. He was a soldier in the Ger- 
man army during the war with Denmark in 1864, 
the war with Austria in 1866, and the Franco- 
Prussian War in 1870 and 1871. He was the 
son of Hans Christensen, also a native of the 
Fatherland, as was also the mother, who was 
born in 1843, and is still residing in Germanv. 
Their son, Ivor, grew to man's estate in his native 
country, and received his early education in the 
public schools in the vicinity of his boyhood's 
home. When he had completed his education, 
he resolved to seek his fortune in the New 



620 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



World beyond the sea, and bidding farewell to 
his father and mother he took ship and came to 
America. Upon his arrival in this country, he 
proceeded to the then territory of Wyoming, 
and joined his brother, Hans, who was residing 
at Carbon in Carbon county. Soon after arriv- 
ing there, his brother was taken with serious 
illness and he soon died. Ivor was unable to 
speak the English language, but he made the 
best of the situation, and occupied himself in 
ranching and mining, both in Wyoming and 
Colorado, for about two years. At the end of 
that time he returned to Carbon county and se- 
cured employment as a fireman in one of the 
mines and soon became familiar with all the ma- 
chinery connected with mining operations. He 
also occupied all the time that was at his com- 
mand in study, and acquired a general knowledge 
of the English language. In 1901 he met with a 
serious accident in the mine where he was em- 
ployed, and was therefrom confined to the hos- 
pital for seven months. Upon his recovery from 
his injuries, he came to Hanna and was appoint- 
ed the postmaster at that place. He was familiar 
with the duties of this position, from the fact that 
previous to his injury he had been the postmaster 
at Carbon for about two years. He had also 
served as a member of the city council of Car- 
bon during his residence in that place. In the 
year 1900 Mr. Christensen was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Bertha Stephenson, a native of 
England, who came to America with her parents 
in 1880, when but two years of age, they made 
their home in Illinois until 1888. Disposing of 
their property at that place they moved to the 
then territory of Wyoming and settled in the 
town of Carbon, Carbon county, where Mr. Ste- 
phenson and family are well-known and highly 
respected citizens. To this union has been born 
one child to bless their home life, William E. 
Their home is noted for its generous and genial 
hospitality. Mr. Christensen is affiliated with the 
order of Knights of Pythias, and takes an active 
interest in the fraternal life of the community 
where he resides. He is also a stanch member 
of the Republican party, and is one of the most 
active and prominent among the leaders of that 



political organization in Carbon county. He has 
been often solicited to become a candidate for 
positions of trust and honor in the gift of his 
party, but thus far has consistently declined to 
do so, preferring to devote his entire time and 
attention to the care and management of his 
private business interests. He is held in high 
esteem by all who know him, and is looked upon 
as one of the rising young men of that section 
of the state. 

SAMUEL COTNER, Jr. 

While Samuel Cotner has been a resident of 
AVyoming for a period of little more than eight 
years, he brought to the state and his business 
among her people a ready adaptability to condi- 
tions, a thorough knowledge of men and a broad 
and accurate acquaintance with the stock indus- 
try, acquired in an extensive experience in other 
states and amid kindred pursuits. He was born 
on December 20, 1865, in Indiana, but when he 
was only nine months old, his parents, Samuel 
and Sarah V. (Briscoe) Cotner, the former a 
native of Indiana and the latter of Pennsylvania, 
removed to Nebraska and located in Sarpy coun- 
ty, where for some years the father was engaged 
in farming and in 'teaching. Later he conducted 
a mercantile establishment in that countv for a 
time, then moved to Omaha, in the adjoining 
county of Douglas, and has since been residing 
in that city engaged in the livestock commission 
business, being now a member of the firm of 
Paddock, Cotner & Lattin of South Omaha. 
Samuel Cotner, Jr., was reared and educated 
in Nebraska, and when he was ready for the 
business of life he became active in the grain and 
livestock industries with which he was connected 
until 1895. He then came to Wyoming, and lo- 
cating where he now lives, began a stock business 
which has steadily prospered, grown to large pro- 
portions and risen to a high standard, both in the 
quality of its output and the manner in which it 
is conducted. He has a beautiful ranch of 320 
acres, which is well improved and large portions 
of which are under skillful cultivation, and has 
also one-half interest in 160 acres of coal land, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



621 



which is producing fine coal for domestic pur- 
poses. On his ranch he has a considerable num- 
ber of well-bred cattle and horses, being an enter- 
prising citizen, whose aid is always given freely 
and in good measure to projects for the improve- 
ment of the community or county, his faith in the 
future of his section of the state is practically 
manifested by very liberal investments in its 
industries and in his zealous service in the be- 
half of its worthy institutions of every bene- 
ficial kind. The impress of his energy and wis- 
dom has been plainly made on every line of act- 
ive usefulness about him, and is seen in the spirit 
of progress and development which animates the 
people among whom he lives. In the city of 
Omaha, in 1888, he was married to Miss L. 
Theissen, a native of that city and a daughter of 
Daniel and Christine Theissen, both of German 
nativity. Their family consists of three children, 
S. Orville, Daniel T. and Victor, all of whom 
are living at home. 

CHARLES DECKER. 

From the land made glorious by decisive and 
most timely triumphs in our struggle for inde- 
pendence, yes, from the land of Monmouth, and 
Trenton, and Princeton, from New Jersey, re- 
nowned also in all the annals of industrial pro- 
duction and elevated scholarship, came Charles 
Decker, one of the extensive and prosperous 
stockmen and farmers of Sheridan county, who 
■ was born in that state in 1853, the son of Thomas 
B. and Matilda (Barnacutt) Decker, the former 
a native of New York and the latter of Philadel- 
phia. The father was a man of decided promin- 
ence and stood high as superintendent of the 
West Shore Railroad and as a social and civil 
force of influence. The son was reared and 
educated in his native state and when he left 
school was employed in the railroad service as 
a bookkeeper. For three years he clung to the 
uninteresting monotony of this life and then 
found relief from it by an engagement as civil 
engineer and surveyor for the railroad company 
in Ohio, in which capacity he was engaged for 
four years. In 1883 he came to Wyoming in 



the employ of the P. K. Cattle Co., and, during 
his two years of service with . that corporation, 
he located land for himself with a view to its 
permanent occupancy in the near future. He 
was appointed district clerk in 1885, subsequently 
served as deputy county clerk and deputv comity 
treasurer, and at the end of his term indulged his 
long-cherished desire to engage in farming and 
stockgrowing. In the meantime he had in- 
creased his landed estate and has since increased 
it until he now owns 1,600 acres of fine land 
and has 500 acres in addition leased. On this 
he raises cattle and horses in large numbers and 
of superior grades. While pushing his business 
with enterprise and vigor, Mr. Decker has also 
been duly attentive to the welfare of the com- 
munity in every way and has given freely of 
his time and energies to the promotion of every 
good enterprise for its improvement and devel- 
opment. He has an exalted place in and a firm 
hold on the esteem of his fellow men where he 
is known, and is regarded as one of the leading 
citizens as well as one of the most extensive 
stockgrowers of his section of the state. He 
belongs to the organization known as the Knights 
of Pythias and takes an active part in the pro- 
ceedings of the fraternity, but in political cir- 
cles has never desired or consented to accept of- 
fice except those already mentioned. 

CHARLES A. DAVIS. 

Orphaned by the death of his father when he 
was but fourteen years old, and then with his- 
widowed mother leaving the scenes and associa- 
tions of his childhood, seeking a new home far 
away in the undeveloped West wherein the do- 
mestic altar's might be again raised, and their 
hopes might once more expand and flourish, 
Charles A. Davis has proven by his subsequent 
career on the new soil that the move was a wise 
one, and that he had the inherent qualifications 
for success whatever the conditions might have 
been. He met his affliction and the consequent 
change of residence bravely, he endured with 
fortitude the hardships of his hitherto untried 
condition and out of the circumstances of his 



622 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



new environment has made a substantial success 
in life, which fixes his place well up on the roll 
of the progressive men of Wyoming. Mr. Davis 
was born in Indiana on June 25, 1857, the son 
of Oliver P. and Mariah G. Davis, natives of 
Ohio who settled in Indiana early in their mar- 
ried life. There they prospered as farmers and 
were highly respected until 1871, when, with 
untimely hand death ended the father's labors 
and left his family bereft. The next year the 
mother gathered her family and effects together 
and came to Montana, locating in the Gallatin 
Valley, where they were engaged in stockgrow- 
ing and farming until 1882. In that year Charles 
came to Wyoming and located a homestead in 
Bighorn county, a portion of the tract of 360 
acres, lying on Wood River fourteen miles south- 
west of Meeteetse, on which he now lives. This 
has been his home continuously since that time, 
and on it he has expended to good purpose his 
energy in labor and his skill in husbandry, bring- 
ing what he has cultivated to a high state of cul- 
tivation and completely furnishing it for its 
principal purpose as a base of operations for a 
flourishing cattle business which he is conducting 
with vigor and pronounced success. In addition 
to his herd of fine cattle he also runs a large 
number of good horses, by judicious culling from 
year to year keeping the grade up to his desired 
standard. From the sterner duties and more ex- 
acting cares of business Mr. Davis finds recrea- 
tion in the Odd Fellows lodge to which he has 
belonged for many years, and in other associa- 
tions of a social character. He takes great in- 
terest in the proceedings of the lodge, and has 
a genial social disposition, which welcomes to his 
hearth, not only his hosts of friends, but any ac- 
ceptable strangers whom fortune brings his way, 
and many such have gone on their journey 
well warmed and cheered from his hospitable fire- 
side. He was married at Billings, Mont., in 
May, 1893, to Mrs. Lillian Ellenbolt, a native 
of Canada. Tn the life of the frontiersman, such 
as Mr. Davis has lived, there is always necessar- 
ily a large and constant element of danger, and 
he has had his share of this. Many times a vio- 
lent death has come near him at the hands of 



savage foes, and often, too, the wild beasts of 
the forest and plain have threatened disaster. 
But his resolute spirit has sustained him in every 
trial and his ready resourcefulness has brought 
him through without serious mishap. He is a 
typical pioneer who has dared all, endured all 
and won all his circumstances have offered. 

ISAIAH J. DICKINSON. 

Amid the tranquilizing, elevating and peace- 
ful scenes and pursuits of rural life, in one place 
or another, almost the whole of Isaiah J. Dickin- 
son's existence so far has been passed. He was 
born in Pennsylvania on September 23, 1851, 
the son of Jonathan and Mary (Hams) Dick- 
inson, also natives in that state, and on the farm 
they owned and operated there he lived until 
he was seventeen years of age, assisting in its 
labors as soon as he was able and attending the 
public schools of the vicinity as he had oppor- 
tunity. When he reached the age of nineteen 
he started in life for himself, seeking his chance 
for advancement in the far West, and spending 
ten years in the wild, exhilarating and profitable 
occupation of hunting buffalo and trapping other 
game, in his experience running its whole gamut 
of trial and triumph, and gathering from its 
open air life, and calls to sudden and strenuous 
action, the strength of body, independence of 
spirit and resourceful readiness which it engen- 
ders in its true and loyal votaries. In 1884 he 
came to Crook county, Wyoming, and for seven 
years was actively engaged in conducting a 
flourishing business in dairying, raising stock 
and general farming at Sundance, in Crook 
county. In 1895 he came to the Bighorn basin 
and took up a desert claim one and one-half 
miles west of Burlington, and spent a number 
of rears in reclaiming this desert from the waste 
and making it fruitful with the products of sys- 
tematic husbandry. He then moved to Grey Bull 
River, along whose banks he has 280 acres of 
fine bottom land, and on that estate, as well as 
on his original tract of eighty acres, has since 
been carrying on the leading industry of the 
region, raising cattle and horses of high grades 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



623 



and good breeds, and improving and farming 
his land with assiduous and skillful energy. His 
land has responded generously to his persuasive 
industry, and its condition in fertility and pro- 
ductiveness gives proof of his diligence and in- 
telligence in tilling, while its well-built and con- 
veniently arranged improvements bear impres- 
sive testimony to his good judgment and taste. 
His interest in the general welfare of the com- 
munity has been felt in many ways of active ef- 
fort in behalf of the development and progress 
of its civilizing and cultivating forces, and the 
firm establishment and healthy growth of its 
civil and political institutions. He was married 
in the state of Kansas in 1878 to Miss Cornelia 
Heller, a native of Iowa, and eight children have 
blessed their union : Elva, Roy, Eugene, Don, 
Carrie, Maggie, Isaiah and Maud. 

WILLIAM F. DRAPER. 

Cut off in the very acme of his usefulness, 
when life was at its meridian height, by an un- 
timely death, which was universally lamented 
wherever he was known, and, leaving to his peo- 
ple and the state of Wyoming, as his best legacy, 
the priceless record of a clean and well-spent life, 
which is a comfort to those of mature years and 
an inspiration to the young, and being in a civil 
way connected with the political activities, educa- 
tional forces and moral agencies of Crook county, 
a new creation among the municipal entities of 
the state, established on a firm and broad foun- 
dation, their metes and bounds definitely fixed, 
their trend determined along the lines of true 
and healthful development and all their future 
full of promise, William F. Draper, of Sundance, 
was blessed both in his life and in his death. 
For, as he was fortunate in being useful and es- 
teemed in the one, so was he fortunate in escap- 
ing the other until time had set on his fame the 
seal that is seldom given except to the departed. 
He was a native of Indianapolis, Ind., where he 
was born on December 4, 1838, the son of Ira 
and Celia (Means) Draper, natives of Kentucky, 
who settled in Indiana soon after their marriage, 
and followed farming until 1850, when they re- 



moved to Iowa, and, after fourteen years of agri- 
cultural enterprise there with moderate success, 
they came farther west, locating in Richardson 
county, Neb., and there passed the remainder 
of their lives engaged in the cultivation of the 
soil. The mother died in 1887 and the father in 
1893. Their son, William F. Draper, was edu- 
cated in the schools of Iowa and accompanied 
his parents to Nebraska in 1864. He took up a 
homestead in Richardson county in that state 
and there engaged in farming and raising stock 
until 1879, then sold out and removed to Central 
City, S. D., and carried on a freighting enter- 
prise until July, 1880, when he again sold out 
and came to Wyoming. Again he homesteaded, 
locating near where the town of Sundance is now 
proceeding along her prosperous course toward 
commercial influence and political importance, 
there being- at the time no dream of a county- 
seat on that site. He made this location his per- 
manent home, remaining on his ranch and carry- 
ing on a prosperous and expanding stock indus- 
try until his death on October 1, 1889. He was 
laid to rest, in the town he had helped to found, 
with every manifestation of popular respect and 
esteem, and amid universal expressions of sorrow 
over the loss the community had sustained by 
his death. He had not only been .a leading and 
representative man in -his line of business, but 
a citizen of potential influence in the councils of 
the community, and as notary public, register 
of the land-office when the county was formed, 
and as one of its first board of county commis- 
sioners, he gave vital and most valuable service 
in shaping the new county government and giv- 
ing proportion and stability to its political insti- 
tutions. He was an ardent Republican in politics 
and gave his party his best efforts in all its im- 
portant campaigns, whether occupying an official 
station or being simply ■ a worker in the ranks. 
He had special capabilities for official life, and 
was called to fill several positions of trust and re- 
sponsibility. He was for years a notary public, 
and when the new county of Crook was formed 
from Laramie, he was appointed by Governor 
Hale to take charge of the land-office until the 
county was fully organized and at work freely as 



624 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



a separate political existence. He was also the 
county assessor, and, as has been noted, one of 
the first county commissioners. On September 
14, 1867, Mr. Draper was married at Falls City, 
Neb., to Miss Lenora Hatcher, a native of In- 
diana and a daughter of Charles and Lucinda 
(Shaffer) Hatcher, emigrants to the Hoosier 
stats from Tennessee, who removed to Iowa and 
farmed near Des Moines until the father's death 
in December, 1884. The mother still lies in 
Iowa, having her home at Prairie City. After 
the death of her husband Mrs. Draper took up 
her residence at Sundance, where she has an 
elegant home. She also owns the ranch which 
her husband took up when he settled near Sun- 
dance, which is now under lease, and one twenty 
miles south of Sundance. Both are in excellent 
condition and well improved with the necessary 
buildings, fences, etc. Mrs. Draper takes an act- 
ive interest in the social and charitable affairs of 
the town, and gives enthusiastic attention to the 
local chapter of the order of the Eastern Star, of 
which she is a valued member. 

JOHN B. ECKER. 

John B. Ecker, stockgrower and farmer, rep- 
resentative citizen and leading man in many 
ways, located near Jordan in Bighorn county, 
has been a resident of Wyoming continuously 
since 1878, and came to the state, or the coun- 
try embraced within its present limits, first in 
1867, being then a soldier in the Regular U. S. 
army and stationed at Fort Cheyenne. He is a 
native of Baltimore, Maryland, where he was 
born on March 4, 1844, and where his parents, 
John and Margaret (Kirts) Ecker, settled on 
their arrival from Germany. His childhood and 
youth were passed in Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania and his education was received in the 
schools of these states. In 1861, when armed 
resistance threatened the integrity of the Union, 
he responded to the first call for volunteers in 
its defense and enlisted in Co. E, Second Mary- 
land Infantry, and served in that company to 
the close of the war, participating in many of the 
hardest fought and most trying 1 battles of the 



conflict, notably South Mountain, Antietam, Sec- 
ond Bull Run and Fredericksburg; all in fact 
in which the command to which he was attached 
was engaged. At the close of the war he en- 
listed in the regular army as a member of the 
Thirtieth Infantry, and was in Richmond, Va., 
and Washington, D. C, until the command was 
ordered to Fort Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1867. From 
there after a short time the regiment was sent 
to Fort Kearney, Neb., and in 1868 it came to 
Fort Steele, where, his term having expired, he 
was discharged. He then worked for the gov- 
ernment and afterward rode the range and 
freighted until 1878, when he came to what is 
now Buffalo in Johnson count} 7 . He remained 
in that part of the state until 1900, actively con- 
nected with the stock industry in various capac- 
ities and with a wide range of experience. In 
iqoo he settled in the Bighoi'n basin and started 
a stock business which he is still conducting with 
cumulative profits and gratifying success. He 
has a large herd of cattle and pushes his busi- 
ness with vigor and industry, taking advantage 
of every favorable circumstance and with skill 
avoiding the pitfalls and mishaps that attend the 
course of such an enterprise in all human ex- 
perience. Mr. Ecker seeks relief from the stern- 
er duties of life in two of the fraternal societies 
so numerous in this country, being a member of 
the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- 
men of America, taking great interest and find- 
ing much pleasure in the meetings of his lodges. 
His life has been an eventful one from the open- 
ing of his young manhood until now. The awful 
shadow of the Civil War rested darkly on its 
earlier years, and in the midst of unrolling col- 
umns he was face to face with death on many 
a bloody field. After that he again encountered 
danger in horrible forms and almost constant 
presence in subduing a savage foe on the plains 
of the Northwest, having many hair-breadth es- 
capes and many trying experiences. After war 
in all its forms folded its wrinkled front for 
him. the business of his daily life brought new 
responsibilities and trials, as well as new efforts 
and triumphs, and he can now enjoy the compe- 
tence he has Avon by his own efforts, and the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



625 



esteem of his fellow men which he has gained by 
his merit, with all the greater pleasure by the 
recollection of the hard and rugged road on 
which he has traveled to them, the journey hav- 
ing ended in prosperity. 

JOSEPH P. EMGE. 

Joseph P. Emge is a native of Indiana, where 
he was born on January 2, 1863, the son of 
George and ^Catherine Emge, the former a na- 
tive of Germany and the latter of Germany. He 
lived at home until he was nineteen, attending 
school when he could, and as soon as he was able 
learning the trade of a blacksmith. When he 
finished his apprenticeship, in 1882, he sought 
at once a new field of enterprise in the West and 
coming to Colorado, worked at Jiis trade for a 
period of three years. In 1885 he came to the 
Bighorn basin in Wyoming, and located on No- 
wood River, where he worked at his trade with 
industry and profit. Mechanics were scarce and 
all who came had plenty to do. Mr. Emge be- 
ing handy could do other mechanical work than 
blacksmithing, and soon found himself in great 
demand as a helper in many lines of activity. 
He also followed the prevailing custom of the 
country by locating government land and engag- 
ing in raising cattle. As time passed he pros- 
pered in his business and bought land on Spring 
Creek where he now owns 480 acres of excellent 
land into which he has put in the way of im- 
provements, the fruits of his previous labors and 
its own surplus products, making it one of the 
desirable, well developed and well cultivated 
ranches of the section of the county in which it 
is located. Here he has a herd of 400 well-bred 
and healthy cattle, always kept in prime condi- 
tion and fitted for the market from time to time 
with every care known to the business, deserving 
from the start the high place they hold in the 
regard of the purchasers. No effort is spared 
to make his land fertile and productive and to use 
its natural advantages to the utmost extent for 
the benefit of his herd, and nothing that proper 
attention and intelligent care can supply for the 
comfort and improvement of the herd is with- 



held. But his ranch and his cattle industry do 
not absorb all of Mr. Emge's time or energy. 
He has an active and zealous interest in the wel- 
fare of his community, and gives to local affairs 
affecting that welfare due attention and his por- 
tion of the burden which they entail on all good 
citizens. He is a stockholder in the telephone 
company operating at his home town, and is 
prominently connected with other enterprises 
which furnish forth either the sinews and means 
of commercial growth or the conveniences and 
comforts of life for the people in general. His 
wise, judicious and helpful citizenship has been 
potential for good in the county, and is much ap- 
preciated by all classes of the people. 

EMANUEL FAUST. 

Like the mild and pleasing sunset after a very 
stormy day, the evening of life descends upon 
Emanuel Faust, of Bighorn county, as he moves 
calmly toward the end of his earthly labors after 
a career of adventure, trial, danger and toil, and 
the pleasures of the evening are heightened and 
its softened radiance is rendered more soothing 
by the recollection of the stormy past and the 
consciousness of present and enduring peace. 
Although he came to Wyoming but little more 
than ten years ago, he was even at the late day 
of his arrival a pioneer in the state, where he 
found an untamed frontier ready to afford plen- 
ty of work for his progressive and developing 
spirit. His ancestry, while not emblazoned per- 
haps, on the roster of the world's titled nobility, 
is nevertheless noble and stands high on the aris- 
tocratic roll of industrial art among the knights 
of labor whose achievements have so signally 
blessed mankind and increased the sum of hu- 
man happiness. For he is a direct descendant 
of that Johann Fust, or Faust, who in company 
with Gutenberg and Schoeffer, about the middle 
of the fifteenth century, invented the art of print- 
ing from movable type, that mighty transformer 
of the mental world which, by its subsequent de- 
velopments, has brought the best literature to 
the knowledge and use of the common people 
of the civilized world. His first American pro- 



626 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



genitor on his father's side was his grandfather, 
Philip Faust, a native of Berlin, who came to 
the United States in his young manhood and set- 
tled in Pennsylvania, where Emanuel was born 
on November 18, 1828, the son of John and Han- 
nah (Sipe) Faust of that state. In the place 
of his nativity Emanuel Faust grew to manhood, 
was educated and learned his trade as a black- 
smith. In .1849, when he had just passed his 
twenty-first birthday, he devoted eager atten- 
tion to what was then a wild portion of the 
yet unbroken prairie of the far West, and came 
to Freeport, 111., as to a place of hope and 
promise. He remained there industrious at 
his trade until 1854, then joined in the steady 
tide of emigration to California. But on his ar- 
rival in that territory he did not follow the al- 
most universal vocation of its people, but con- 
tinued at his trade for two years and then re- 
turned to Illinois. On September 10. 1861, he 
enlisted in the Union army as a member of Co. 
B, Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and served until 
October 9, 1864, participating in many of the 
most desperate and important battles of the aw- 
ful contest between the sections of our unhappy 
land. After the battle of Shiloh he was pro- 
moted to the position of second lieutenant for 
meritorious service and later reached in the same 
way that of first lieutenant, which he held when 
he was mustered out. After leaving the army 
he again resumed his trade in Illinois, remaining 
there until 1865, when he removed to Iowa- In 
1884 ne came a little farther west, settling in 
Seward county in the adjoining state of Nebras- 
ka, and in 1892 located in the Bighorn basin 
of Wyoming, where he has since continuously re- 
sided. He took up a homestead and a desert 
claim near the town of Otto and started an enter- 
prise in the stock business which he is still con- 
ducting, which has prospered and grown great. 
His ranch of 320 acres is well improved, much 
of it is carefully cultivated, and he has a large 
herd of well-bred cattle which are kept up to 
a high standard in quality and condition. Mr. 
Faust is an interested member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic and the Masonic order. 
He was married at Freeport, 111., on June ]2, 



1856, to Miss Sarah Runkle, who is like himself 
a native of Pennsylvania. They have had seven 
children, Lucy, John H., William C. (see sketch 
on another page), Alberta J., living, and Cyrus 
and Etta, deceased. In politics the father has 
been a loyal and devoted Republican from the 
very foundation of his party, and in church af- 
filiation is a Methodist Episcopalian. He takes 
an earnest and active interest in both political and' 
church affairs, and has made his religious faith 
practical by helping to organize congregations 
and build churches in the portion of the state 
in which he lives, one notable product of his 
zeal ,and energy being the first church of this 
faith erected in the Bighorn basin. In business 
connections, in political lines, in social circles 
and in church associations he is highly esteemed, 
and has the respect and confidence of the com- 
munity in every way as a useful, progressive, 
far-seeing and upright citizen. 

ALVAH W. AYRES. 

Among the prominent stockraisers of Con- 
verse county, Wyoming, must be numbered Mr. 
Ayres, for he is conducting a business of great 
scope and importance in the raising of horses 
and cattle. His operations are sure to be of in- 
calculable value to the country for he is exercis- 
ing great care and discrimination in the quality 
of his stock, thus aiding the entire community to 
benefit themselves by the improvement of their 
herds through his invaluable labors. He was 
born in Luzerne county, Pa., on December 28, 
1 841, the son of James L. and Patience M. 
( Vincent) Ayres, both parents having their na- 
tivity in the state of New York. His paternal 
grandfather dying when the father was but four 
years of age, a definite genealogy of the Ayres 
family has not come down to the present gen- 
tration, but on the mother's side it is known that 
the \ incents are of old Colonial stock, many of 
the name standing high in professional, indus- 
trial and commercial circles, one of the most 
prominent of recent years being the noted Rev. 
John H. Vincent, bishop of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church and chancellor of the great Chau- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



627 



tauqua Assembly and University. Mrs. Patience 
(Vincent) Ayres is in a well preserved physical 
condition with bright and vigorous mental facul- 
ties and is maintaining her home in Nebraska, 
having commenced her married life on a farm 
and removing with her husband to Luzerne coun- 
ty, Pa., there following agriculture for many 
years, then moving to Illinois and eventually to 
Gage county, Neb., where he died. In i860 Alvah 
Ayres came west to Colorado, there following 
teaming until 1882, the last four years doing busi- 
ness for himself and making his first trip to Wyo- 
ming in 1865, Fort Laramie being his destination 
and in 1867 coming to Fort Fetterman and being 
exceedingly troubled by Indians upon the trip. In 
1882 he located on his present home ranch on the 
LaPrele river, twelve miles west of Douglas, in 
the midst of rare scenic attractions, the Natural 
Bridge being on his estate ; the LaPrele running 
through the property irrigates over 200 acres of 
the fertile soil on which Mr. Ayres is raising fine 
crops of grain, alfalfa, etc. In this home ranch 
are over 600 acres of available land, while he 
has under lease and in his control over 2,000 
acres, where he is running a herd of horses of a 
thoroughbred strain, while his drove of cattle 
numbers fully 500 head. Mr. Ayres is a quiet 
and unobtrusive citizen, ever earnest in public 
matters as a member of the Republican party, 
and, while by no means an office-seeker, his capa- 
bility for the proper discharge of public trusts 
was so manifest that he has been elected to the 
offices of school commissioner and representative 
in the State Legislature, discharging these trusts 
to the satisfaction of his constituents. On April 
6, 1890, Mr. Ayres and Mrs. Sallie O. Button, a 
native of Virginia, were married, her maiden 
name being Clay and her first husband being 
William D. Button, a native of Vermont. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ayres have one son, Andrew Clement, 
who was born of her first marriage. Mrs. Ayres 
traces her American ancestry to the seventeenth 
century, when four brothers, John, Charles, 
Henry and Thomas, emigrated from England, 
all the Clays of this country being their de- 
scendants. Her ancestors migrated to Virginia, 
her grandfather, Rev. Charles Clay, a brother of 



the grandfather of the eminent Henry Clay of 
Kentucky, being one of the first Episcopal clergy- 
men of America, having to cross the Atlantic to 
London to be ordained. He was a close and in- 
timate friend of Thomas Jefferson and Mrs. 
Ayres possesses an autograph letter of that dis- 
tinguished patriot written to her grandfather. 

ROBERT FENTON. 

Robert Fenton, a prominent farmer and rais- 
er of well-bred stock in Bighorn county near the 
town of Fenton, of which his mother was the first 
postmistress and which was named in his honor, 
is a native of England where he was born on 
July 28, 1 86 1, the son of John and Amelia (Fen- 
ton) Fenton, also natives of that country and sci- 
ons of families which had lived there from time 
immemorial. In 1870 his father died in his na- 
tive land, and in 1875 the mother came with her 
family to the United States. Soon after her ar- 
rival in this country Mrs. Fenton married with 
Jacob Cunnington. Four years later they reached 
Wyoming and located at Lander where they re- 
mained for sonfe years, after which they lived for 
some time in. turn in Washington, Utah, Oregon 
and Idaho. In 1887 Mr. Cunnington was killed 
by the fall of a horse which he was riding, and 
one year afterwards, in 1888, Mrs. Cunnington 
and children located where they now live on 
Grey Bull River. Here they have an estate of 
320 acres and carry on a flourishing stock busi- 
ness, handling some 150 cattle and a large num- 
ber of horses of high grade. The family con- 
sists of Mrs. Cunnington and her three children, 
Robert, John W. and Annie A. From their na- 
tive land they brought the energy and persistency 
in application, the thrift and frugality in living, 
and the intolerance of opposition to their laudable 
aspirations characteristic of the English people 
and with these qualifications for success began 
the work of subduing the untamed wilderness, 
to which the)' had come, here building up an 
estate of worldly competence and public esteem 
in their new home, moving forward in the effort 
with confidence and steady progress. Hard con- 
ditions yielded to their determined enterprise 



628 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and diligence, the wild luxuriance of nature be- 
came comely and obediently productive, and the 
social, educational, moral and political forces of 
the community soon began to feel the impulse 
imparted by their force of character and resource- 
ful energy. Their farm is a model of agricul- 
tural management, a silent but effective teacher 
of the benefits of forecast, calculation, thorough 
knowledge and faithful application ; their devo- 
tion to the land of their adoption is manifest in 
their great and abiding interest in everything 
that pertains to the welfare of their neighbor- 
hood, county and state; and in their relations to 
their fellows and their business methods they 
are exemplars of integrity, of amenity and of a 
cordial and generous humanity to those arormd 
them. They have a high place in public esti- 
mation and a healthful and stimulating influence 
on every phase of productive activity. 

OTTO FRANC. 

When we speak of the inscrutable ways of 
Providence often we only accuse our own short- 
ness and imperfectness of vision. Our very dis- 
asters are not unfrequently the gateways to bet- 
ter fortune and a more enlarged or elevated life. 
Otto Franc, of near Meeteetse in Bighorn coun- 
ty, the owner and manager of the celebrated 
Pitchfork cattle ranch, was sent to Wyoming 
on the advice of physicians to recuperate and 
recover if possible his failing health. Banished, 
so to speak, from all the blandishments of culti- 
vated life, separated from his brothers and 
friends in the Eastern metropolis, taken away 
from a business in which his energies and tastes 
were alike enlisted and consigned to a life of 
loneliness and privation in the western wilds, it 
must have seemed to him that fate was hard in- 
deed, and had little left in store for him that was 
agreeable. And yet, out of these very unpromis- 
ing conditions, lie was able to carve a new des- 
tiny, and by taking advantage of the opportuni- 
ties which they presented, rise to a far greater 
height of financial and commercial supremacy 
than he had formerly enjoyed, at the same time 
receive a return of his strength and his elasticity 



of body and spirit. He came to Wyoming in 
1878 and, during the quarter of a century which 
has followed, he has been closely and forcefully 
identified with the history of the state and its 
leading industry, the cattle business, standing 
now among the very leaders of this business, con- 
trolling in large measure its destinies in his part 
of Wyoming. Mr. Franc is a native of Germany 
and was born on August 2, 1846. He was reared 
and educated in his native land, and in 1866, when 
he was twenty years old, came to the United 
States, locating in New York City, where, in 
company with his brothers, Charles A. and C. 
B. Franc, he engaged in the fruit business, im- 
porting the commodity from South -America. In 
1872, in the interest of the firm and its business, 
he went to South America, but his health failed 
there and he returned to New York, remaining 
six years. In 1878, finding his health again 
failing, his physicians again advised him to pass 
some time on the plains of the far West, and 
he came to Wyoming, stopping where Thermop- 
olis now stands. He had engaged the services 
of "Texas Jack" as a guide, and while riding 
about the country learned much of the possibil- 
ities for profit in the cattle industry in this coun- 
try. He returned to New York to enlist the aid 
of his brothers in the business, and after much 
persuasion they consented to embark in it with 
him, but onlv on the condition that he would re- 
main on the ranch five years and give the enter- 
prise his personal attention. In 1879 ne came 
west again, bought cattle in Montana and drove 
them to Meeteetse Creek, where he wintered 
them. In the spring he moved them to where he 
now lives and quartered them on unsurveyed land 
which he took up, this being the first settlement 
on the Grey Bull River. As soon as the land 
was surveyed he entered his claims and all the 
while pushed his enterprise with vigor and excel- 
lent judgment. It throve and prospered, and in 
1896 he bought out his brothers and became sole 
owner of t,6oo acres of the best ranch land in 
the state, which he has made into what is fre- 
quently spoken of as the most highly improved 
ranch in Wyoming, and is known to all who 
are closely connected with the stock industry as 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



629 



the "famous Pitchfork ranch." The land is all 
graded, irrigated and relieved by a complete sys- 
tem of underground drainage, and it produces 
enormous crops of alfalfa and timothy. He has 
generally about 2,000 cattle, three-fourths of 
them being well-bred Shorthorns and Herefords. 
A gentleman of the business capacity and enter- 
prise possessed in every way by Mr. Franc, in a 
country where populations are small and leaders 
few, could scarcely avoid being drawn into the 
vortex of politics at least in a local way. And 
so, for the good of the community, he has been 
obliged to serve as justice of the peace from 
time to time, being one of the first justices within 
a large radius and his jurisdiction covered an 
immense sweep of country. He was compelled 
to travel 150 miles to take the oath of office the 
first time he was elected, so few were public of- 
ficials in this country in those days, and so far 
was it between- them. In fact, when he "staked 
his claim" here the county seat was 350 miles 
from his home. While enlarging and developing 
his business, and making every energy and 
factor of his resources subservient to its most 
pronounced success, Mr. Franc has not neglected 
his personal comfort or withheld the expression 
of his good taste in the improvements on his 
ranch. He has erected thereon a substantial and 
architecturally beautiful stone residence with 
numerous commodious and well arranged barns 
and other outbuildings. Everything about the es- 
tate proclaims that it is the product of thrift, en- 
terprise, great business capacity and refined 
taste, applied with admirable results in a practical 
way to the solution of the alwa)^ difficult prob- 
lem of making modern civilization bloom and 
fructify on the wild western frontier. It goes 
without the saying that Mr. Franc is one of the 
best-known and most highly esteemed men in 
the section of the state in which he lives. 

EDWARD J. FARLOW. 

Having passed three years of his life from the 
time he was seventeen years old as a cowboy on 
Laramie plains when the country was very wild, 
and having since achieved a substantial success 



as a stockman and farmer, holding service as a 
justice of the peace, mayor of his home town, 
and in other official capacities, Edward J. Farlow, 
of Lander, has risen by natural progress, and 
through an extensive and varied experience in 
the exigencies of life on the western frontier, to 
the high place he now holds in the esteem and 
regard of his fellow men. He is a native of 
Dallas county, la., where he was born on January 
2, 1861, being the son of Isaac J. and Martha E. 
(Bringham) Farlow, yet esteemed citizens of 
Iowa, the former a native of Indiana and the 
latter of Kentucky. Edward J. was the third of 
their eight children, seven of whom are living, 
one brother, James N., a resident of Lander, be- 
ing specifically mentioned on another page of 
this work. Mr. Farlow received a ' good com- 
mon-school education in his native county, fin- 
ishing his course at the Adel high school. In 
1878, when he was seventeen, he entered into act- 
ive life as a cowboy near Laramie, Wyo., and for 
three years cheerfully endured all the hardships 
and privations and thankfully received the phys- 
ical and intellectual benefits of that strenuous oc- 
cupation, in the meantime frugally saving his 
earnings and investing them in stock for himself, 
so that at the end of his service there he was able 
to go into the stock business on his own account. 
He has developed his enterprise from a small be- 
ginning to a full-fledged and vigorous vitality of 
gratifying dimensions and comfortable profits. 
He owns eighty acres of very fine meadow land 
just inside the city limits of Lander, and has a 
large acreage of leased land. On this he raises 
sheep and cattle of superior grades, selected with 
care and reared with every consideration for their 
comfort and the best mercantile results. His 
land is well improved and equipped with every 
device and accommodation for the successful 
conduct of his business, and with the desirable 
comforts and tasteful adornments of a modern 
home. From this coigne of vantage he is able 
to look out upon the community in which he has 
cast his lot and devote to its interest and advance- 
ment the benefit of his wide experience, good 
judgment and ripened common sense. He has 
served this people as mayor of their city, as a 



630 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



member of their school board, as a justice of 
the peace and as a United States commissioner, 
in each position having important functions to 
perform and doing his duty in a way that has 
won high commendation from all classes of citi- 
zens. On September 23, 1883, he married with 
Miss Elizabeth Lamoreaux, a native of Wyo- 
ming and daughter of Jules and Elizabeth Lamo- 
reaux of Lander, who were among the earliest 
pioneers of the state and this particular valley. 
Two children have blessed their union, Jules E. 
and Albert J. 

GEORGE A. FOX. 

For more than sixteen years a resident of 
Wyoming, and during all of that time closely 
identified with the progress and development of 
the state, contributing of both brain and brawn 
to make her waste places glad, her mercantile 
interests prosperous, her civic life useful and 
true, and now conducting on a large and sub- 
stantial basis a business of great service and im- 
portance to the community in which he lives, 
George A. Fox, of Gillette, may well be spoken 
of as one of the forceful and productive factors 
among the civilizing influences of this section. 
He was born on June 26, 1851, in Floyd county, 
Iowa, where his parents, John and Jerusha A. 
(Colson) Fox, were early emigrants from Illin- 
ois. There they settled when the county was on 
the frontier, and there they lived until it had 
yielded to the persuasive voice of progress and ' 
become an old and well-settled communitv. Then 
again they turned to the undeveloped West and 
removing to Richardson county, Neb., in 1865, 
they homesteaded on the unbroken prairie and 
redeemed their portion of it to fertility and pro- 
ductiveness. In 1885, renewing their love for 
the wilder phases of our great public domain, 
they took up their residence in Crook county, 
Wyoming, and there the mother died in 1887. 
The father then returned to his old home in 
Nebraska and passed the remainder of his days 
amid the scenes he had so long enjoyed, dying 
in T899, after spending the sunset of a useful 
life in peaceful retirement from toil and care. 



George A. Fox was educated in the schools of 
the place in which he lived from time to time 
as he grew to manhood, and worked on the farm 
with his father until he was eighteen. He then 
engaged in farming on his own account in Ne- 
braska until 1882, when he opened a livery busi- 
ness in Humboldt, that state, and conducted it 
for two years. In 1884 ne removed to Sherman 
county, Kan., and there took up a homestead, 
but after two years of occupancy of this, came to 
Crook county, Wyo., where his parents were at 
the time, and "homesteaded" six miles from Sun- 
dance. On the land thus taken up he started 
a cattle industry, and also engaged in freighting 
between Rapid City, S. D., and the Black Hills 
country. For five years he followed this exciting 
and profitable life, and thereafter devoted his en- 
ergies entirely to the development and improve- 
ment of his cattle interests until 1896, when he 
sold both ranch and stock and came to Gillette 
to engage in the livery business. His progress 
in this enterprise was safe, but slow at first, ow- 
ing to a vigorous competition, but in 1899 he 
bought the barn he now uses for his business 
and, enlarging it and his stock, he has since done 
an extensive work in his line, being one of the 
best-known men in all this part of the country. 
In addition to a business which necessarily brings 
him into contact with all classes and conditions 
of men, Mr. Fox gained knowledge and become 
known through his activity in politics as a Dem- 
ocrat and in local public affairs as a progressive 
and enterprising citizen for many years. He has 
been serviceably interested in all projects for 
the advancement of the community, and has 
more than contributed his share in inspiration 
and in more substantial ways for their successful 
operation. On July 1. 1877, at Forest City, Mo., 
occurred the first marriage of Mr. Fox, being 
then united with Miss Fannie Gird, who, after 
an unusually happy wedded life of nineteen 
years, was called from earth, leaving four chil- 
dren. Nora, Lottie, Eddie ami Teddy. At Sheri- 
dan, Wyo., on May 23, 1900, Mr. Fox married 
with Mrs. Annie McClure. a widow, born and 
reared in Iowa, by whom he has had one son, 
Tay R. Fox. In fraternal relations he is united 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



631 



with the lodge of Odd Fellows at Gillette, and, 
besides his livery business, he owns a ranch near 
the town, where he runs a considerable band of 
horses. He is as highly esteemed as he is widely 
known, and well merits his success in a commer- 
cial way and his hold on the regard of his fellows. 

GEORGE A. FORBES. 

This popular leader of the Republican party 
in Kemmerer county stands today one of the 
foremost men among the builders of Wyoming. 
Lineally descended from good Scottish stock, 
through George A. Forbes, who emigrated from 
Glasgow, Scotland, in Colonial times, he inherits 
all the strength of character, canny virtues and 
heroic bravery which led his great-grandfather 
to cast his fortunes with the New York militia 
of the Continental forces and to rise to distinc- 
tion in its ranks. He is a native of the state of 
Ohio, having been born at Litchfield, Medina 
county, on October 22, 1849, a son of Alexander 
and Cornelia (Randall) Forbes, of Syracuse, 
N. Y., Among his American forefathers were 
prominent lawyers and successful farmers, his 
own father following the latter occupation, both 
in New York and in Ohio, and dying at the age 
of eighty-five years on September 22, 1897, being 
buried at Litchfield five years after his wife had 
been laid to rest in the same place. Well edu- 
cated in the public schools of Ohio Mr. Forbes 
began his business career in 1863 as a govern- 
ment employe, becoming a mailing clerk at Nash- 
ville, Tenn., for two years, when he returned 
to Ohio and became an engineer in a sawmill,, 
continuing this occupation for eighteen months 
and until he was engaged as a fireman by the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, be- 
ing there soon promoted to the position of loco- 
motive engineer, which he held until November, 
1875, when he came to Evanston, Wyo., and was 
engineer for the Union Pacific, remaining with 
that road in the freight and passenger service 
until 1894, only to leave it for the less exacting 
and more peaceful pursuits of farming and stock- 
raising. He has been constable for the Kem- 
merer precinct for three years and as a party 



leader for his county, it goes without saying that 
he must have good judgment, courage and a 
wise precaution to inspire confidence and merited 
esteem, which is now his in great measure. Fra- 
ternally, he is in full accord with the Masonic 
Lodge, No. 4, of Evanston, Evanston Chapter 
No. 2 and Evanston Commandery, No. 4, besides 
being an active member of the Maccabees and al- 
so of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 
In October, 1876, he married his first wife, Miss 
Susan Sparks of Bushnell, a daughter of Thomas 
and Sarah (Sparks) Bushnell, natives of Illinois, 
assistant principal for seven years of Professor 
Howe's college at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. She 
died on September 13, 1881, and was buried on 
the same day as was President Garfield, leaving 
one child, Susan Alice, now a graduate of the 
State University at Lincoln, Neb., and a teacher 
in that institution. In the second marriage the 
lady of the choice of Mr. Forbes was Miss Alice 
Lenehan, of Toledo, Ohio, a daughter of Thomas 
and Mary (Lenehan) Lenehan of Ohio. They 
have one daughter, Laura M., who graduated 
from the Evanston high school with the class of 
1902. The practical business qualities of Mr. 
Forbes have enabled him to acquire an enviable 
share of this world's goods and he owns 800 
acres of valuable land near Evanston, the fam- 
ily residence in the city, and city property in 
Ogden, Utah, and Kemmerer. His career has 
been one of success and one of which he may 
well be proud, marked as it has been by energy, 
probity, loyalty to home and native land and a 
pleasing geniality which has gathered around 
him. many warm friends who class him among 
their honored citizens. 

WILLIAM B. GOULD. 

One of the prosperous, enterprising and pro- 
gressive stockgrowers and general farmers of 
the Bighorn basin, who has made his own way 
in the world from an early age, and has won a 
substantial competence for life and a secure and 
exalted place in the confidence and esteem of 
the public, is William B. Gould, who lives near 
Otto on the Grev Bull River, on a fine ranch 



632 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of 520 acres which he has redeemed from the 
wilderness and made to "blossom as the rose." 
Mr. Gould was born in Indiana on January 1, 
1853, the son of Steven and Almeda (House) 
Gould, the former a native of Ohio and the lat- 
ter of Indiana. He was reared and educated 
in his native state, and he approached man's es- 
tate engaged in farming there on his own ac- 
count. He followed this vocation in Indiana un- 
til 1883 when he went to southwestern Missouri 
and continued it there for five years longer. In 
1888 he came to Wyoming and located a home- 
stead, which is a part of the ranch on which he 
now lives and on which he conducts a large and 
profitable stock business, having some 300 head 
of fine cattle and sixty horses of superior breed 
and high grade. The ranch has been well im- 
proved with good buildings and other appliances 
and much of it is an advanced state of cultiva- 
tion. The changes made in it through the in- 
dustry and skill of its owner are gains over bar- 
barism and the wild and wasted luxuriance of 
nature by the forces of civilization and systematic 
labor. When Mr. Gould took up his residence 
on this land the whole region around him was as 
yet practically untouched by the molding hand of 
enlightened man. but from him, and others like 
him, early invaders of its primeval solitude, it 
received an impulse which soon began to bring 
it to comeliness and array it in garments suited 
to the dignity and the requirements of its new 
lord and master. As the land was developed 
and made fruitful, the other concomitants and 
fostering forces of civilization and progress were 
called forth and made effective. Schools and 
churches were established, roads and bridges 
were built, marts of trade were opened and the 
conveniences of modern life were gradually 
made available. In this work Mr. Gould took an 
active and very productive part. He and his 
brother James, of whom a sketch appears else- 
where in this volume, joined hands in the ex- 
hilarating task of planting the wilderness with 
the beneficent activities of cultivated life, by their 
example stimulating others so that the work went 
forward rapidly, considering all the conditions. 
The interest in the welfare of the communitv. 



thus exhibited in its early life on the part of 
Mr. Gould, has never abated and he is now as 
ready as he ever was to aid in the development 
of any enterprise which may tend to advance or 
improve his neighborhood. He was married in 
Shelby county, Indiana, in December, 1877, to 
Miss Mary E. Mann, a native of that state. 
They have six children, Orrin, Franklin, Elmer, 
Opal, Alva and Amy. 

JOSEPH R. GRAHAM. 

Prominent among the younger generation of 
ranchmen is the well-known and highly esteemed 
gentleman whose name furnishes the caption of 
this review. Thrown upon his own resources 
at an age when the majority of lads are the espec- 
ial objects of their parents' anxious care and so- 
licitude, and making his own way in the face of 
experiences calculated to try the mental and 
moral fiber and develop what is of genuine worth 
in the individual, he gradually surmounted an 
unfavorable environment, forging to the front 
by the sheer force of will, has now not only a fan- 
measure of pecuniary success, but the right to 
worthily wear the title of self-made man. Joseph 
R. Graham, who lives near Fort Laramie, was 
born on May 4, 1868, in the city of Leavenworth. 
Kan. His father, Joseph Graham, was a native 
of Kentucky, and his mother, who bore the 
maiden name of Mellie J. Foster, was also born 
and reared in the beautiful Blue Grass state. 
Soon after the close of the great Civil War these 
parents emigrated to Missouri, thence a little la- 
ter to Kansas, there settling on a farm in 
Leavenworth county, where the father carried 
on agriculture and stockraising until his removal 
in 1890 to the territory of Oklahoma. Mr. Gra- 
ham is still a resident of Oklahoma, where, as in 
his former places 'of residence, he is engaged in 
cultivating the soil and raising live stock, meet- 
ing with encouraging results in his busi- 
ness affairs. The childhood days and early youth 
of his son, Joseph R. Graham, were spent under 
the parental roof and as opportunities afforded 
he attended the public schools, acqirnng a fair 
knowledge of the branches constituting the cur- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



633 



riculum. He grew up a continued help to his 
parents, but possessing a somewhat restless na- 
ture, and being actuated by a desire to see some- 
thing of the world, he severed the bonds which 
united him' to his home at the early age of thir- 
teen and made his way to Idaho. Soon after 
reaching his destination he went to work run- 
ning cattle, and was thus engaged in the south- 
ern part of the above territory until 1882 when 
he went to Nevada. Here he soon became a 
full-fledged, and thoroughly experienced cowboy, 
and continued as such in Nevada until 1884, in 
the spring of which year he came to Wyoming, 
and engaged with a ranchman near Cheyenne, 
in working there on the range until the latter 
part of the year following. In 1885 he came to 
the section of the country which he has since 
made the base of his operations in the cattle busi- 
ness, from that date until 1895 working the 
range over various parts of Montana, South 
Dakota and Nebraska. In 1895 he began ranch- 
ing in this part of the state, and, after following 
that work until 1900, he took up his present ranch 
on the Platte River, two miles northwest of Fort 
Laramie and engaged in cattleraising upon his 
own responsibility. He had experienced an in- 
teresting and an adventurous career, frequently 
marked by experiences of a thrilling character, 
and his wild, free life on the range has had a 
wholesome effect in building up a healthy, vig- 
orous physique and in developing a spirit of self- 
reliance peculiarly helpful to a man of his call- 
ing. He began life for himself in a limited 
financial way, but by his shrewd management, 
discriminating judgment and wise foresight he 
gradually much increased the magnitude of his 
business and is now on the straight highway to 
highly deserved success. On April 3, 1903, he 
was married at Fort Laramie, Wyo., to Miss 
Emma Kenast, a native of Germany and also 
being a daughter of Frederick and Wilhelmina 
(Borman), who came to Wyoming from the 
Fatherland in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Graham also 
have one child, a bright boy. named LeRoy, who 
was born on November 26, 1893. Mr. Graham 
has a pleasant residence on his attractive ranch 
and is well situated to enjoy the comforts and 



conveniences of life which he has accumulated. 
Personally he is a most pleasant and affable gen- 
tleman, popular with all who know him, and 
possesses the happy faculty of making and re- 
taining warm friendships. Young in years, but 
old in experiences, full of energy and enthusiasm, 
it is eminently proper to predict for him a long 
and useful, as well as a financially successful ca- 
reer in years to come. Mr. Graham and wife are 
members of the Lutheran church and endeavor 
to make their lives correspond with their faith. 



J. F. HAGBERY. 

One of the progressive and enterprising 
stockgrowers and farmers of Bighorn county, 
who has won the respect and confidence of all 
his fellow men who know him by his correct 
business methods and upright life, and who has 
established himself securely in the stock business 
by his industry, thrift and capacity, is J. F. 
Hagbery, now living near Sunshine, Wyo., on a 
ranch which he took up as a desert claim and 
which he has brought to fertility and productive- 
ness of a high order. He is a native son of Iowa, 
born in that state on July 2, 1844, the son of 
Frederick and Anna Hagbery, both natives of 
Sweden. For some years after leaving school he 
worked on farms and conducted farming enter- 
prises of his own in his native state, and in 1878 
he removed to Kansas, settling in Rooks county. 
He there engaged in farming and raising stock, 
continuing his operations along these lines in 
that count}- until 1884. He then moved to Colo- 
rado and continued in that state the same sort of 
business he had conducted in Kansas, remaining 
there until 1893, when he came to Wyoming 
and took up on a desert claim a portion of the 
land which is now included in his ranch, and 
again engaged in stockraising and farmnig. His 
ranch comprises 320 acres of land, which he 
has made good and fruitful, and on it he sup- 
ports liberally and keeps in good condition 400 
high-grade cattle. He is a public spirited and 
progressive citizen, taking a serviceable interest 
in all the advancement of the community. 



634 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ABRAHAM GOTWALS. 

As a volunteer in the Union army during the 
Civil War and a soldier in the regular array for 
three years after the close of that sanguinary 
conflict, and in the latter service participating 
in many Indian battles and skirmishes, Abraham 
Gotwals of Bighorn county, residing on a fine 
and well-developed ranch near Hyattville, gave 
his country good service throughout seven years 
of his young and vigorous manhood, and since 
that period has been actively engaged in building 
up and improving the portion of her wide do- 
main in which he has cast his lot. He came to 
Wyoming in 1865, when the wealth, which for 
ages had been hidden from the sight of man, 
was just beginning to attract the attention of 
the adventurous advance guard of civilization 
in this western world, and, during the nearly 
forty years of his residence in the state, he has 
been a potential force in her progress and in 
the development of her commercial, industrial, 
educational, social and political institutions. He 
was born in Montgomery county, Pa., in 1841, 
the son of Joseph D. and Mary (Kratz) Got- 
wals, also natives in that state. In his native 
county he reached the age of twenty years, re- 
ceived a common-school education and assisted 
his parents on the farm. In 1861, on May 4, 
just fifteen days after the riot in Baltimore, he 
enlisted in Co. E, Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania 
Infantry, for a term of three-years' service m 
the Union army, or during the war, if it should 
not last so long. He saw the full three-years' 
service, being in many important battles during 
its progress and, nothing undaunted by the dan- 
gers he had passed and the privations and hard- 
ships he had suffered, at the end of his term he 
immediately reenlisted as a member of Co. B in 
the One Hundred and Ninety-ninth Pennsyl- 
vania, with which he served to the close of the 
war. Being now inured to military life, finding 
in it much that was attractive, especially as there 
was promise of continued peace, he agajn en- 
listed, this time as a member of the regular army 
in the Second U. S. Cavalry for another term 
of three vears. In the Civil War he was wounded 



at the battle of Cross Keys, in Virginia, but was 
not long disabled for service. After his enlist- 
ment in the regular army he was sent west with 
his regiment, in 1865 arriving in Wyoming. 
While here the troops were almost continually 
harassed or called into activity by the hostility 
of the Indians, and Mr. Gotwals had many nar- 
row escapes from death and capture. In 1868 
he was discharged at Fort Russell, and then set- 
tling at South Pass, in what is now Fremont 
county, Wyo., he engaged in mining until 1876, 
when he went back to Pennsylvania and passed 
a year in Philadelphia. In 1877 ne a g am came 
west, stopping at Deadwood in South Dakota, 
where he remained fifteen months busily occu- 
pied in mining. In 1880 he took up his residence 
in Wyoming for a second time, locating at Lan- 
der. From there he came to Bighorn county 
in 1883 and, taking up as a preemption claim a 
part of the ranch on which he now lives, set to 
work to improve his land and build up an in- 
dustry in the stock business. He owns 320 acres 
of good land in one body and has about 2,000 
acres under lease. His herd consists usually of 
some 300 head of well-bred cattle, while he also 
runs a large band of superior horses. He is a 
typical pioneer and has given to the state of 
his adoption his best efforts for her advancement 
while pushing his own interests ; and she has re- 
warded his service with a wealth of opportunity 
to win fortune in material possessions and to se- 
cure the lasting esteem of his fellow men, which 
he has done. 

JOHN C. HANSCUM. 

Born at Oswego, N. Y., on August 28. 1868. 
Mr. Hanscum is the son of John C. and Mary A. 
(Collins) HanscUm. both natives of that state. 
His father was of English descent, and the 
paternal grandfather was born in a town in the 
North of Ireland, his mother being a native of 
England. John C. Hanscum was long engaged 
in the business of printing and publishing, and 
was an active and progressive business man. 
He passed away in Chicago, 111., in 1876, at the 
early age of fortv-four. The mother is still liv- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



635 



ing and makes her home at Newark, N. J. Mr. 
Hanscum was the second of a family of five 
children. He received his early education m 
the public schools of Chicago, whither his family 
had removed from his native state of New York. 
He left home at the age of fourteen years, and 
for two years he was engaged in the state of 
Missouri in farm work, for a time being em- 
ployed in a merchandising establishment. Subse- 
quently, he traveled somewhat extensively in no 
less than twenty-eight states and territories. In 
1893 ne came to the state of Wyoming, and ac- 
cepted a position as clerk with J. K. Moore, and 
continued in that employment up to the year 
1899, when he purchased the hotel business at 
Fort Washakie. In July; 1892, he embarked in the 
stage-and-mail business between the Fort and 
Dubois, Wyo. In addition to his other business 
enterprises, he is the owner of a feed and livery 
stable at Fort Washakie, and is also considerably 
interested in the business of raising cattle. He 
is a public spirited, progressive and prosperous 
business man, and has done much to develop the 
resources of this section of the state. On Sep- 
tember 12, 1899, Mr. Hanscum was united in 
marriage at Lander, Wyo., to Miss Jennie De- 
Wolf, a native of Wyoming and a teacher in 
the Indian schools. She is the daughter of 
Henry and Lizzie (Ramsey) DeWolf, the form- 
er a native of the state of New York and the 
latter of the Dominion of Canada. They were 
among the early pioneers of this section of 
Wyoming, and are among its best citizens. To 
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hanscum has been 
born one child, Irene M., and their home is sur- 
rounded by many evidences of comfort and re- 
finement. They are held in high esteem by a 
larg-e circle of friends and acquaintances. 

DAVID W. HANNER. 

All of the mature life of David W. Hanner 
has been passed within the limits of Wyoming, 
and nearly all of it in Bighorn county. He as- 
sisted in the formation of this county, and has 
been an element of power and productiveness in 
its development and in the establishment and im- 



provement of all its civilizing forces. It was in 
the state of Nebraska, and on July 29, 1866, that 
his life began, and his parents, John and Martha 
(Hanger) Hanner, were natives of Indiana and 
Missouri, respectively, and who were settled in 
Nebraska soon after their marriage. David was 
reared and received a limited education in his na- 
tive state, and as soon as he was able, there be- 
gan to ride the range, continuing this occupation 
until 1887, when he came to Wyoming. Locat- 
ing at Buffalo, in the northern part of the terri- 
tory that was then making rapid strides toward 
the dignity and the consequence of statehood, 
he there found profitable employment as a team- 
ster for awhile, and then proceeded to the 
neighborhood of Laramie and there re- 
turned to his earlier vocation of range riding, 
which he followed in that part of the state until 
1889, when he came to Bighorn county and 
continued it here in connection with a freighting 
business until 1894. Thus having spent his 
years of preparation for conducting the business 
of life on his own account in the stock 
industry, he might almost be considered a true 
product of it as well as a very worthy repre- 
sentative of the business. In 1894 he located 
a homestead on the Grey Bull River, and 
has since resided on it, making extensive and 
valuable improvements as time passed and build- 
ing up one of the best-managed and most re- 
munerative stockgrowing enterprises of its mag- 
nitude in this portion of the Northwest. He 
has 320 acres of good land well adapted to the 
business, and runs a band of some 4,000 sheep 
and has also large numbers of well-bred cattle. 
His brand is well-known in the cattle and sheep 
markets and the products of his ranch have a 
high rank. Mr. Hanner is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and takes an in- 
terest in the proceedings and prosperit)^ of the 
order, but he belongs to no other fraternal or- 
ganization. He was married in Bighorn county, 
Wyo., in July, 1894, to Miss Mary Williams, a 
native of Minnesota and daughter of John C. 
and Janet Williams, who have been residents of 
Wyoming since 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Hanner 
are highly esteemed in social circles and stand 



636 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



high in the good will and general regard of the 
community in which they have lived and labored 
so zealously and so effectively, both for the gen- 
eral good and advancement of -every enterprise. 

SYDNEY F. HARVARD. 

The great state of New York has been able 
to supply from her redundant population, filled 
with ambition for conquest among men, a multi- 
tude of volunteers for the army of industrial 
progress which has done so much to settle and 
civilize the northwestern territories and states of 
the Union. And wherever they have halted 
in their triumphant march they have left ' the 
impress of their presence, and have planted the 
seeds of the enterprise and public spirit which 
distinguishes their own state. In this multitude, 
Sydney F. Harvard, of Tensleep, has an honored 
place, for, although but a recent addition to 
the population and developing force of Wyoming, 
he has already justified the esteem in which 
he is held by her people, who have now knowl- 
edge of him, and has shown himself a true citi- 
zen by the interest he has manifested in the state 
of his adoption. He was born in New York in 
i860, where his parents, William and Mary J. 
(Duck) Harvard, natives of Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, settled on their arrival in the United States. 
When he was six years old they removed to 
Wisconsin, and there the father was called to 
rest, the mother being now living in Bighorn 
county, having a ranch on the No Wood River. 
Mr. Harvard remained in Wisconsin until he 
reached the age of nineteen, securing scholas- 
tic training in her public schools and drawing in- 
spiration for freedom and independence from her 
excellent civil institutions. In 1879 ne came 
to the West and for a number of years rode 
on the range and acquired all of the benefits 
of physical vigor and sharp mental acuteness 
that the life of a cattleman gives. He then set- 
tled on a ranch in Brown county. Neb., and there 
engaged in stockgrowing until 1895. In that 
year he came to Wyoming, locating in the Big- 
horn basin, there continuing the industry he had 
begun in Nebraska. Six years later he bought 



the ranch on which he now lives on No Wood 
River, which is a beautiful tract of 320 acres, and 
has been brought to a high state of cultivation 
and also well improved by him. He has there a 
comfortable and attractive residence, with out- 
buildings of every needed kind to correspond, 
and is well fixed to keep in excellent condition 
the 100 or more cattle and the band of horses 
which he handles on the place. He was married 
in Brown county. Neb., in 1887, to Miss Jennie 
Pettijohn, a native of Minnesota. They have 
seven children, Clyde, Lewis, Frederick, . Frank, 
Harry, Nellie and Alice. Mr. Harvard's farm 
is an evidence of his skill and husbandry and 
his progressiveness in improvement, for it is a 
model of convenience and completeness, its nat- 
ural beauties having been enhanced by judi- 
cious use of good taste in arrangement of build- 
ings, shrubbery and other appurtenances. His 
interest in the welfare of his new home has been 
shown by his careful attention to local affairs, 
with a lofty view to the general good, rather 
than to the advantage of any personal or fac- 
tional interest. And in social life his course has 
been marked by a spirit of real accommodation to 
all who come in contact with him, as well as 
by a genial and entertaining manner. 

HENRY HELMS. 

While the lessons of adversity are not al- 
ways salutary, and sometimes awaken the dark- 
er passions born of a sense of injustice, as a 
rule they stimulate to extra activity, calling out 
from their hiding"-places in the deeper being, un- 
known powers and unsuspected resources. When 
a man of real grit and fiber is thrown for reliance 
on his unaided capacities, he develops strength 
with their exercise, and he grows into something 
beyond his former self. Henry Helms was left 
an orphan by the death of his parents in his in- 
fancy, and, thus left to the care of strangers 
through childhood and youth, he was necessarily 
dependent on his own exertions for advancement 
in the world, and bravely he accepted the situa- 
tion and has honorably made his way. He was 
born in Germany in 1853. the scion of old Ger- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



637 



man families long resident in the Fatherland, and 
when he was nine years old he was brought to 
the United States and located in Iowa. There 
he grew to man's estate and was educated to a 
limited extent in the public schools. In 1877 
he sought better opportunities and larger hopes 
in the West, making his way to Colorado. In 
that state he worked at his trade as a baker 
which he learned in his former home. In 1878 
he accompanied the O. R. & N. Co.'s sur- 
veying party to Idaho, and, in 1882, in company 
with Henry Lovell, he drove cattle to Wyoming. 
They wintered at Rawlins, and, in the following 
spring, Mr. Helms entered the employ of the 
Deranch Cattle Co., and remained in the service 
of that organization until 1884. He then ac- 
cepted a place as cook with the II Ranch Com- 
pany, and was with that outfit until 1890. In 
that year he took up the land he now occupies 
and on it started the industry in stockraising 
and farming, which he has continued ever since, 
and which has grown from a small beginning to 
a business of size and importance. He has 240 
acres of land, which, by his skill and industry, he 
has brought to a good state of cultivation, and 
made it serviceable in support of his herds of 
well-bred cattle, which number 150 head on an 
average. He also runs a good-sized band of 
horses, and is. careful to keep, the breed up to a 
high standard. His farming is only incidental 
to his stock business, but it is conducted with 
skill and enterprise, and rewards his care and 
labor with fine annual crops of cereals, hay and 
other farm products. He has improved bis place 
with substantial buildings, and supplied with the 
necessary machinery and appliances for its prop- 
er management. A comfortable residence adorns 
it, which is always open to the needy, and spark- 
les with genuine and vivacious hospitality for the 
friends of the family. In 1895 he was married 
to Miss Eda Smith, a native of Kansas and a 
daughter of Thomas Smith, formerly of that 
state, but for years a resident of Missouri. They 
have one child, their son Virgil. Through toil 
and struggle, through hardship and difficulty, 
hope and endurance, Mr. Helms has arisen to 
his present estate of worldly competence, and his 



enjoyments of the comforts which surround him 
is all the greater by , recollection of the trials 
through which he reached them. The land of 
his adoption has been generous in opportunity to 
him, and he has returned her benefactions by 
patriotic devotion to her interests and the service 
and stimulus of an example in worthy, upright 
and well-esteemed citizenship. 

M. AUGUSTUS HINKSTON. 

M. Augustus Hinkston, foreman of the Em- 
bar Cattle Co. of Fremont county, Wyoming, 
has, it is claimed, rode more miles on horseback 
than any other man in the world. Certain it is 
that he has been for many years most of the 
time in the saddle, and at times has seemed like 
the Centaur, almost a part of his horse, so well 
and so gracefully does he ride, and so contin- 
ually is he in position. He is a pioneer of 
1867 in this state, and was born in Illinois on 
September 27, 1847, the son of Danforth and 
Ursula (French) Hinkston, natives of Ohio who 
emigrated to Illinois in their early married life. 
Their son, M. Augustus, reached the age of 
twenty years in his native state, and received 
a limited common school education there, and in 
1867, longing for the free wild life of the 
frontier, and communion with Nature in her 
primeval luxuriance, he came to Wyoming, lo- 
cating near Cheyenne, and began a career of 
range riding which has continued in unbroken 
course to the present day, is unparalleled in the 
history of the stock industry and worthy of 
special , notice as the record-breaker of all time 
in this line of activity. For more than thirty-five 
years, for 365 days in the year, with the extra 
day in leap years thrown in, he and his galloping- 
steed have been a picturesque feature of the land- 
scape, as inevitably present as the turf on. which 
they traveled and the sky under which they were 
riding. In that period he. has owned a number 
of favorite horses which he has broken to his use, 
has had them as constant companions, and has 
seen them grow old and die. His preferred color 
is bay, but any good horse possesses for him 
the right color. Among the noble animals which 



6 3 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



have borne him proudly onward, he well remem- 
bers Yellow Jack, ridden from 1870 to 1880, a 
fine cut-out horse, tender-mouthed, always rid- 
den with a rope or string around his neck. He 
would come at rider's call ; Old Honesty, ridden 
eight years, very nervous ; he ran away with 
rider at daylight one morning, slipping on the 
ice and breaking his leg and knocking his rider 
senseless for twenty-four hours. When the rider 
recovered consciousness Old Honesty was grazing 
close by, walking on his broken bones ; Buck, a 
fine cow horse, in roping cattle he would put his 
rider's knee against the cow's left ribs, also 
would come at the rider's call and was ridden 
eight years by Mr. Hinkston. During the nine- 
ties he rode Showdown, Roan Dick, Brown Jug 
and dozens of others, all noble animals, well 
qualified for their place in life, and, as Mr. Hink- 
ston sometimes thought, only lacking the sense 
of speech to equal the capabilities of man. Mr. 
Hinkston has been foreman for a number of large 
cattle companies, and has seen active and exciting 
service in the employ of them all. The dan- 
gers of Indian warfare and Indian treachery 
have been many times present ; actual hostilities 
in the mass and actual pursuit, the capture and 
punishment of individual marauders have not 
been uncommon ; and, when the untutored wild 
man of the plains was not troublesome, the law- 
less renegade from civilization and fugitive from 
justice was abroad, insulting the lone majesty 
of night with his unwelcome presence and by 
stealthy crimes. At times the rage of the ele- 
ments combined with the wickedness of man to 
make the life of the cattleman a burden, and at 
others disease, drouth and other disasters de- 
stroyed the fruits of his labor. All forms of 
adventure, every kind of hazard, every phase of 
work incident to his calling, have been in the lot: 
of this renowned cattleman, and through them all 
he has preserved unsullied his good name for 
uprightness of life and character, his fairness in 
dealing with everybody, humanity to fallen foes 
and resolute spirit in confronting every phase of 
fortune. For ten years he was a foreman with 
the X Cattle Co.; in 1886 he came to Buffalo, 
Wyo., and spent two years as assistant foreman 



for the Pratt-Jervis Cattle Co., then came to 
the Bighorn basin and passed two years in the 
employ of H. P. Rathmell, at the end of which 
time he became foreman for the Embar Cattle 
Co. and has since then remained with them as 
their range foreman. In fraternal relations he 
has found enjoyment and intellectual and social 
profit as a prominent member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, and domestic happiness 
has smiled upon him through his marriage at 
Cheyenne on January 2, 1877, to Miss Julia 
Lanan, a native of Kansas. They have two chil- 
dren, their daughters, Mabel I. and Mona E., 
both of whom are graduates .of the Wyoming 
State University, being accomplished and tal- 
ented young ladies adorning society, possessing 
grace and wit as well as sterling sense. 

WILLIAM F. HUNT. 

The tragic and yet useful and productive Hie 
which forms the substance of this memoir was 
begun in orphanage and under the terrible 
shadow of our Civil War, William F. Hunt hav- 
ing been born on May 30, 1863, in the state of 
Wisconsin but a few days after his father, a 
gallant soldier in the Union arm}-, was killed 
at the siege of Vicksburg. His parents were 
Charles and Augusta (Lang) Hunt, natives of 
Germany, who came to the United States soon 
after their marriage. They at once, and readily, 
imbibed the spirit of our institutions, becoming 
devoted adherents to the fortunes of their adopt- 
ed country and when armed resistance menaced 
its continued harmonious existence, the father 
went forward promptly as a volunteer in its de- 
fense and served until on one black day in the 
latter part of May, 1863. a Confederate bullet 
completed the sacrifice of his life to patriotism 
in one of the awful contests of American valor 
in the South. The helpless orphan, then sacred 
as the nation's charge, was reared in a home for 
soldiers' orphans at Davenport, Iowa, until he 
reached the age of fourteen, and he there ac- 
quired the rudiments of an education. At that 
early age he started out in life for himself, com- 
ing to Colorado, in that state learning the car- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



639 



penter trade and working at it and also con- 
ducting a farm for a number of years. During 
four busy years he was a bridge carpenter for 
the Union Pacific Railroad in Nebraska and, in 
1891, he came to Wyoming and located where he 
now lives in Bighorn county, near the town of 
Lovell. He has a well-improved ranch of 160 
acres and a profitable business in cattle and 
horses, and owns valuable property in the town. 
He is well-esteemed as a progressive and broad- 
minded citizen and has served his people as a 
justice of the peace for a number of years, being 
at the same time a notary public. He is a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
belonging to and taking great interest in the 
proceedings of the lodge of the order at Den- 
ver. In 1888, at Glenrock, Wyo, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Pearl Godfrey, a native 
of Nebraska and a daughter of H. M. and Annie 
(Godfrey) Godfrey, a sketch of whom appears 
elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have 
two children, their daughters, Fannie and Eva. 
During his residence at Lovell Mr. Hunt has 
much of the time been actively engaged in busi- 
ness as a contractor and builder, and has erected 
many of the best buildings in the town and vi- 
cinity. Whether working- at his trade, conduct- 
ing his stock business or discharging the duties 
of his official positions, Mr. Hunt has been faith- 
ful and upright in every respect, and has en- 
joyed in a marked degree, for many years as he 
enjoys now, the confidence and esteem of his 
fellows and the respect of all classes of every 
community in which he has lived. 

JOHN IREDALE. 

The subject of this sketch has figured promin- 
ently in the history of Wyoming during the last 
quarter of the century and is well entitled to 
notice among' the state's, enterprising men of 
affairs. He is a native of England and the son 
of Joseph and Elizabeth Iredale. The father 
was born in the city of Carlisle and the mother 
in County Cumberland. By occupation Joseph 
Iredale was a farmer and as such accumulated 
a competence. He was a man of broad intelli- 



gence, an active politician, and for a number of 
years was a conspicuous figure of the Liberal 
party of the community where he lived. He 
never left the land of .his birth, dying in County 
Cumberland in 1870 at the age of sixty-six. 
His wife survived him until 1898, at which time 
she entered into her eternal rest, having reached 
the ripe old age of eighty-two years. Joseph 
Iredale, father of the above Joseph, was a dis- 
tinguished soldier in the British army and lost 
his life in the East Indian mutiny. John Iredale 
was born in County Cumberland in 1839, anc ^ 
at the tender age of nine years began earning 
money by working in the coal mines. He re- 
ceived a fair education in the schools of his na- 
tive place and, after following mining for some 
years, he entered upon an apprenticeship to en- 
gineering. By diligent application under the di- 
rection of competent instructors, he soon mas- 
tered the technique and principles, in due time 
becoming proficient in every detail of the pro- 
fession. When his ability became recognized, 
he was employed in various kinds of engineering 
in his native country, and while still a young 
man acquired much more than local repute where 
work involving skill was required. Mr. Iredale 
followed his profession in England until 1874, 
at which time he came to the United States and 
settled in Ohio where he continued civil engin- 
eering during the ensuing thirteen years. At the 
expiration of that time he went to Iowa, thence 
nine months later to Colorado, where he re- 
mained for eighteen months, devoting the time 
to professional labor. About twenty-six years 
ago Mr. Iredale came to Rock Springs and has 
made his home in this city ever since, using his 
time and services as an engineer for which skilled 
talent there has always been great demand. As 
an expert in mining he was especially valuable 
and so long as he was physically able to dis- 
charge his duties, there were more demands for 
his services than he could meet. He continued 
employed uninterruptedly until about 1899, when 
he decided to forego further activity in the line 
of professional work and retire to private life. 
Having always led a strenuous life, he soon 
found idleness hanging heavily upon his hands, 



640 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



accordingly he asked for and secured the appoint- 
ment of janitor of the city building, the duties 
of which he has since discharged. In 1897 Mr. 
Iredale was appointed by the governor the super- 
intendent of Irrigation District No. 4, and .he 
continues to look after the duties incident thereto 
in connection to his regular employment. For 
eight years he has been a member of the Gover- 
nor's personal staff, in which capacity he keeps 
in close touch with the leading state officials, 
among whom he is held in high esteem. Mr. 
Iredale has long been prominent in public affairs, 
both local and state, and is a factor of no incon- 
siderable consequence in matters pertaining to 
Rock Springs and Sweetwater county. His long 
residence in this section of the state, as well as 
his professional labors throughout the country, 
have brought him in contact with all classes of 
people, and his wide and varied acquaintance 
has . ripened into many warm and loyal friend- 
ships. Like the majority of enterprising men 
he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and 
has risen to prominent station in the brotherhood ; 
he also belongs to the Independent Order of 
Red Men and to the Odd Fellows, having been 
honored by both societies with important official 
positions. In 1856 Mr. Iredale was united in 
marriage to Miss Matilda Cooper, a daughter 
of Archibald Cooper, an engineer and machinist, 
who came from Scotland to the United States 
in 1872, settled in Ohio and lived there until his 
death, which occurred at the age of eighty. The 
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Iredale has been 
blessed with ten children, Joseph, Archibald, 
James, John, William, Garfield, Elizabeth, Annie, 
Helen and Mary. Archibald, the second son, 
died from injuries received in an accident about 
eighteen years ago, while in the discharge of his 
duties as a railroad conductor. 

WILLIAM IRVINE. 

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life 
and characteristics this sketch is devoted, is a 
native of the beautiful and romantic Emerald 
Isle, the land of story and song, of fair daughters 
and warm-hearted, strong-armed sons, whose 



deeds of valor have been sung in every country 
and clime. William Irvine was born in County 
Down, Ireland, on July 10, i860, and is the son 
of Edward and Mary (Hanna) Irvine. These 
parents belonged to the farming class and never 
left the shores of their native land, where their 
son, William, was reared as a tiller of the soil 
and early learned those lessons of industry and 
thrift, which have ever had such a marked influ- 
ence in determining the course of his subsequent 
life. In such schools as his neighborhood afford- 
ed he received the rudiments of a practical edu- 
cation, and when old enough to be of service 
began working with his father, whom he helped 
to cultivate the little home farm until reaching 
the age of twenty. As it is well known the condi- 
tion of the Irish peasantry was anything but en- 
couraging, and for a young man, who was born 
and bred under such conditions, to rise superior 
to his environments, seems well nigh impossible. 
Realizing this state of affairs existed in his na- 
tive land and being cognizant of the fact that 
abundant opportunities awaited young men of 
energy and determination in America, a countrv 
where class distinction proves no bar to advance- 
ment, young Irvine at the age of twenty, left 
his native island and came to the United States, 
landing in the harbor of New York, in Septem- 
ber, 1882. Within a short time after his arrival 
he secured employment in the Bloomingdale 
Hospital for the Insane in New York City, and 
continued to hold a position in that institution 
until November, 1885. The day on which he gave 
up his place witnessed his departure for the Pa- 
cific coast, which he reached in due time, and 
immediately thereafter he secured employment, 
and also purchased property in a small town near 
Los Angeles. Calif. After spending about a 
month there he sold out and went to Omaha, 
Neb., thence migrating a little later to the citv 
of Lincoln, where he secured a position in the 
State Hospital for the Insane. Mr. Irvine ably 
discharged his duties in the asylum until Jul} - 5, 
L890, when he resigned, procured an outfit and 
proceeded overland to Wyoming, arriving on Blue 
Grass Creek in Albany county on the first day 
of August. He soon located on his present ranch. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



641 



twenty-five miles southwest of Wheatland, but 
the land being unsurveyed, it was not until the 
fall of 1 901 that he was enabled to perfect his 
claim. Immediately following his settlement, 
Mr. Irvine invested his means in cattle, and from 
that time to the present he has been engaged in 
the live stock business, meeting with encouraging 
results in all his business affairs. He also raises 
horses, which has proven a profitable industry, 
and his future is bright with promise in all- lines 
of the business endeavors in which he is engaged. 
He is a gentleman of courteous demeanor, and 
thus far in life his career has been one of activity 
and usefulness. He bears an unsullied reputa- 
tion in business circles, and his integrity and ster- 
ling honesty have gained the unqualified approv- 
al of all with whom he comes in contact. En- 
tirely free from ostentation, he is kindly and gen- 
ial in his social relations, and has the friendship 
of his fellow citizens who esteem him for his 
genuine personal worth. Fraternally he is a 
Mason, belonging to the lodge at Wheatland. 

CHARLES IVES. 

Coming to Crook county, Wyoming, soon af- 
ter reaching his majority, and living within her 
borders ever since, Charles Ives of Pleasant Val- 
ley, five miles north of Sundance, has passed 
nearly the whole of his mature life as a product- 
ive and improving factor in the civilization and 
development of this portion of the state. His 
native home was in Kankakee county, Illinois, 
where he was born on August n, 1861. His 
parents, Myron and Mary (Yorks) Ives, were 
engaged in farming in that county for a number 
of years and then removed to Howard county, la., 
where they again farmed, passing fourteen years 
at that occupation in that county. In 1882 the}-' 
sold their interests in Iowa and took another 
flight towards the setting sun, locating at Spear- 
fish, S. D., where they remained four years, culti- 
vating the soil also there, at the end of that time 
moving to Crook county, Wyo., where the father 
took up a ranch adjoining the one now occupied 
by his son, Charles, and engaged in ranching 
and cattleraising until his death in June, 1900. 



Since then the mother has made her home with 
her children in Crook county and at Spearfish, 
S. D. She was born at Jersey City, in the state 
of New Jersey, and in childhood came west to 
Indiana with her parents, later removing to Illin- 
ois, where her - husband was born and reared 
and where they were married. Charles Ives 
grew to manhood and received his education in 
Howard county, IoAva, and accompanied his par- 
ents to Spearfish, S. D., in 1882. There he 
worked on ranches and on the farm with "his fa- 
ther until they came to Wyoming, when he home- 
steaded the ranch on which he now lives, which 
is one of the desirable places in a region of great 
fertility and beauty, the well-known Pleasant 
Valley, on which nature has smiled with lavish 
kindness. His ranch is five miles north of Sun- 
dance and yields as the results of his labor and 
its fertility good annual crops of grain and hay, 
and furnishes a substantial basis for his stock 
industry and bountiful provision for his herds 
and flocks, which are constantly expanding in 
volume and value. In addition to the land he 
owns he has several ranches rented, the most 
of which he also has under cultivation. On No- 
vember 11,. 1896, Mr. Ives was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Edna Allen, a native of Minne- 
sota, but then living at Spearfish where the mar- 
riage was solemnized. Her father, Abner Allen, 
is a resident of Pelican Rapids, Minn., where he 
is engaged in newspaper work. Two children 
have blessed the home of Charles Ives, Winifred 
B. and Erva C. Mr. Ives is a Republican in poli- 
tics and is always active in the service of his 
party. He and his accomplished wife are highly 
esteemed by a large circle of friends, who find 
their pleasant home a center of refined and grac- 
ious hospitality of true Western character. 

J. L. KELLEY. 

J. L. Kelley of Bighorn county, living near 
Burlington, prominent as a farmer and a breeder 
of high-grade stock, also active and influential 
in the organization and the work of the Baptist 
church, is a product and an admirable represent- 
ative of life on the western plains. He was born 



642 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in 1858, in the state of Missouri, the son of 
Reuben and Catherine (Haskett) Kelley, natives 
of Indiana. In his native state he lived until 
he was twenty years old and received a common- 
school education, in 1878, on setting out in life 
for himself, he went to Kansas and worked on 
a farm for a year, then returned to Missouri, and, 
after a residence near his former home for two 
years, removed to Custer county, Neb., where 
he was engaged in farming until 1894. In that 
year he made his advent in Wyoming, and, lo- 
cating on the farm which has since been his 
home, he started a cumulative farming and stock- 
growing enterprise which he is still conducting. 
His beautiful farm of 160 acres is situated two 
miles northeast of Burlington, and there he has 
a fine herd of cattle and a drove of excellent high- 
grade horses. He is esteemed as one of the 
far-seeing and progressive men in the stock in- 
dustry, and a useful citizen who supports with 
ardor every good undertaking for the benefit 
of the community in which he lives. In frater- 
nal relations he is connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America. His first marriage oc- 
curred in Missouri in 1881, when he was united 
with Miss Lucinda Gradwell. The fruit of 
their union was two children, Emma and 
George, both living. In 1893 he married a sec- 
ond time in Missouri, his choice on this occasion 
being Miss Laura Sarver, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and born in Pittsburg. Thev have four 
children, Cassius C, Gail H., Elmo J. and Fran- 
ces R., who grace and enliven the home. 

WILLIAM M. SUMMERS. 

No one is more worthy of determinate repre- 
sentation in this record of progressive men of 
Wyoming as an example of sturdy character 
than is this sterling citizen of Lone Tree, Uinta 
county, Wyoming. His connection with life 
on the plains dates back to a period of forty 
years ago and his childhood days were con- 
nected with the pioneer existence of his father's 
family in various new countries of the Missis- 
sippi Valley. Mr. Summers was born in Wash- 
ington county. Mo., on December 10, 1843, an ^ 



his parents, Samuel R. and Ginsey J. (Isgrig) 
Summers, were natives of Pennsylvania, of 
Dutch lineage on the maternal side, while the 
lather descended from Irish and French ances- 
tors. His paternal forebears were among the 
early pioneers of Kentucky, accompanied Dan- 
iel Boone in his emigration thither, and Mr. 
Summers well remembers the intense interest 
he took as a child in listening to the thrilling 
adventures they early experienced in the Dark 
and Bloody Ground and of their being forced to 
uietly travel at night and keep concealed dur- 
ing the day to avoid the tomahawks of the mer- 
ciless savages. His father was a son of Sam- 
uel Summers and he visited St. Louis when it 
was but a small aggregation of unpretentious 
houses. He was a man of character, serving 
as sheriff of Washington county for many 
years, in that connection selling two white men 
at public auction, because they would not sup- 
port their families, one of them bringing $250 
for a year's service and the other $150 for the 
same length of time. He was later marshal of 
Brownsville, Neb., to which state he removed 
with his family in 1854, locating in Nemaha 
county, where their useful lives ultimately 
ceased their activities. W. M. Summers was 
one of a family of fourteen children, and gath- 
ered the elements of an education from the 
primitive schools of Missouri and Nebraska 
until he was eighteen, when he became a per- 
sonal factor in the business life of the west by 
engaging in 1856 in freighting operations from 
Brownsville, Neb., to Denver, Colo. In i"863 
he went to Montana and followed mining in its 
new camps for three years, acquiring enough 
wealth to finely establish himself in the freight- 
ing business with an excellent outfit. This hard 
and exhausting but profitable industry he pur- 
sued until 1868, being prospered in his under- 
takings, but passing through some thrilling ex- 
periences. In 1868 he was employed by the 
Union Pacific Railroad, and thereafter, until 
1872, he was in the employ of the U. S. govern- 
ment, conducting freighting outfits and in peril- 
ous scouting, in which connection his life was 
often in great peril. On one occasion, in T870, 






^w^^^tf 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



643 



in the Sweetwater country, he had a fight with 
seven hostile Sioux who had stolen twelve 
mules. This was the day on which Lieutenant 
StanbaUgh was killed. In the engagement, de- 
spite the great odds against him, Mr. Summers 
was successful, killing three of the 'Indians and 
driving the others away. He has frequently 
passed days without eating, from lack of food, 
and he has participated in several notable bat- 
tles with Indian adversaries, once, in 1868, hav- 
ing a running fight that lasted the whole day. 
He had as many as 164 mules engaged at one 
time in his freighting outfits and one night he 
came very near losing all by marauding In- 
dians. In 1872 Mr. Summers came to Fort 
Bridger and from this place as headquarters 
did much work for the U. S. government, and 
was the trusted guide of the U. S. geological 
surveying party in its researches in the Yellow- 
stone Park region in 1872 and 1873. He was the 
' pioneer settler of Lone Tree, taking up his resi- 
dence and claim here in 1873. There was a 
single cottonwood tree standing close to the 
present site of his house and Mr. Summers gave 
the place the name of Lone Tree, and, when 
in President Cleveland's first administration he 
secured the establishment of a postoffice, he 
suggested this name and it was adopted by the 
postoffice department. Mrs. Summers was com- 
missioned as the first postmaster and was the 
incumbent of the office for nearly five years. 
Mr. Summers has been much in public life. He 
was a member of the territorial legislature from 
Uinta county in the Eighth and Ninth Terri- 
torial Assemblies, took a conspicuous part in 
connection with the "maverick" bill and was 
also very energetic in securing proper legisla- 
tion in the interests of schools and of irrigation. 
In many ways his legislative action tended 
largely to the benefit of the people and he also 
gave able assistance toward securing the loca- 
tion of the State Insane Asylum at Evanston. 
He is a Democrat in politics, has been a justice 
of the peace and a school trustee of the Lone 
Tree district for a number of years, and he 
joined the Odd Fellows years ago. His home 
is one of the model places of western Wyoming 



and he now owns two ranches on' Henry's Fork, 
aggregating 1,280 acres, all under fence, to- 
gether with valuable realty in Evanston, con- 
sisting of a large brick residence, a large frame 
dwelling and a commodious barn, 30x90 feet in 
size. In addition to his home ranches he con- 
trols an area of leased land, which he uses as 
range in his extensive stock operations, that 
have attained magnificent proportions, he own- 
ing large herds of finely-graded Hereford cat- 
tle and excellent horses. • Mr. Summers was 
married at Evanston, Wyo., in December, 1873, 
with Miss Annie Hoops, a daughter of John 
and Mary A. (Baldwin) Hoops, natives of Illi- 
nois and Missouri, her own birth occurring in 
Provo, Utah. They have three children, Lola 
May, wife of "Gus" Custer of Park City, Utah; 
Sterling, married with Kittie Legert, and living 
at Lone Tree ; Grover, a student of the Evans- 
ton high school in the class of 1903. 

JOSEPH LYTLE. 

It has been very truthfully said of an emin- 
ent man of the olden time that he did things 
worthy to be written about, that he wrote things 
worthy to be read, that he, by his life, contributed 
to the benefit of the people and to the happiness 
of mankind. Any man on whom this transcen- 
dent eulogy may be truthfully pronounced, in 
even a modified degree, is entitled to the profound 
gratitude of his fellows, and, nowhere in the ex- 
tended expanse of the commonwealth of Wyo- 
ming, can there be found an individual to whom 
this statement will apply in greater degree than 
to the gentleman whose name heads this brief 
review, for there is not a line of activity, mental, 
moral or industrial, existing in all of the region 
of his residence, in which his energetic nature 
has not made a beneficial impression, or which 
has failed to receive the potent stimulus of his 
aid and influence. Business, political, moral, in- 
tellectual, society and social endeavors, all, have 
been profited by his forceful service, while the 
progressive civilization of the rapidly expand- 
ing section of Wyoming, where is located the 
seat of his fruitful accomplishments, has been 



644 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



largely benefited by his wise counsel and sympa- 
thy, in both municipal and county affairs. The 
suggestive ideas that have emanated from his 
fertile brain, expressed both in conversation and 
in print, have been not only sought and appre- 
ciated, but have ever proved a pregnant source 
of help. While his forceful activity in these di- 
rections would of themselves entitle him to dis- 
tinctive representation in this volume, it has 
been his deep sympathy with all forms of suffer- 
ing, and his sincere and abiding interest in his 
fellow men, his desire for the general and indi- 
vidual uplift of the community which has espec- 
ially endeared him to all. He has ever rejoiced 
in the good fortune and happiness of others, and 
no man has ever been more ready to aid in tan- 
gible evidences of sympathy in times of distress 
or, in accordance with his means, more liberal in 
his benefactions. Joseph Lytle was born in Mis- 
souri on July 22, 1870, being the second son of 
Henry and Virginia D. Lytle. The family re- 
moved to Kansas in 1874 and to the Black Hills 
ten years later, arriving at Sundance, Wyo., on 
June 3, 1884. Young Lytle attended the coun- 
try and city schools, and at the age of sixteen 
years successfully passed the examination for a 
teacher's certificate. Being of poor parentage, 
he worked for wages during the summer months 
and in this way, not only contributed to the sus- 
tenance of the large family of which he was 
a member, but also managed to earn sufficient 
funds to keep himself in school. Like most early 
settlers on the frontier, young Lytle was sub- 
jected to privations which severely tested his 
mettle, and which showed him to be a boy of 
indomitable courage. In early life his paramount 
desire was education, and many a day he walked 
without overshoes to and from school, a distance 
of two and one-half miles, through snow two 
feet deep, when the mercury hovered between 
thirty and forty degrees below zero. In April, 
1 89 1, he began work in the mechanical depart- 
ment of the office of the Sundance Gazette, and, 
two years later, was united in marriage to Bertha 
Aree, the younger daughter of Attorney and 
Mrs. Melvin Nichols. In January, 1895, he es- 



tablished at Sundance the Crook County Moni- 
tor, a weekly newspaper, which he has personally 
edited and managed since its initial number was 
issued. In the early history of the Monitor, Mrs. 
Lytle was connected with its publication, being 
herself a practical printer, and she was instru- 
mental in tiding the paper over the adversities 
incident to its early existence. The Monitor has 
been the official newspaper of Crook county from 
the time of its establishment, being one of the 
most profitable business enterprises in Sundance. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lytle are the parents of one 'son 
and three daughters, Marvin, Blanche, Ruth and 
Mae, who add to the attractions of the pleas- 
ant home by their winsome grace. 

ANDREW P. BUG AS. 

The one whom we now have pleasure in 
placing before the readers of this work by a 
short review of his instructive and useful career, 
and whose name stands at the commencement of 
this writing, is Andrew Paul Bugas, a native of 
Austria, in Europe, in which country many gener- 
ations of his forefathers have been born, have 
labored usefully in various fields of intellectual, 
military and industrial activity aiid passed away 
to a long, dreamless sleep under the grasses of 
the country or in the ancient cemeteries of the 
cities and towns, which, walled or unwalled, thick- 
ly dot the surface of that rich and fertile state. 
His birth occurred in 1867, his parents being 
John and Anna (Rose) Bugas. The father, born 
in 1833, followed agriculture in some of its de- 
partments all of his very active life, until 1878 in 
Austria, later in Schuylkill county, Pa., until 
the failing health of his esteemed wife caused his 
return to Austria, where occurred his death on 
February 22, 1902. He was a resident of the 
United States for twenty years of useful activity, 
proving himself an intelligent student of the pol- 
icies of the young republic of America, a good 
citizen, a generous lover of his kind and a man 
devoted to his home and its inmates. John Bu- 
gas was a son of Lieut. Paul Bugas. a gallant 
officer of the Austrian armv, and his wife, Mary 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



645 



Bugas. Lieutenant Bugas died In the early fif- 
ties, having accomplished sixty years of life, 
standing high in the military circles of the em- 
pire by reason of his learning, his military prow- 
ess and his unquestioned bravery. The mother 
of Andrew P. Bugas was a daughter of John 
and Anna (Ficquot) Rose, Austrians by birth 
and a lifetime residence. At the age of sixty-five 
years she is now maintaining her home in the 
land of her son's birth, where she was herself 
born, educated and married, and where her lat- 
er life is passing in labors tending to the eleva- 
tion of the home life and the amelioration of the 
condition of those in lower circles of life than 
hers. Andrew Paul Bugas, the son of these 
worthy parents, crossed the Atlantic in the fam- 
ilv emigration from Austria when he was seven- 
teen years old, from that time until 1885 being 
occupied in diligent industry in the state of Penn- 
sjdvania, acquiring there a facility in the English 
language and familiarizing himself with the man- 
ner and methods of conducting business opera- 
tions in this rapid land of the West, where Old 
World conditions nor methods obtain to any ex- 
tent, thence coming to Rock Springs, AVyoming, 
and engaging first in railroad work and, later, 
for about twelve years being one of the great 
army of miners here assembled. Thirsting for an 
education of more than a common order, at va- 
rious times during his mining life, he attended 
the night schools established for such aspiring 
individuals as himself, later going to Fort Scott, 
Kan., and availing himself of the educational ben- 
efits of the State Normal School there located. 
He had carefully husbanded his earnings, deposit- 
ing them in a bank as available resources to de- 
fray the expenses of his further education. The 
panic of 1893 swept the bank out of existence, 
his money earned by so much labor was lost to 
him and his further school attendance was thus 
prevented. Stopping not to mourn over the un- 
attainable, Mr. Bugas returned to mining, at 
which he labored until 1898, when, having ac- 
cumulated a small, but valuable, capital, in as- 
sociation with two partners, he engaged in trade 
in the several branches of grocery, bakery and 
saloon business. After two vears of this associa- 



tion in trade, he formed a partnership with M. 
Riddle in a saloon which they have conducted 
with a large patronage from that time in their 
present location. From his first life in America 
Mr. Bugas has been in political harmony with 
the Republican party in both general and local 
politics, and by his wise counsels and strong 
personal endeavors, he has been a source of 
strength to his party in the county, which he 
now ably represents in the State Legislature, to 
which he was elected in the last election previous 
to this writing. Never having assumed matri- 
monial relations, Mr. Bugas finds some compen- 
sation for this loss in the social circles of the 
following fraternal organizations, in which he 
holds memberships : The Knights of Pythias, 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Eagles, 
and the National Slavonic Society of the United 
States. 

WILLIAM R. DAVIS. 

Almost an insignificant speck on the map of 
the world, that little portion of Great Britain, 
from time immemorial holding its racial integrity 
and name as the land of Wales, has exercised 
a weight}'- and most potent influence upon the 
life of the great empire of which it is a most val- 
uable constituent part. Its people ever have been 
active and alert in the maintenance of their lib- 
erties, the diminutive kingdom never losing its 
autonomy until the vastly superior number of its 
opponents had well nigh exterminated its brave 
sons. From early days the Welsh people have 
been leaders in the realms of iron and tin manu- 
facture, employing, in its mines of these metals 
and of coal, the finest product of its citizenship 
and manhood. A marked characteristic of this 
country and one source of its wonderful influ- 
ence upon other people, an influence entirely out 
of proportion to its diminutive size, is the custom 
of giving its boys the advantage in life of a full, 
technical knowledge of some good trade, by 
which, and through which, they may not only 
maintain and retain their financial independence, 
but largely add to the wealth of any community 
in which thev may establish their homes. Their 



6 4 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



path in life may not be marked by marble mile- 
stones or wind along the dizzy heights of- fame's 
perilous eminences, the mighty ones of earth may 
not stand in awe of them, or even note their ex- 
istence, but, in a quiet, productive, but truly un- 
ostentatious manner, they go forth into the world 
and become most valuable citizens, adding to the 
wealth, the happiness and the security of the 
land they live in. The truth of this statement is 
exemplified every day and has been exemplified 
in every year in Wyoming since the pioneer fron- 
tiersman first wakened its echoes to the songs of 
civilization. In this review we propose to give 
a brief synopsis of the salient events in the an- 
cestry and life of one of the most highly respected 
of the quiet workers of Rock Springs, who for 
many years has been a producer and not a con- 
sumer of the labor of others, who has for thirty 
years walked the streets of his resident cities of 
this' state, leading such a life and doing such 
deeds that the tongue of slander or scandal has 
never dared to roll his name as a sweet morsel 
in its evil course and causing all good citizens 
to consider him as a man void of offense toward 
God and man. We allude to William R. Davis, 
who was born in 1844 i n the southern part of 
Wales, as a son of the marriage of Joseph and 
Elizabeth Davis. The ancestral lines of both 
parents for centuries had been riveted to the 
mountains of Wales, where the families had 
ever been conspicuous in love of liberty and in 
the useful activities with which they were con- 
nected. Joseph long lived on his native soil, la- 
boring steadily at his trade of carpentry until 
the year of his death, 1885, when death took him 
before he had attained sixty years of life. He 
long survived his wife, who died not long after 
the birth of her son, William. Until he was six- 
teen years of age, William R. Davis remained in 
his native land, then was called across the At- 
lantic by the siren voice of the mighty western 
continent, yet scarcely awake to the greatness 
and splendor of its existence. Amply equipped 
for the competitive struggle and life of a new 
existence in a land of strangers by a thorough 
knowledge of blacksmithing and ironworking, 
after his landing in New York in 1867, Mr. Da- 



vis followed blacksmithing in Trumbull county, 
Ohio, for five years, in Brazil, Ind., for fifteen 
months, in 1873 coming to Rock Springs and 
becoming identified and connected with its mam- 
moth coal industry for a few months, and then, 
for a brief period of time, again, at Cheyenne, 
working at his trade, thence returning to Rock 
Springs, and, from that time to the present, be- 
ing employed as a blacksmith by the Union Pa- 
cific Railroad. A quiet gentleman, the rough 
elements of society have no attractions for him, 
but in the teachings and the exemplifications of 
the work of the local lodge of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, he finds instruction and 
enjoyment. In 1872 occurred the marriage cere- 
monies of Mr. Davis and Miss Sarah Thomas, 
also a native of the south of Wales, being a 
daughter of Thomas and Anna (Lewis) Thomas, 
also natives of Wales. After a happy wedded 
life of thirteen years, Mrs. Davis, who was a 
lady of deep religious life and experiences, who 
also greatly enjoyed to be employed in the work 
of making her home attractive and in adding to 
the comforts of its inmates, was called to a high- 
er life in 1885, at the age of forty years, being 
the mother of the following named children : 
Thomas, Joseph, Elizabeth, Anna, Edward and 
Morgan, now living; William, Rachel and an 
infant child being with the mother on the other 
side of the dark death river. 

HON. FRANK WHEELER MONDELL. 

Our great mother Nature flings her bounties 
with lavish and seemingly capricious hand before 
her children, and then apparently abandons her 
benefactions, leaving them to any fate that may 
befall them. But in the eye of a true discern- 
ment she bears them ever in her faithful memory, 
and, when the proper moment comes, brings forth 
the powers to develop them and put them in 
circulation, and provides the required leaders 
for those productive forces. In what is now 
the new, but growing and progressive, state of 
Wyoming she laid away ages ago a mighty 
wealth of mineral resources and favored it with 
a surrounding empire of agricultural and com- 




Ej-Q by H=nr 







H ' /yuyf\ 




PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



647 



mercial possibilities. And when the hour was 
ripe, she sent an industrial army here to occupy 
and subdue the untamed domain and develop, 
people and possess it. Among the great captains 
of this army, of later if not of the earliest date, 
is Hon. Frank Wheeler Mondell, a native of St. 
Louis, Missouri, where he was born on Novem- 
ber 5, i860, who has been since 1887 a useful 
citizen and a leader of thought and industrial 
activity in Wyoming, as well as of development, 
Mr. Mondell's father became one of the verv 
early settlers at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and 
removed from there to St. Louis with his family 
in 1858. During the Civil War he was a cap- 
tain in the First Missouri Volunteers and saw 
much active and arduous service in the South- 
west. He was a man of great natural ability, 
and noted for his courage and unusual physical 
strength. The mother before her marriage was 
Miss Nancy Gould, of Cold Springs, Wisconsin. 
She was a woman of earnest Christian faith and 
great amiability and sweetness of character. In 
1864 she died, and Mr. Mondell was doubly- 
orphaned by the death of his father, a year and 
a half later. When the family was thus broken 
up, the other children, two girls and three boys, 
remained in St. Louis, while Frank was taken 
by his stepmother to her relatives near Monona, 
Iowa. With them he lived until her death, about 
two years later, and then went to make his home 
with the family of a Congregational minister 
named Upton, on his homestead in Dickinson 
county, Iowa, remaining there until 1878, and 
while Mr. Upton was engaged in preaching in 
the neighborhood the youth was developing the 
homestead and carrying on the farming oper- 
ations. He attended school in St. Louis a short 
time before leaving that city, and while living 
with his stepmother's relatives near Monona 
had the advantage of two or three terms' school- 
ing. There were no schools in the vicinity of 
the Upton homestead in Dickinson county, un- 
til several years after he went there, but by 
judicious reading and study, under the superin- 
tendence of Mr. Upton, he acquired a fund of 
useful information, and by his labors on the 
farm and the hunting and trapping incident to 



the life of the frontier, he developed firmness of 
fiber and flexibility of function, resourcefulness 
and self-reliance, and armed with these and an 
indomitable spirit, being moreover, discouraged 
with farm life by the continued ravages of grass- 
hoppers and a series of droughts, he dared fate 
into the lists by going to Chicago in 1878 on 
a cattle train to make his own way in the world, 
beginning the battle of life for himself with less 
than two dollars as the sum of his worldly wealth. 
He remained in the great city nearly two years, 
employed in various capacities in mercantile es- 
tablishments, but, dissatisfied with the outlook, 
he came west to Denver in 1880. There he ac- 
cepted the first opportunity for employment that 
offered, engaging as teamster for a firm doing 
construction work and rapidly rising within a 
few active months to the position of manager. 
This firm early going out of business, he ob- 
tained employment with one engaged in railroad 
building in the mountains of Colorado, beginning 
as commissary clerk and "stable boss" in one of 
their camps and continuing in their employment 
as foreman, manager, etc., until the autumn of 
1887, when he came to northeastern Wyoming, 
with a view of prospecting for and developing 
coal properties. Thus on September 12, 1887, 
Mr. Mondell's useful life in this state began. 
He built his cabin about four miles northwest of 
where Newcastle stands, and began the develop- 
ment work which resulted in the opening of the 
Cambria mines, the establishment of the town 
of Newcastle, the extension of the Burlington & 
Missouri Railroad to that point and through 
northeast Wyoming, and the quickening and ex- 
pansion of every element of industrial, commer- 
cial, political and social progress in that sec- 
tion of the country. The winter of 1887-8 was 
spent in prospecting and late in 1888 the Cam- 
bria coal field was definitely located ; then fol- 
lowed, under Mr. Mondell's inspiration and 
management, the developing of the mines, the 
location of the town and the opening of the oil 
resources of the region. At the first city election 
in Newcastle in 1889 he was elected mayor of 
the town and served four successive terms. In 
1890 he was elected state senator to represent 



648 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Crook county, which then included what is now 
Weston county, in the First State Legislature, and 
in the Second Legislative Assembly was elected 
•president of the senate, being at the time the 
youngest member of the body save one. In 1894 
he declined the nomination of his party for 
governor of the state, but accepted that for 
representative in the Federal, Congress and was 
triumphantly elected. Two years later the silver 
wave lost him his seat, he being the only Repub- 
lican member of the- Fifty-fourth Congress from 
the Inter-Mountain states who ran as a straight 
Republican in the election of 1896 and supported 
McKinley for President. In the fall of 1897 he 
was appointed assistant commissioner of the gen- 
eral land office at Washington and served with 
credit until March 3, 1899, resigning on that 
date to resume his place as a member of the U. S. 
House of Representatives from his state, having 
been elected in the preceding fall by a large ma- 
jority. He was reelected to the Fifty-seventh 
and Fifty-eighth Congresses, receiving in the 
last contest the distinctive majority of 6,916. 
Mr. M on dell's record in Congress has ever been 
highly creditable to himself and very serviceable 
to the people of his state and the whole North- 
west. He received early recognition as a very 
well-posted man, particularly with reference to 
the public lands and other western matters, and 
as an earnest and efficient member and a logical 
and forceful speaker. His legislative zeal and 
acumen have been crystallized in a number of 
laws of great value to the West, his most notable 
work in this respect, perhaps, having been his 
championship and management of the national 
irrigation law which was approved by President 
Roosevelt on June 17, 1902, and is the most im- 
portant legislation for the West that has been 
enacted since the homestead law. At every stage 
of this great legislative creation, from its incep- 
tion to its final approval by the President, Mr. 
Mondell's close personal attention was unremit- 
ting and most potential for good. He reported 
the bill to the house from the committee on irri- 
gation, had charge of it during the debate and 
its passage through the house, defended its pro- 
visions in a logical, forceful and convincing 



speech, in opening the debate, and Avith great 
energy and astuteness thereafter from time to 
time, watching over it with a sleepless vigilance 
until its approval was formally reported from 
the Executive Mansion. On May 13, 1899, Mr. 
Mondell was united in marriage with Miss Ida 
Harris, a daughter of Dr. William Harris, of 
Laramie, and has one child, his daughter, Doro- 
thy, born March 27, 1900. Doctor Harris is one 
of the most substantial and influential citizens of 
the state. His professional labors have been 
arduous and serviceable beyond the common ex- 
perience, his citizenship has been strong and 
stimulating, and his activity in behalf of every 
good enterprise for the advancement of the com- 
munity has been helpful and wise to a marked 
degree. Mr. and Mrs. Mondel are social factors 
of prominence and influence both in Wyoming 
and in Washington. Their home at each place 
is a center of refined and gracious hospitality. 

ALEXANDER T. CHALICE. 

A silver thread of harmony and law runs 
through the entire mass of nature, inert and sen- 
tient. The attraction of the sun holds all of the 
planets and their revolving satellites in unerring 
courses, while equally powerful and effective is 
the law of mentality and the power of mind over 
matter. Not less pronounced nor less savoring 
of energy is the effect of matter upon mind. As 
an illustration, note the effect of mountain scen- 
ery upon humanity. This affects, not only indi- 
viduals, but communities and peoples. Dwellers 
in mountainous countries appear to draw from 
the lonely grandeur and firmness of these eleva- 
tions their characteristics, manifesting to the 
other nations of the earth a love of liberty 
stronger than that of life, a firmness akin to that 
of the granite pinnacles towering above them, an 
earnestness and faithfulness unequaled by that 
of the sentinel peaks that have watched the 
courses of the sun and stars from the dawn of 
creation. The mountains have preserved and 
perpetuated the republic of Switzerland. The 
mountains are responsible for the rugged virtue 
of the Scots. In the frugality, industry, honesty 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



649 



and patriotism, which have ever been the lead- 
ing traits of this eminently sagacious, wise and 
also eminently practical and successful people, is 
reflected the influence of Ben Nevis, the Gram- 
pian Hills and the thousand other lone and ma- 
jestic peaks that rear their forms heavenward, 
piercing the dense mist-clouds that hover on their 
sides. The Scotch mountains have sent thou- 
sands of their typical sons to impress their at- 
tributes upon the new home of freedom on the 
western side of the Atlantic, and they have done, 
and are doing, their work well in all parts of this 
great republic. The cities of- the East own their 
strength and influence, the Ohio, Mississippi and 
Missouri valleys have felt their potent, vivifying 
agency, while the plains and mountains of the 
Farther West, as well as the Pacific coast, re- 
spond to the sympathetic touch of a people so 
akin to their own rugged, energetic and powerful 
conditions. Everywhere the Scotchman is in 
evidence. Everywhere he is doing something, 
occupying public stations most capably, build- 
ing railroads and new centers of industrial activ- 
ity, delving in the bosom of Mother Earth for her 
hidden treasures. One of these sons of Scotland, 
who has long been connected with the latter de- 
partment of Wyoming's industries, is Alexander 
T. Chalice, of Rock Springs, Sweetwater county, 
who for long years has given of his industry, his 
intelligence and his ability to mining and other 
enterprises, and stands to-day a representative 
and useful citizen of the state of his adoption 
and the city of his residence. He was born in 
Scotland in 1856, a son of John and Charlotte A. 
(Thompson) Chalice, whose ancestors from the 
early dawn of time trod the rough land of his 
nativity, active factors in its feuds, its wars and 
its peaceful pursuits. In the western part of 
Scotland the ancestral home was situated. Here 
the father was born, a son of an older John, who 
became a believer in the new faith of the Latter 
Day Saints, that changed his inherited Pres- 
byterian belief into new channels of religious 
thought and wafted him across the broad At- 
lantic to Illinois, whence, after several years of 
agricultural life, he crossed the wide western 
plains on the long emigrant trail, locating for 



his last days in Utah, where he was a diligent 
farmer until his death. His wife, Ann, whose 
mind could not be drawn into the new channel 
of religion, remained i'n Scotland until her death. 
The father of Alexander brought his family to 
America under the same mystic influence that 
caused the emigration of his father, from 1868 
to 1875 conducting agriculture in Utah, then, at 
Rock Springs, Wyo., devoting ten years of most 
diligent application to labor, thereafter return- 
ing to the land of his birth, where he died in 1887, 
aged sixty-nine years. A quiet, home-loving 
man, aside from his religious books, he was an 
appreciative reader of scientific and industrial 
works. Ever a man of piety, he was one of the 
best of citizens. His wife, Charlotte, born in 
Scotland, was early instructed and well-grounded 
by her mother, Margaret, in the tenets of the 
Presbyterian faith, to which she adhered faith- 
fully through life, becoming the faithful mother 
of twelve children and dying at Rock Springs 
in 1885, at the age of seventy-one years. Her 
son, Alexander, came in childhood to Utah with 
his parents, and, on their little farm in that new 
land, early became familiar with work and the 
responsibilities of life, at an early age becoming 
connected with mining operations at Eureka, 
Utah, in the spring of 1873 migrating thence to 
Rock Springs and there following mining until 
1883. For the next six years he was a popular 
saloon proprietor, in 1889 turning his attention 
to the livery business, in which he is still occu- 
pied. Always a man of the people, he has ever 
been a consistent Democrat in political faith, and, 
in 1886, he was elected as a member of the terri- 
torial Legislature. In 1889 occurred his mar- 
riage with Miss Anna Wooley, whose father, 
James, was a native of England, and her mother, 
Sarah, of Canada, where Mrs. Chalice herself 
was born. Her parents came from their Cana- 
dian home to Greeley, Colo., where they located 
their permanent residence. A daughter, Irene, 
and a son, George H., round out and complete 
the Chalice homestead circle, Mr. Chalice being 
also a member of the following fraternal soci- 
eties : Modern Woodmen of America, Ancient 
Order of United Workmen and Royal Neighbors.. 



650 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



DARWIN D. WALLACE. 

Among the successful stockmen of Laramie 
county, Wyoming, is the subject of this review, 
Darwin D. Wallace. Trained to mercantile pur- 
suits, he was compelled by failing health to en- 
gage in the more healthful occupations of ranch- 
ing and stockraising, and he has met with a most 
gratifying success in his new field of endeavor. 
He is a native of the Empire state, born in St. 
Lawrence county, on October 28, 1859, being the 
son of William D. and Charlotte E. (Lewis) 
Wallace, both natives of New York. His patern- 
al grandfather was a native of Scotland, who 
came to America in early life, settling first in 
New Hampshire, but afterwards removing to the 
state of New York, where he engaged in farm- 
ing in St. Lawrence county, in which county 
his son, William D., also followed the same occu- 
pation until his death, which occurred there on 
June 28, 1 901. The mother's death occurred in 
March, 1881, and she awaits the resurrection in 
the pleasant village cemetery, resting by the side 
of her husband. The subject of this sketch grew 
to man's estate in St. Lawrence county, and _ 
there received his early education in the public 
schools. Subsequently, he attended the academy 
at Watertown, N. Y., and, upon completing his 
course of study at that institution, entered a mili- 
tary academv at Buffalo, that state, where he re- 
mained in close study for two years. In 1877, 
upon the completion of his education, desiring to 
engage in mercantile pursuits, and believing that 
the opportunities in the states farther west were 
greater than in his native state, he left his patern- 
al home and came to Iowa. Here he established 
himself in the city of Mechanicsville, where he 
opened a merchandising establishment, which he 
conducted successfully for about five years. In 
1882 he disposed of his business and property in 
Mechanicsville, and removed his residence to the 
city of Chicago, where he became a traveling 
salesman of the large wholesale drug house of 
H. E. Bucklen & Co. He remained with this 
concern about one year and then came to the city 
of Cheyenne, Wyo. Here he became connected 
with the wholesale grocery house of G. A. Draper, 
and remained in his employ until 1884, when he 



accepted a responsible position at Camp Carlin 
in the employ of the U. S. government, in which 
he continued until 1887. He then resigned this 
position, and entered the employ of E. S. John- 
ston & Co., grocers, as a salesman, remaining 
with that firm five years. He then withdrew from 
that business for the purpose of engaging in 
business for himself, and in 1892 he came to the 
site of the city of Wheatland. He was one of 
the earliest of the pioneers of that section, there 
being then but three houses in Wheatland. -He 
at once entered upon the hotel business in that 
new place, putting up a suitable building, which 
he named the Globe Hotel. He conducted a suc- 
cessful and popular hotel business for three years, 
and his progressive spirit and public enterprise 
did much to build up Wheatland and the sur- 
rounding country. In 1895, his failing health 
warned him that he must engage in out-of-door 
pursuits, to restore his strength and health, which 
had been seriously endangered by his close at- 
tention to business. He therefore sold his hotel 
property and purchased the ranch which he now 
occupies, situated about four miles south of the 
city of Wheatland. Here he has a fine place, 
well fenced and improved, with a modern brick 
cottage residence, and is successfully engaged in 
the raising of horses and cattle. He also does 
considerable business in the buying and selling 
of cattle and horses, and is looked upon as one 
of the substantial business men of the county. 
On March 25, 1884, Mr. Wallace was united in 
marriage, at Mechanicsville, Iowa, with Miss Car- 
rie L. Park, a native of Iowa and a daughter of 
George and Margarita (Brunton) Park, natives 
of Indiana. The parents of Mrs. Wallace emi- 
grated from their native state to Iowa in the early 
fifties, and settled in the city of Mechanicsville. 
where the father was engaged in the dual busi- 
ness of contracting and building until his death, 
which occurred in 1870. He was buried at Me- 
chanicsville, where his widow is now living. To 
their union one child was born. Hazel, who died 
on May 20, 1901, at the age of eleven years, and 
was buried in Wheatland. Fraternally. Mr. Wal- 
lace is affiliated with the order of the Woodmen 
of the World at Wheatland, Wyo. Politically, 
he is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



651 



and while he has never sought or desired political 
preferment, he takes an active interest in all 
matters calculated to promote the public welfare. 
He is a man of education and refinement, whose 
sterling qualities of character have won for him 
a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens, 
and whose business ability, thrift and public spirit 
have given him a foremost place in the ranks of 
successful business men. 

j 
MRS. JENNIE WALLACE. 

The subject of this sketch is the widow of 
Otis Wallace, who was long a prominent ranch 
and stockman, residing about twenty-five miles 
southeast of Laramie, Wyoming, where Mrs. 
Wallace now resides, engaged in conducting a 
successful and prosperous stock business. Otis 
Wallace was a native of Nova Scotia, where he 
was born in 1853, being the son of Thomas and 
Elizabeth (Bennett) Wallace, both natives of 
Nova Scotia, where he grew to manhood and 
received his early education. When he had ar- 
rived at the age of nineteen years, he made the 
long journey across the continent from the home 
of his youth in Nova Scotia to Box Elder, Colo., 
where he remained for a short time, and then 
came to Dale Creek, Wyo., where he purchased 
a ranch, on which he engaged in the business of 
raising cattle. In 1885 he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Jennie Williams, purchased the 
ranch now occupied by the widow, and there con- 
tinued in the successful management of his ex- 
panding cattle business. In 1886 he was taken 
suddenly ill of a disease from which' he died soon 
after, leaving the fine ranch property to the wid- 
ow, Mrs. Jennie Wallace. She also is a native 
of Nova Scotia, where she was born in 1855, 
the daughter of Patrick and Mary Ann Williams. 
The father was also a native of Nova Scotia, 
born in 1812. He resided in his native country, 
• engaged in farming up to the time of his de- 
cease, which occurred in 1891, and lies buried in 
Nova Scotia. He was the son of John and Fan- 
nie (Hays) Williams, the former a native of Ire- 
land, and the latter born in the United States. 
The mother of Mrs. Wallace was a native of 



Nova Scotia, born in 1819. She was married in 
1837, passed away from earth in 1893, and was 
buried in her native country. She was the daugh- 
ter of John and Mary (Fenton) . Wallace, the 
former a native of Scotland and the ! atter of 
London, England. She was a remarkable wo- 
man and the mother of thirteen children, of whom 
ten are now living, Mrs. Wallace being her ninth 
child. Mr. Wallace was an active and prominent 
member of the Republican party, and took a lead- 
ing part in public affairs. Had he survived, his 
conspicuous ability would have given him a prom- 
inent place both in the business and political life 
of the community where he maintained his home. 
His untimely death deprived the state of a val- 
ued citizen, and the business world of one who 
would have made his mark as a successful man- 
ager of large business enterprises. The fine prop- 
erty which he left has been largely added to by 
his widow since his decease, and she has proved 
herself a competent and able business woman. 
She enjoys the respect and esteem of a large 
circle of friends and acquaintances, beingone of 
the substantial property owners of her section. 

JOHN WALTERS. 

Among the developing, producing, civilizing 
elements of the great American people none is 
entitled to more credit, or has been of more sub- 
stantial service than the thrifty and all-subduing 
German. He is one of those great toilers in any 
field of labor, whose energy never flags, whose 
patience never falters, whose courage never quails 
and whose industry never tires. With a hand, 
kind as well as skillful, he smooths the rugged 
surface of the wilderness and persuades it to 
comeliness and fertility. If a mine is to be de- 
veloped, he digs and delves, with unwavering 
fidelity, until its treasures are laid, open to the 
light of day and made ready for the use and bene- 
fit of man. If a state is to be built, he aids in 
laying its foundations, broad and deep, on the 
common sense of human needs, erecting its super- 
structure along the lines of civil and moral ex- 
cellence. A scion of this sturdy race, John Wal- 
ters, of the Canyon Creek Prairie, of Weston 



652 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



county, Wyoming, has well exemplified in his 
career in this favored region, the sterling traits 
of his ancestry and the most desirable character- 
istics of good citizenship. He is a native of the 
Fatherland, where he was born on August 21, 
1852, and where his parents, John and Mary 
( Wurster) Walters, passed their childhood, youth 
and early maturity, and where their ancestors 
had lived from time immemorial. In 1854 the 
parents emigrated to America, and, locating in 
what is now Grant county, Wisconsin, in their 
day a wild western frontier, they entered into the 
spirit of conquest of the wilderness that was char- 
acteristic of the place and time, and gave their 
loyal- efforts to the development of the country. 
The father followed sawmilling, farming and 
millbuilding, industries much needed in a new 
region as yet almost untouched by the ax of the 
woodsman, continuing these occupations until his 
death, in 1892, and, in the section hallowed to 
her by his labors, his widow still resides. Mr. 
Walters remained with his parents on the home- 
stead until he reached his majority, attending the 
public schools of the neighborhood and assisting 
his father at the mills and on the farm. In 1873 
he started his own life work, going to Nebraska, 
and, after remaining in Beatrice two years, he 
removed to Kansas and took employment with 
the surveying outfit of the Burlington & Mis- 
souri Railroad. Three and one-half years he 
spent in this service, then followed freighting 
from Buffalo Gap to Newcastle and Cody until 
1885. In that year he took up land on Divide, 
near Newcastle, and remained on it one year, 
then, during the next five years time, he was in 
the employ of the Kilpatrick Brothers, teaming 
and freighting, in 1901 purchasing his present 
ranch on Canyon Creek Prairie, lying twenty- 
one miles from Newcastle, where he has since 
been engaged in farming and raising stock, be- 
ing recognized as one of the representative citi- 
zens and leading farmers. At Newcastle, Wvo.. 
on October 8, 1898, he was united in marriage 
with Miss Emma Bonte, a native of Illinois, of 
French ancestry. They have one child, a son, 
who bears his father's name, John. Mr. Walters 
is a Republican in politics and gives all matters 



of public local interest his careful and conscien- 
tious attention, rendering valued service in every 
enterprise for the improvement of the community 
and the development of its needs and resources. 

EDWARD E. VAN DYKE. 

Edward E. Van Dyke, now of Cody, Bighorn 
county, one of the most renowned hunters and 
guides in this part of the world, is a native of 
New York state, where he was born in 1863. 
He attended school until he was about sixteen 
years of age, then started on an extensive tour 
of the United States,' visiting every section and 
every state by easy stages, lingering here awhile 
, and working there a little as inclination or ne- 
cessity moved him, having a good time in his 
own way and in his own manner, gathering the 
fund of that extensive general information con- 
cerning men and places, which makes him so 
shrewd and successful in his chosen vocation, 
and so entertaining a raconteur. In 1877 he 
came to Wyoming, and, making Cook City his 
headquarters, he engaged actively in hunting 
and trapping, serving also as a guide for tour- 
ists and hunting parties as occasion gave op- 
portunity. In 1883, desiring to have a more set- 
tled occupation and a permanent home, he came 
to the Bighorn country, and, taking up land on 
which he now lives, he there began an industry 
in cattleraising, which he has since then conduct- 
ed and greatly increased in volume and value. 
His ranch is a good one, well located and well 
adapted to his purposes, and his herd is com- 
posed principally of well-bred cattle. He owns 
640 acres of land, which furnishes sufficient vari- 
ety in character and products, to make him a suc- 
cessful farmer, and provide both winter food 
and convenient headquarters for his operations, 
which have an extensive range for his stock. 
He still follows hunting and trapping, and, as 
had been noted, is renowned in these lines 
throughout -a wide extent of country. In fact, 
his fame as a hunter and guide is coextensive 
with the continent, he having piloted hunting 
parties through this region from all parts of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



653 



the country. Like the game he hunts, he is 
fleet of foot and strong of limb, quick and keen 
of perception, and, when in search of a quarry 
he never fails to make a good "find." He seems 
to be a woodsman by instinct, and his natural en- 
dowment in this respect has been well trained 
and developed by long and trying practice. He 
was married at Deer Lodge, Mont., to Miss Nel- 
lie Caple, a native of Michigan. They have one 
child, their daughter, Edna. 

WILLIAM COFFEY. 

A native of Ireland, where his birth occurred 
in 1849, William Coffey is descended paternally 
from French ancestry, his mother's people being 
of English lineage. William Coffey, his paternal 
grandfather, was born in France and there mar- 
ried Marcely Plunkett, or Plonquette, also a na- 
tive of that country. Shortly after' their mar- 
riage this couple removed to the Emerald Isle, 
wdiere they reared their family and passed the re- 
mainder of their lives, both dying a number of 
years ago in County Westmeath. Among their 
children was a son by the name of John, who 
was born in the above county and there died in 
1854. His wife, also a native of Westmeath, bore 
the maiden name of Rose Dotten. She was the 
daughter of Michael and Bridget (Reed) Dotten, 
of England, both going to Ireland when young 
and living the rest of their days in that country. 
Mrs. Coffey spent all of her life in County West- 
meath, dying there about nine years ago at the 
age of sixty-three. William Coffey, of this re- 
view, is the son of John and Rose Coffey, men- 
tioned above. He remained at home until he 
had attained the age of sixteen, when he left 
the parental roof and went to England, where, 
during the ensuing five or six years, he worked at 
coal mining. In 1882 he came to the United 
States, and, soon after landing, made his way 
to the coal regions of Pennsylvania, where he was 
engaged in mining for a period of five years. 
Hearing favorable reports from the mining dis- 
tricts of Wyoming, and being desirous of taking 
advantage of the opportunities which obtained 



there, he severed his connection with his Penn- 
sylvania employers in 1887 and came to Sweet- 
water county, this state, engaging in the mining 
business near Rock Springs soon after his ar- 
rival. He continued mining with encouraging 
success until 1897, when, by reason of injuries 
which materially affected his eyes, he was com- 
pelled to retire from active life and seek easier em- 
ployment than manual labor. Meanwhile, in 
1892, he was elected on the Democratic ticket as 
a justice of the peace for Rock Springs, and, on 
retiring from the mines, he devoted his entire 
attention to the duties of this office, which he has 
continued to hold by successive reelection to the 
present time. He has proved an able and exem- 
plary judicial officer, much important litigation 
having been brought to his court and properly 
adjudicated therein. His decisions are character- 
ized by a strict adherence to the statutes govern- 
ing the cases tried before him and few of them 
have suffered reversal at the hands of higher 
courts. He is well versed in the fundamental 
principles of jurisprudence, has a profound re- 
gard for justice, and endeavors always to be guid- 
ed by equity, as well as by the law, in rendering 
judgments. As a man, Mr. Coffey is genial and 
courteous in his social relations but very positive 
in his convictions of right. He is thoroughly de- 
voted to the interests of his city and county, as- 
sists to the extent of his ability all measures hav- 
ing for their object the material, moral and intel- 
lectual improvement of the community and stands 
high in the confidence and esteem of his fellow 
citizens. Fraternally, he holds membership with 
both the Knights of Pythias and Order of Eagles, 
being an active worker in each organization, and 
at different times he has held in them important 
official positions. Mr. Coffey is a married man, 
the father of- four children, whose names are 
Christopher, Rosanna, John and William. Mrs. 
Coffey, formerly Miss Catherine Langdon, is a 
native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Patrick 
and Bridget (Bilbo) Langdon, both parents hav- 
ing their birth in Ireland. The very felicitous 
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Coffey was solemnized 
in 1887. 



654 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



PATRICK J. QUEALY. 

The founder of the town' of Kemmerer, Wyo- 
ming, as well as one of its most prominent citi- 
zens and men of affairs, is a native of Ireland, 
himself and his ancestors, for over 200 years back, 
being native in County Clare of that Emerald 
Isle. Patrick J. Quealy was born on March 17, 
1857, the youngest of the eight children of John 
and Margaret (Fennell) Quealy. John Quealy 
was born in 1808. He learned the trade of carpen- 
try, but, shortly after his marriage, he turned to 
farming in his native land, purchasing the land 
adjoining the old homestead, then occupied by 
his eldest,, and only, brother Michael. The old 
homestead was not only the most valuable, but al- 
so the most beautiful property in the village of 
Kiltrelig. This was the ancient home of the 
Quealys and of' all of Patrick J. Quealy 's ances- 
tors on that side of the house. Its occupants have 
been the agents and representatives of the Peck- 
ington estate as far back as the family can be 
traced, this estate being the largest and most val- 
uable one in the west of Clare. The family was, 
therefore, the most prominent and influential 
family residing in that section. Being over gen- 
erous during the famine of 1848, the pestilence, 
and the hard times that followed, his estate be- 
came so reduced that he emigrated to America in 
1863 and settled in Newtown, Conn., where he 
turned to the lines of his early trade for an occu- 
pation and was employed in car building in va- 
rious places in the Eastern States. In 1876, he 
came to Wyoming to join his three sons, Michael, 
Lawrence and Thomas, all of whom had emigrat- 
ed to Wyoming in 1868, and who had become 
leading and influential citizens. He spent the re- 
mainder of his days in retirement at Carbon, 
where he died on June 3, 1883, his interment oc- 
curring at Laramie. He was an honest, loyal 
man, and following the faith of his ancestors, he 
was a devoted member of the Catholic church. 
His parents were Michael and Margaret (Gor- 
man) Quealy. Margaret (Fennell) Quealy, the 
wife of John and the mother of Patrick J. Quealy. 
was born in 1812. She was married in her 
native county of Clare, and she died in Carbon, 



Wyo., in 1 891, having survived her husband 
about eight years. She also is buried at Lara- 
mie, beside her husband and her son, Thomas, 
who was accidentally killed at Como, Colo., on 
June 11, 1866. She was a member of the Cath- 
olic church, to which,, and to her family she was 
most devoted. She was the daughter of Thomas 
and Nora (Keane) Fennell, of Fodera, Ireland, 
where the- old homestead of the Fennells and her 
father is still maintained as the home of her eld- 
est brother, John. This homestead has succeed- 
ed to the eldest son of the family for over 300 
years. She was herself the mother of eight chil- 
dren, all of whom lived to do her homage, and to 
become themselves respected, and, some of them 
distinguished, citizens. 

Michael Quealy, the eldest son, is a most pro- 
gressive man and a distinguished citizen of Car- 
bon county. He led the way for the younger 
boys, who followed his example and his business 
inclinations by taking up coal mining in Mis- 
souri, thence came to Wyoming in 1868 and took 
charge of the Wardell mines at Almy, near Ev- 
anston, then supplying the Union Pacific Rail- 
road. He remained with the Union Pacific Coal 
Co., which absorbed the Wardell properties, until 
he took up ranching and stockraising in Carbon 
county, where he' now makes his home, having ac- 
cumulated an ample fortune. 

Lawrence Quealy, the second son., followed 
in the footsteps of Michael in the coal mines of 
Missouri and Wyoming, took to ranching and 
stockraising, distinguished himself as a member 
of the Legislature of 1884, having therein cham- 
pioned several important measures which are now 
upon the statutes as laws. 

Thomas Quealy, the thircTson, followed Mich- 
ael's footsteps in coal mining. He was a natural 
engineer and was considered one of the ablest 
men in his line in the state. Before he was twen- 
ty years old he was given charge of mines in 
Missouri, and continued to rapidly advance in his 
profession until his accidental death at Como, 
Colo., which occurred while he was in charge as 
superintendent of the Union Pacific Coal Co.'s 
interests in that state. His death took place on 
Tune 11, 1886. bv falling accidentally from the 




.-^a** 




/ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



655 



roof of a box car, which he was dropping over 
the grade from his office to the mine dump. 
Thomas was the most talented and promising 
young man in the family,, as well as the most be- 
loved and exemplary. 

Of the four daughters of the family two were 
married in Connecticut in good families. Mar- 
garet to Thomas Lynch, Catherine to Daniel 
Lynch. The Lynches were first cousins, and 
both of them died in Danbury, Conn., in 1903. 
Margaret (Quealy) Lynch died in 1873, leaving 
four children, two boys and two girls. Cather- 
ine (Quealy) Lynch survives her husband, has 
five children, one of whom was recently or- 
dained a priest of the Jesuit order. All of the 
other Lynch sons and daughters are good citi- 
zens of Connecticut and New York City ; show- 
ing by their progress themselves to be worthy of 
their good old ancestral stock. The remaining 
two daughters, Mary (Quealy) Sullivan, and 
Bridget (Quealy) Pyle, were married in the 
West, Mary in Missouri and Mrs. Pyle in this 
state. Mrs Pyle, now a widow, resides very com- 
fortably situated on her homestead near Silver 
Creek, Neb., together with her only daughter,. 
Margaret. Mrs. Sullivan is the mother of four 
children, three boys and one girl, all natives of 
Wyoming, and living comfortably with their par- 
ents on their homestead in Carbon county, where 
the family is quite a prosperous one. Their only 
daughter, Margaret, was educated at St. Mary's 
Academy, Salt Lake City, and became the prin- 
cipal of the schools at Rawlins, but, yielding to 
the wishes of her parents, she now enjoys life at 
the paternal home. 

Patrick J. Quealy received his first schooling 
in the national schools of Ireland, later he attend- 
ed the public schools at Hannibal and Bevier, 
Mo., and still later Johnson College, of Quincy, 
111., and, finally, in 1874, he was graduated from 
the Gem City College of the same city. Immedi- 
ately after his graduation he came to Evanston, 
Wyo., but to stop only for a few months. Going 
from there to Carbon, he remained at that place 
until September, 1875, whemhe went to Renton, 
Washington, where he spent two years in coal 
mining. Thereafter he went to British Columbia 



and passed one year, most of the time in the coal 
mines at Wellington and Nanaimo on Vancou- 
ver's Island, from there going to Seattle, Wash- 
ington, where he engaged in real-estate operations 
and in produce shipping. Here his attention 
again reverted to coal mining,, and he served two 
years, from 1878 to 1880, as the general foreman 
of the Seattle Coal & Transportation Co.'s mines 
at New Castle, after which he returned to Wyo- 
ming and accepted the position of superintendent 
of mines of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. at 
Grass Creek, Utah, Rock Springs and Carbon, 
Wyo. From December, 1880, to May, 1884, he 
was employed by the Union Pacific Coal Co. at 
intervals, in examination of the coal measures of 
Montana, Idaho, Utah and the Dakotas. In 1884 
he resigned this position to engage in coal mining 
on his own account, making his headquarters at 
Bozeman, Mont. After successful operations at 
Timberlane, for a period of two years, he sold his 
interest to his partner, Hon. C. W. Hoffman, of 
Bozeman, having in previous years, and while he 
was operating in Montana, become heavily inter- 
ested in cattle and in ranching with his brothers 
in Carbon county. His brother, Thomas, dying 
in 1886, the administration of his estate devolved 
on Patrick, who, meanwhile, had been appointed 
state inspector of coal mines, in which office he 
served one year, resigning after settling up the 
estate of his brother, Thomas. In 1887, immed- 
iately after resigning as state inspector, and upon 
the passage of the act of Congress creating the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, and upon the 
assurance of Mr. Tom Potter, then the general 
manager of the Union Pacific Railroad, that he 
would receive fair treatment,, he organized the 
Rock Springs Coal Co., but, unfortunately for 
him, Mr. Potter soon died, and it was only by the 
exercise of the most heroic effort that he was able 
to continue with any fair degree of success, but 
he kept the mines in operation until the close of 
the year 1894, when he disposed of this valuable 
property for a satisfactory consideration. Upon 
the consummation of this deal Mr. Quealy im- 
mediately began to invest his capital in Uin- 
ta county coal lands, and, finding that more capi- 
tal than he could personally control, was neces- 



I 



6 5 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sary to develop the Uinta enterprise, he went east 
and, meeting Mr. M, S. Kemmerer in New York, 
he induced him to join him in forming the 
copartnership, this being the most important 
step of his life from a financial standpoint. 
Returning to Wyoming with ample financial 
becking, he continued to acquire territory, 
and, upon the segregation of the Oregon 
Short Line from the Union Pacific, in the spring 
of 1897, he proceeded to Boston, and arranged 
with, Pres. Samuel Carr, of the Oregon Short 
Line, to build the necessary tracks, and, upon his 
return to Wyoming, the development of the Kem- 
merer properties began. Ground was broken in 
grading for tracks in the latter part of June and 
on October 5, of the same year, the first coal was 
shipped to the extent of 4,000 tons for that month. 
The output was increased at the rate of 4,000 tons 
per month from No. 1 mine, until an output of 
57,000 tons for one month was reached, with a 
total for the year ending April 30, 1901, of 513,- 
329 tons, which is the largest output ever pro- 
duced in any one year from any one mine in either 
Wyoming or Utah. In the organization of the 
Uinta county enterprise it became necessary to 
organize The Kemmerer Coal Co., The Uinta 
Improvement Co., The Frontier Supply Co. and 
the town of Kemmerer, together with the copart- 
nership of Quealy & Kemmerer, while the com- 
bined assets of these corporations aggregate over 
$1,000,000. Mr. Quealy, as is shown in this 
sketch, is essentially a man of affairs, possessed 
of boundless activity ; but his grasp seems equal 
to his ambition, broad as this is. In 1900 he saw 
the necessity of a bank in Kemmerer to accommo- 
date the rapid growth in population, and the ex- 
panding commerce, which was then attracting 
the trade of the territory covering 200 miles north 
to the National Park. With Mr. Kemmerer he 
constructed a beautiful two-story stone structure 
to accommodate this institution, and invited the 
business men of the town and surrounding coun- 
try to join them in subscribing to the capital stock 
of the First National Bank of Kemmerer. Upon 
its reorganization he was made its president, 
which position he still occupies, while the bank- 
is one of the most prosperous financial institu- 



tions of the state. Mr. Quealy is also president 
and manager of the Frontier Supply Co., the vice- 
president and manager of the Kemmerer Coal 
Co., the vice-president and manager of the Uinta 
Improvement Co., the vice-president and secre- 
tary of the Short Line Land & Improvement Co. 
But these positions do not measure all of Mr. 
Quealy's interests. He owns one of the -largest 
ranches in Carbon county, having over 34,000 
acres, all well stocked with" cattle and horses. He 
is interested in the Uinta county oil fields, being 
president of two of the important companies. 
He is the president of the Oregon-King Mining 
Co., one of the best mining properties in the state 
of Oregon. Politically, Mr. Qealy is a Democrat. 
His name was on the electoral ticket in both the 
Cleveland and Bryan campaigns and he was pres- 
ident of the electoral college at Cheyenne. He has 
many times been offered nominations for high 
political office, but has steadfastly refused to ac- 
cept, his business affairs requiring his entire time 
and attention. Mr. Quealy was married in 1900, 
with Miss Susie Quealy, a daughter of P. J. and 
Delia (O'Connor) Quealy, of Omaha. Neb., 
where Susie was born, on January 17, 1870, of 
parents who were natives of Ireland, and her 
father was for ten years a soldier in the Eng- 
lish army, serving with such efficiency as to be 
many times rewarded and decorated. with med- 
als for his bravery, and being also wounded in 
the service. He was the son of John Quealy. of 
County Clare, Ireland, and came to the Lhiited 
States after his army service. He located first 
in Boston, thence traveled west until he finally 
settled in Omaha. Neb., where he engaged in 
manufacturing, from which he has now retired 
with an ample supply of this world's means to 
provide for himself and family. He is a promi- 
nent church man,- a Republican in politics, and he 
is actively interested in school affairs. Mr. and 
Mrs. Patrick J. Quealy have been blessed with 
four children, all sons, only two of whom survive. 
Jay Ambrose and Mahlon Kemmerer, Thomas 
Adilis died at the age of five years in Novem- 
ber, 1898, and John Handy, in May. 1895. aged 
only thirty days. They passed away from earth 
in their early innocence. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



657 



JOHN D. WATSON. 

One of the keen, enterprising, wide-awake, 
progressive men of Uinta county, Wyoming, John 
D. Watson, now located on the old government 
meadow at Black Fork, three miles south of Fort 
Bridger, well merits review in this volume. He 
was born at Culpeper, Va., on April 6, 1856, a 
son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Brennan) Wat- 
son, both natives of Virginia and descending 
from families that have made their home in 
the land through the earlier and later Colonial 
epochs, have been distinctive factors in various 
departments of the state's public movements for 
many generations and participants in all the 
wars of the state from the Revolution onward. 
His paternal grandfather, Walter Watson, who 
married with a Miss Margaret Ficlau, was not 
only the proprietor of a large flouring mill 
run by water power, but -had an extensive ac- 
quaintanceship by means of his ownership of a 
popular stage line, running from Fredericksburg 
to Washington. The Watsons were originally 
from England, but the mother of our subject was 
of Irish extraction, her ancestors coming to 
America long before the Revolution. She was 
the daughter of Daniel and Mary J. (Abbott) 
Brennan, and became the mother of three sons, 
John D., Daniel S., and William V. She has 
long survived her husband, and now maintains 
her home with the subject of this review. John 
D. Watson received his educational discipline in 
the Virginia schools until he was nineteen, when 
he entered the employ of a government contrac- 
tor, with whom he remained from 1876 to 1880, 
thence proceeding to St. Louis and becoming 
identified with railroading until November, 1883, 
when, passing the succeeding winter at his old 
Virginia home, in the spring he went to Colo- 
rado, where for a year he was engaged in the 
nursery business. Coming to Fort Bridger in 
May, 1885, his first employment here was the 
superintendence of the fine herd of thoroughbred 
Hereford cattle owned by Doctor Brewster, which 
continued with mutual satisfaction for sixteen 
months, when, finding an opportunity to engage 



in the government transportation service as an 
assistant to the veteran contractor, Lot Winston, 
he accepted the chance. After giving accept- 
able labor in this direction, in 1887, he succeeded 
Mr. Winston as contractor in the transportation 
of government supplies from and to various 
points, but more especially to Forts Bridger and 
Duchesne. That the government deemed the 
contract an important one is evidenced by the 
fact that Mr. Watson furnished a bond of $10,- 
000 for the faithful performance of his duty. 
Under his administration, however, there was 
no delay nor trouble. His record was the clean- 
est one on the books of the various posts, and, 
contrary to the former practice, not one of the 
posts was ever delayed one day in the receipt 
of the expected supplies. In 1888 Mr. Watson, 
in association with David Kay, the well-known 
commisssion man of Ogden, Utah, contracted to 
furnish fuel, feed and forage to Forts Bridger 
and Duchesne in Utah, Fort Russell, in Wyo- 
ming, and Forts Sydney, Niobrara and Robin- 
son, in Nebraska. It may be mentioned as of in- 
terest, that in one item alone, that of wood, they 
furnished 10,000 cords at prices varying from 
$4.60 to $9.00 per cOrd. In 1890 Mr. Watson 
individually contracted to construct four miles 
of the Utah Northern Railroad and applied all 
of his energies and capital to the task. Unfore- 
seen difficulties were encountered, however, and 
the contract proved disastrous, sweeping away 
all of his financial accumulations. Disappointed, 
but not disheartened, Mr. Watson returned to 
Fort Bridger, and, when the reservation was 
opened for settlement, he filed claim to the land 
where he had previously located, and there en- 
gaged in raising a high grade of horses, cattle 
and sheep. His mother also acquired a tract 
of 160 acres of land on the reservation which is 
added to the acreage he- controls. Here his ad- 
mitted skill and judgment is of most excellent 
service, and in this profitable industry he is again 
forging rapidly to the front, being one of the 
truly representative stockmen of the county. He 
owns a registered prize-winning ram, which car- 
ried off the first premium at one of the Domin- 



6 5 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ion exhibitions of Toronto, Canada. It sheared 
to within a small fraction of twenty-five pounds 
of wool in the spring of 1902. His herds are of 
the finest strain, the horses being graded Clydes- 
dales and his cattle, graded Durhams, and in 
these lines of finely-bred animals, he is truly 
a public benefactor, entitled to the high credit 
he is receiving. On February 9, 1888, Mr. Wat- 
son wedded with Miss Mary Sheehan, a daugh- 
ter of Daniel and Margaret (Connell) Sheehan, 
emigrants from Ireland, her mother being a 
daughter of Daniel Connell and a granddaughter 
of Daniel Ha fey, the popular Celtic poet, the 
families being intermingled with those of his- 
toric luster and patriotism. Of their children 
we note: Francis J., died an infant; Daniel X.; 
John A. ; William B. ; Marguerite Mae ; Michael 
C. ; Peter A. ; Elizabeth L. 

NICHOLAS H. WHALEN. 

Among the valuable contributions that Eng- 
land has made to the business industries of Wyo- 
ming, we most especially mention the gentleman 
whose name heads this review, Nicholas H. 
Whalen, who is the popular and efficient mana- 
ger of the U. P. Coal Co.'s store at Spring Val- 
ley. He is a native of England, where he was 
born in County Cumberland, on February 16, 
1876, a son of James and Mary (Sinott) Wha- 
len, who were natives of Ireland and descendants 
from a long line of reputable ancestry in that 
country. James Whalen was born in 1 841, near 
Dublin, Ireland, a son of Luke Whalen. After 
an industrious life, fraught with many changes 
and incidents, he died at Carbon, Wyo., in 1898. 
He early acquired skill as a miner and wrought 
in the mines of England until coming to Amer- 
ica, where he performed the labors of a timber- 
man at Carbon, Wyo., until his death. His wid- 
ow is still residing in Carbon, at the age cf 
sixty-four years. The children of James and 
Mary (Sinott) Whalen are James, who is weigh- 
man at the mines of Carbon, Wyo.; Elizabeth, 
who is -now Mrs. John Byrnes, of Butte, Mont.: 
Edward, also of Carbon ; Katie, wife of Antonin 
Castagne, of Butte, Mont. ; James, who died in 



Denver, Colo., at the age of twenty-six years ; 
Thomas, who maintains his family residence in 
Butte; Nicholas H., the subject of this sketch; 
Luke, who died at Carbon at the age of eleven 
years. Nicholas H. Whalen received in England 
the rudiments of an excellent public education 
which was completed by a diligent attendance at 
the public schools of Carbon, Wyo. At an early 
ao-e, however, he commenced bv his labors to add 
his quota to the sustenance and maintenance of the 
family, engaging in the U. P. Co.'s mines at 
Carbon, where, among his other duties, he also 
drove mules for about a year. He then became 
connected with the mercantile department of the 
company's interest, his initiatory work being as 
the driver of the store team. He Avas soon, how- 
ever, promoted to a clerkship, in which he was 
retained for about two years, by his intelligent 
and capable performance of his duties render- 
ing himself so valuable that he was advanced to 
the responsible position of head clerk in the com- 
pany's store at Rock Springs. His devotion to 
the company's interests, and his intelligent com- 
prehension of the principles underlying mercan- 
tile transactions, and, also, the personal traits of 
character which made him so popular with the 
patrons of the store, caused his elevation to the 
managership of the Spring Valley store after 
satisfactorily filling his position at Rock Springs 
for nearly two years. As a manager, Mr. Wha- 
len has continued to faithfully contribute to the 
interests of the company, and has shown himself 
to be preeminently a clear-headed business man of 
sound integrity and a successful merchant. Un- 
der his administration the affairs of the store 
are conducted to the entire satisfaction of the 
company and are rapidly increasing in the amount 
(if the business transacted. Mr. Whalen has pos- 
itive views and convictions on all subjects, and 
in public matters his attitude is never doubtful, ■ 
for whatever enlists his energy, is ardently pur- 
sued to successful completion. He is identified 
with the Republican party and with the Catholic 
church. All in all, he is a representative of 
the progressive and self-made men who are mak- 
ing distinct improvements and impressions upon 
the industrial and commercial life of Wvomingf. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



659 



FRANK H. MUZZY. 

Frank H. Muzzy, now of Meriden, Wyoming, 
is a native of Illinois, having been born in that 
state in Will county on December 19, 1852, 
being also the son of Benjamin F. and Persis 
(Templeton) Muzzy, who were both natives of 
the state of New York. His father followed 
the occupation of farming in the state of Illin- 
ois, and in 1858 removed to Minnesota, and lo- 
cated near Mankato. Here he engaged in farm- 
ing until 1864, when he removed his home to 
Nicollet county, where he continued in the same 
occupation until 1893. Then he disposed of his 
farms and other interests, and has since been 
retired from active business, passing the greater 
portion of his time in travel and in visiting his 
children and relatives in different states. The 
lather and mother of Mr. Muzzy since 1893, 
when not occupied in travel, have made their 
residence with their son at Meriden, Wyoming. 
Frank H. Muzzy received his early education 
in the schools of the state of Minnesota, and 
at the age of twenty-one years he attended the 
State Normal School at Mankato, remaining 
there as a student for two years. After com- 
pleting his education there, he returned to his 
father's farm, where he resided and assisted 
in the management of the affairs of the family 
for one year. During the year of 1877 he was 
engaged in teachingin Blue Earth county, Minn., 
and in the summer of 1878, believing that he 
could do better in the country farther west, he 
visited the city of Cheyenne, Wyo. Not meet- 
ing with satisfactory employment at that place, 
he continued his way into Colorado, where he 
remained for two months, and then returned 
to Wyoming, locating on Upper Horse Creek. 
Here he secured employment on a sheep ranch, 
and remained in that employment for three 
years, thoroughly familiarizing himself with all 
details of the business of sheepraising and wool- 
growing. In the fall of 1881, not having been 
able to engage in business in Wyoming to his 
satisfaction, he resolved to return to Minnesota 
and make that state his home. Upon returning 
to Mankato in that year he engaged in farming, 



at which he continued until the fall of 1882. 
The attractions of the ranges and plains of Wyo- 
ming were still strong upon him, however, and 
he could not resist the longing to again try his 
fortunes in that favored section. Therefore, in 
November, 1882, he again returned to Wyoming, 
bringing with him his young wife, to whom he 
had been married less than a year. Upon their 
arrival they purchased the same ranch on Horse 
Creek where Mr. Muzzy had formerly been em- 
ployed, and here engaged in sheepraising and 
woolgrowing. In the spring of 1883 he took up 
his present ranch on Bear Creek, lying twenty- 
five miles southeast of Chugwater and fifty miles 
northeast of Cheyenne. The winter of 1883 and 
1884 was a very severe one in Wyoming, and 
his loss, as was that of many others, was very 
heavy, his entire flock being practically destroyed, 
leaving him in the position of having to com- 
mence at the very bottom of the financial hill. 
He was not discouraged, however, and at once 
set to work with an energy, perseverance and 
industry which has ever marked his entire career, 
to repair his damaged fortunes. He then en- 
gaged in the cattle and horse business, and by 
good judgment, economy and careful attention 
to the management of his affairs, he has suc- 
ceeded in building up a handsome property and 
business, and has amassed a handsome compe- 
tency. He now owns a large and fine herd of 
cattle, has 440 acres of patented land, with ca- 
pacious areas of leased and range lands adja- 
cent, and well appointed barns, sheds and build- 
ings. Nearly all of the home ranch is under irri- 
gation, and Mr. Muzzy's home and surroundings 
bear many evidences of prosperity, thrift and re- 
finement. On April 4, 1882, Mr. Muzzy was 
united in marriage at Mankato, Minn., to Miss 
Pauline S. Gates, a native of Minnesota, and 
the daughter of Arad and Sarah (Bemis) Gates, 
both natives of Vermont. The parents of Mrs. 
Muzzy were formerly residents of the county 
of Nicollet, where they were engaged in farm- 
ing with considerable success. Later they re- 
moved to Blue Earth county, where they con- 
tinued in the same pursuit. Here her father 
passed away from earth in 1886, and lies buried 



66o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in Nicollet county. Her mother is still living and 
resides in Mankato. Mr. and Mrs. Muzzy have 
four children, Chester J., Carrie E., Frank G. 
and Pearl L. Fraternally, Mr. Muzzy is affil- 
iated with the Woodmen of the World, being a 
member of the lodge at Cheyenne. Both he and 
his wife are members of the Baptist church, very 
active in church work, taking a deep interest 
in the social and charitable life of the community 
where they reside. Mr. Muzzy is a stanch Re- 
publican, ever taking an active interest in the 
affairs of his party, although he has never held 
a public office or sought political preferment. He 
enjoys the society of the large circle of devoted 
friends, to whom he has endeared himself by his 
many admirable traits of character and his ex- 
cellent record as a man. He is held in the high- 
est esteem by all who know him for his sterling 
integrity and worth. 

HENRY JORDAN. 

In a new country, where population is very 
sparse and the conditions of life at best are hard 
and full of privation, where as yet only the 
scouting party or advance guard of the army 
of civilization has encamped and is busily en- 
gaged in blazing and opening the way for the 
progress of the main body, every man who has 
a special craft, particularly one that ministers es- 
sentially to the comfort and well-being of his 
kind, is a most welcome addition to the camp, 
and-, to the full measure of his capacity and the 
usefulness of his special function, he is en- 
throned among his fellows as a potential bene- 
factor. Something like this has been the fate 
of Henry Jordan, who was the first practical 
flour-miller in Wyoming, who superintended the 
erection and equipment of the flouring mill at 
Sheridan, one of the earliest ones of the state, 
and, who, after its construction, faithfully oper- 
ated it for a number of years. Mr. Jordan was 
born in Pennsylvania in May, 1843, the son 
of Alexander and Margaret (Macom) Jordan. 
His father was also a native of Pennsylvania 
and of German ancestry, while his mother was 
born at sea of Trish parentage. The Jordans 



were early settlers in this country, the great- 
grandfather of Henry having fought in the Rev- 
olutionary War, and the family having previous- 
ly been active in patriotism throughout the Co- 
lonial period of our history. The grandfather 
of Henry Jordan was a gallant soldier in the 
War of 1812, and in all the trials and triumphs 
of peace the line has had its contributory share 
wherever it has been found. In his native state 
Mr. Jordan was reared and educated, and there 
also he learned and worked at his trade as a 
miller. In 1865 he came west to Iowa and in 
that state passed three years working at his 
trade. In 1868 he came to Wyoming but soon 
returned to Iowa, passing three years at Guthrie 
Center, occupied with his duties as a miller. At 
the end of that time he returned to his native 
state and for eight years was engaged in mill- 
ing there. But the longing for the West re- 
mained with him, and its pleading voice, al- 
though frequently obscured by others, would not 
be entirely silenced, and so he came again to 
Wyoming and settled at Sheridan. There he 
superintended the building and furnishing of 
a flour mill and later bought an interest in it, 
which he conducted with profit to himself and 
great satisfaction to the people of that neighbor- 
hood until 1895, when he sold his interest and 
removed to his present location. Here he erected 
a complete flour mill of the latest model, equipped 
it with machinery of the latest kind for making 
flour according to the most approved methods, 
and has since been operating this. It is the only 
patent process mill in the Bighorn basin. He 
has also taken an interest in land where he has 
lived, locating a preemption upon Wolf Creek 
when he came to Sheridan county, then John- 
son county, and this he sold later. But he now 
owns 180 acres of land near his mill, and on it 
has built an attractive and comfortable resi- 
dence. He also owns property in Sheridan, but 
his mill is the principal industry which occupies 
his time and attention. It has a capacity of 
eighty barrels and is of great benefit to the com- 
munity, much of its output being consumed at 
home, where its quality and excellence are well 
known and highly appreciated. Mr. Jordan is 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



661 



a very enterprising citizen, a liberal contribu- 
tor to every movement for the advancement or 
elevation of his community. While not osten- 
tatious in his public spirit, he is never back- 
ward in his active support of any project that 
commends itself to his judgment as promising 
good to the general interests of the neighborhood 
or county. In regard to such matters his coun- 
sel is much sought and cordially esteemed. For 
many years he has been a member of the Masonic 
order,' zealous and useful in his lodge. He was 
married in Pennsylvania in 1874, to Miss Eliza- 
beth Simonton, a native of that state, who has 
ever been a faithful wife and an agreeable and 
valuable helpmeet. This worthy couple stand 
high in the esteem of the public. ,, 

JESSE J. McCARELL. 

Born in the Northwest since the close of the 
Civil War and reared and educated in this sec- 
tion of the country, and having passed almost 
all of the productive period of his life in the 
cattle business, Jesse J. McCarell, of near Otto 
in Bighorn county, is a product and a represent- 
ative of the era of peaceful conquest and subju- 
gation which has come upon our country, and 
of the region in which it has won its noblest and 
most extensive triumphs, as well as of the line 
of fruitful activity which is one of the leading 
industries of that region. He is a pioneer of 
1882 in Wyoming, but was born in Nevada, on 
January 14, 1868. His parents, Jesse and Fan- 
nie (Clift) McCarell, were natives of New 
York and Maryland, respectively, and were early 
settlers in Nevada. Their son, Jesse, received a 
limited education in his native state, and when 
he was only twelve years old he came to Wyoming 
and started in life as a rangerider in the vast 
cattle business of the territory. He followed this 
invigorating, but exacting and dangerous, occu- 
pation for seven years in various places, and in 
1887 came to the Bighorn basin and continued 
it in that prolific and favored portion of the 
state, being engaged in it there until 1895. In 
that year he took up land near Burlington and 
started a cattle business for himself. He has 



280 acres of land on which he has made extensive 
and valuable improvements, and conducts a thriv- 
ing industry in raising stock and general farm- 
ing, running about 100 head of fine cattle and 
a large number of high-grade horses. He also 
carries on a mercantile enterprise at Otto with 
success and profit, and has mining properties of 
value and productiveness in various localities. 
On February 24, 1900, Mr. McCarell was united 
in marriage with Mrs. Hannah Crandal, a native 
of Massachusetts, but at the time of the marriage 
a resident of Burlington, where the ceremony 
was performed. They have one child, their son, 
Jesse, Jr. While conducting his numerous busi- 
ness interests with success and vigor, Mr. Mc- 
Carell has not been inattentive to the claims of 
the community on his time and energies. He has 
manifested a deep and serviceable interest in the 
welfare and progress of his neighborhood and 
county, and has given without stint his active 
support to all movements which he has consid- 
ered worthy and likely to aid in promoting the 
general weal. He has also conducted himself in 
all the relations of life so as to secure and retain 
the confidence and high regard of his fellow men 
wherever he is known, and the respect of the 
general public throughout the state. 

WILLIAM F. LAWYER. 

The subject of this review is one of the many" 
western men whose lives have been largely spent 
on the range and who, in one of the most whole- 
some, free and independent of vocations, have 
provided well for themselves and for those de- 
pendent upon them. William F. Lawyer is a 
native of Pennsylvania, born in the town of Ber- 
wick on July 22, 1873. His father, Adam Law- 
yer, also a native of the Keystone state, is a 
machinist and worked at his trade in Pennsyl- 
vania until 1874, when he moved to Joliet, Illin- 
ois, where for a number of years he held an im- 
portant position in the Joliet Steel Works and 
later changed his abode to the town of Elburn, 
where he and his wife are living at the present 
time. The maiden name of Mrs. Adam Lawyer 
was Susan Emerick ; she likewise was born and 



662 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



reared in Pennsylvania, and is a descendant of 
old families of that commonwealth. The child- 
hood and youth of William F. Lawyer were spent 
with his parents, but at the age of fifteen he left 
home to make his own way in the world. In 
1888 he came to Wyoming, making a part of the 
journey on foot, meeting with many interesting 
experiences before reaching his destination at 
Cheyenne. Not long after his arrival, he found 
employment on the range and from that 'time 
until within a comparatively recent date he rode 
for various parties running cattle in different 
parts of Wyoming and other territory. In No- 
vember, 1898, he took up his present ranch, eight 
miles east of Fort Laramie and adjoining the 
one owned by his father-in-law, John Weber, 
and engaged in cattlerai.sing upon his own re- 
sponsibility. He has made commendable prog- 
ress since taking possession of his place, having 
a large number of cattle and horses in prime con- 
dition, with every prospect of continued prosper- 
ity as the years go by. His long experience on 
the range has made him familiar with every de- 
tail of the stock business and in all matters per- 
taining to cattle and horses, he is considered 
not only an excellent judge but an unfailing au- 
thority. By close attention to his business and 
good management, he has succeeded in placing 
himself in comfortable circumstances, having a 
surplus laid by for the proverbial "rainy day," 
which soon or late comes unto the lives of the 
majority of men. Mr. Lawyer is essentially a 
western man, all his tastes and inclinations lead- 
ing him to the kind of life .to which his time 
and energies have so long been devoted. Spend- 
ing his more mature years under conditions pe- 
culiar to this part of the country, he takes broad 
views of life and things and lays his plans in har- 
mony therewith. He possesses tact and judg- 
ment in business affairs, and in all transactions 
with which he has been connected his course 
has been open and straightforward, his personal 
honor and integrity being above suspicion. By 
correct methods he has succeeded in his under- 
takings and easily ranks with the most enterpris- 
ing and successful stockmen of the district in 
which he operates. On December 8, 1898, was 



solemnized the ceremony which joined Mr. Law- 
yer and Miss Margarette Weber, daughter of 
John and Mary Weber, in the bonds of holy wed- 
lock. They have two children, Mary and John. 

DONALD C. McCANNEL. 

The subject of this sketch is one of the lead- 
ing stockmen of the district in which he lives 
and for a period of twenty-three years he has 
been very closely identified with the industrial 
and business interests of Laramie county. The 
name McDonald indicates Scotch origin and, 
tracing his history, it is learned that he is de- 
scended from old families that for many gener- 
ations lived in the romantic land of the "heather 
and the heath." Archibald McCannel, the father 
of Donald, was born in Scotland but came to 
America in 1848, settling in Ontario, Canada, of 
which province he was an early pioneer. By oc- 
cupation he was a tiller of the soil and by his 
industry and frugality he accumulated a valu- 
able estate, becoming one of the thrifty farmers 
of the section of the country in which he lived. 
His wife, also a native of Canada, bore the 
maiden name' of Barbara McDougall. Donald 
C. McCannel was born in Ontario, Canada, on 
June 24, 1857, and received such educational 
discipline as the schools of his native county 
could impart. He was reared in close touch 
with nature on the farm, became familiar with 
the varied duties incident to agriculture and 
grew strong and vigorous of body, with an in- 
dependence of mind and determination of will 
which eminently fitted him for the course of life 
he afterwards pursued. Until his twenty-first 
year he remained at home assisting in the work 
of the farm, but, on attaining his majority he 
started into the world for himself, coming to 
Wyoming in 1879 and settling in the county of 
Laramie. During the six years following his ar- 
rival in this part of the country, Mr. McCannel 
was in the employ of T. A. Kent, a prominent 
stockman, who owned ranches near Uva, and 
he became experienced in every detail of cattle- 
raising, proving most capable and faithful in the 
discharge of his varied duties. Severing his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



663 



connection with the above gentlemen, he en- 
gaged in contracting for ditching work on the 
ranches of the Union Cattle Co. and after some 
time passed in that capacity, he took up land of 
his own in Laramie county, seven miles west of 
Wheatland, but did not settle on this until 
one year after obtaining possession. This was in 
1886, and from that time to the present day he 
has lived where he originally located, gradually 
extending the scope and magnitude of his busi- 
ness and enlarging the area of his lands until 
he and his family now own over 1,500 acres, 
much of which is irrigable and in a successful 
state of tillage. That portion devoted to graz- 
ing purposes is admirably situated, for Mr. Mc- 
Cannel had abundant opportunities to make a 
judicious selection, there being but four ranches 
in all this part of the county when he located 
his claim in 1885. Mr. McCannel devotes his 
time and attention to the raising of cattle, horses 
and hogs, and has met with most gratifying suc- 
cess, building up a large and lucrative business 
and earning the reputation of standing as one 
of the most enterprising stockmen in this part 
of the state. His judgment is sound and dis- 
criminating, and, possessing the ability to fore- 
see with remarkable accuracy the outcome of 
transactions in which he engages, "he seldom 
fails in carrying them to successful conclusion. 
As a citizen he enjoys the esteem of the com- 
munity, while in every relation of life, he has 
ever so comported himself that his integrity has 
never been assailed, nor the correctness of his 
motives questioned. Believing in progress and 
improvement, he has used his best efforts to 
these ends, aiding all enterprises calculated to 
build up the country and to develop its natural 
and industrial resources. On March 3, 1890, 
Mr. McCannel was married in the city of Chey- 
enne to' Mrs. Margaret (Wilson) Cazaubon, the 
daughter of William Wilson, of Ontario, Can- 
ada. Mrs. McCannel was there born and reared 
and there married her first husband. Her father 
was a farmer but her mother departed this life 
in Ontario a number of years ago. Mrs. Mc- 
Cannel has one daughter by her first marriage, 
Mrs. Emma Rice, who was graduated from the 



Cheyenne high school and later from a college 
of photography, and is now the leading photogra- 
pher of Cheyenne, Wyo., located at No. 1717 
Eddy street. She is an owner of property and 
there conducts a very successful business. M'rs. 
McCannel's grandson, Templeton Rice , is a 
bright child of four years of age whom she is 
now raising and who is a great favorite with 
both herself and husband. Politically, Mr. Mc- 
Cannel is pronounced in his allegiance to the 
Republican party, but is not a partisan in the 
sense the term is usually understood, much less 
an aspirant for the honors or emoluments cf 
office. He is an enthusiastic member of the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to 
the Wheatland lodge, and is identified with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Chey- 
enne. Additional to these two organizations his 
name also adorns the records of the Wheatland 
Lodge, Modern Woodmen of America, in which 
he is a leading spirit and active worker. Of Mr. 
McCannel personally, much could be said in the 
way of truthful compliment and praise, for he 
is quite popular throughout the country, well 
liked by all with whom he comes in contact, and 
no one questions his right to be classed with the 
wide-awake and energetic representative men of 
the county of Laramie. 

CHARLES LUFKIN. 

The substantial unity of purpose and feeling 
which pervades our united country since the 
wounds of the Civil War have been healed and its 
scars hidden by many white harvests of peace- 
ful industry, is well illustrated in the common 
impulse whereby the people of the Northwest, 
gathered from all parts of the land, and from 
every foreign country, move forward in the work 
of developing the new domain which they in- 
habit, and the constancy and loyalty with which 
they apply in this section the lessons of patriot- 
ism, local pride, obedience to law and devotion 
to the common welfare they learned in their 
earlier homes. Charles Lufkin of Fenton is a 
native of Maine, who has lived in several other 
states of the Union, having interests and pleas- 



66 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ant associations in each. But he is as devoted 
to the progress and general weal of Wyoming 
as if her soil were his native heath, and he had 
never resided beyond her borders. He was born 
in 1853, grew to manhood and was educated in 
Maine, but soon after reaching years of matur- 
ity he moved to Pennsylvania and resided in that 
state, Minnesota, Dakota and Montana succes- 
sively until 1883, when he came to Wyoming, 
and he has since made his home among her peo- 
ple. He located in the Bighorn basin and was 
engaged in freighting until 1899, when he took 
up land on Meeteetse Creek and started a busi- 
ness of a more pretentious character and greater 
promise in the stock industry. He raises cattle 
and horses of good breeds and excellent quality, 
having generally about 100 cattle and a large 
number of horses. His farm is well-improved 
and much of it is skilfully cultivated, the residue 
furnishing a good range for his stock. Mr. Luf- 
kin is a valued member of the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows at Meeteetse. He is regular 
and interested in his attendance at the meetings 
of his lodge, and manifests an intelligent and 
commendable zeal in behalf of the progress and 
welfare of the fraternity in general and of his 
own lodge in particular. In 1886, he was mar- 
ried on Owl Creek to Miss Nancy Appison, a 
native of Missouri, but a resident of Wyoming 
since 1884. They have one child, their son, Em- 
ory, born on May 3, 1888. 

OSCAR W. McNAY. 

The state of nativity for Oscar McNay, a 
prominent stockgrower of Bighorn county, locat- 
ed near Hyattville, is California, where he was 
born on April 6, 1857, but he did not long re- 
main there. When he was two years old his 
parents, H. W. and E. M. McNay, natives re- 
spectively of Ohio and New York, went by the 
isthmus route to New York, and from there after 
a short time came to Kansas. They spent two 
years at Wyandotte, two at Fort Leavenworth, 
and from there they removed to Council Grove 
in Morris county. In that town their son, Oscar, 
was reared and educated, and when he was 



twenty years of age he went to Texas, from 
whence, after due preparation, in 1878, he trailed 
cattle north to the Big Bend of the Missouri 
River. From there he returned to his Kansas 
home, and in 1879 went to St. Joseph, Mo., and 
took a course of special training in a business col- 
lege. After leaving the college he worked for 
two years for the Western Union Telegraph Co. 
and then went by way of San Francisco to The 
Dalles, Oregon. At that point he accepted em- 
ployment ^from Henry Lovell and in his service 
drove cattle to the Bighorn basin in Wyoming, 
where he tarried and rode the range for a number 
of years, and in 1887 engaged in "the stock busi- 
ness for himself, limiting his operations to cattle. 
In 1896 he located land on No Wood River, the 
ranch on which he now lives, comprising 160 
acres, on which he has 100 good cattle, well cared 
for and kept in excellent condition. He also has 
a drove of superior horses, and they, as well as 
the cattle, give evidence of the intelligent atten- 
tion bestowed upon their raising. Some years 
ago his father died. His mother is still living 
on the family homestead in Kansas. 

JAMES S. McNIYEN. 

Bishop James S. McNiven of near Burling- 
ton in Bighorn county, a prominent stockgrower 
and farmer of this fertile region, and also an 
active and successful worker in the Church of 
the Latter Day Saints, is a native of the High- 
lands of Scotland, where he was born on June 22, 
1848, and exhibits toward the land of his adop- 
tion, and especially the portion of it in which he 
lives, the same loyalty and devotion that • his 
forefathers did to the clan and its interests, of 
which they were conspicuous and serviceable 
members in the stirring times of the border wars 
between his native country and the lowlands. 
His parents were John and Jeannette (McNiv- 
en) McNiven, scions of old Scottish families. 
When he was three years old his father died, and 
ten years later his mother emigrated with her 
children to the United States, heroically braving 
the perils of the sea, at the time increased and 
intensified by the Civil War in this country, and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



665 



afterwards resolutely undertaking and enduring 
the long and dangerous trip across the plains 
to Utah, where they settled in Morgan county, 
where her son, James, was reared and educated. 
As soon as he was able to conduct an independent 
enterprise he went to farming and carried on 
the business for some years. He was then sent 
to Arizona on a church mission and remained 
two years. At the end of this period he came 
back to Utah and located in the southern part 
of the territory, where he carried on a thriving 
industry in farming and raising stock until 1894, 
when he moved to Wyoming and took up his 
residence on the land which he now owns and 
cultivates, two miles southeast of Burlington. 
Here he has a beautiful farm of 240 acres, and 
raises cattle and horses in large numbers and 
good crops of cereals and hay. He is a man of 
great public spirit, deeply interested in the wel- 
fare of his section of the state, holding a con- 
siderable portion of the assets of the Townsite 
Co. of Burlington, and using it. to good advan- 
tage in the development and improvement of the 
town. Since 1886 he has been a Republican in 
politics, and has given to the affairs of the party 
attentive and serviceable devotion, serving as 
chairman of his precinct organization. In church 
work he has been loyal and zealous from his 
young manhood, and by the merit of his services 
on missions and in other respects has risen to 
influence and consequence in church circles, hav- 
ing been the first bishop set apart in the Bighorn 
stake, and being st.ill in the full exercise of his 
official duties. He was married in 1872, at Salt 
Lake City, to Miss Lydia Littlefield, a native of 
England, but during the greater part of her 
mature life a resident of Utah. They have five 
children living, James R., Violet, Jeannette, May 
and Sylvia D. 

duncan Mclennan. 

From the mountains of Scotland to the 
mountains of Wyoming is an immense leap in 
longitude and not much less in conditions and 
surroundings, as many of the sturdy men of 
Scotland have learned, among them Duncan Mc- 



Lennan, an enterprising and prosperous stock- 
man of Clear Springs, nine mile's north of Coke- 
ville in Uinta county. In this country he has 
found a wealth of opportunity and a freedom 
of action undreamed of in his native land, and, 
with the characteristics of his race, he has taken 
advantage of them and used them well for his 
own benefit and for the welfare of the commun- 
ities in which he has lived. He was born at 
Conon Bridge, Rosshire, Scotland, on December 
29, 1863, his parents, Donald and Catherine (In- 
nis) McLennan, being also native there and de- 
scended from families long resident in the shire. 
His father was a railroad inspector, and this led 
his thought to machinery as a study, in conse- 
quence of which, after completing his education 
in the government schools of his vicinity, he 
learned the trade of a machinist. In 1882, when 
he was nineteen years old, he left the paternal 
roof and came to the United States, making his 
way by easy stages to Idaho and locating at 
Montpelier, where he worked for a year at his 
trade in the railroad shops, after which he opened 
a store, and for the next eleven years, he gave all 
his time and energies to its management and de- 
velopment. It was a successful venture, bring- 
ing him both prominence and means. In 1895 
he sold out his business and came to Wyoming, 
locating on the farm which he now owns and 
occupies, not far from Border. This comprises 
480 acres of well-improved land, devoted to the 
cattle industry, which he carries on with vigor 
on a large scale. In addition to this enterprise, 
which is one of increasing magnitude, he owns 
real-estate at Montpelier, and has other valu- 
able interests in this state and Idaho. From his 
early manhood he has exhibited an earnest and 
serviceable interest in the community in which 
his lot happened to be cast, and, while residing 
in Idaho, he served as postmaster and justice of 
the peace from time to time. He was married 
in that state in February, 1888, to Miss Marguer- 
ite J. Morgan, a native of Wales and a daughter 
of William and Catherine Morgan, who are now 
living at Cokeville. One child has brightened 
their household, their daughter, Jessie Kate. Mr. 
McLennan is one of the substantial and influen- 



666 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



tial citizens of the county, held in high esteem 
by all who know him, and worthy of the regard 
he so generally inspires, while Mrs. McLennan 
numbers her friends by the host, being warmly 
welcomed in the social circles of her home town 
and elsewhere by her acquaintances and all who 
appreciate good company. 

john r. Mclaughlin. 

The subject of this sketch is one of the suc- 
cessful, enterprising and public spirited men of 
Fremont county. His stock farm, situated about 
one and one-half miles northwest of Lander, is 
one of the finest places in that valley, and there he 
is successfully engaged in the business of rais- 
ing improved grades of Hereford cattle. He is 
the owner of a large herd of high-class stock, 
among which are some of the most valuable ani- 
mals in the state, and he is looked upon as one of 
the leading business men of Western Wyoming. 
He is a native of Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., having 
been born there on January 27, 1849, anc ^ ^ s tne 
son of John and Catherine (Wright) McLaugh- 
lin, both natives of Ireland. His parents came 
from their native country to America in 1847 
and his father followed the occupation of farm- 
ing, and was the son of Robert McLaughlin, a 
member of a well-known family of Ireland. John 
R. McLaughlin grew to manhood in his native 
state and received his early education in the pub- 
lic schools. Upon the completion of his school 
life, he secured employment as a sailor on the 
Great Lakes, and remained in that occupation for 
about seven years. At the end of that time, he 
engaged in farming in the state of New York, 
and continued in that vocation there up to the 
year 1878, when he removed his residence to 
the state of Minnesota. Here he purchased a 
farm and made his home for nearly two years, 
when he disposed- of his property and removed 
to the then territory of Wyoming. Upon his 
arrival in this new country, he settled at once 
in the valley where he now resides and engaged 
in stockraising. In 1883 he purchased his pres- 
ent ranch property, and has continued in the 
stockraising business here since that time. His 



place, comprising about 300 acres of land, is one 
of the most valuable pieces of property in that 
section. On January 27 ,1876, in the state of 
New York, Mr. McLaughlin was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Edith A. Noble, a native of the 
Empire state, and a daughter of William and 
Jane A. (Payne) Noble, both being natives of 
that state. Mr. and Mrs. McLaughlin have an 
adopted child to bless their home life, Worden 
P. McLaughlin. Their home is noted for its 
fine western hospitality, and the family are held 
in high esteem by a large circle of friends. 

GEORGE MARQUETTE. 

For more than a generation of human life this 
successful and energetic stockman and farmer 
has lived in Wyoming. He came here in 1868, 
when the country was in truth and fact the 
"wild West,'' with no evidences of civilization, 
save here and there the lone cabin of the daring 
squatter, the dugout of the hardy trapper, the 
stockades of the military post or the humble meet- 
inghouse of the Christian mission. And to the 
settlement, development and improvement of the 
section he has given his life and energies since 
that time. Mr. Marquette is a native of Ohio, 
where he was born in 1841. His parents were 
Peter and Catherine Marquette, natives of Ger- 
many, who came to the United States soon after 
their marriage and settled in Ohio, and there en- 
gaged in farming. Their son lived at home until 
he was seventeen, attending the schools of the 
neighborhood and assisting on the farm. At the 
age mentioned he sought a new home in the 
West, a land of abundant promise but exacting 
conditions, and, locating in Minnesota, farmed 
for a time in that state and also for a time in 
Wisconsin. During his stay in this part of the 
country he worked at intervals on the rivers and 
in the pine woods. He has been bred to indus- 
try and, knowing hard work from his childhood, 
he was not afraid of it in any form, but with the 
true education which Nature gives her offspring 
who commune with her in proper spirit, stood 
ready with a hearty will to do whatever came 
his way and was remunerative, however ardu- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



667 



ous, and apart from a sense of duty repulsive, it 
might be. In i860 he removed to Missouri, and, 
not anticipating the troublous times that were 
almost at hand, settled down to a quiet farmer's 
life in that state. The next year when armed re- 
sistance threatened the existence of the Union, 
he enlisted in its defense as a member of Co. 
C, Fifth Missouri Militia, and during the two 
years of active service under arms which he 
saw had many exciting and. dangerous experi- 
ences, confronting the organized forces of the 
Confederacy in the field, following the path of 
ruin and devastation of the guerrilla Quantrell, 
guarding the supply trains of his command and 
protecting life and property on every hand. At 
the close of his term he returned to Minnesota, 
and after a year of labor there again enlisted, 
this time as a member of Co. H, Eleventh Minne- 
sota Infantry, and served in that command until 
the end of the war. He then engaged in rafting 
on the Mississippi for some months, after which 
he went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and aided in the 
construction of the Burlington & Missouri River 
Railroad. In 1868 he landed at Cheyenne, Wyo., 
finding it a straggling village with high hopes, 
but only a few unpretentious houses as yet. 
From there he went to Laramie and worked at 
making and selling railroad ties for a period 
of six years. In 1874 he began a three-years' 
industry in hunting, trapping and prospecting 
with headquarters in North Park, Colo., and in 
1877 returned to Wyoming, stopping at Sher- 
man until the spring of 1878, when he came by 
way of Fort Fetterman to Lander, going from 
there to North Park again and later to Rawlins. 
There he joined the Patti Mining Co. for the 
summer and in the fall returned to Lander. He 
soon after located on the Bighorn and built the 
first house in the Bighorn basin near the mouth 
of No Wood Creek. From here- he hunted, 
trapped and prospected for three years, and in 
1 88 1 located on the South Fork of the Shoshone 
River. After a season passed there he removed 
to near his present ranch, took up a homestead 
and began farming in earnest. In 1890 a post- 
office was established at Marquette and named 
in his honor. It was the first postoffice on the 



South Fork, and he was appointed postmaster, 
an office which he has held continuously since 
that time. Mr. Marquette has a fine ranch on 
the river and carries on a profitable and progres- 
sive stock business. His home is beautifully lo- 
cated, and, by the systematic improvements he 
has made and is still making, is fast becoming 
one of the best and most attractive in this sec- 
tion of the county. While he has been a great 
hunter and trapper in his time, and still has all 
the spirit and cunning of the craft, and has lost 
none of his intuitive knowledge of the woods- 
man's needs and methods, he has readily adapted 
himself to the changed conditions and settled 
down permanently to farming and raising stock. 
In 1901 his brother, Philip, of Ohio, made him 
a visit, and gave him the first sight of a mem- 
ber of his family since the war. He had not 
seen any of them for forty-three years. His 
bachelor home, while lacking the elegance and 
style of the city drawingroom, has an abundance 
of homely comfort, cordial hospitality and genu- 
ine good fellowship for all who find shelter un- 
der its pleasant and attractive roof. 

ANDREW J. MARTIN. 

Andrew J. Martin, of near Marquette, in 
Bighorn county, was born in Iowa on October 
23, 1872, and came to Wyoming in 1882, so that 
more than two-thirds of his life has been passed 
in this state. He has made it his home, the scene 
of his efforts and the location of his hopes, he 
has grown with its growth and prospered with 
its prosperity, contributing to the good results 
of the enterprise and public spirit of its people 
and aided in bringing it from primitive condi-' 
tions to something of mature development, from 
an infant state to a great and progressive com- 
monwealth. His parents were Benjamin F. and 
Elizabeth Martin, natives of Missouri and Indi- 
ana, respectively. When he was four years old 
his mother died and when he was ten his father 
removed with his family to Wyoming, and, tak- 
ing up a homestead near Bighorn' in Sheridan 
county, engaged in farming and stockg-rowing: 
For eight years he there resided, rearing and 



668 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



educating his children and battling with the hard 
conditions of life on a new frontier. In 1890 he 
removed to Bighorn county and settled on the 
North Fork of the Shoshone River, and in 1893 
brought his family to the new location. The 
family consists of five children : Mary E., now 
the wife of James T. Glascow ; Eda, now the 
wife of W. H. Brundage, of this county ; An- 
drew J. ; Dorothy, now the wife of Thomas S. 
Trimmer, whose career is recorded elsewhere 
in these pages; and Christopher E., a resident 
of this county. Mr. Martin grew to manhood 
and was educated in Wyoming, as has been 
noted, and in 1893 located on a homestead which 
is a part of his present ranch. He has added 
to its extent until he owns 400 acres of excellent 
land on the river, and his father has 320 and 
his brother, Christopher, 160 acres adjoining his. 
Here, from the time of his location on the land, 
he has been busily engaged in improving his 
ranch and building up a profitable stock industry, 
raising cattle principally, but handling in addi- 
tion a number of horses. His herd of cattle 
numbers some 400, of good breeds and kept in 
excellent condition, his land yielding abundance 
of feed and pasture. He is connected with the 
Modern Woodmen of America, holding member- 
ship in the lodge of the order at Cody. In 1895, 
at Bighorn in Sheridan county, he was married 
to Miss Zona Thomas, a native of Iowa. They 
have two children, their daughters, Elizabeth 
and Loraine. Mr. Martin is prosperous and 
progressive, a useful citizen, a good business 
man, an ornament to the county. Everything 
about his ranch proclaims his enterprise and 
skill as a farmer and his taste as a man. It is 
a beautiful place and is well-improved. 

CHARLES A. MARSTON. 

From povertv to affluence, from destitution 
in which he had not whereon to lay his head to 
shelter beneath his own vine and fig tree, with 
all the 'comforts of life and not a few of its lux- 
uries about him, this is in brief the history of 
Charles A. Marston, of near Marquette, in Big- 
horn county, a prominent ranchman and stock- 



grower and a leading citizen of the county; and 
while his is an oft-told tale in this western world, 
its interest never flags, its elements of tragedy 
and triumph are ever present, its potent and in- 
spiring example is always worthy of note and 
emulation. Mr. Marston was born in Maine 
on April 11, 1855, a scion of two substantial and 
thrifty families of that state. His parents were 
Gilbert B. and Martha M. (Shosey) Marston, 
who also were born and reared in Maine, and 
whose genealogy in that part of our country runs 
back in unbroken lines to Colonial times. He 
attended the country schools of his day and 
neighborhood, learning life's duties and getting 
his training for them rather in the daily experi- 
ence of a woodsman's humble home than in 
academies of learning, scooping, as it were, but 
a handful here and there from the grateful, in- 
vigorating waters of book knowledge as they 
danced and sparkled across his toilsome way, 
and when he was nineteen years of age, with the 
self-reliance and independence of his race and 
section, he left his paternal home and took up the 
contest with fate and the world for himself. He 
proceeded to California, reaching there in 1875 
and remaining until 1880 engaged in dairying. 
He then removed to Oregon and entered the 
employ of John W. Chapman in the stock busi- 
ness. In his service he came to Montana, and 
two years later went into the Yellowstone Na- 
tional Park and there conducted a butchering 
business for two years. In 1884. he came to 
Bighorn county, Wyo., without a single dollar of 
money and with nothing else to rely on but his 
own resolute spirit, physical health and general 
capacity for usefulness. He again entered the 
employ of Mr. Chapman and continued to work 
for him and a Frenchman, Count Dti Dore, the 
owner of a large cattle ranch on the Shoshone 
River. In 1887 he took up homestead and desert 
claims on the North Fork of the Shoshone 
River and began for himself a farming and 
stockgrowing industry, in which his progress 
lias been steady, sure and noticeable. He has 
320 acres of good land on which he has been 
raising cattle and horses, replacing the common 
stock as rapidly as he could with graded Here- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



669 



fords in cattle and with superior breeds .in 
horses. In the meantime he has greatly im- 
proved his place by good fences and buildings, 
brought much of it into a high state of cultiva- 
tion, producing the cereals, alfalfa and hay in 
profitable quantities, and making it a suitable 
home for a progressive, wide-awake and ener- 
getic American citizen. Where water was need- 
ed it was brought into his service from the 
Shoshone River, he and C. L. Green, of this 
county, being the first to irrigate from this source 
of supply. Mr. Marston is a Freemason, holding 
membership in Shoshone Lodge, U. D., of Cody, 
Wyo. He was married on May 27, 1901, to 
Mrs. Hattie F. Marston, who is, like himself, 
a native of Maine. 

IRA G. MASON. 

Ira G. Mason, of the firm of Mason & Son, 
prominent and successful stockgrowers on Buf- 
falo Creek, not far from the town of Thermop- 
olis, although in Bighorn county, is a pioneer of 
1890 in Wyoming and a native of Oregon, where 
he was born on September 11, 1874. His par- 
ents are Levi and Narcissa (Rowe) Mason, the 
former born in Illinois and coming from that 
state to Oregon when he was a boy, crossing the 
plains with ox teams in 1849. In Oregon he was 
reared and educated, and there he was married 
to Miss Rowe, a native of the state. He engaged 
in farming and lumbering in Oregon until 1878, 
then removed to Pullman in the state of Wash- 
ington, where he again engaged in farming, fol- 
lowing this vocation until 1890. In that year 
he sold his interests in Washington and came 
to Wyoming. He located at Otto and opened a 
general merchandising establishment in associ- 
ation with his son as a partner. In 1902 they 
determined to give up merchandising, sold their 
goods and interests in this line, took up land on 
Buffalo Creek and returned to the stock indus- 
try as a business. They have now 360 acres of 
land and an average of 150 head of fine cattle. 
The land is improved with good buildings, fences, 
etc., and the portions under cultivation are culti- 
vated with skill and diligence, rewarding the 



toil of the husbandman with abundant crops of 
the usual -farm products in this portion of the 
state. Ira G. Mason, the junior partner in the 
firm, was educated in the public schools of Wash- 
ington, and, leaving the state when he was six- 
teen, he then abandoned his school, the opportun- 
ity for a mercantile career in partnership with his 
father having been offered to him. Previous to 
entering upon this, however, he took a special 
course of training for it at the Gem City Business 
College at Quincy, from which he was graduated 
in 1897. He is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, while his father belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Mason 
has demonstrated that he has fine business ca- 
pacity, with active enterprise, commendable public 
spirit and breadth of view. He is earnestly in- 
terested in the development and progress of his 
county and stale, and active in behalf of any proj- 
ect for furthering their interests, as he is in 
any movement for the benefit and advancement 
of the great industry with which he is connected 
in a business way. The firm of L. H. Mason & 
Son is one of the mercantile and industrial insti- 
tutions of the county, whose rank in the com- 
mercial world is deservedly high, whose name 
is as familiar as household words throughout this 
part of the country. Its business is conducted on 
an elevated plane of integrity and progressive- 
ness and with a spirit of courtesy and consid- 
eration toward its numerous patrons. 

GEORGE MILLER. 

Having come to Wyoming when he was but 
thirteen vears old and having passed in this state 
the whole of his subsequent life, George Miller 
of the Bighorn basin might not inappropriately 
be esteemed a product of the state, even if not 
''to the manor born." His life began in Utah 
in March, 1867, and his parents were Armenius 
and Cornelia (Clossen) Miller, the former na- 
tive in Illinois and the latter in New York. When 
their son, George, was seven years old they re- 
moved to Nevada and in 1880 came to Wyoming, 
settling in Carbon county where they engaged 
in raising stock. They remained in Carbon 



670 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



county until 1883 and then removed to Sheridan 
county, where the father located a homestead 
and the parents now reside. George Miller was 
educated in the public schools of Wyoming and 
when he left school he engaged in freighting 
and also joined the great army of the state's in- 
dustrials who are connected with the cattle busi- 
ness. He rode the range for a few years, by 
thrift and energy acquired an excellent ranch in 
Sheridan county and stocked it with a fine grade 
of cattle. In 1895 he sought a new field for his 
energy and enterprise in the Bighorn basin and 
in this field he has since been carrying on a 
stock business of magnitude with vigor and suc- 
cess. He is one of the esteemed citizens of the 
section and is connected in a leading way with 
every enterprise for the advance and more rapid 
development of the county, especially this por- 
tion of it in which he lives. He belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Mod- 
ern Woodmen of America and takes an active in- 
terest in both orders. Looked upon as one of 
the most progressive young men of the county, 
and justifying this opinion in every way, he has 
a promising future before him. 

GEORGE S. MEAD. 

It is a maxim more true even than it is old 
that in civil society either law or force must pre- 
vail. And as it has been agreed by universal 
consent that law shall reign, it is needful that 
the officers who enforce it, and especially those 
who have to do with the administration of its 
punitive features, shall be men of integrity, capac- 
ity and discriminating judgment, able to make 
the lawless fear them and the rest of mankind 
respect and have confidence in them as the guard- 
ians of the peace and the conservators of order. 
Deputy Sheriff George S. Mead of Basin, Big- 
horn county, is an official of this character, and 
stands high as such in the confidence and es- 
teem of the public whose interests he has in 
charge. He has long been identified with the 
history of the state, being a pioneer of 1877 in 
Wyoming. He was born at Racine, Wisconsin, 
October 9, 1861, a son of G. G. and Katie (Kar- 



rigan) Mead, the former a native of Connecticut 
and the latter of Ireland. From Wisconsin they 
removed to Chicago, and there the father was in 
business three years until the great fire destroyed 
all his possessions. They then returned to Wis- 
consin, and from there soon after to Taylor coun- 
ty, Iowa, where he lived until 1877. I 11 triat 
year he came to Wyoming and settled at Raw- 
lins. He passed three years in rangeriding and 
freighting with that city as his headquarters, 
and in 1879, when the Ute Indian outbreak oc- 
curred, he went to work for the U. S. government 
as a teamster, and rendered good service in that 
capacity until 1883. He then returned to Raw- 
lins and was engaged in various occupations un- 
til 1887, when he went to ranching, at which he 
continued until 1894 when he sold out. The 
next year he came to Bighorn county, and, locat- 
ing land on the Bighorn River, went to stock- 
growing and farming. His ranch comprises 400 
acres of good land, which is well-improved, and 
he has a fine herd of cattle and a large number 
of horses. He conducts the ranch under his 
personal supervision and management, but has 
his residence in Basin where he owns a home. 
He is interested in public improvements of all 
kinds and is a stockholder in the water company 
of the city. His official experience has been ex- 
tended and varied, he was four years constable 
and deputy sheriff, serving at the same time as 
tax collector and in 1903 he was appointed dep- 
uty sheriff and jailer of the county, his fitness 
for the position being universally recognized. In 
fraternal relations he affiliates with the Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows, and is recognized 
as a serviceable member of the fraternity. In 
1877, at Ferris, Wyo., he was married to Miss 
Carrie M. Hill, a native of Wisconsin. They 
have five children. Lulu M.. Minnie A., George 
H, Nellie and Ethel E. 

RICHARD A. MORSE. 

Having but recently passed the half-century 
mark in the number of his years, Richard A. 
Morse of Lander, prominent in business and pub- 
lic life, has achieved more in the way of a sue- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



671 



cessful career than many a man on whom rests 
the burden of hoary age. He was born on Feb- 
ruary 15, 185 1, in Maine, the son of Mason W. 
and Priscilla C. (Rankin) Morse, also natives of 
Maine and descended from old Colonial stock 
of English ancestry. The father was a black- 
smith and farmer, and after pursuing these voca- 
tions for many years in his native state he re- 
moved with his family to Minnesota, where his 
wife died in 1880 and he in 1891. Their son, 
Richard, was the third of nine children and was 
educated in the public schools of Minnesota. Af- 
ter leaving school he engaged in farming for five 
years, at the end of which time he entered upon 
an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade un- 
der his father, with whom he worked for seven 
years. He then came to Wyoming and passed 
four years as a blacksmith in the employ of the 
U. S. government, two of them at Fort Steele. 
The next five years he was employed by the gov- 
ernment at Fort Washakie, after which he be- 
gan operations in the cattle business on New 
Fork, which he continued for three years, but 
was obliged to suspend after the hard winter of 
1890-91, which froze nearly all his cattle to 
death. He then accepted employment with the 
government again for a short time at Fort Wash- 
akie, being employed in carrying the mails from 
and to Meeteetse for three years, after which he 
conducted the hotel at the fort for two years 
when he sold but and worked at his trade of 
blacksmith at the agency for two more years. 
In 1898 he was .elected sheriff of Fremont coun- 
ty and removed to Lander, where, at the end of 
his term, he opened and established the City 
Blacksmith & Wagon Shops, since giving his at- 
tention fully to that enterprise, in which he has 
built up a gratifying and profitable trade and 
secured the confidence and esteem of the busi^ 
ness community. He has also taken an active 
and useful part in public affairs, serving in the 
city council acceptably and employing his influ- 
ence in the development of every good enter- 
prise in the town and county. In fraternal rela- 
tions Mr. Morse is a devoted member of the 
Masonic order, belonging to the lodge, chapter 
and commandery, and exhibiting a zealous and 



productive interest in the welfare of each body. 
He is at present (1902) the eminent commander 
of the local commandery of Knights Templar, 
which he has represented in the Grand Com- 
mandery, and is a valued member of Corean 
Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Rawlins. In 
October, 1872, he was married to Miss Amanda 
Fanning of Minnesota, a daughter of Samuel 
Fanning, an esteemed resident of that state and 
a native of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Morse have 
an adopted child, Rolla Morse. 

WILSON E. MORRIS. 

Born and reared in West Virginia, Wilson 
E. Morris of Bighorn county, Wyoming, resid- 
ing near Hyattville, saw much of the hardship 
engendered by the Civil War, and enjoys with 
increased satisfaction in consequence the com- 
fortable peace and its productive conditions in 
which he is now embosomed. He first saw the 
light on February 6, 1858, and on the West Vir- 
ginia farm owned and operated by his parents, 
Henry and Jane (Wilson) Morris, he grew to 
manhood and was educated. On leaving school 
he engaged in farming and lumbering in the 
state of his nativity, which was just then awak- 
ening to a knowledge of her great wealth in 
forestry and minerals, which it has since been 
pouring through the channels of trade in streams 
of benefaction to the commercial world. In 
these occupations he there continued until 1890, 
when he came to Wyoming, and locating on 
Paint Rock Creek and later on the Bighorn, en- 
gaged in the leading industry of this prolific 
section, ranching and raising stock. After a few 
years of successful business he sold out and went 
to Colorado, where he passed four years busily 
occupied in various pursuits, then returned to 
Wyoming and bought the fine farm he now occu- 
pies, comprising 160 acres of good land, well- 
improved, and much of it highly cultivated. He 
runs a herd of 300 cattle and a large drove of 
good horses and mules. This industry has his 
close and intelligent attention, and he is also 
interested in other properties of value and var- 
ious kinds. In company with two others he owns 



672 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



2,000 acres of land on the mountain. In the af- 
fairs of the community in which he lives and the 
county to which he owes allegiance Mr. Morris 
takes an abiding and serviceable interest, giving 
to the Republican party good service in its cam- 
paigns, and holding himself in readiness to aid 
in the development of every good enterprise for 
the benefit of his section. He was first married 
in West Virginia, on December 25, 1879, to 
Miss Sarah M. Bain, a native of that state, who 
died in Colorado on December 6, 1894, leaving 
these children, Ashford Lee, Creed R., William 
F., Maud and Zara. On September 28, in Lara- 
mie, Wyo., he contracted a second marriage, his 
choice on this occasion being Miss Elizabeth 
William, a native of Iowa. Mr. Morris stands 
well in the esteem of his fellow men, and has an 
excellent reputation for probity and uprightness, 
good business capacity, intelligence and public 
spirit, and attractive social qualities. He is one 
of the representative citizens of the neighbor- 
hood, and has won his position as such by merit 
and real usefulness. 

W. S. MYERS. 

W. S. Myers, of Burlington in Bighorn coun- 
ty, is a native of Kentucky, born on March 10, 
1848. His parents were John and Polly (Find- 
ley) Myers, also Kentuckians by nativity, and 
prosperous and highly respected farmers of that 
state, in which their son was reared and edu- 
cated. In 1869, soon after passing his twenty- 
first birthday, he emigrated - to Missouri and be- 
gan farming and raising stock on his own ac- 
count. His business prospered and he continued 
it in Missouri for fifteen years. In 1884 he re- 
moved to Custer county, Neb., and for ten years 
thereafter there carried on the same line of 
enterprise, again scoring a success, and with com- 
mendable frugality and care saving the proceeds 
of his labor for more ambitious ventures else- 
where. In 1894 he came to Wyoming and, find- 
ing in the location where he has since made his 
home a suitable place for conducting his chosen 
occupation on a more enlarged scale than before, 
he settled on a homestead claim, which he has 



made valuable and attractive with well-arranged 
and well-built improvements, and reduced to sys- 
tematic and prolific productiveness by careful and 
judicious cultivation. His ranch comprises 160 
acres of the best land in the basin, being located 
one mile west of the promising little town of 
Burlington. On this he has a large herd of fine 
cattle and a band of excellent horses, and here 
he conducts one of the most progressive and 
skillfully managed stock and farming industries 
in this portion of the county. He is interested 
in the Farmers' Canal Co. in a serviceable and 
leading way and is always active in behalf of 
any good enterprise for the benefit of the neigh- 
borhood in which he has cast his lot. With good 
judgment and careful investigation he gives his 
support to the spirit of progress and aids in 
directing the trend of its operations. In poli- 
tics he is an ardent and working Democrat, and 
has a potent voice in the counsels of his party, 
although not himself a claimant of its honors 
or official positions. In 1872, while living in 
Missouri, he was married to Miss Nannie Mc- 
Clain, a native and resident of that state. They 
have five children, Thomas E., Eva, Arthur S., 
Fred F. and Vernie. Wherever Mr. Myers has 
lived he has made a creditable record and won 
the esteem of his fellow men as a man of integrity 
and character, a business factor of enterprise and 
capacity, a citizen of public spirit and breadth 
of view and a social element of wide knowledge, 
genial manners, attractive personality and enter- 
taining conversational powers. 

JOHN R. PAINTER. 

One of the most progressive and influential 
capitalists in the state is John R. Painter, of 
Cody in Bighorn county. He is a mine owner, 
a stockgrower and a general developer of the 
natural resources of any region in which he 
happens to be living. He is the president and 
principal owner of the Sunlight Copper Mining 
Co., which has an immense amount of valuable 
mining property, and he also owns other mining 
properties of high value, being one of the largest 
holders of mining interests in the state. He or- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



673 



ganized the Sunlight Co. and did the first work 
in its mines, stocking it at his own expense and 
building roads and other works of construction 
for the development of its properties. Mr- Painter 
is a native of Maryland, where he was born on 
October 12, 1861, a son of John W. and Elmira 
(Robinson) Painter, the former born and reared 
in Pennsylvania and the latter in Maryland, 
where both of his parents died. When he was 
seventeen years old he went to Philadelphia with 
the object of beginning life for himself. For 
a while his occupations were obscure and his 
pay small, but he worked hard, practiced econo- 
my and frugality, kept his eyes open and his hand 
ready for better opportunities. In 1881 he start- 
ed an enterprise in the importation and sale of 
Swiss musical instruments, and conducted it 
with success and satisfaction to himself and his 
trade until 1896. In 1895 he came west on a 
hunting trip, and while seeking sport stumbled 
upon fortune. He discovered mining outlooks 
of promise, and, selling his business in the East, 
came to Wyoming and purchased claims from 
the original locators and located others. He at 
once set to work developing them and has given 
this work his personal supervision from the be- 
ginning. The mines have large bodies of cop- 
per, silver and gold-bearing ore, and the yield is 
of a high percentage. In addition to his mines 
Mr. Painter owns a well-improved and highly 
cultivated ranch, on which he raises stock and 
conducts a progressive farming industry on a 
liberal scale. He has demonstrated that the cer- 
eals can be successfully and profitably grown in 
this section of the state, at an elevation of 7,052 
feet, and has found the solution of agricultural 
problems to the advantage of the people and the 
county. As one of the most progressive men 
in the Northwest, his activity and his example 
have been potential for good in the advancement 
and improvement of the country, his enterprise 
has pushed forward works of great utility and 
value and opened the way to others, and his 
genial disposition and breadth of view have given 
to social and educational influences a vigor of 
life and an exaltation of standard. On March 5, 
1885, in Philadelphia, Pa., he solemnized his 



marriage with Miss Mary E. Taylor, a native of 
that city. They have three children, Mary E., 
Marguerite M. and William T. The family resi- 
dence is on the ranch, which has a wide celeb- 
rity for being a center of refined and gracious 
hospitality, generous in volume and character. 

T. F. NELSON. 

For nearly twenty years a resident of Wyo- 
ming, and during all that time contributing es- 
sentially to the growth and development of the 
section in which he has lived, T. F. Nelson, of 
near Hyattville, is far from the land of his an- 
cestors, but he is exemplifying in the country of 
his nativity the lessons of thrift, industry, and 
productive usefulness for which the} were dis- 
tinguished in their native Sweden. He was born 
in Nebraska in April, 1859, the son of Lasce and 
Mary (Olson) Nelson, who came thither from 
the land of their birth soon after their marriage. 
While he was yet a child they removed from 
Nebraska to Utah and there he was reared and 
educated. When he reached the age of seven- 
teen he started in life for himself, by going to 
Idaho and engaging in the stock business. For 
ten fruitful years he followed this business in 
Idaho and, in 1886, with the earnings of his la- 
bor and acquired business acumen, he came to 
Wyoming, and, locating where he now resides, 
continued in the Bighorn basin the same enter- 
prise he had carried on so successfully in Idaho. 
He has a fine ranch of 320 acres of fertile land, 
200 head of cattle and a number of superior 
horses and his ranch and stock operations are 
carefully and considerately conducted with close 
attention and a due regard to the comfort and 
best conditions for his stock, and to secure the 
largest returns for his outlay of time and labor. 
The improvements he has made in the way of 
buildings and fences, machinery and other ap- 
pliances for the farm work he has about him, all 
the elements of the industrial part of the estab- 
lishment, as well as the general appearance and 
character of the place, proclaim the excellence of 
the management and the intelligence of the hus- 
bandry, and the results are commensurate with 



674 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the energy and skill employed in their produc- 
tion. Mr. Nelson was united in marriage with 
Miss Rachel Lee, a native of Utah, but at the 
time of their union living in Idaho, where the 
marriage took place. They have three children, 
Alvin, Willis and Merle. The competency Mr. 
Nelson has wrung from the hard conditions of 
pioneer life, the substantial contributions he has 
made to the progress and development of the 
county of his residence, and the general esteem 
in which he is held by the people among whom 
he has lived, all unite to attest him as being one 
of the reliable, useful and worthy citizens of the 
state, and a noteworthy element in that body of 
our citizenship derived from the land of Gusta- 
vus Adolphus, which in so many parts of our 
country has done so much for its improvement. 

CHARLES H. EDWARDS. 

Among the more prominent of the earliest 
pioneers of Wyoming is Mr. Charles H. Edwards 
of Iron Mountain, a native of the old common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, his very eventful career 
commencing at the city of Marblehead on June 
26, 1838, the son of Charles and Mary E. (One) 
Edwards, natives of the same state. He comes 
of an ancestry distinguished in the history of 
America for its services to its state and country 
and especially so for its devotion and loyalty 
to the cause of liberty and independence during 
the Colonial period. According to family tra- 
dition the maternal ancestry is traced through 
all its American generations to the old world 
through emigrants landing here in the May- 
flower, and the spirit which inspired them has 
ever characterized their descendants. His ma- 
ternal grandfather, Azor Orne, was a colonel in 
the American army of the War of the Revolution, 
making a distinguished record for gallantry and 
earning for himself a permanent place in the 
history of his country. He also took a leading 
part in the exciting and dangerous times im- 
mediately preceding the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, and was instrumental in a large measure 
in shaping the policy of the colonists in Massa- 
chusetts at that time, having been chairman of 



the general committee appointed by the people 
to consider the infamous Stamp Act of Great 
Britain. The house in which he resided still 
stands on Orne street, Marblehead, and is pointed 
out to sightseers as one of the interesting spots 
in that old town, so rich in historic places. Col- 
onel One's brother, Joshua, also took a prom- 
inent part in Massachusetts during early Co- 
lonial times. His paternal ancestors were little 
less conspicuous in the services they rendered to 
their country during those trying times. The 
father of Mr. Edwards was one of the leading 
educators of New England, having charge of 
institutions of learning at Marblehead and else- 
where for many years, and many of the leading 
men of Massachusetts and other states have been 
at times under his instruction. In 1847, on ac- 
count of failing health, he came to St. Louis, in 
the hope that the change would be beneficial to 
him. He remained there until 185 1, following 
his profession, in the latter years removed to 
Belleville, 111., where he accepted an important 
position in the public schools. His health rapidly 
failed, however, and he died in 1852, and lies 
buried in Belleville. The mother of Mr. Ed- 
wards died at Marblehead in 1847, an d she was 
buried there. Losing his parents at this tender 
age, his uncle, Col. Adoniram Orne, was early 
appointed as his guardian. Always of a self-reli- 
ant nature, Charles disliked to be dependent upon 
his relatives and resolved to make his own way 
in the world. Having this desire and being full 
of the spirit of adventure, he took service at the 
age of seventeen years on a whaling vessel bound 
on a three years' cruise on the Atlantic and In- 
dian oceans, for he was determined to see the 
world, as well as to establish himself in an in- 
dependent position. At the end of three years 
he returned to Marblehead, having had many 
and varied experiences in some of the remotest 
sections of the globe. Three months after his 
return, in November, 1858, he sailed on a whal- 
ing vessel bound for the Indian Ocean. The ship 
arrived there in due time, but not meeting with 
success, and having a captain whose treatment 
of the sailors was such as to make life intoler- 
able to men of spirit, Mr. Edwards and another 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



675 



sailor deserted the vessel and swam in the night- 
time over two miles to the Isle of France. This 
was a most dangerous feat, for the waters about 
the ship were filled with sharks, but the two ad- 
venturous youngsters reached land in safety. 
Here he remained for thirteen months employed 
iii various occupations, and shipped on a vessel 
for Liverpool, Eng., by the way of Bombay, Mad- 
agascar and Zanzibar. In 1861 he came again 
to the United States and in October enlisted as 
a seaman in the U. S. navy and was assigned to 
the gunboat New London, and during the en- 
tire time of his service until his discharge on 
account of illness in 1863, he was under the 
command of Admiral Farragut. Returning to 
Marblehead to recuperate his health, which had 
been badly undermined during his service in the 
navy, he remained there for some time and then 
went to St. Louis, to visit a sister. In 1886 he 
opened a boot and shoe store in St. Joseph, con- 
tinuing in that business there until July, 1867, 
when, selling his mercantile interests, he went 
to Julesburg, Colo., then one of the most active 
towns of the West. Not finding the oppor- 
tunities here equal to his expectations, in Sep- 
tember, 1867, he located in the city of Cheyenne. 
This was during the earliest history of that town, 
and Mr. Edwards was one of the first merchants 
to engage in business there. He opened a general 
boot and shoe store in Cheyenne in a small frame 
building made of very rough lumber, which was 
freighted 150 miles by bull teams and cost $150 
per thousand. He still has pictures of the old 
store, one of the first erected in Cheyenne, which 
he values very highly. Here he continued in 
merchandising until 1870, when in the great fire 
of that year, which destroyed so large a portion 
of the city, he lost his entire stock of goods. 
Having now to commence again at the bottom 
of the financial ladder, Mr. Edwards took a po- 
sition on the Union Pacific Railroad, where he 
remained for three years, but in 1875, he took 
up a ranch seven miles west of Cheyenne, and 
engaged in dairy-farming, which he followed 
with great prosperity for ten years, then disposed 
of this property, purchased his present ranch on 
Chugwater, about forty miles from Cheyenne, 

42 



and engaged in cattleraising. He has since de- 
voted himself to this business, and has met with 
great success, at this writing (1902) having a 
ranch of over 2,000 acres patented and well 
fenced and improved, besides several thousand 
acres which he controls under lease from the 
state. He is counted as among the solid and sub- 
stantial stockmen of Wyoming. On November 
17, 1867, Mr. Edwards was united in marriage 
with Miss Anna Thurston, at St. Joseph, Mo., 
who died on October 25, 1878. She was a na- 
tive of Missouri and a daughter of Doctor and 
Mrs. Lucy A. Thurston, the former a native of 
North Carolina and the latter of Missouri. ■ The 
parents of Mrs. Edwards were of old Southern 
stock and among the earliest of the pioneers of 
Missouri. To this union four children were 
born, Anna, Bessie, Charles H. Jr., and William 
C, all are now living. The daughters are both 
married, and Mrs. Anna (Edwards) Davidson 
enjoys the distinction of being the first living 
white girl born in the city of Cheyenne, the date 
being January 30, 1868. The son, Charles H. 
Edwards, Jr., resides at the home ranch and 
assists his father in the management of their 
extensive stock interests. On November 7, 
1879, Mr. Edwards was married at Marbleheaa, 
Mass., with Miss Mary Rodgers, a native of 
that place and a daughter of William and Eliza- 
beth (Martin) Rodgers, both natives of Massa- 
chusetts, and representatives of old Colonial fam- 
ilies. Mr. Edwards is affiliated with the Be- 
nevolent Protective Order of Elks and also is a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
also of the Union Veterans' Union. It is well 
known that no one can become a member of the 
latter organization who was not under fire in the 
great Civil War. Politically, he is a stanch Re- 
publican and during all his life he has taken an 
active and prominent interest in public affairs. 
For a number of years being the popular postmas- 
ter at Iron Mountain. His career, from earliest 
boyhood to the present, has been crowded with 
unusual experiences and he has seen life in many 
phases, and in all quarters of the world. His 
extensive travels and adventures by land and 
sea have given him a great fund from which to 



676 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



draw interesting reminiscences, and it is a de- 
lightful pleasure to listen to them. He is a man 
of sterling character, loyal to his friends, indus- 
trious, persevering and unfaltering in his de- 
votion to principle. His fine traits. of character, 
inherited from his Puritan ancestry, and culti- 
vated during his long life of struggle and en- 
deavor, have won for him the respect and ven- 
eration of all who know him and made him de- 
servedly popular among a very wide circle of 
warm personal friends. 

R. L. PREATOR. 

R. L. Preator, of Burlington, Wyo., head of 
the mercantile house of Preator & Griffin, which 
is one of the best-known and most imposing com- 
mercial institutions in this part of Bighorn coun- 
ty, this state, is a pioneer of 1890 in Wyoming 
and in all respects a product of the Northwest. 
He was born on August 27, 1857, in Utah, whith- 
er his parents, Richard and Mary (Harper) 
Preator, came from their native England a year 
preceding his birth. His father became promin- 
ent and influential in the Mormon church, and 
is now one of the council of the Seventy in its 
government. He lives at Independence, in the 
state of Missouri. His wife died in Utah on 
February 28, 1878, and was buried in that state. 
R. L. Preator was reared in his native state and 
received a limited education in its public schools. 
On leaving school he learned the blacksmith's 
trade and for a number of years worked at it 
in connection with work in the mines and the 
quartz mills. He then went to Nevada and was 
employed on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad 
until 1883, when he removed to Cassia county, 
Idaho, and remained there seven years engaged 
in farming. In 1890 he came to Wyoming and 
settled in Star Valley, and, on September 5, 1893, 
located in the Bighorn basin on the land which is 
now his highly improved ranch and adjoins the 
townsite of Burlington. On this place he has 
since been occupied with a growing farming 
and stock industry and aiding in building up 
and developing the town and surrounding conn- 
try. He was the first postmaster at Burlington, 



holding the office five years. In 1899 he opened 
a mercantile establishment in the town and con- 
ducted it for a short time, then sold it and en- 
gaged in railroad construction under contract, 
building the road into the Bighorn basin. In 1902 
he formed a partnership with Henry Griffin and 
they purchased the merchandising business in 
which they are now jointly engaged. They carry 
a large stock of general merchandise and supply 
the wants of a large and appreciative trade 
throughout an extensive range of country. Mr. 
Preator also owns 320 acres of excellent land and 
a considerable part of the townsite of Burlington. 
He is active in local public affairs and in the 
councils and work of the Church of the Latter 
Day Saints. In this organization he belongs to 
the order of the high priesthood and has rendered 
in many ways signal service to the interests of 
the church. On February 1, 1884, he was mar- 
ried in Cassia county, Idaho, to Miss Margaret 
Mcintosh, a native of Utah. They have nine 
children living, Rodney, Ray, Alice, Sarah, Eu- 
gene, Theresa, Joseph, Wallace and Maude. Mr. 
Preator is one of the leading citiens of Burlington 
and is highly respected by all classes of the peo- 
ple of his own and adjoining counties. 

W. W. PEAY. 

The multiform activity of the human mind 
and its great functional adaptability, provide a 
genius for every sphere, an architect for even- 
needed structure, an artisan for every piece of 
work that human life and human history re- 
quires. In the wide diversity of duties involved 
in the building of a state, or conducting any sort 
of complicated enterprise, every man and every 
form of human capacity can find scope, for to 
some are given one work and to others another. 
In the social and civil economy of Wyoming and 
other portions of the Northwest, it fell to the 
lot of W. W. Peay to employ both the talents 
nature gave him and the attainments he had se- 
cured by study and practice, not in unveiling 
hidden stores of mineral wealth, in operating gi- 
gantic commercial establishments nor by inaug- 
urating and developing great industrial enter- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



677 



prises, although he has been more or less con- 
cerned in all of these, but his special function 
seems to have been to lay out the land and 
definitely fix its metes and bounds for the pro- 
tection of public and private interests, and aid 
in administering the laws which govern both. 
He is the county surveyor of Bighorn county 
and he has been occupied with civil engineering 
and surveying of one kind or another in various 
places from his early manhood. The place of his 
nativity is Little Rock, Arkansas, and he was 
born there on June 29, 1853. His father, Gordon 
N. Peay, was a native of Kentucky, and his 
mother, whose maiden name was Olive Mont- 
gomery, was born and reared in Arkansas. In 
i860 they moved to Wilson county, Kan., and 
there reared and educated their son, his academic 
training being received mainly in the public 
schools, and his professional education coming 
almost wholly through his own private study 
and through active practice. In 1880 he came 
to Wyoming and, locating at Laramie, was em- 
ployed at civil engineering on government sur- 
veys under Downey & Grant. In 1883 he opened 
an office at Rawlins for the practice of his pro- 
fession as a civil engineer and surveyor, and 
soon after was elected county surveyor of the 
county in which he had settled. He filled this 
office until 1887, and at the end of his term came 
to the Bighorn, locating on the river three miles 
below Basin, and in 1889 he moved to Bonanza, 
where he remained two years. In 1891 he home- 
steaded a portion of the land which now forms 
his residence and since then he has been engaged 
to a limited extent in the cattle business. In 
1898 he was appointed a commissioner of the 
District Court, a position which he still holds, 
and in 1900 he was elected county surveyor of 
Bighorn county, and reelected in 1902. He has 
also served four years as justice of the peace 
and for a long period as a member of the school 
board. But while busily occupied as a surveyor, 
fixing the boundaries of district and counties, as 
well as the limitations of private holdings, at 
the same time establishing the "forms and putting 
into beneficent activity the forces of civil power, 
he has not neglected commercial interests. He 



is a stockholder in the Bonanza oil fields, and 
is connected influentially with other mercantile 
enterprises of magnitude and value. He is a 
Freemason in fraternal relations, being enthus- 
iastic in his devotion to the order. He was 
married in Kansas in 1879 to Miss Lissa Thayer, 
a native of Minnesota and a teacher in the public 
schools of that state. They have seven children, 
Shirley, wife of W. A. George ; Elda, Anna, Ro- 
land W., Mabel, Paul and John. Mrs. Peay has 
been postmistress at Jordan since December, 
1900, and has discharged her official duties with 
credit to herself and satisfaction to the patrons. 

JOHN REID. 

A leading citizen of Albany county, and one 
who is also prominent in the public affairs of the 
state of Wyoming, is the Hon. John Reid, whose 
address is Hatton, Wyoming. A native of Scot- 
land, he was born in the city of Glasgow, in 1846, 
and is the son of George and Jeannette (Kellie) 
Reid, both natives of that country. His father 
was born in 1819, and was engaged in the busi- 
ness of contracting in Scotland, following that 
occupation in the city of Glasgow down to 1882, 
when he disposed of his property in his native 
country and removed his residence to America, 
where he located in the city of Laramie, and there 
remained up to the time of his decease, in May, 
1884. The mother passed away in Scotland in 
1879 at the age of fifty-eight years. She was 
the mother of five sons and three daughters and 
a woman of great strength of character. John 
Reid grew to man's estate in his native country, 
and received his early education in the public 
schools of Glasgow. When he had completed 
his school life he engaged in business with his 
father and remained at home until he had ar- 
rived at the age of twenty-three years. He then 
set sail for the New World. Upon his arrival in 
America he proceeded to the state of Wisconsin, 
where he established his home in Milwaukee, and 
secured employment in the rolling mills operating 
at that place. He here continued in this em- 
ployment until 1875, and in February of. that 
year, he removed his residence to the city of 



678 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Laramie, Wyo. Here he again entered into the 
service of a rolling-mills company, and remained 
in that business until 1884, when he resigned his 
position for the purpose of engaging in ranching 
and stockraising. Purchasing a ranch on the 
Little Laramie River, in Albany county, where 
he now resides, he entered into the stockgrowing 
industry, in which he has from that time been 
continuously engaged. He has met with great 
success, having steadily added to his holdings, 
both of lands and cattle, until now he is the owner 
of a fine ranch of over 1,700 acres of land, well 
fenced and improved, and with all the necessary 
buildings and conveniences for the carrying on of 
an extensive stockraising business. In 1869 Mr. 
Reid was united in marriage with Miss Margaret 
Bailey, a native of Scotland and the daughter 
of William and Agnes (Chapman) Bailey, both 
natives of that country, and highly respected citi- 
zens of the city of Glasgow. No children have 
been born to them, but they have reared and 
given a good home to not less than six adopted 
children, and their home is noted for the gener- 
ous and very gracious hospitality which they take 
pleasure in dispensing to a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. Mr. Reid is affiliated with 
the Masonic order, and takes a deep interest in 
the fraternal life of the community where he 
resides, being especially active in all work of 
charity and helpfulness to those less fortunate 
than himself. Politically, he is a stanch member 
of the Republican party, and for many years has 
been active and prominent in the councils and 
leadership of that political organization in both 
county and state. Oftentimes he has been urged 
by his fellow citizens to become a candidate for 
public office, but has usually declined to do so, 
preferring to devote his entire time and attention 
to the care and management of his extensive pri- 
vate business affairs, but, recognizing the fact 
that, under our system of popular government, 
it is the duty of every citizen to interest himself 
to some extent in public affairs, at least to the 
extent of perceiving that its legitimate business 
is carried on with honesty and with efficiency, 
he consented to become during a period of 
four years an active member of the board 



of county commissioners of Albany county, 
and also as a member of the State Legislative 
Assembly for a period of four years. To the pub- 
lic service he brought the ability, integrity and 
painstaking care that have ever characterized his 
business career, and gave to the public business 
the attention and fidelity that have made him 
so conspicuously successful in his own business 
transactions. Many measures of legislation, use- 
ful to all the people of Wyoming and especially 
so to the live stock interests of the state, owe their 
origin to the ability, industry and patriotism of 
Mr. Reid and to the conscientious manner in 
which he discharged the duties of his public trust. 
He is one of the foremost citizens of his state, 
both in business and in public life, always prom- 
inent in the advocacy of every measure calculated 
to benefit the people of his county or to promote 
the best interests of the state. No man in his 
section of Wyoming has done more to develop 
the resources of the state or to serve the wel- 
fare of the people, for he is progressive, popular, 
and always actuated by patriotic moth^es. 

ROBERT E. RATH. 

Robert E. Rath, of Shell, on Shell Creek in 
Bighorn county, is a pioneer of 1881 in Wyo- 
ming, who has been of great service in helping 
to develop and build up several portions of the 
state. He is a native of Jersey City, New Jer- 
sey, belonging to families long resident in Ger- 
many, and active for generations in making it 
the great and busy manufacturing and commer- 
cial empire it has become. His life began on 
April 27, 1862, and when he was two years old 
his parents, Charles and Mary Rath, who had 
come to the United States from the Fatherland 
soon after their marriage, moved to Monroe 
county. Wis. At the age of ten Robert left home 
to make his own way in the world, going to 
Minnesota and, after remaining four years in 
that state working at various occupations, he se- 
cured steady employment in a flouring mill where 
he remained five "years, rising by merit in the 
scale of his employment and mastering by dili- 
crent attention every detail of the business there- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



679 



in conducted. In 1881 he came to Bismarck, 
Dak., and soon after brought a band of horses 
from there to Montana, disposing of them at 
Miles City, and taking up his residence tempor- 
arily at Huntley in that state. From there in 
June of the same year he came to the Bighorn 
basin of Wyoming with a partner, locating on 
Stinking Water River, and there built the first 
cabin in the spacious area that is now Bighorn 
county. In 1882 he began an eight-years ser- 
vice in the employ of Henry C. Lovell, for a 
considerable portion of the time being his ranch 
foreman. Learning thoroughly in this engage- 
ment all about the stock business, as he had 
learned in his former one all about the milling 
business, in 1892 he located on his present ranch 
on Shell Creek with a view of conducting there 
a general farming and stock industry. This he 
promptly inaugurated and since then he has been 
vigorously carrying on these enterprises with in- 
creasing herds and rapidly expanding agricul- 
tural operations. His ranch comprises 160 acres 
of fine land, which he has improved with judic- 
ious and systematic labor and expenditures .in 
buildings and equipment, which supports with 
bountiful provision for their welfare his cattle 
and horses. He is one of the wide-awake and 
progressive men of his section, and the condition 
of his land, the character of the improvements 
he has made and the excellent condition of his 
stock all unite in testimony of the fact. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Rath is connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and is vice-chancellor of 
his lodge. He was united in marriage with Miss 
Eliza Pense, a native of Illinois, on April 19, 
1894, the marriage occurring at Shell, where the 
lady was then living. They have had four chil- 
dren, the first born, Lottie M., died in childhood. 
The living are Robert E., Jr., Vina M. and Ralph. 
Mr. Rath has been a public spirited citizen and 
has given constant and careful attention to the 
welfare of the community in every' way. When 
he first took up his residence in this part of the 
country it was infested with thieves and rob- 
bers, who had become bold by their continued 
success and apparent immunity from punishment. 
As a member of the first jury summoned in the 



county, and by vigorous pursuit and defiance of 
the lawless element in other ways, he was of 
great assistance in ridding the county of their 
presence and making it an unsafe harbor for 
evil-doers. The spirit of vigorous enforcement 
of the law thus awakened has been conspicuously 
active ever since, resulting in making Bighorn 
one of the best governed counties in the state. 

GEORGE S. RUSSELL. 

A scion of old Pennsylvania families, active 
and serviceable in the history of the state from 
early Colonial times, the son of parents who left 
their family associations and the scenes and tra- 
ditions of their native state and became early 
settlers in Ohio, where he was born on August 
15, 1850, and, passing his childhood there and 
on the prairies of Illinois, and his youth and 
early manhood among the mountains of Colo- 
rado, George S. Russell, of Ishawood in Bighorn 
county, has had a varied experience -and seen 
many phases of human life. When he was five 
years old his parents, Benjamin O. and Mary 
(Lytle) Russell, who had moved from Washing- 
ton county, Pa., to Ohio, again moved with their 
young family to Whiteside county, 111., and re- 
mained there two years. At the end of that time 
they took another flight toward the setting sun, 
locating in Gilpin county, Colo., where their son 
George was reared and partially educated. As 
he approached years of maturity he was entered 
at the Worcester (Mass.) Military Academy, 
and in that institution received the finishing 
courses of his education, and, soon after leaving 
its classic halls he' began to learn the trade of a 
carpenter. When he had finished his apprentice- 
ship he worked at his trade in Colorado until 
1885. He then came to Wyoming and located at 
Lander, now the countyseat of Fremont county. 
Here he found profitable employment at his spec- 
ial craft, for in a new and growing country the 
mechanical branches of usefulness are always in 
great demand. He remained in Fremont county 
until 1897, carrying on a thriving farming indus- 
try in connection with his carpenter work. In 
that year he removed to Cody, and in 1900 to his 



68o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



present residence on the South Fork of Stink- 
ing Water River, near the town of Ishawood. 
Here on a valuable homestead, which he then 
took up, he has since resided and carried on 
with vigor and success an expanding stock busi- 
ness, keeping it up to an elevated standard and 
pushing its development with the energy and 
breadth of view characteristic of himself and 
his ancestry. In the same year he was elected 
county commissioner for a term of four years and 
is discharging his official duties at this writing 
(1903) with great credit to himself and advan- 
tage to the people and the county in general. He 
was married at Empire, Colo., in 1879, to Miss 
D. H. Kirkland, a native of the state. They have 
five children, Erald, Mary C, Lydia O., Bertha 
O. and Abby L. Mr. Russell is an active and 
esteemed member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World, 
taking an earnest and appreciative interest in 
the proceedings of both orders. His active and 
useful life has made him secure in the confidence 
and good will of his fellow citizens of the county, 
while his business capacity, breadth of view, pub- 
lic spirit and progressiveness have given him a 
high place in public estimation as a forceful, 
wise, enterprising and safe public official and 
representative man in his community. 

HENRY RITTERLING. 

This well-known gentleman is one of the 
sturdy American citizens to whose intelligence, 
sterling honesty and sturdy industry the great 
West is indebted for much of the prosperity 
which it today enjoys. He is a native of Han- 
over, Germany, and dates his birth upon March 
4, 1845. His parents, also natives of Hanover, 
were George and Mary (Blanck) Ritterling, the 
father for many years being a manufacturer of 
flour in the land of his nativity. Both parents 
passed their lives in Hanover and, side by side, 
they sleep the dreamless sleep of death in the 
same old cemetery in which rests all that is 
mortal of many generations of their ancestors. 
Until his fourteenth year Henry remained with 
his parents and attended the public schools. At 



that early age he was thrown upon his own re- 
sources and during the seven years following 
worked as a farm hand. On attaining his major- 
ity he joined the Hanoverian army and served as 
a soldier until the consolidation of the different 
German countries into the German empire, when, 
not caring to remain longer under the govern- 
ment thus established, he left the Fatherland and 
came to the United States, where, for some time 
after his arrival, he worked in a grist-mill at 
Rochester, N. Y., and later was employed in a 
lamp factory in the same city until occurred his 
enlistment on September 12, 1870, when he 
joined Co. L, Fifth U. S. Cavalry. He was first 
ordered to Fort McPherson, Neb., where the 
command remained one year, being then trans- 
ferred to Camp Grant, Ariz., at which place it 
was stationed until 1875, then going into camp 
at Graham Mountains, where Mr. Ritterling 
passed one summer and the following winter saw 
considerable active service fighting the Indians 
who had become very troublesome. The regi- 
ment was kept quite busy operating against the 
wily foe until the next spring, when it was or- 
dered to Fort Lyons, Colo., remaining there until 
transferred to Fort Robinson in 1876. It was 
on the latter march that Mr. Ritterling passed 
through the part of Wyoming which he subse- 
quently selected for his home. From Fort Rob- 
inson he accompanied his command to Fort Mc- 
Pherson, and, in 1877, was sent to Fort Wash- 
akie, Wyo., and thereafter marched to join the 
forces under Generals Sherman and Crook 
through the Big Horn country, passing on the 
way over the country of Custer's disastrous fight 
on the Rosebud and also witnessing many other 
points of interest. After fighting the Indians to 
a finish and spending the winter of 1877-78 at 
Fort Russell, Mr. Ritterling's regiment was sent 
against the savages in the northern part of Wyo- 
ming, in the fall of 1878 returning to Fort Wash- 
akie, where it remained until 1880. The next 
move was to Fort Robinson, when the period of 
enlistment of Mr. Ritterling expired and he re- 
ceived his discharge at that place on September 
12, 1880. Mr. Ritterling's military experience 
in this country covered one of the most exciting: 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



periods in the history of the West and, from the 
time of entering the army until honorably dis- 
charged, he proved his loyalty and bravery by 
faithful, conscientious and dangerous service. 
He was with his command in many thrilling and 
dangerous • situations, but never shirked a duty, 
however onerous, and was ready to march against 
the foe whenever it was necessary so to do. In 
his own country he also saw much active service 
and has in his possession the discharge which 
speaks of faithful performance of duty and hon- 
orable conduct during his period of enlistment. 
On severing his connection with the army Mr. 
Ritterling spent the following winter on a visit 
to the familiar scenes of his native land, but re- 
turned to the United Statesjn 1881 and accepted 
a position as an ambulance driver with General 
Crook's command at the military post of Owaho, 
Wyo. In the fall of the above year he was em- 
ployed by the government to drive a number of 
mules to Fort Collins, Colo., and, after remain- 
ing at that place until the spring of 1882, he 
came to Laramie county, Wyo., and purchased 
his present ranch, located three miles west of 
Fort Laramie, where he has since been engaged 
in cattleraising. His ranch is situated on the Lar- 
amie River and among its improvements are a 
building and a corral, which were erected about 
forty years ago when the place was a station on 
the old California trail. Mr. Ritterling has made 
many additional improvements on his land and 
now owns 600 acres, all lying on the Laramie 
River and especially well adapted for cattle rais- 
ing. It is also a historic location and is far the 
best-known ranch in this part of the state. Mr. 
Ritterling is very widely and favorably known 
among the successful live stock men of the coun- 
ty in which he lives. He was married in the 
summer of 1883 to Miss Margaret Hars, of 
Germany, the ceremony being solemnized in the 
city of Cheyenne. After a short but happy wed- 
ded experience, Mrs. Ritterling was called to her 
reward, dying on July 9, of the year following 
her marriage. She possessed excellent traits of 
character and was a devoted member of the 
Lutheran church. Mr. Ritterling is also identi- 
fied with that body of worshipers. 



WALTER ROADIFER. 

With a well-improved, thoroughly irrigated 
and skillfully cultivated ranch of 120 acres of 
good land lying four miles north of Sundance 
in Crook county, now under lease to a good ten- 
ant, and another one of 200 acres on Canyon 
Springs Prairie, on the Sundance and Newcastle 
road, half way between these towns, which he 
occupies as his residence, Walter Roadifer would 
seem to be beyond the reach of adverse fortune 
and secure in comfort and plenty for the remain- 
der of his days. He is also well-established in 
the regard of his fellow men, whom he has served 
by both precept and example in all that exempli- 
fies the best elements of American citizenship. 
He was born on December 31, i860, in La Salle 
county, Illinois, being a son of William O. and 
Helen (Laughlin) Roadifer, natives of Ohio and 
Illinois respectively. Until 1872 the father was 
a merchant in Iroquois county, 111., and at that 
time he removed to Jasper county, Ind., where 
he passed a 'number of years in farming and is 
now dealing in grain on a large scale. Walter 
Roadifer attended the public schools of Iroquois 
county, 111., until he was twelve years old, when 
he removed with his parents to Indiana and there 
finished his education. After leaving school he 
farmed in Indiana until he was twenty-four years 
of age. In 1885 he came to Wyoming and locat- 
ing at the town of Sundance, then newly created, 
in Crook county, which only a year before had 
been segregated from its former allegiance and 
risen to the dignity of a separate political entity, 
he preempted a claim about a mile from the town 
and there pushed a vigorous industry in farming 
for three years. In 1888 he disposed of his 
property and returned to Indiana, where he 
farmed for five years, being married during that 
period, on September 9, 1891, to Miss Anna L. 
Hecox, a native of the state and daughter of 
Melso and Mattie (Curry) Hecox, her father 
being one of the prosperous farmers of Jasper 
county and a representative citizen of the Hoosier 
state. In 1893 Mr. Roadifer returned to Wyo- 
ming and settled on a ranch he took up four miles 
north of Sundance, and there he continued his 



682 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



farming operations and stock industry, also con- 
ducting a dairy business which was extensive and 
profitable. In May, 1901, he removed from his 
old homestead to a new home on Canyon Springs 
Prairie, on which he now resides, and carries on 
a thriving business as a progressive farmer. This 
place consists of 200 acres and is well improved 
and carefully and skillfully cultivated. His tastes 
running, however, to livestock, he is about to re- 
turn to the stock business and give his attention 
to that in a large measure. His family consists 
of two children, Arthur V. and Harold M. He 
is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, as is his wife, and he is an ardent Repub- 
lican in politics. He is a gentleman of influence 
and standing in his community and has rendered 
material and substantial aid in the development 
of the county of his adoption. No person in the 
wide extent of Wyoming has rendered more 
faithful service in all lines of life's duties. 

ASAHEL B. ROBERTSON. 

Conspicuous among the enterprising live stock 
men of Laramie county is Asahel B. Robertson, 
a New Yorker by birth, but from his early youth 
a resident of Wyoming, with which common- 
wealth the interests of his life has been closely 
identified. In his veins flows the blood of long 
lines of sturdy Scotch ancestors, and he combines 
in his individuality many of the sterling traits 
of that strong and virile nationality. His parents, 
John L. and Agnes E. (Mungle) Robertson, 
were natives of Scotland, but came to the United 
States in 1852, settling in Delaware county, N. 
Y., where the father engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. In 1884 they moved to Pine Bluff, Wyo., 
where Mr. Robertson became interested in the 
live stock business, but, after remaining there 
about thirteen years, he returned to his former 
home in New York, where he spent the remain- 
der of his days, dying on May 2, 1902, and his 
widow' is still living there in Delaware county. 
Asahel B. Robertson was born in the county of 
Delaware, N. Y., on March 1, 1866. and passed 
the first eight years of his life at the place of his 
birth. In 1884 he was brought to Wyoming 



by his parents and during the thirteen years fol- 
lowing he lived at and near Pine Bluffs, devoting 
his time to ranch work with his father. When 
his parents returned to New York in 1897 he 
remained in Wyoming, having the preceding year 
taken up his present ranch, which is situated 
nine miles east of Fort Laramie in Laramie coun- 
ty. On taking possession of his place Mr. Rob- 
ertson at once turned his attention to cattleraising, 
which he followed for a time and abandoned. 
His ranch is well adapted to all kinds of agricul- 
tural purposes and quite a number of substan- 
tial improvements have been made thereon by 
the enterprising proprietor within the last few 
years. It also lies in one of the best grazing sec- 
tions in this part of the state, and affords rich 
pasturage for many more cattle than the area 
now accommodates. Mr. Robertson is a young 
man of energy and determination, imbued with 
progressive ideas, who, by his own efforts has 
won a large measure of success, being now well 
situated in life and with a promising future be- 
fore him. He annually raises and sells each year 
a large amount of hay, which business he has 
found quite profitable. Of Mr. Robertson, per- 
sonally, much might be said in terms of praise. 
His character is irreproachable, his integrity has 
always been above the shadow of anything savor- 
ing of dishonor, and his influence, exerted on 
the right side of every moral question, has been 
potent for good in the community. While living 
at Pine Bluffs he' served two terms as a constable, 
aside from which he has held no public office, 
nor has he any political aspirations, preferring 
the more quiet and eminently more satisfactory 
life of a private citizen. The Presbyterian 
church represents his religious creed, himself and 
wife being devoted members of that body of 
worshipers. Mr. Robertson was happily married 
on May 29, 1900. to Miss Mary A. Sandercock, 
of Fort Laramie, Wyo., a daughter of Thomas 
B. and Harriet A. Sandercock, both natives of 
Pennsylvania, the nuptials uniting them being 
celebrated at Greeley, Colo. They have a 
bright little son, Earl. Mrs. Robertson has been 
her husband's active colaborer in all of his under- 
takings and presides over the household with an 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



683 



ease and grace which sweetens the welcome of all 
who claim the generous hospitality of their home. 
She is highly esteemed by her neighbors and her 
numerous friends and is interested in religious 
and charitable work throughout the county. . She 
is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, 
belonging to Alpha Chapter, No. 2. 

BENJAMIN ROBINSON. 

A prominent ranch and stockman of Lander, 
Fremont county, Wyoming, is the subject of this 
sketch. A native of the state of Tennessee, Mr. 
Robinson was born near the city of Knoxville, 
on August 6, 1840, and is the son of Richard 
and Mary (McMillan) Robinson, both natives 
of Tennessee, where his father followed the occu- 
pation of contracting and teaming and passed 
away in 1850, leaving a family of four children, 
of whom Benjamin of this review was the eldest. 
Being thus orphaned and left without means of 
support, he was obliged to leave school at the 
early age of ten years and was actively engaged 
in farming during the years immediately ante- 
cedent to the Civil War. He then enlisted in 
Co. F, Third Tennessee Infantry, C. S. A., and 
participated in many engagements during the 
war ; among others the desperate battles of Bull 
Run and the siege of Vicksburg. During the 
greater portion of the time he was in the service 
he acted as a scout, and was seven different times 
made a Federal prisoner, but each time made 
his escape. At the close of the war he removed 
his residence to Texas, where he continued to 
make his home until 1883, when he removed to 
Wyoming, and took up the place where he now 
resides. Here he engaged in ranching and stock- 
raising, in which he has met with success, being 
now the owner of one of the finest and best 
improved ranches in that section of the state. 
He grows large quantities of alfalfa and handles 
the best grades of cattle. By his energy, close 
attention to business and tireless industry, he has 
built up a successful business, and is counted 
among the prosperous citizens and substantial 
property owners of Fremont county. In October 
1866, in the state of Georgia, Mr. Robinson was 



united in marriage with Miss Margaret Hobbes, 
a native of the state of Tennessee, and the 
daughter of Thomas and Jane Hobbes, prominent 
citizens of that state. To their union have been 
born seven children, Laura, now the wife of 
Charles Mortimer, residing in the state of Ore- 
gon ; C. Barto, also residing in Oregon ; Ollie, the 
wife of William Slain, of Fremont county, Wyo. ; 
Oscar ; Cora ; James ; Ora. Mrs. Robinson, who 
was* a woman of fine character, and a devoted 
wife and mother, passed away from earth in 1897, 
being buried at Lander, Wyo. Mr. Robinson 
is one of the representative men of Fremont coun- 
ty, and is held in high esteem by all classes. 

BARNETT G. ROGERS. 

Barnett G Rogers, of near Basin, stockgrow- 
er, farmer and mail contractor, a pioneer of 1884 
in Wyoming, is a native of Boone county, Ken- 
tucky, where he was born on August 25, 1858, the 
son of Owen and Elizabeth (Carter) Rogers, also 
natives of Kentucky. He was reared and educated 
in his native state, and, after leaving school, be- 
gan life for himself in the operation of a farm, 
the vocation to which he had been trained by 
apprenticeship and long application on his fa- 
ther's place. ' In 1883, when he was but fifteen 
years of age, he went to Texas and for a vear en- 
gaged in the stock business in that state. In 1884 
he came to Wyoming, and, locating at Lander, 
was .occupied for three years in the lumber busi- 
ness and then spent one year in California. In 
1889 he returned to Wyoming and took up his 
residence in Bighorn county, homesteading a por- 
tion of the land on which he now lives, and giving 
his energies at once to its improvement and de- 
velopment. He has increased his ranch to 320 
acres, and has made it a beautiful home, enhanc- 
ing its many natural advantages of scenery and 
feature by a judicious. location of buildings and 
arrangement of trees and fine shrubbery. It lies 
along the Bighorn River, which not only enriches 
its meadows with annual freshness and verdure, 
but affords water for its other uses and gives 
variety to its outline and landscape. Here he 
runs a herd of 100 fine cattle and a large number 



684 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of horses of good breeds and high grade. He 
also has a one-half interest in a coal mine near 
the ranch which is full of promise and is already 
yielding good returns for the labor expended on 
it. In addition to his other interests and occupa- 
tions Mr. Rogers has for years carried the mails 
under contract between Thermopolis and Basin. 
Fraternally, Mr. Rogers is connected with the 
Masonic order, and has been for twenty years. 
He finds much pleasure in the social features 
of the order, and thoroughly enjoys the teachings 
of its mystic symbolisms. He was married in 
Bighorn county in 1898 to Miss Nina Mason, a 
native of Illinois. They have one child, their 
son, Alva. In the upbuilding and development 
of a new country, where every man is obliged to 
bear his portion of the burdens and is entitled 
to his share of credit for the results, in the full 
measure of his capacity and his activity, Mr. 
Rogers would anywhere have won a high stand- 
ing as a man of public spirit and enterprise. Here 
he has made a record that is creditable to himself 
through work along the lines of healthy prog- 
ress for the communitv and which has been of 
great benefit to the neighborhood in which he 
lives. And in this department of public service, 
aiding and sustaining whatever tends to the gen- 
eral weal, he is ever foremost and zealous, wise 
in counsel and diligent in action. He is highly 
esteemed throughout a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances, and stands well and popidar in 
the general public confidence. 

JOHN SEAMAN. 

No man's destiny, scarcely his vocation, can 
be predicted with certainty in this great re- 
public. He who starts out at twenty-one a law- 
yer, doctor or farmer, is very likely to be found 
at forty years, following a very different voca- 
tion. The land is full of opportunity to energy, 
thrift and self-reliance, and he who has a clear 
bead, a stout heart and a willing hand can make 
his way successfully, albeit with many a strug- 
gle and privation, which will only sweeten the 
triumph when won. Something of this has been 
the fate of John Seaman, a prosperous and ex- 



tensive rancher and stockgrower of Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, who was born on October 23, 
1859, m Pennsylvania, where his parents, Elias 
and Emilia (Ludwig) Seaman, were also native. 
The circumstances of the family did not afford 
John much opportunity for attending school, and, 
when he was fourteen years of age, desire and 
duty combined to impel him to seek his fortune 
where there was a wider range of opportunity, 
so he left home for Illinois, which was then a 
portion of the West. Through effort and strug- 
gle he reached that haven of his hopes and ac- 
cepted employment on a farm. For six years he 
made a comfortable living in that state at that 
occupation, then, in 1879, when he was twenty, 
looked farther toward the sunset and came to 
Greeley, Colo. Ten years later he sought a new 
field of operations in Wyoming, locating at Bo- 
nanza in Bighorn county, where he spent five 
years in the mercantile business in partnership 
with Ferd Bernstein. He then located on 320 
acres of land on No Wood River, and began rais- 
ing stock and farming. This dual enterprise he 
continued on that land until 1899. He then sold 
out and purchased the place he now occupies, 
which comprises 400 acres of good land well im- 
proved and a large part of which is under an ad- 
vanced state of cultivation. His herd consists 
of 200 cattle, which are well-bred and well cared 
for. Mr. Seaman's business is exacting, but it 
does not wholly absorb his attention and time, for 
he seeks recreation in the meetings of the lodge 
of Odd Fellows to which he has belonged for a 
number of years, and in various other organiza- 
tions social in character. The affairs of his 
neighborhood and county also have their due 
share of his interest and all good enterprises 
have his active aid for their advancement. In 
1899, at Bonanza, he was married to Miss Eliza 
Spratt, Irish by nativity, but for many years a 
much esteemed resident of this country. 

DANIEL T. SCULLY. 

An experience full of interest, and contain- 
ing many years of heroic service for his country, 
has been that of Daniel T. Scully, a prosperous 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



685 



stockg-rower and respected citizen of Boxelder, 
Wyoming. A native of the old city of Natchez, 
Mississippi, he was born there on January 30, 
1848, and is the son of James and Elizabeth (Ev- 
erett) Scully, the former a native of Ireland 
and the latter of Mississippi. The father was a 
tailor by occupation, and followed that calling up 
to the time of his death, which occurred in Mem- 
phis, Tenn., where he was then residing, in 
February, 1899. The mother passed away in the 
same city in November, 1901, and both lie buried 
in Memphis. The father, during his long and va- 
ried career, had been a great traveler, for emi- 
grating from his native country of Ireland when 
a very young man, he first settled in Mississippi 
and engaged in tailoring, then in 1849, he joined 
the great stampede to the newly discovered gold 
fields of California and remained in that state for 
some years, subsequently returning to the East, 
where, in the state of Louisiana, he resumed his 
business of tailoring. In his later years he re- 
moved to the city of Memphis, where he remained 
during the closing years of his life. Daniel T. 
Scully grew to man's estate in the city of Natchez, 
Miss., and there received his early education in 
the public schools. At the age of seventeen years 
he went from Natchez to Memphis, where his 
parents were living. The great Civil War, which 
was then raging, filled him with a spirit of pat- 
riotic enthusiasm, and in October, 1863, he en- 
listed as a soldier in the Eighty-ninth Indiana 
Infantry, and began that service to his country 
in which he was destined to pass so many of the 
best and most active year's of his life. His en- 
listment was for "three years, or during the war," 
and, after atime,he was transferred to the Twen- 
ty-sixth Indiana Infantry, with which he served 
until the close of the war. During most of this 
time he was with the Army of the Cumberland. 
He was engaged in a number of battles and in 
the engagement at Pleasant Hill, La., he was se- 
verely wounded. He, however, recovered from 
his injuries and continued in the service. At 
the close of the war Mr. Scully enlisted in the 
regular army at Indianapolis, Inch, on March- 2, 
1866, was appointed a corporal and assigned to 
the Eighteenth U. S. Infantry. In 1869, his term 



of service having expired, he reenlisted, this time 
being assigned to the Seventh Infantry. He 
served in this regiment for five years, acting as 
sergeant during the greater part of that time. 
At the end of this term of service, he again en- 
listed and became a member of the Ninth Infant- 
ry, serving five years as a sergeant in that 
regiment also. In July, 1879, he was mustered 
out at the expiration of his term of enlistment 
at Camp Carlin, in the city of Cheyenne, Wyo. 
While a member of the regular army he served 
at different forts in the territories of Montana, 
Utah and Wyoming, and had many thrilling 
adventures on the frontier and in engagements 
with the Indians. After his final discharge in 
1879 ne purchased a ranch on Lone Tree Creek, 
about nine miles southwest of Cheyenne, and 
there entered upon the business of cattleraising. 
His efforts were attended with marked success, 
and, in 1883, he disposed of his ranch on Lone 
Tree and established himself on his present ranch 
property on the Box Elder Creek, situated about 
twenty-five miles west of Cheyenne. Here his 
success has continued, and he is now the owner 
of a fine large ranch, well fenced and improved, 
with large tracts of hay land and an extensive 
range, with a comfortable place of residence, with 
all modern conveniences. He is one of the pros- 
perous and successful ranchmen of his section 
of country, and by reason of hard work, perse- 
verance and strict attention to business, has ac- 
cumulated a fine property, to which he is making 
additions from year to year. On July 6, 1873, 
Mr. Scully was united in marriage at Helena, 
Mont, with Miss Elizabeth Confrey, a native of 
Ireland, the daughter of Patrick and Julia 
(Burns) Confrey, both natives of that country. 
The parents of Mrs. Scully were residents of 
Dublin, Ireland, where they remained up to the 
time of their death. In the company of relatives 
and friends who were emigrating from Ireland 
to America, she came to this country in 1866, and 
came to the territory of Montana about 1871. 
Mr. and Mrs. Scully have no children. They are 
devout members of the Roman Catholic church, 
and are deeply interested in all church and char- 
itable work among the poor of the communities 



686 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



where they have resided. Politically, Mr. Scully 
is identified with the Republican party, and fre- 
quently takes an active part in public affairs, be- 
lieving this to be the duty of a good citizen. It 
is most interesting to hear him relate his varied 
experiences in the army and on the frontier dur- 
ing the most exciting period in the settlement of 
the western country, and his rugged traits of 
character have won for him the admiration and 
respect of all with whom he has been associated. 

HON. CHARLES E. SHAW. 

Hon. Charles E. Shaw, of Otter Creek, near 
Bigtrails postoffice in Bighorn county, Wyoming, 
is one of the wealthy and progressive stockgrow- 
ers and farmers of the state, and he has acquired 
his possessions and won his high place in public 
regard by his own efforts. He is a native of 
Iowa, where he was born on May 23, 1859, the 
son of Andrew J. and Emma (Baird) Shaw, who 
were born and reared in Muskingum county, 
Ohio, and removed to Iowa early in their married 
life. In his native state their son, Charles, grew 
to manhood and was educated, and, in 1879, when 
he was twenty years old, he came west to Denver, 
Colo., and, after passing a short time there, he 
removed to Fort Lupton. In that section he 
rode the range in the cattle industry until 1886, 
when he came to Wyoming and located on the 
ranch which is now his home on Otter Creek. 
He established there a stock industry, which has 
grown to large proportions and is conducted on 
the most scientific principles applied in the most 
practical way. Nothing in the business that is 
of value is wanting to the complete equipment 
and proper management of this ranch, and the 
results are commensurate with the outlay of 
time, energy and skill. The ranch comprises 960 
acres of land, with a favorable variety of range 
and meadow, and the herd numbers 1,000 well- 
bred cattle of superior grade and prime condition. 
In addition there is a large band of fine horses, 
to whose breeding and rearing the utmost care 
is given. Mr. Shaw's attention is not wholly 
absorbed in his business, for he is a gentleman 
of progressive ideas and great public spirit, es- 



pecially interested in the cause of education, al- 
though every good enterprise for the welfare of 
his community receives his cordial aid and en- 
couragement. He gives to the spirit of improve- 
ment, with which he is closely in touch, all of 
his best efforts to secure its proper trend and 
development, and allows no partisan, factional 
or personal interest to interfere with his taking 
what seems to him the side of any project most 
conducive to the general weal. Yet he is ardent 
and zealous in his party allegiance, and was 
elected a member of the State Legislature in 1900. 
In that body in reference to public affairs he dis- 
played the same conscientious care and wisdom 
he exhibits in his private business, and devoted 
to the interests of the people the same energy, 
clearness of vision and lofty integrity he gives 
to his own. His services were of great value 
to his immediate constituents, having also force 
and influence foV good throughout the state. He 
was married at Buffalo, Wyo., on August 3-1, 
1898, to Miss Ora Chatfield, a native of Nebraska 
and daughter of C. S. and Mary E. (Morrow) 
Chatfield, the former a native of Ohio and the 
latter of Ilinois. They reside in Colorado. Mr. 
Shaw's parents have both died. His father 
passed away on October 23, 1884, and his mother 
on May 20, 1901. His own family consists of 
one child, his son, Charles E. Shaw, Jr., who was 
born on October 13, 1899. In all walks of life 
and by all classes of the people Mr. Shaw is 
highly esteemed as a leading citizen, a benevolent 
man and a promoter of the best interests of the 
county and state in which he has cast his lot. 

WILLIAM LEE SIMPSON. 

William Lee Simpson, prominent as a lawyer 
and public. man of Lander, in Bighorn county, 
Wyoming, was born at Fort Lyons. Colo., on 
January 26, 1868, the son of John P. and Mar- 
garet (Sullivan) Simpson, the former of an old 
South Carolina family, prominent in the affairs 
of that state from Colonial times, and the latter 
of - a similar Virginia ancestry. They were 
among the early settlers in Colorado, the father 
being a government contractor and a prominent 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



687 



Indian fighter and scout in the early days and 
one of the early business men of Denver, Colo. 
He was active in the development of the section 
in which he lived,' aiding materially in opening 
and constructing the road from St. Louis to 
Denver in the earlier sixties. Of late years he has 
been engaged in the stock business, he and his 
wife living at Jackson, Uinta county, Wyo. Of 
their seven children six are living. William L. 
Simpson began his education at North Denver, 
where he attended school until he was ten years 
old, he being the eleventh pupil to present himself 
and' -so make up the number required to form a 
real school at that place. In 1878 his father 
removed for a time to the Black Hills and he 
remained with his grandfather at Loveland, Colo., 
attending school there until he was fifteen. At 
that time where Loveland now stands flourishing 
wheat fields gladdened the heart of the farmer 
with their annual harvests. In 1883 Mr. Simpson 
came to Lander and began working on a stock 
ranch, continuing this occupation until Decem- 
ber, 1889, and while pursuing it he acquired some 
stock of his own. He then began the study of 
law under direction of Mr. Douglas A. Preston, 
and finished his three-years' course under that 
of Mr. Charles Allen, being admitted to the bar 
on July 12, 1892, since which time he has been 
in active practice. On the- day of his admission 
to the bar, his active connection with public af- 
fairs began, he being elected on that day to the 
first state convention of Wyoming, and in the 
following autumn he was elected to the office 
of prosecuting attorney for Fremont and Big- 
horn counties. In 1895, after the conclusion 
of his official term, he removed to the Jackson 
Hole country, where he had an interest in land 
and stock, and at once made himself felt as an 
influential factor in the development of this beau- 
tiful section of the state. During his residence 
there the Indians became troublesome, and, pre- 
ferring to practice his profession, he returned to 
Lander, after disposing of the most of his inter- 
ests near Jackson Hole. He had, however, kept 
up his professional work by practicing at Evans- 
ton and in Idaho. Mr. Simpson deserves his 
prominence and success in life. He has the moral 



and intellectual qualities on which success is 
properly based, and the application and clearness 
of vision -to make the most of his opportunities. 
He is one of the most prominent and influential 
men in his part of the state, and, being now in 
the prime of life, with all his faculties in vigorous 
health and exercise, he may confidently look for- 
ward to the distinguished career his friends and 
acquaintances predict for him. Professionally, 
he stands high and finds his services in great 
demand. He is the representative of the Sho- 
shone Indians in their litigation against the gov- ■ 
ernment, and has a representative clientage 
among all classes of people. His property inter- 
ests are considerable, and his prosperity is well 
assured. He has town property at Thermopolis 
and Jackson, having been the founder of the 
latter place, and has valuable holdings in oil and 
mining lands in various places. Fraternally, he 
is connected with the Freemasons and the Wood- 
men of the World, holding membership in the 
local lodges of these orders. On October 18, 
1894, he was married to Miss Maggie L. Bur- 
nett at Lander, Wyo., a daughter of Fincelius 
G. and Elizabeth Burnett, her father being the 
head farmer at the Shoshone agency. Three chil- 
dren have blessed their union, Emma Virginia, 
Burnett McDowell and Milward Lee. 

CHARLES SMITH. 

Prominent among the well-to-do German- 
American citizens of Laramie county, Wyoming, 
is Charles Smith, now one of the leading stock- 
men of Davis ranch, in that state. He is a native 
of Germany, having been born in Strasburg, in 
the province of Lorraine, on May 18, 1855, the 
son of Charles and Elizabeth (Bart) Smith, both 
natives of Lorraine. His father followed the 
occupation of farming in his native country up 
to the time of his decease. The subject of this 
review received his early education in the schools 
of the province of Lorraine. When he had at- 
tained to the age of seventeen years, reports 
reached him of the wonderful country across the 
sea in the New World, and of the opportunities 
which were there offered to young men of steady 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



habits and industry, and he determined to seek 
his fortune in America. Arriving here in 1873 
he first settled in Pennsylvania, where he secured 
employment in various portions of that state, 
working both as a stonemason and as a farmer. 
He remained here until 1876, when he joined the 
stampede to the Black Hills of Dakota, where 
great discoveries of gold had recently been made. 
Here he located several claims,' and engaged in 
mining with varying success until 1878, when he 
disposed of his interests in the Black Hills and 
removed to the territory of Wyoming. Here he 
secured employment on cattle ranches, determ- 
ined to acquire a practical knowledge of the cat- 
tle business. He remained in this employment 
for two years, and in 1882 he located his pres- 
ent ranch property on Horse Creek, in Laramie 
county, about thirty miles north of the city of 
Cheyenne. He made a small beginning in the 
stock business, adding to it as his means would 
permit, and also worked on other ranches, and 
also on the railroad, for the purpose of earning 
the money to invest in his business. He continued 
in this way, gradually building himself up and 
securing a footing in the cattle business until 
1887, since which time he has resided continu- 
ously on his ranch, and has given his entire at- 
tention to the management of his own business 
affairs. His principal industry is cattleraising, 
but he is also the owner of a large number of 
horses, and has now a well improved ranch of 
440 acres of fine land, with adjacent range privi- 
leges. He is one of the self-made men of that sec- 
tion, who by hard work, perseverance and frugal- 
ity, have raised themselves to a position of pros- 
perity and standing in the community. On Oc- 
tober 14, 1889, at the city of Elgin, 111., Mr. Smith 
was joined in the bonds of holy wedlock with 
Miss Sophia Schlinsker, a native of Milwaukee, 
Wis., and the daughter of Henry and Veronica 
Schlinsker, natives of Germany. The parents of 
Mrs. Smith were married in the city of Milwau- 
kee. Her father followed the occupation of farm- 
ing in that vicinity, and also was engaged in 
the business of making brooms in the city. Sub- 
sequently he disposed of his interests at Milwau- 
kee, and removed his residence to Elgin, TIL. 



where he continued to transact an extensive busi- 
ness in the manufacture of brooms, up to the 
time of his decease, which occurred -in 1895. 
The mother passed away in' March, 1900, and 
both are buried in Elgin. Three children have 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, C. Frank, Leo 
S. and Maria F., all of whom are living. The 
family are devout members of the Roman Cath- 
olic church, and deeply interested in all matters 
affecting the works of religion or charity in the 
community where they reside. Politically. Mr. 
Smith is a stanch adherent of the Democratic 
party, and takes an active interest in public af- 
fairs, never seeking office for himself, but ever 
being earnest and loyal in his support of his 
friends and in the service of his party. He is 
one of the most respected citizens of his section 
of the county, standing in high esteem. 

JAMES T. H. SMITH. 

A true pioneer of the West, inasmuch as he 
was the first white boy born within the limits of 
Antelope county, Nebraska, and now an ener- 
getic and prosperous business man of Atlantic 
City, Wyo., Mr. James T. H. Smith was born on 
November 22, 1871, in the locality above stated, 
a son of James H. and Kizzie (Dobson) Smith. 
natives of Iowa.. The father was an active farm- 
er and stockman for many years and at present 
is devoting his attention to a profitable merchan- 
dising undertaking at .Clearwater, Neb. He was 
the son of Henry Smith, who was a native of 
England, while his mother was of Scotch birth. v 
Henry Smith came to America in the early part 
of the nineteenth century and was a veteran and 
a pensioner of the War of 1812. James H. 
Smith inherited his father's military predilections 
and gave a long and faithful service to the Un- 
ion cause in the Civil War, suffering as a prisoner 
the horrors both of Libby and of Andersonvil'e 
prisons. James H. and Kizzie Smith were par- 
ents of ten children, nine being now living. Their 
names in order of birth are, Carrie, married and 
living- in Nebraska ; Hattie, wife of Leonard Wil- 
loughby, of Gregory county. S. Dak. ; James T. 
H. ; William L.. residing in South Dakota ; Lillie, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



689 



wife of Samuel Smith, of Colorado; Pearl, also 
married and living in Clearwater, Neb. ; Grace ; 
Ernest ; Arthur ; Edith, died in infancy. After 
receiving the educational advantages of the then 
primitive schools of Nebraska, Mr. Smith applied 
himself to practical agricultural labors on Ne- 
braska farms until 1890, in which year he came 
to Wyoming and for two years thereafter he 
was occupied in riding on the range and in other 
occupations, engaging in 1892 in the saloon busi- 
ness at Atlantic City, and continuing in this 
enterprise until the present writing, making many 
friends and being known as a man of bright busi- 
ness faculties, keen intelligence and excellent 
judgment, a representative citizen and also a man 
taking a great interest in public affairs of a 
local character. He is generous in his impulses 
often contributing freely to matters of improve- 
ment. He has an interest in the Empire mine, 
an extension of the Duncan, and holds other valu- 
able property interests. 

LARREY L. SMITH. 

Larrey L. Smith, of near Fenton in Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, is one of the representative 
and progressive men of this state, who, unlike 
most others of his class, was born within her lim- 
its and has passed almost all of his life on her 
soil, thus being her product, as well as one of 
the best types of her enterprising citizenship. His 
life began on September 8, 1863, and his parents- 
were Timothy M. and Amanda (Arnold) Smith, 
natives of New York, who, on the threshold of 
their new life, soon after their marriage, came to 
the Northwest and cast in their lot with its awak- 
ening energies and joined the forces that were 
busily occupied in giving them proper trend and 
development. At the time of the birth of their 
son, Larrey, their home was at Fort Laramie, then 
in the territory of Dakota, where his father was 
an army surgeon. When their son, Larrey, was 
a little over a year old they removed to Colorado 
and took up their residence near Fort Collins. 
There the father resigned his position as surgeon 
of the U. S. government in order to devote his 
medical skill to the service of the scattered set- 



tlers of the new territory, and there they lived 
until 1876, when they returned to this state and 
located at Rawlins. After a limited and irreg- 
ular attendance at the primitive schools that were 
available to him, Larrey went to work to earn his 
own living as a range rider, and continued to 
follow this vocation until 1889 in that portion of 
the state. He then came to the Bighorn basin, 
took up the ranch on which he now lives, and 
while he was reducing it to cultivation and pre- 
paring it for the cattle industry in which he had 
determined to embark, he rode the range for a 
living and to obtain the means of starting his 
business. For five years he braved storm and 
danger in this hazardous occupation in the prolific 
cattle region to which he had come, at the end 
of that period settling on his ranch, where he 
became a producer of the leading commodity of 
the section instead of a paid employe, protecting 
and preserving it for others. He has 160 acres 
of good land which shows the evidence of his 
skill and industry in its improvements and the 
advanced state of cultivation to which much of 
it has been brought. On this he now raises num- 
bers of horses, cattle and hogs, giving special at- 
tention to procuring choice breeds and maintain- 
ing a high standard of excellence in quality. Mr. 
Smith has so far walked life's way alone, push- 
ing his business forward to vigorous vitality and 
large development, and aiding in securing for the 
community in which he lives every advantage 
in progress and commercial and in industrial 
strength the circumstances will allow, at the 
same time stimulating' by judicious counsel and 
active assistance all of its educational and moral 
forces. He is an enterprising, wide-awake, far- 
seeing and useful citizen, neighbor, friend and 
companion, and is highly respected and esteemed. 

SAMUEL SMITH. 

A frontier, character celebrated in the history 
of Wyoming, who has made his home at Lara- 
mie for a period of thirty years, is the subject 
of this brief review. Born in 1846, he is a na- 
tive of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a son of 
Samuel and Mary (Cope) Smith, both natives 



690 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of that state. The father was born in 1818, and 
followed shoemaking up to the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1865. He was a prominent 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
is buried at Hilltown, Bucks county, Pa. He was 
a -good man, industrious, charitable to the poor, 
useful to his fellow men and highly respected. 
The mother passed away from earth in Bucks 
county, Pa., in 1854, at the age of thirty-one 
years, and lies buried by the side of her husband. 
She was the mother of five children, Samuel 
being the youngest one. Samuel Smith mar- 
ried for his second wife, in 1854, Miss Frances 
Yost, and to them were born two children. She 
survived her husband eleven years, and was bur- 
ied by his side in Hilltown, Pa. Mr. Smith grew 
to man's estate in his native county, and received 
such early education as his limited opportunities 
permitted in the public schools of that county. At 
the early age of twelve years he was compelled 
by circumstances to leave school and to make 
his own way in the world, owing to the un fortun- 
ate death of his mother while yet in early life, 
and he secured employment at various occupa- 
tions in the vicinity of his former home for a 
number of years. When he had attained to the 
-age of nineteen years, the spirit of adventure 
led him to seek his fortune on the western fron- 
tier. Disposing of his property in his native 
state, he went to the city of St. Joseph, Mo., then 
one of the leading outfitting places of the West 
for overland travel. Here he provided himself 
with a mule team and necessary outfit, and in 
company with others started on the long trip 
across the plains to the city of Denver, Colo. The 
trip occupied thirty-six days, and was filled -with 
many incidents of danger and hardship, as the 
Indians were very bad. Finally arriving safe- 
ly at Denver, he engaged in mining in that vicin- 
ity and at Russell Gulch, meeting with varying 
success until 1872, when he disposed of his in- 
terests in Colorado and removed his residence to 
Wyoming, where he established his home at Lara- 
mie, and has been a resident of that place ever 
since. At different times since his residence m 
Wyoming he lias followed various occupations, 
having been engaged in mining, hunting, fishing, 



scouting, and also employed as guide for distin- 
guished hunting parties from the eastern states 
and Europe. He has had an interesting and var- 
ied experience on the frontier and has been the 
associate and friend of many of the reputable 
border characters, whose record and achieve- 
ments are familiar to the readers of the pioneer 
history of the country. He has never sought no- 
toriety, but the history of his life and experi- 
ences on the plains would make a highly inter- 
esting volume, and he should be prevailed upon 
to set them down for the benefit of coming gener- 
ations. In 1890, at Canton, N. J., Mr. Smith 
was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Pres- 
ton, a native of England and the daughter of 
Benjamin and Elizabeth Preston, respected resi- 
dents of that country. She passed away in 1894, 
aged thirty-four years. All of their four chil- 
dren, James, Edward, Charles and Ernest, are 
deceased. Mr. Smith is one of the peculiar pion- 
eer characters of his adopted state, and he en- 
joys the highest respect of all who know him. 

CHARLES KARNER BUCKNUM. 

One of the early pioneers of the great west, 
where he has long been connected with business 
life under conditions that try men's souls and 
one of the brave and daring soldiers of die 
Union army and later a scout of the Indian 
wars, Mr. Bucknum is now peacefully engaged 
in the unromantic but eminently useful occupa- 
tion of a livery man at Casper, Wyoming, 
standing prominently among its business men. 
He was born in Miami county, Ind., on October 
T2, 1847, son OI Kelb and Evaline (Lumesdan) 
Bucknum, natives of New York, who early re- 
moved to Peru, Ind., where the father conduct- 
ed a drug business until 1852, then g'oing to 
California, where he died in 1854, Charles being 
his only child. In 1856 the mother transferred 
the family home to Minnesota, where her son 
was a diligent pupil of the public schools when 
(lie "sounds of war's alarms" were too attract- 
ive to resist and on July 25. 1863. he enlisted 
to serve his country in Co. F, Hatch's Cavalry 
Battalion, being mustered in at Fort Snelling 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



691 



and kept on garrison duty until the winter of 
1864, when they were sent down to Savannah, 
Ga., in time to participate in its capture, re- 
maining- there until April, 1866, when they re- 
turned to Fort Snelling" for muster-out on the 
26th. Mr. Bucknum was thereafter a resident 
of Minnesota until 1868, when he went to Fort 
Stevenson, N. D., to be the wagon boss of 
Wilder, Merriman & Co. on their trips west- 
ward across the plains. On their first trip the 
U. S. mail carriers met them east of Fort Tot- 
ten and warned them of danger from the In- 
dians, stating that two carriers had been killed 
at Big Hollow on the line of their route. On 
arriving at that place at nine in the evening 
they found the bodies of the carriers lying on 
the ground filled with arrows and scalped, and 
here the_v camped. Soldiers arrived on the next 
day who buried the bodies and the wagon train 
experienced no trouble. At Fort Buford their 
party remained some months running a hay 
train and having several contests with the In- 
dians, who on one occasion attacked the train, 
shooting three men and on the same day killing 
four others at the hay camp. Amid these dan- 
gers the party finally went on to Fort Claggett, 
and some time thereafter Mr. Bucknum en- 
gaged in trapping and hunting, making head- 
quarters at the mouth of the Musselshell 
at Clenclenning's tradingpost. Game and fur 
were plentiful and Mr. Bucknum was busily and 
profitably employed for several years, the only 
drawback being the presence of the Indians, 
with whom he often had to contest, sometimes 
driving them off and sometimes being forced 
to run and having several narrow escapes from 
death. In 1871 he made his first trip to Fort 
Benton, there making headquarters until 1877, 
when during the Nez Perce War he was the 
guide to Colonel Ilges, with whom he was at 
Cow Island when the Indians made a crossing 
and burned 250 tons of government freight. 
Killing the guard they went up Cow Creek, 
killed one of the Barker brothers and destroyed 
two ox teams of Barker Bros, and four ox 
teams belonging to a man by the name of 
Cooper, now living in Montana. While at this 
43 



work Colonel Ilges surprised them, but was de- 
feated, losing one man and two wounded. Re- 
turning to Cow Island the next day the troops 
returned and buried the dead, Barker's dOg re- 
fusing to allow any one to touch his body until 
the brother came. That night Colonel Ilges 
was informed that Colonel Miles was crossing 
the Missouri below the Musselshell and Mr. 
Bucknum was sent to tell him the location of 
the Nez Perces and to be his guide. Starting 
at 10 in the morning Mr. Bucknum overtook 
Colonel Miles north of the Little Rockies at 
three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, 
being his guide until the Nez Perces were 
found, when the great four day battle com- 
menced. On the third night Colonel Miles sent 
a dispatch by Mr. Bucknum to General Terry, 
who was no miles away. Making the ride safe- 
ly in twenty hours, he immediately retraced his 
steps with a message for Miles and, meeting 
him on the Missouri with Indian prisoners, he 
was again sent to Terry, who was hastening to 
the Canadian line to form a treaty alliance with 
Sitting Bull, and then accompanied Terry to 
Fort Walsh, where the interview with the In- 
dian chief did not result in a treaty. The next 
winter Bucknum scouted for General Gibbons 
and the next summer for General Brooke, 
whose operations were around the Bear Paw 
and Little Rockies with twenty-eight compa- 
nies of U. S. soldiers. They also located Fort 
Assinniboine and when General Ruger was or- 
dered to that post the next year Mr. Bucknum 
was instructed to report to General Ruger. 
Continuing in the government service at this 
fort for some months later Mr. Bucknum was 
seriously injured by the fall of a safe that was 
being loaded on a wagon, breaking his ankle 
and from this injury he still suffers. He retired 
from the service of the government in April, 
1880, and thereafter conducted freighting oper- 
ations until 1883 with good success, later being 
engaged in profitable construction contracts on 
the Elkhorn Valley Railroad then being built 
to Casper, there establishing a livery business 
in which he is still engaged, having a good feed 
stable in connection. He is also running a fine 



692 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



band of sheep of excellent character. Mr. Buck- 
num is actively interested in G. A. R. matters, 
has attained to the Thirty-second degree in 
Freemasonry and takes more than the average 
share of public honors and duties, being in pol- 
itical faith a Republican. He has been the effi- 
cient chairman of the board of county commis- 
sioners for two years and is at the present writ- 
ing serving his third term as mayor of Casper. 
He has been twice married, first with Delia 
Williams in July, 1886, who died in 1889, leav- 
ing a daughter, Winnie. In 1890 was consum- 
mated his marriage with Miss Ida Rowe of 
Montana. Their residence is one of the com- 
fortable homes of Casper and the resort of 
many people, for their friends are as numerous 
as their acquaintances, holding as they do the 
reputation of aiding every public enterprise and 
private plan for the advancement of the com- 
munity and the state of their home. 

B. SPINNER. 

A native of Germany but a gallant defender 
of the American Union in the late Civil War, B. 
Spinner was born in 1834, a son of Amand and 
Cresia (Schmer) Spinner, the former of whom 
was native in the southern part of Germany in 
1808 and was a farmer near the town of Renchen, 
where he died in 1867. The father of Amand 
was named Sulphus and died in 1842 when sev- 
enty years of age. Mrs. Cresia (Schmer) Spin- 
ner was also born in 1808 in the same part of 
Germany in which her husband was born and 
survived him until 1881, both died in the faith 
of the Catholic church. They left five children, 
of whom the gentleman whose name stands at 
the opening of this paragraph is the eldest. B. 
Spinner came to America in 1854 and for a short 
time lived in New York, whence he went to 
Pennsylvania, where he resided three months and 
then went to St. Louis, Mo., and was living there 
at the time the cloud of war threw its ominous 
shadow over the country of his adoption. Hav- 
ing by this time become imbued with an affection 
for America as strong as that he had felt for his 
native land, he at once enlisted in Co. K, Twen- 



tieth Missouri Infantry, but at the end of three 
months was so severely wounded as to be honor- 
ably discharged. After his discharge from the 
service and his partial recovery Mr. Spinner fol- 
lowed the fortunes of the army as a butcher and 
a buyer of cattle for army use until the close of 
the war in 1865, when he opened a meat market 
or butcher shop in St. Louis, which he conducted 
until 1867, when he started across the plains for 
Denver, Colo., meeting with a great deal of 
trouble from hostile Indians. In the month of 
May, 1868, Mr. Spinner abandoned the butcher- 
ing trade and in the fall of 1869 visited Chey- 
enne, Wyo., thence went to Fort Steele, and 
thereafter followed the course of the railroad to 
Beartown, a village now defunct, but where, on 
the morning after his arrival, he witnessed a 
specimen of border justice in the summary hang- 
ing of three freebooters. Mr. Spinner there 
opened a general store and butchershop, and af- 
ter a short time settled in Green River, Sweet- 
water county, Wyo., where he carried on the 
butchering business until he acquired a compe- 
tency, and where he is now living in retirement 
as a bachelor. Mr. Spinner has been more for- 
tunate with his store in Green River than he 
was with a branch store at Piedmont, Uinta coun- 
ty, Wyo., where he did a large general trade 
on the credit system with a bod} - of laboring 
men employed on the railroad. When the 
section was fully completed the contractor re- 
fused to pay off the men. Mr. Spinner then, 
in company with a number of other merchants, 
who also had little prospect of getting paid for 
their goods, heard of the coming of the general 
superintendent of the road and when the train 
bearing that official made its appearance the 
creditors sidetracked the superintendent's coach 
and presented their claims. Rut the official 're- 
monstrated and pointed out the fact that the 
United States mail was being obstructed and de- 
tained (a high crime) and the mail car was im- 
mediately replaced on the main line ; but the su- 
perintendent's coach was detained and payment 
insisted upon. The official was very kindly treat- 
ed, however, and entertainment offered him in 
the way of a fishing excursion while waiting for 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



693 



the cash to come to hand, and the difficulty was 
finally adjusted by some of the merchants getting 
their money, while others were not so fortunate, 
Mr. Spinner being largely instrumental in bring- 
ing about this compromise. Mr. Spinner is a 
gentleman of unwonted enterprise and energy 
and is the original driller of the soda wells in his 
section of the country, having sold one and he is 
now engaged in the development of another that 
promises to be a grand success. He is genial 
and cordial with all, and is a prime favorite with 
the public, especially in business circles. 

THOMAS SPRATT. 

Ever since he was twenty years old Thomas 
Spratt, of the Bighorn basin of Wyoming, living 
not far from Hyattville, has been a resident of 
the Northwest, and for nearly a quarter of a 
century of Wyoming. He has given a considera- 
ble portion of his life to the development and up- 
building of this section, and is justly entitled to 
honorable mention in any record of the lives and 
achievements of the progressive men of the state, 
and also to the place he holds as one of the rep- 
resentative and leading citizens of the count}-, 
securely established in the confidence and esteem 
of its people and having the affectionate regard 
of his numerous friends. He is a native of Ire- 
land, born on December 25, 1859. His ancestors 
from time immemorial lived on the Emerald Isle, 
gave loyal support in peace and war to its in- 
terests, and also flourished as tillers of the soil. 
In 1872, at the age of thirteen, with high hopes 
and ardent spirits, he left his paternal roof and 
came to the United States, seeking its boundless 
and everywhere present opportunities for ad- 
vancement in the struggle for supremacy among 
men. He remained in New York until 1879, an d 
then came to Fort Collins, Colo., and spent a 
year breaking horses to service in that neighbor- 
hood. In 1880 he came with the Loomis & An- 
drews Cattle Co. to _ Wyoming and located a 
ranch on the Belle Fourche. Then the nearest 
postoffice to his place was Spearfish, 120 miles 
distant, yet the inconvenience was not deemed a 
special hardship, so inured to such privations 



were the dwellers on the frontier. Five years he 
passed on this ranch and one in the employ of the 
North American Cattle Co. In 1885, as a mem- 
ber of the firm organized to deal extensively in 
cattle, he came with a herd to the Bighorn basin. 
The firm remained in business three years and 
during that time he continued to bring cattle to 
the basin. Among the number were 220 Short- 
horns and six thoroughbred Herefords which 
were among the first animals of these breeds in- 
troduced into the county. In 1888 he bought out 
the interests of his partners, and, desiring a per- 
manent location and to establish himself in the 
cattle business on a large scale, he located on 
No Wood River, but soon after sold out and 
bought his present ranch of 640 acres, in addition 
to which he has 1,800 acres under lease. This 
body of land affords an extensive range for his 
cattle and enables him to handle with success a 
considerable number. He has generally about 
500 head, and sometimes many more. He also 
owns the Mountain _ View Hotel at Basin and 
other valuable property elsewhere. He was mar- 
ried at Hyattville on February 22, 1888, to Miss 
Martha Allen, a native of Colorado, and it is a 
matter of neighborhood news that this was the 
first marriage in Bighorn basin. They have one 
child, their son, Robert W. Mr. Spratt belongs 
to the Masonic order and takes an active and 
serviceable interest in the affairs of his lodge. 

SAMUEL STRICKLER. 

Born and reared in the rural districts of Penn- 
sylvania, learning life's duties amid the thrifty 
and industrious population of that great state, 
and being thoroughly imbued with the spirit of 
economy and enterprise engendered through liv- 
ing in a large family with moderate means, Sam- 
uel Strickler, of Tensleep in Bighorn county, 
Wyoming, brought to the arduous requirements 
of a career in the state of his adoption a well-laid 
foundation for stable and productive manhood 
and useful citizenship, on which a superstructure 
of substantial and comely proportions had been 
partially erected by valuable experience in other 
places and amid a different class of people. He 



694 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



was born on August 16, 1851, the son of John and 
Mary Strickler, also natives of the Keystone state 
and belonging to families resident there from Co- 
lonial times. In the public schools of his native 
place he received a limited education, and on its 
soil he grew to man's estate. When he was twen- 
ty-one years of age he determined to seek his 
fortune in the West, and to that end removed to 
Illinois, and there worked for Michael Sullivan, 
then the most extensive farmer in the world, who 
conducted on the prairies and bottom lands along 
the Mississippi an enterprise in the domain of . 
agriculture 'which almost staggered human be- 
lief by its magnitude and the vigor and success 
with which it was carried on. Many similar en- 
terprises have since surpassed it in volume and 
scope ; for in later times the great wilderness of 
the farther West has dressed herself in comely 
garments for the service of her lord and master, 
Man, and raised the unit of measure in land and 
farm work many times over. But in his day Mr. 
Sullivan's farming operations were stupendous 
and renowned. In 1874 Mr. Strickler removed 
to Colorado, and, with Pueblo as a base of oper- 
ations, engaged in the dairying business and also 
carried on a freighting enterprise of considerable 
magnitude. These engagements occupied him 
for three years. In 1877 he made his home in 
Utah and there conducted a farm of size and im- 
portance near Ogden. In 1879 ne so ^ ou ^ his 
interests in that state and removed to Cassia 
county, Idaho, and on May 20, 1883, came to 
Johnson county, Wyo., and locating at Fort Mc- 
Kinney, entered the employ of the Powder River 
Cattle Co. At the end of his service with this 
company he took up his residence on Beaver 
Creek and began a farming and stockgrowing 
industry on his own account, which he conducted 
until 1899. He then sold out to the Lee Land 
& Live Stock Co. and removed to the Bighorn 
basin. He purchased the old X ranch and re- 
newed his stock and farming operations which he 
is still carrying on in this well-known property. 
His ranch comprises 480 acres and is well im- 
proved. He has 350 fine cattle and 100 horses 
of good breeds and superior grades. Both cattle 
and horses are excellent in quality and have a 



high rank in the market. They are well cared 
for and their condition abundantly proves the 
wisdom of the close application of skill and sys- 
tem to the breeding and rearing of stock. On 
December 29, 1892, Mr. Strickler was married 
to Mrs. Margaret McKenzie, of Johnson county, 
a native of Canada and daughter of William and 
Mary Sutherland. Their family consists of an 
adopted daughter named Josephine Fay Strick- 
ler, who has been under their care since she was 
an infant of three years of age. 

W. J. STOVER. 

Pleasantly located on an excellent ranch on 
Tongue River, Wyo., where he is now pursuing 
the peaceful vocation of a farmer and stockgrow- 
er, although he was trained to the bar, and in 
the midst of a region wherein the depths of the 
earth call on men to come forward and bring their 
hidden wealth of coal and other minerals to the 
surface and the use of mankind, W. J. Stover 
is an example of the universal tendency in this 
western country to lead something of a pastoral 
life, whatever may be the surrounding conditions, 
and he shows in his course and his comfortable 
state the independence and advantage of such a 
life. Mr. Stover was born in Tennessee on June 
25, 1837, the son of Solomon H. and Elizabeth 
(Nave) Stover, also natives of Tennessee, with 
ancestors who were pioneers of that state and 
who aided in subduing it to civilization and start- 
ing it toward its present great prosperity and 
development. His childhood, youth and early 
manhood were passed in his native state, and 
from the schools she sustains so liberally he 
secured the greater part of his scholastic edu- 
cation. After finishing this, in 1856 he became 
a teacher in the public schools and was at the 
same time a student of the law, teaching and 
studying in the winter and working on the farm 
in the summer until 1861. When his state passed 
the ordinance of secession and went out of the 
Union, he cast his lot with hers and enlisted in 
the Confederate army as a member of the Fifth 
Tennessee Cavalry. He was soon in active ser- 
vice in the field and participated in many hard 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



695 



fought and sanguinary battles, that of Shiloh or 
Pittsburg Landing in his own state being among 
the most notable. In September, 1862, he was 
captured and carried as a prisoner of war to 
Indianapolis, Ind., where, being at heart a Union 
man and having no slaves or other Southern 
property at stake, he took the oath of allegiance 
to the Federal government and was set at liberty 
without a cent and with nothing to wear but his 
Confederate uniform. He went to Danville in 
an adjoining county and soon after began again 
to teach school, continuing this occupation until 
1863, when Morgan's raid aroused the loyal spirit 
of the state to an intense enthusiasm and determ- 
ined resistance in which he joined and helped to 
drive the raiders out of the state. He remained 
in the service for local defense and to aid in 
quelling disloyalty until the end of the war. In 
1864 his wife and children made their way 
through the Confederate lines and joined him in 
Indiana, and he remained there teaching school, 
studying law and practicing before justices of 
the peace until 1868. He then moved to what is 
now Cowley county, Kan., and there squatted 
on unsurveyed land, which he at once began to 
improve. Here he also was a teacher and prac- 
ticed law in justices' courts, remaining until 1879, 
when he sold out and moved overland to the 
Gallatin Valley in Montana, where he bought an 
unimproved homestead and lived on it five years. 
At the end of that time he moved into Bozeman 
and opened a law-office, having been admitted to 
practice by the Supreme Court of the state. In 
1885 he took his family on a trip of observation 
through California, Oregon and Washington, and 
finally concluded to settle in Wyoming, which he 
did in 1886. Here he bought out a settler on 
Prairie Dog Creek, near Banner, in what is now 
Sheridan county, and once more started to im- 
prove his property. In 1887 he was admitted to 
the bar of Johnson county, and, in 1888, when 
the new county of Sheridan was organized, he 
was elected prosecuting attorney and opened an 
office in the village of Sheridan. He was reelect- 
ed at the end of his term and served a second. 
By this time he was able to prove up on his pre- 
emption claim to the land he had settled on, and 



then moved his family to Sheridan where they 
now live. He there continued in the active prac- 
tice of his profession until 1896 when failing eye- 
sight obliged him to relinquish efforts in that 
direction. Then turning his attention yet more 
fully to agricultural pursuits, he bought another 
unimproved tract of land from its occupant and 
induced his daughter to also homestead. This is 
on Tongue River, eight miles north of Sheridan, 
and here he has lived much of the time since, 
spending the rest at his home in Sheridan with 
his wife, who is living there. He has been much 
occupied' with, local improvements and has given 
his best energies for some years to their develop- 
ment. He built the largest irrigating dam in the 
county across Tongue River and constructed a 
ditch from it through to Rocky Creek, which has 
the largest dike in the county, doing the work 
principally with his own hands. He has now 
practically retired from active labor of all kinds 
and is spending the evening of an adventurous 
and useful life in quiet ease and leisure. In 1856, 
before he left Tennessee, Mr. Stover was married 
to Miss Nannie Carriger, a native of that state. 
They have had six children, five of whom are 
living : Etta B., the wife of George Harper, of 
Sheridan county ; Minnie, living at home ; Lena 
A., principal of the Sheridan high school and 
the county superintendent of schools; May B., 
also a teacher, who is at this writing taking a 
post-graduate course at the Indiana State Nor- 
mal School; and Laura, a stenographer. Their 
only son, Samuel, is deceased. 

HARRY K. SWENEY. 

Every man of mental activity and breadth 
of view, with capacity to carry more than one 
thought at a time, has a led horse in addition to 
the one he rides. His ordinary business occupies 
his energies in the necessary work of making a 
living and gaining a competence, and something 
entirely different gives food and opportunity for 
his entertainment and improvement in his leisure, 
and sweetens the toil of his more arduous labors. 
Harry K. Sweney finds his recreation in artistic 
work by brush and palette, and has adorned his 



696 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



attractive home with many delightful creations 
of his art. He is, however, as diligent and sys- 
tematic in his farming and stockgrowing opera- 
tions as he is finished and skillful in his painting 
and drawing. In the state of Iowa, on December 
15, 1870, his useful life began. His parents were 
Grigg and Lydia Sweney, and while he was yet 
an infant his father died. In 1879 his mother 
moved with her young family to Wyoming, hav- 
ing in that year been married to Mr. R. H. Aus- 
tin (see sketch on another page). They located 
at old Fort Halleck and lived there until 1885, 
then moved to Rawlins. In 1887 they came to 
the Bighorn basin and settled on Shell Creek 
where the next year, when he was eighteen, 
Harry took up a homestead on which he now 
lives. He has greatly improved his farm and 
runs from it, in partnership with his brother, 
Robert, 150 fine cattle and a number of well- 
bred horses. On October 25, 1899, he was mar- 
ried to Miss. Annie L. Thurmond, a native of 
Virginia, but for some years a resident of Sheri- 
dan, Wyo., where the marriage occurred. He is 
one of the progressive and highly esteemed citi- 
zens of his section of the county and deeply inter- 
ested in whatever conduces to its welfare. 

JAMES H. W. STRONG. 

While patriotism is by no means a family af- 
fair or limited even in a small measure to family 
lines, it cannot be denied that there is much of 
inspiration for it in the example of valiant an- 
cestors ; and it is equally true that some strains 
of blood are far more inclined to love of coun- 
try than others. The Strongs of New England 
and New York have all through their history 
shown a devout and serviceable loyalty to their 
country, ever being foremost in every struggle 
for its advancement in peace and war. They were 
early arrivals in the country, the first American 
of the name having come from England with the 
stern and God-fearing Puritans to Massachusetts 
in 1620. They bore their part bravely and effect- 
ively in the Indian wars and in the early civil 
proceedings of their portion of the New World. 
They were conspicuous for gallantry and endur- 



ance throughout the long Revolutionary struggle, 
went forward promptly and decisively at the first 
call to duty in 1812 and in the awful contest of 
the Civil War distinguished themselves on many 
a bloody field. State legislatures and the National 
Congress have echoed their eloquence, the bench 
and the bar have been adorned by their learning 
and integrity, all the learned professions and all 
the useful arts have owned their presence and 
their masterful influence. James H. W. Strong, 
a prominent rancher and stockgrower of the 
New Fork country in Fremont county, and the 
U. S. commissioner for his district, is a member 
of this family and in his life he has well exem- 
plified its sterling virtues. He was born in New- 
York City on January 6, 1869. His parents, 
James H. and Georgiana L. (Berryman) Strong, 
were also natives of the Empire state and city, 
and there the father carried on a flourishing and 
prosperous real-estate business. In the Civil War 
he was a lieutenant colonel in the Second New 
York Cavalry, and, after his return with a rec- 
ord of great credit, he resumed his business, 
which he continued to conduct until his death 
in his native city in September, 1900, at the age 
of seventy-nine years. His widow is still living 
there. His father, James Strong, was a soldier 
in the War of 1812, and his grandfather was a 
Revolutionary veteran, Mr. James H. W. Strong 
was the second of four children, of whom three 
are living. He attended the public schools of 
New York until he was eighteen years old, then 
engaged in mercantile pursuits in that city until 
1896, in that year selling his interests in the 
East and coming to Wyoming for the purpose of 
carrying on a cattlegrowing industry. He found 
a suitable location, began on rather a small scale, 
but has increased his land to 400 acres and his 
cattle to a large herd. His business has pros- 
pered, he has grown in influence and force with 
his people, he has exhibited high traits of citi- 
zenship, which have brought him to the front in 
every laudable undertaking for the good of the 
community, and he is firmly established in the 
respect and confidence of those who know him. 
In 1899 he was appointed U. S. commissioner for 
this district, and is discharging the duties of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



697 



his responsible office with diligence and fidelity 
and with an intelligence that has won him golden 
opinions from all classes. He is a member of 
the patriotic organization known as the Sons of 
the Revolution, a valuable distinction. 

FRANK S. STRONG. 

Strongly endowed by nature with clearness 
of vision, quickness of apprehension and alertness 
in action, so that the opportunities presented for 
advancement have neither escaped his knowledge 
or been neglected in use, Frank S. Strong has 
made steady progress in the race for supremacy 
among men and the acquisition of this world's 
good from the time, when, at the age of twenty, 
he lifted the gage of battle in life's contest for 
himself, until now when, at but little over twice 
that age, he is comfortably provided with a com- 
petence, being well-established in his chosen line 
of business and secure in the respect and esteem 
of his fellow men. Mr. Strong's interesting and 
adventurous life began in the state of Illinois 
on February 8, 1861. His parents, John and 
Elizabeth (Robinson) Strong, were natives of 
New York and early settlers in Illinois. When 
he was ten years old they moved to Iowa, and 
there he completed his minority, lacking one 
year., and received a common-school education. 
In 1 88 1 he started out in life for himself, coming 
to Nebraska and locating in Red Willow county, 
where for a number of years he was actively en- 
gaged in farming. From there he went to Fort 
Scott, Kan., and was engaged in railroad work 
for a number of years, and then in Kansas City 
he opened a merchandising establishment. In 
1889 he left the comforts and allurements of city 
life and went to the wild country of the Black 
Hills, casting in his lot with its rush of fortune 
seekers ; but, instead of following the almost uni- 
versal occupation of mining, he engaged in rail- 
road work and found it profitable until 1892, 
when he came to Wyoming for the purpose of 
joining the great army of enterprising and hardy 
men who were engaged in the stock industry. 
For three years he prospected for a suitable loca- 
tion for his enterprise, working at various useful 



occupations, and in 1895 took up land on the bor- 
der of which the town of Lovell has since grown 
up. He owns 720 acres adjoining the townsite, 
and in the town itself he owns and conducts a 
hotel, livery barn and saloon. He also owns 320 
acres of land in Montana and has on it 150 fine 
cattle and fifty well-bred horses in addition- to 
the stock he owns in this state. He was united in 
marriage with Miss Ellen J. Noble, a native of 
Wisconsin, but reared in Iowa, at the time of 
the marriage a resident of Denver, Colo., where 
the ceremony was performed on October 19, 1885. 
They have two children, their winsome daughters, 
Lulie E. and Bessie F. Mr. Strong is not only 
a prosperous and enterprising man who pushes 
his own business with vigor and success, but he 
is a broad-minded, far-seeing and public spirited 
citizen, whose interest in the welfare of his county 
and state, and in the town in which he lives, is 
manifested by continual activity in behalf of all 
means of advancement and improvement for them 
and the benefit of his people. He is well esteemed 
as a leading and useful citizen, whose services are 
of high value and whose example "is an inspira- 
tion to others in the line of every good work. 

WILLIAM THAYER. 

Merchant, farmer, stockgrower, postmaster 
and the leading citizen in his neighborhood, and, 
by having resided in half a dozen states in dif- 
ferent parts of the country, William Thayer, of 
Fenton, Wyoming, is a man of large and varied 
experience, who has learned wisdom from asso- 
ciation with men in many places and under a 
great variety of circumstances. He was born 
in the state of Iowa in 1849, the SOn °^ Nelson 
and Mary (Cromer) Thayer, and while he was 
yet of tender years they removed to Minnesota 
where they lived for eight years. In 1868 they 
found a new home in Kansas, and in that state 
their son, William, grew to manhood and com- 
pleted his education. There, also, he started in 
life for himself, and, after pursuing his chosen 
vocation of farming for a dozen or fifteen years, 
he went to Florida in 1884 and from that time un- 
til 1891 he was engaged in contracting and build- 



6 9 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ing in the South. In the year last named he re- 
turned to the Northwest and settled in Wyo- 
ming, on land which is a part of his present farm 
of 200 acres, situated in Bighorn county, near 
Fenton, and became a stockgrower and farmer. 
In 1900 he opened a store at Fenton, which he 
is still conducting with cumulative profits, being 
the only mercantile enterprise of its kind in the 
town. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster at 
his home town and is still filling the office and 
performing its duties with fidelity in a manner 
that is creditable to the service and to himself, 
the office subserving in a commendable way the 
convenience of the community. He is an active 
member of the Masonic fraternity, holding mem- 
bership in the lodge at Meeteetse. In 1874 he 
was married in Kansas to Miss Alice McDon- 
ough, a native of Minnesota. They have seven 
children, George, Nina, William, Frank, McDon- 
ough, Harry, Theodore Roosevelt. 

JESSE THRAUS. 

This sturdy son of the land of Hamlet and 
the Norse kings, who is one of the progressive 
and enterprising citizens of Sweetwater county, 
Wyoming, with his residence at Rock Springs, 
has watched his flocks and herds in many lati- 
tudes and seen service as a herdsman under a 
great variety of circumstances. The rage of 
man has not been invoked against him, and no 
lines of strife with his fellows have been mixed 
with the more even tenor of his way.. But the 
rage of the elements has at times been poured 
out upon him and death through their violence 
has often come nigh. He was born in Denmark 
on August 24, 1855, a son of Thraus and Marie 
C. Jensen, the youngest of their seven children, 
all of whom are living. He was reared and edu- 
cated in his native land, and when he was only 
eighteen left its ihpressive scenes and associa- 
tions and came to the United States, seeking bet- 
ter opportunities of getting on in the world. On 
his arrival he at once made his way to Iowa, 
where he found work on a farm and a chance to 
attend the winter terms of school for three years. 
In 1880 he came to Rock Springs, Wyo., and 



for two years again worked on ranches, giving 
faithful and intelligent attention to his duties, 
and through his fidelity and skill rising to the 
position of foreman of W. D. Miller's cattle out- 
fit, a post of responsibility which he held and 
capably filled for twelve years. He passed the 
next seven years as foreman of the sheep industry 
of Doctor Murray, and thereafter traveled for 
a year or two. When he was again ready to 
settle down to steady occupation he found a 
place ready for him and took charge of the sheep 
business of Tim Kinney as foreman. This ex- 
tensive business he has managed in this capac- 
ity during the last five years with great advan- 
tage to his employer and to the satisfaction of all 
who are interested in its operations. His ex- 
perience in the hard winter of 1883, when many 
herders lost their lives by the severity of the 
weather, and also in many other times of ex- 
treme cold and heavy storms, were thrilling, and 
his escapes from death were often narrow and 
sometimes almost miraculous. Yet he is wedded 
to his business and gives it his conscientious and 
constant attention. The interests committed to 
his care are always under the strictest watch and 
have the best supervision that experience, study, 
close observation and a natural taste for the voca- 
tion can give them. Mr. Thraus is warmly at- 
tached to his adopted country and takes an earn- 
est interest in its welfare. Every commendable 
enterprise for its advancement, especially that 
part of it in which he lives, has his cordial and 
serviceable support. He is highly esteemed by 
those who know him, and well deserves the place 
he has in their regard. While his way does not 
lead along the majestic highways of history, he 
walks straight forward in the path laid down for 
him, discharging with fidelity and cheerfulness 
the daily duties of life, and thereby contributes 
essentially and directly to the benefit and happi- 
ness of mankind and the sheep in his care. 

GEORGE SUTHERLAND. 

From old Scotch ancestry, which lived long 
and serviceably in the land of song and story, 
and whose descendants, George Sutherland of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



699 



this review, and his immediate parents, have been 
among the enterprising and productive citizens of 
this country, came George Sutherland, of Ten- 
sleep, one of the progressive and wide-awake 
stockmen of this county, who was born in Can- 
ada in January, 1866, where his parents, William 
and Mary (McMasters) Sutherland, .were long 
settled and engaged in farming. Natives of Scot- 
land, they came to the Dominion soon after their 
marriage, and there prospered until 1873, when 
they removed to Chicago, 111., and not long after 
to North Platte, Neb. In that new land Mr. 
Sutherland finished the education he had begun 
in former homes. When he was seventeen years 
of age he came to Buffalo, Wyoming, and rode 
the range in that section until 1892 when he locat- 
ed on the Tensleep, where he now lives. The 
land he occupies he purchased in a partially im- 
proved condition, and at once began raising cattle 
and making vigorous efforts toward bringing his 
farm into a more advanced state of cultivation 
and development. It comprises 160 acres and is 
well adapted by natural situation and character, 
and also by the skillful and systematic attention 
which has been bestowed upon it, to the business 
which he conducts, and which he has increased 
in magnitude and raised in standard from year 
to year. He has 200 well-bred cattle and a num- 
ber of horses. His whole establishment is man- 
aged with vigor and intelligence and amply re- 
wards the care it receives, and he is well known 
throughout the surrounding country as one of 
the most advanced and enterprising stockmen of 
his portion of the county and as one of its most 
respected citizens. Mr. Sutherland was married 
on January 1, 1895, to Miss Fannie Warner, a 
native of Nebraska and daughter of Mark H. 
Warner, a highly esteemed citizen of this state 
(see sketch elsewhere in this volume.) They 
have two children, Gordon, born in April, 1897, 
and Clinton, born in October, 1899. It is from 
the sturdy and reliable qualities which make up 
the character of such men as Mr. Sutherland that 
the best elements of American citizenship are 
produced. Their course does not lie along the 
pinnacles of great affairs, but they perform with 
fidelity and industry the daily duties of life which 



are found at their elbows, and thereby build well 
their own fortunes and contribute essentially to 
the welfare of those around them. In his com- 
munity Mr. Sutherland has been attentive to 
every means of advancement and to all things 
which aid in the comfort, convenience and im- 
provement of the people. 

THOMAS S. TRIMMER. 

Thomas S. Trimmer, of near Marquette, Big- 
horn county, one of the industrious, enterprising 
and prosperous ranchmen and stockgrowers of 
the state, was born in New Jersey on September 
29, 1865. His parents were Andrew and Susan 
E. (Shields) Trimmer, also natives of New Jer- 
sey, who removed to Illinois in 1868 and a year 
later to Anita, Cass county, Iowa. There their 
son, Thomas, grew to manhood on the farm, 
attending the district schools of the neighbor- 
hood as he had opportunity. In 1885 he left 
his home and came west to Billings, Mont., in 
the employ of the Bull Mt. Cattle Co., and, after 
a period of service with that organization, began 
a three-years' term with H. E. Ashelby at the 
same place. From Billings he came to the Big- 
horn basin of Wyoming in 1888 and went to 
work for John W. Chapman, with whom he re- 
mained until 1894. He then bought land as a 
home for himself and has increased its extent 
until he now owns 680 acres at the forks of the 
Shoshone River, where he handles cattle on a 
large and increasing scale. His herds of cattle 
are for the most part well-bred Herefords, and 
he runs a limited number of horses. In addition 
to the land he owns he has leased a considerable 
body and thus secures a wide range. Fratern- 
ally, Mr. Trimmer is connected with the Modern 
Woodmen of America. He was married at Bil- 
lings, in 1900, to Miss Dorothy Martin, a native 
of Bedford, Iowa, from childhood a resident of 
Sheridan county, Wyo., being the daughter of 
B. F. Martin, now a resident of Bighorn county, 
Wyo. Mr. Trimmer is one of the enterprising 
stockmen of this county, and also one of its 
leading citizens. His fine estate is the direct re- 
sult of his own efforts and has been accumulated 



700 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in this very county, for when he came here he 
had nothing, but he saw opportunities for success, 
and, with an energy equal to his clearness of vis- 
ion, he seized them and used them to his advan- 
tage. His progress has not, however, been wholly 
personal. In the welfare of the community and 
in the proper development of the county he has 
taken a due interest and has contributed to the 
vigor, enlargement and healthy activity of every 
moral, educational and social element and im- 
pulse for the advancement and improvement of 
the people. He is a substantial citizen with sub- 
stance for the general weal, an intelligent man 
with wisdom for the common good, an influential 
force with influence in behalf of the best and 
most enduring progress of his section. 

ENOCH TURNER. 

Belonging to the class that constitutes the 
productive and developing element of the com- 
munity, Enoch Turner, of Almy, Wyoming, and 
his excellent wife have done very well their parts 
toward the advancement of their section, and 
have displayed in a conspicuous manner the best 
traits of American citizenship, although receiv- 
ing their birth and educational training in the 
rural districts of England. Mr. Turner was 
born in Staffordshire, England, on September 9, 
1844, being a son of John and Ann (Owen) 
Turner, his father also being a native of the 
same shire, where his life was passed in mining 
operations, dying at the age of sixty-six years, 
to be interred in the Derbyshire churchyard. The 
mother, born in the same locality as was her hus- 
band, after her death at sixty-seven years, was 
also conveyed to the Derbyshire cemetery. Their 
children were Hezekiah, Enoch and Lucy, the 
subject of this sketch being now the sole survivor. 
His educational and technical instructions were 
given in his native land, and Mr. Turner contin- 
ued to be there employed with a due measure of 
success until 1878, when he consummated a long 
cherished purpose and emigrated to America in 
November of that year. Coming directly to 
Almy, Wyo., he found that his valuable experi- 
ence as a miner in the Old World at once se- 



cured him employment here at very satisfactory 
wages and he continued his connection with the 
operation of the mines until 1895, being pros- 
pered in his employment, and rapidly gaining 
friends among both the miners and the citizens. 
Feeling the need of a change of existence, and 
having the necessary means to profitably engage 
in the branch of industrial activity of stockrais- 
ing, so largely conducted in this state, in 1895 
Mr. Turner secured by homestead his present 
place of 160 acres, and here he is conducting cat- 
tleraising successfully in a modest way, running 
a choice herd. He has ever taken great interest 
in public and political matters from the stand- 
point of an intelligent reasoner, and has been 
three times elected to fill the responsible office 
of justice of the peace on the Populist ticket. He 
is in many ways a factor in the development and 
well being of the community, and has a large 
and ever expanding circle of friends. In Eng- 
land, in 1872, Mr. Turner formed connubial re- 
lations with Miss Fannie Boom, who was born in 
1848, a daughter of George and Alice (Gibbons) 
Boom, of England. They were early members 
of the Mormon church, under its auspices coming 
to Utah in 1874, thence removing to Almy, Wyo., 
where the father engaged in mining until his 
death in 1891, at the age of sixty-six years, after 
which event the widow returned to Utah, where 
her death occurred in 1901 at the age of seven- 
ty-two years. Industrious, unpretentious and 
useful people, they faithfully fulfilled their earth- 
ly destinies and were honored and beloved by 
many friends. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Turn- 
er consists of these children: Alice; Annie; 
Enoch ; Millie, deceased ; Amy ;. Thomas ; Emma ; 
James ; David ; Minnie ; Georgie ; William, de- 
ceased, all having graced the home. 

VINCENT YAXOXI. 

From the mountains of Switzerland to the 
mountains of Wyoming is a long step in longi- 
tude and in political and social conditions, even 
when taken all at once and without intermediate 
halting. But when it implies a wide range of 
latitudes and an acquaintance with local customs 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



701 



and peoples in many places, it is impressively sug- 
gestive in its enormous sweep. This step so ta- 
ken has been the fate of Vincent Vanoni of Ten- 
sleep, Wyoming, one of the prosperous and pro- 
gressive stockgrowers and farmers of Bighorn 
county. Since he was fourteen years of age he 
has been soliciting dame fortune's winning 
smile by his own unassisted endeavors, and he 
has followed her with assiduous and diligent at- 
tention. He was born in Switzerland on May 
2.2, 1856, the son of John and Kate Vanoni, also 
natives of that country. In 1870 he came to 
the United States, landing at New York, where 
he remained six months. From there he went 
to Connecticut, and, after some. months of active 
work in that state, went to New Orleans where 
he passed one summer. From that interesting 
southern metropolis he came up the Mississippi 
to St. Louis in 1878, and from there a short time 
later proceeded to Colorado. In that state lie 
was in charge of a smelter for three years and 
then took up a ranch and engaged in raising stock 
until 1896. At that time he sold out in Colorado 
and came to Wyoming. Finding a suitable place 
far the continuance of his stock industry on the 
TeiVsleep River, he there located on the ranch he 
now owns and occupies, and once more he gave 
his time and attention to stockgrowing and culti- 
vating the soil, which had been for generations 
the vocation of his fathers in his native land. 
With the enterprise characteristic of his race, he 
set to work diligently to improve his place and 
make it not only fruitful but attractive, his home 
not only comfortable but tastefully adorned. In 
both aspirations he has succeeded, having now 
one of the most desirable places on the river, and 
which is, both in condition, arrangement and 
equipment, a credit to his thrift and his good 
taste. His herd also shows the effects of his care 
and skill and holds place in the estimation of 
cattledealers without praise and solely on merit. 
He has 200 head of cattle and the number is 
steadily increasing from year to year, the most 
of them being graded Herefords. He also runs 
a band of fine horses, and he is annually giving 
more and more attention to this branch of his 
stock business. He omits no effort on his part 



to secure the best results, and in scarcely any 
other business do forethought, close and system- 
atic attention and intelligence pay better than in 
breeding and herding stock. Mr. Vanoni has 
built his own fortunes, and so well-founded are 
they, and so systematically has the structure been 
erected, that he. is seemingly 'secure against all 
the winds of adversity, safely established in the 
lasting esteem and confidence of his fellow men. 
He is a citizen of public spirit and breadth of 
view regarding the affairs of the community in 
which he lives, being eminently upright and fair 
in his dealings with all mankind. He was united 
in marriage with Miss Jennie Chandler in 1888. 
She is a native of New Orleans, but was living 
at the time of her marriage in Colorado, and 
there the nuptials were solemnized. Both Mr- 
and Mrs. Vanoni are valued members of the best 
social circles in their community, active in every 
good work for its advancement or improvement. 

ROBERT A. WALN. 

One of the most substantial, influential and 
representative citizens of Bighorn county, Wyo- 
ming, is Robert A. Wain of Rome, a pioneer of 
1878. He is a native of Iowa, where he was 
born in November, 1856. His parents were 
Henry and Elizabeth Wain, prosperous farmers 
in Iowa, the former being a native of Ohio and 
the latter of Indiana. They passed the greater 
part of their mature lives in Iowa, and there 
their son, Robert, grew to manhood and received 
his education, remaining at home until he was 
twenty-two years of age, then, in 1878, he came 
to Fort Fetterman in Wyoming and engaged in 
freighting. From the fort he came to Buffalo, 
and, in 1884, took up his residence in the Bighorn 
basin, where he located land and started a pros- 
perous industry in farming and raising stock, 
having now a tract of 520 acres of superior land 
and 325 graded cattle. He also runs a band of 
horses, keeping up the standard artd giving care- 
ful attention to their proper growth and mainten- 
ance so that the best results can be secured. 
Neither in cattle nor horses does he permit any 
admixture that would degrade his stock, and his 



702 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



\ 



tendency is always upward in quality and strain. 
Mr. Wain has been a very useful citizen to the 
county and he has contributed freely of his time 
and energy to its advancement. He was for four 
years a county commissioner in Johnson county 
and served as a county road supervisor. In these 
positions, which are at best trying and difficult 
of satisfactory administration, especially so in a 
new country, where much of the natural wildness 
of the section still remains, conditions are not 
established and facilities are not abundant, he 
discharged his duties in a way which won him 
general commendation and was of great and last- 
ing benefit to the interests of his people. He was 
married in Iowa in 1887 to Miss Ena Tull, a na- 
tive of Illinois, and their union was blessed with 
seven children, six of whom are living, Clarence 
A., Clytie E., Charles F., Ray A., Ula and Reese 
M. Another daughter, Grace V., is deceased. 
The rapid and yet safe and substantial growth 
of the Northwest of this country has been a 
source of wonder and amazement alike to the 
thoughtful and the thoughtless, and many times 
is asked the cause of it. That cause is not a 
strange one nor one far to seek. It is to be 
found in the sturdy manliness, the progressive 
spirit, the breadth of view and the marvelous 
resourcefulness of the men, who settled this part 
of the country and put in motion in its institu- 
tions and activities the qualities of vigor and pro- 
gressiveness they have themselves possessed, and 
among the number few are entitled to more credit 
than Mr. Wain, the subject of this biographical 
review, who has met every demand of the most 
exacting citizenship in a masterful manner. 

MARK H. WARNER. 

In the march of American civilization and in 
its development wonders seem never to cease, and 
surprises in the progress of events as compared 
with those of other countries are so numerous, 
so great and so continual that they seldom attract 
more than a passing notice. Where yesterday the 
prairie bloomed in its virgin beauty, or the forest 
towered in the stateliness it had exhibited for 
countless generations, of men, today exist fine 



farms of generous fruitfulness, or mighty cities, 
humming with every productive activity. Within 
the memory of men now living what was once 
the far western frontier has become a part of the 
populous East, and what was then known as the 
untrodden waste or the unbroken wilderness of 
the remote and almost inaccessible W T est, the 
"Great American Desert," now produces in abun- 
dance every fruit of the most cultivated and 
elevated civilization, and abundance of nutritious 
grasses and prolific yields of grains and vege- 
tables. Mark H. Warner, a progressive and suc- 
cessful stockgrower and farmer of the Bighorn 
basin, Wyoming, has seen something of this won- 
derful advance of the all-conquering army of our 
people. His life began on May 6, 1851, in Michi- 
gan, then not far past her assumption of the offi- 
cial robes and dignities of statehood, having yet 
much of her soil as virgin as when it first be- 
came a part of this continent. He settled in 
Wyoming when the section of country in which 
he now lives was in much the same condition as 
that of Michigan, and he has seen and helped it 
grow into its present state of progress and devel- 
opment. His parents were Ezra B. and Frances 
(Clark) Warner, natives of New York and early 
settlers in Michigan, in which state he grew to 
man's estate and was educated. When he reached 
his majority in 1872 he sought opportunity and a 
home in Nebraska, locating a homestead near 
Red Cloud in Webster county. On this he lived, 
worked and prospered for twenty years, engaged 
in the peaceful occupation of a farmer. In 1892 
he sold his interests and came to Wyoming. For 
a year he lived in Sheridan county, then, remov- 
ing to Bighorn, he located on the place which he 
now occupies and started his flourishing and 
well-established stock business. His ranch con- 
tains 240 acres of superior land and he has good 
herds of cattle and horses. In matters affecting 
the welfare and advancement of the community 
he has ever been deeply and intelligently inter- 
ested. He was one of the original promoters of 
the telephone company in Tensleep, being now 
one of its directors. In politics he is an active 
Republican and gives to the affairs of his party 
careful and effective attention, serving both as 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



703 



a private in the ranks and in official station. He 
was for years a justice of the peace, while in 
1902 he was elected a county commissioner for 
a term of four years. He was married at Red 
Cloud, Neb., in 1876 to Miss Sarah A. Munsell, 
a native of Wisconsin. They have five children, 
Fannie F., wife of George Sutherland of near 
Tensleep, of- whom more extended mention is 
made elsewhere in this work ; Delia, Burchard, 
Laird and Adene. Mrs. Warner's father, Lafay- 
ette Munsell, was a soldier in the Mexican War 
and valiantly sustained the reputation of the 
family in many of its battles. He was also a 
member of the Eighth Wisconsin Infantry in the 
Civil War, with which organization he served 
throughout the war. 

IRA U. WATERS. 

For nearly ten years Ira U. Waters, one of 
the leading merchants of Bighorn county, Wyo- 
mining, having a fine mercantile establishment at 
Lovell, where he is also postmaster, has been a 
resident of Wyoming and actively identified with 
its progress and development. He has become 
firmly fixed in the regard and esteem of the peo-. 
pie of the county as a good business man and an 
enterprising and public spirited citizen, a capa- 
ble and accommodating public official, and an en- 
tertaining and genial addition to the social life 
of the community. Mr. Waters was born on 
August 24, 1866, in the state of Ohio, where his 
parents, Randolph and Martha (Tracy) Waters, 
were also born and reared. He grew to man- 
hood and was educated in his native state, and. 
in 1887, when he was twenty-one, he moved west 
to Nebraska, locating sixteen miles to the west of 
Omaha, where he engaged in farming and rais- 
ing stock, two lines of industry which he had 
learned on his father's farm. For a period of 
seven years he followed these occupations in that 
state, then, in 1894, came to Wyoming, where 
he took up his residence on a homestead four 
miles below Lowell in Bighorn county, and there 
he was engaged in raising stock and farming un- 
til 1900. In that year he opened a general store 
at Lovell and soon after was appointed post- 



master. He is still carrying on the mercantile 
business and filling the office, doing both with 
great credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
patrons and those of the office. His stock of 
merchandise is extensive and complete, and is 
thoroughly down-to-date in every particular, be- 
ing chosen with an excellent judgment, based 
on a thorough knowledge of the wants and the 
tastes of the community, and also with a view 
to keeping the latter up to a high standard as 
well as fully satisfying the former. In addition 
to his merchandising enterprise, Mr. Waters still 
owns his fine ranch of 320 acres, and has on it 
a large herd of well-bred cattle, although he 
does not personally conduct the business there. 
In fraternal circles he holds membership in the 
order of Modern Woodmen of America, belong- 
ing to the lodge of the order at Basin, Wyo. On 
May 7, 1890, in Nebraska, he was married to 
Miss Lillie Becker, a native of Iowa. They have 
four children, Orlan, Leslie, Merlan and Leatha. 
Leaving home without anything in the way of 
worldly wealth, and since then having had none 
of fortune's favors, except health and strength 
to make a good use of the opportunities which his 
clearness of vision revealed to him, whatever Mr. 
Waters has accumulated in property is the legiti- 
mate fruit of his own energy and thrift. Devot- 
ing himself with zeal and fidelity to the promotion 
of the best interests of his neighborhood and 
county, the place he has attained in the good will 
and regard of his fellow men has been won by 
honest service to' his people cheerfully rendered, 
which is by no means unappreciated, and by an 
elevation of purpose and integrity of character 
that are altogether commendable. 

WILLIAM P. WEBSTER. 

The first postmaster at Cody, Wyoming, hold- 
ing the office which he still fills continuously 
from the establishment of the office, being also 
prominent as a merchant, machinist, promoter 
and guide in this section, William P. Webster, 
of Cody in Bighorn county, is closely identified 
with the history of this part of the state and well 
deserves the popularity and public esteem he so 



704 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



richly enjoys. He is a native of Indiana, where 
he was born in 1850, the son of Richard F. and 
Rebecca (Shelley) Webster, the former being a 
native of Indiana and the latter of Knoxville, 
Tenn. When he was six years old the family 
moved to Iowa county, Iowa, where he grew to' 
manhood and received a limited education in the 
public schools. As a young man he went to 
Texas and Mexico, strolling leisurely through 
them for three years and then went to Nebraska, 
locating in Saunders county, where he took up 
a homestead and engaged in farming for a short 
time. Tiring of agricultural life he moved to 
Lincoln in that state and there learned the trade 
of a machinist and worked at the business for 
the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad for 
a definite number of years. In 1880 he was fore- 
man of the shops of this company at Lincoln, 
and in 1881 was transferred to Rock Springs, 
Wyo., where he was for four years foreman of 
the machinery department. In 1885 he took up 
his residence at Lander and there helped to put 
in milling machinery and the electric light plant, 
also managing the electric light lines there. In 
1893 he removed to Ishawpod on the South Fork 
of the Shoshone River and passed his time in 
hunting, trapping and acting as guide for tour- 
ists in the Yellowstone Park. He also took up 
land in that vicinity. In 1896 he settled at Cody 
and entered the employ of the Shoshone Irriga- 
tion Co., assisting them in their store until late 
in 1897, when he bought the establishment. Af- 
ter conducting the business for a year he sold 
it in 1898 to the Cody Trading Co., but remained 
in their employ a year after the sale. In 1896 
he was appointed postmaster at Cody, being the 
first person to 'hold the office, and so far the only 
one, he having- served continuously from - its es- 
tablishment. Mr. Webster has extensive mining 
interests in California, valuable holdings of oil 
lands in Bighorn county, and also town property 
of value in various places. He was married in 
Cass county, Neb., in- 1873, to Miss Rachel J. 
Bird, like himself a native of Indiana. They 
have two children, Delia, married to A. R. Kirk- 
land and residing in Fremont county on the Sho- 
shone Indian reservation, and Lewis E. Mr. 



Webster has lived a life of adventure and has 
had many thrilling experiences, both as a hunter 
and also with the Indians. In his capacity of 
guide he has conducted some of the most noted 
men of this age through the wilds and the park, 
and has Avon high commendation from every 
source of intelligent observation. His knowledge 
of woodcraft is extensive and accurate, his per- 
ception is quick, his vision clear, his energy tire- 
less and his acquaintance with the country un- 
surpassed. No party committed to his care has 
ever failed to find all the enjoyment the region 
through which it passed afforded or all of the ex- 
citement that it cared for. Whatever was wild, 
strange or novel in nature, or hazardous or in- 
teresting in experience he would show them if it 
was desired ; and for every emergency of life in 
the wilderness he was always able to provide with 
such readiness and completeness as to shield his 
parties from serious embarrassment. 

JOHN WEINTZ. 

For more than twenty years John Weintz of 
near Bonanza has been a resident of Wyoming, 
an active, energetic contributor to the progress 
and development of the state, having come here 
in 1884 when the population was very sparse, the 
country very new, and the conditions of life in 
many respects very hard. He was born in Cleve- 
land, Ohio, in March, 1863. His parents were 
John and Elizabeth Weintz, who, born and reared 
in Germany, emigrated to the United States soon 
after their marriage. At the age of twenty-one 
years, John, who had been raised and educated 
in his native city, came to Wyoming and located 
for a short time at Cheyenne. From there in 
the same )^ear he removed to Johnson count}-, be- 
fore the end of the year settling where he now 
lives, and where he is prosperously engaged in 
raising stock. His farm comprises 240 acres of 
good land and is well improved. He has 200 
head of cattle and conducts his operations, both 
in the stock industry and in the farming inci- 
dentally connected therewith, with vigor and in- 
telligence, omitting no effort on his part to es- 
cure the best results from both, and showing in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7°5 



what he has achieved and accomplished what 
may always be expected from the application 
of real German thrift and continued and sys- 
tematic industry. He was married at Hyatt- 
ville, Wyo., in 1896 to Miss Anita Mercer, a 
native of Oregon. They have four children, 
Annie, John M., Dorothy and Louis. Mr. Weintz 
is a member of the order of Modern Woodmen of 
America, and shows his loyalty to the order by 
active interest and useful service. In all public 
matters he is deeply interested and is energetic 
in aid of every good movement for the benefit 
of the people around him and the progress and 
improvement of his county and state. It is from 
such fibers of character and citizenship as Mr. 
Weintz displays that the rapid development of 
the Northwest and its generous endowment , with 
even' moral and educational feature of an ad- 
vanced civilization have been woven. Nature 
threw down here in immeasurable abundance the 
material for mighty states in the political world, 
and gave unlimited stores of wealth, apparent 
and hidden, for their support and expansion ; 
and the hardy, enduring and industrious popula- 
tions, which have overspread them from every 
quarter of the world, have accepted her bounty 
on the terms prescribed and are working out her 
purpose. Among the elements of the develop- 
ing forces none has done more than that which 
came from the Fatherland with all its long- 
taught lessons of diligence, application and pa- 
tient faith in ultimate results. 

FRANI^ M. WILLIAMS. 

One of the striking characteristics of Ameri- 
can life, especially in the newer country of the 
West, is the bountiful and fruitful field of oppor- 
tunity it furnishes for youthful enterprise, nerve 
and capacity. In the Old World, and in the 
older parts of our own land, youth is beautiful 
with its aspirations, hopes and undeveloped pow- 
ers, but it is barred in the main from the domain 
of responsible activity and control in leading 
lines of business. But in the great Northwest 
every man is estimated by the capacity and will- 
ingness to labor which he exhibits, and every door 



is open to his efforts. The country itself is young 
and has done wonders, and the question of age is 
eliminated from all calculations and measures of 
value. It is in such a land, therefore, that the 
qualifications for the successful management of 
great commercial agencies and industrial forces, 
such as are possessed by men of the type of 
Frank M. Williams of Cody, find their proper 
field and market. Mr. Williams is veritably a 
Centennial child of the Republic, having been 
born on July 4, 1876, in Buena Vista county, 
Iowa. His parents, Marion and Minnie (Tink- 
com) Williams, were respectively born and 
reared in Iowa and New York, and when their 
son, Frank, was seven years old they removed 
from their Iowa home to' Montana, where the 
father was in charge of the engine that drove 
the first sawmill operated on Rock Creek. In 
1887 they came to Wyoming, locating on the 
South Fork of the Shoshone River in Bighorn 
county, where the father took up a homestead 
and a desert claim and engaged in farming and 
stockraising. He has now a beautiful and valu- 
able ranch of 4,000 acres, which he conducts w'.th 
vigor and success, and the mother is the receiver 
of the U. S. land-office at Lander. Their fam-* 
ily consists of two sons, Frank M. and Clarence 
A. Almost from the time he was ten years old 
Frank has lived in this county. Here he was edu- 
cated in the public schools, going outside only 
for his commercial training, which he secured at 
the Omaha Business College, from which he was 
graduated in 1898. After completing his com- 
mercial course he at once entered upon his life- 
work by taking a place as bookkeeper in the First 
National Bank of Lander. After three years of 
experience in this position, in which he mastered 
all the 1 details of the business, he came to Cody 
and established the banking institution in that 
place and of which he is the active head. He 
bought the lot and built the banking house, fur- 
nished the building throughout', and thus fixed the 
enterprise on a firm and secure basis, opening it 
for business in September, 1901. The business 
has prospered from the beginning and expanded 
rapidly, for its need has been long felt and its 
benefit has been more than realized in the com- 



706 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



munity. The capital stock is $10,000 paid up, 
with plenty more available when the business re- 
quires it. The institution is conducted with 
great skill and breadth of view, and is one of the 
most reliable and useful enterprises of the town, 
haying passed in its short life already from the 
domain of a convenience to that of being a rec- 
ognized necessity. Mr. Williams also owns a 
ranch of 320 acres, homestead and desert claims, 
on which he has proven up, and he conducts the 
business which belongs to it with the same spirit 
and energy that he displays in his bank. His 
early life was passed in herding and caring for 
stock, riding the range and doing everything else 
that belongs to such employment. He is one of 
the most graceful, fearless and accomplished rid- 
ers of Wyoming, having an excellent record for 
breaking in young and unruly horses, which he 
made on the ranch of Colonel Torrey and other 
places. He takes an active interest in the affairs 
of the Modern Woodmen of America, to which 
he belongs, holding membership in Cedar Camp 
at Cody and serving at this writing (1902) as the 
venerable consul of the camp. He is young, pop- 
ular and successful, showing superior ability in 
several lines of commercial enterprise and hold- 
ing a high place in the best social circles. The 
future would seem to have in store for him great 
business success, the most exalted social standing 
and prominence and renown in public life, all 
proper rewards for his excellent character, mer- 
cantile enterprise and business capacity. 

COL. GEORGE M. SLINEY. 

A native of Ireland, where he was born on 
August 29, 1852, and where his ancestors lived 
for many generations, being now a prominent 
ranchman, banker, merchant and politician m 
Wyoming, with a long record of usefulness to his 
credit as a soldier, as an administrant of law and 
conservator of order, and as a public official of 
steadfast fidelity to duty, George M. Slinev is 
far from the scenes of his childhood, and illus- 
trates forcibly in his career how wonderful are 
the possibilities of American manhood and how- 
extensive are the opportunities for advancement 



in this western country, and also how serviceable 
to every proper interest in a new community are 
force of character, breadth of perception, common 
sense and determined resolution. His parents 
were Michael and Johanna (Mulcahy) Sliney, 
and they lived, nourished, died and were buried 
in the land of their fathers, unhappy Ireland. 
In 1868, when he was but sixteen years of age, 
he braved the dangers of the stormy Atlantic to 
reach the country of his hopes, and, landing at 
Boston with but little armor for the battle of life 
except his own indomitable spirit and unflagging 
energy, he went to work in a factory where he 
was employed for a period of two years. At 
the end of that service, in 1870, he enlisted in the 
old Fifth Cavalry of the regular U. S. army, and 
with his command saw service in Nebraska, Kan- 
sas and Arizona at various times until after the 
Custer massacre. His regiment was then sent 
with General Merritt's troops to reinforce Gen- 
eral Crook, and on September 9 and 10, 1876, 
the Indians suffered a severe defeat at the hands 
of this force, the first repulse they had after their 
terrible triumph over the unfortunate Custer, 
The command was then stationed at Fort Lara- 
mie and Fort Russell in turn, and, during this 
time, Mr. Sliney aided in driving the last hostile 
savages out of Laramie county, under the lead of 
Lieutenant Cherry. In 1883 he resigned from 
the army, and, soon taking up land on Owl Creek 
in Fremont county, he began raising stock and 
farming. So firm, however, was the fiber of his 
manhood, so clear were his perceptions of right, 
and so devoted was he to the supremacy of 
law and order, that his fellow citizens turned to 
him with one voice as the proper person to fill the 
office of justice of the peace, and they kept him 
in this then most important place as long as he 
would serve them in this capacity. The forms of 
law were crude and not clearly established in the 
territory ; many cases arose from time to time 
for which there were no specific statutory provis- 
ions. But, with the courage and the legal acu- 
men of a Caesar, he applied his wisdom of com- 
mon sense to the situation, and, both made the 
law for such cases and also administered it. And, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



707 



while he had previously had no direct legal train- 
ing, so positively fair and unbiased were his de- 
cisions, and so manifestly in the promotion of 
the best interests of the community was his office 
administered, that all classes bowed obediently 
to his court and scarcely ever was an appeal ta- 
ken from his judgments. At this time his nearest 
neighbor was ten miles distant, and the country 
was infested by hostile Indians, as well as by 
lawless renegades from civilization. The difficul- 
ties before him were numerous and oftentimes al- 
most insurmountable ; dangers of every character, 
incident to such a country and state of society, 
were ever at hand ; hardships and privations were 
the common lot of all who lived on the frontier; 
but, with undaunted courage, he met every re- 
quirement and triumphed over every obstacle, 
both for himself and for his section of the ter- 
ritory. By industry and thrift he acquired a 
landed estate of several thousand acres, on which 
he conducted an extensive and profitable business 
in the raising of fine Hereford cattle and superior 
grades of horses, his ranch being renowned 
throughout his part of the country for the excel- 
lence of its products, as well as for the generous 
and considerate hospitality there dispensed. He 
sold this ranch in 1903 that he might give his 
attention wholly to other business operations, and 
is now apparently permanently established in his 
beautiful home at Thermopolis, which he first 
occupied a few years ago for the purpose of se- 
curing proper educational advantages for his 
children. In this town he is actively engaged, 
in association with his son-in-law, S. S. Rankin, 
in the lumber business, the firm-name being 
Rankin & Sliney, and he is also the vice-president 
of the First National Bank of Thermopolis, which 
institution he helped to organize and in which 
he is one of the heaviest stockholders. He saw 
the need of this institution, and, with the energy 
and public spirit that have always brought him 
to the front in behalf of any enterprise for the 
benefit of the community, he put the forces into 
motion that brought its establishment, and, from 
the very start, he "has been one of the potential 

elements in its progress and government. On 
44 



May 27, 1 90 1, he was commissioned as postmas- 
ter of Thermopolis and he is still filling the office 
to the satisfaction of its patrons and in a manner 
highly creditable to himself. But, wide and var- 
ious as are the business interests he has now in 
charge, they are not sufficient to engage all of 
his time or to fully satisfy the activities of his 
vigorous and fertile mind. He is, therefore, look- 
ing for other engagements, and to this end he has 
been conducting investigations at Cody, with a 
view to opening a business enterprise in that 
growing and promising town. In his military 
career Colonel Sliney was intimately associated 
with Colonel Cody, and he has an abiding faith 
in the business judgment of that renowned person 
as he has always had in his courage and skill as 
a soldier and as a director and manager of large 
affairs. . For his own bravery and soldierly qual- 
ities Colonel Sliney was promoted to be quarter- 
master in the service and held the position to the 
end of his military term. He is now a member 
of the governor's staff, inspector general, rank- 
ing as a colonel of the Wyoming National Guard. 
This commission came as a surprise to the colonel 
from Governor Chatterton. It is the duty of 
the inspector general to inspect annually each 
military organization of the state, being also one 
of the military board, who assist the Governor 
by their advice and counsel in military matters. 
The gallant Colonel has been eminently success- 
ful in whatever he has undertaken, and is univer- 
sally held in the highest respect and esteem. In 
fraternal relations, Mr. Sliney is an ardent and 
active member of the order of Odd Fellows, and, 
in both the subordinate lodge to which he be- 
longs, and in the grand lodge of the order, he has 
held high official positions. He also belongs to 
the Modern Woodmen of America, taking a 
great and serviceable interest in its affairs also. 
At Dodge City, Kan., on June 6, 1876, he was 
married to Miss Marie Brady, a native of Eng- 
land. They have five children, Nellie, wife of 
S. S. Rankin; Mae, assistant postmaster at 
Thermopolis ; Carrie, wife of C. C. Ellis ; George 
W., the first white child born on Owl Creek; 
Margaret, whose presence now adds light and life 



708 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



to his home. Colonel Sliney is one of the most 
esteemed pioneers of northern Wyoming, his 
life having been signally serviceable to this part 
of the state in every one of its lines of activity. 

DANIEL WELLER. 

Daniel Weller was born and reared on a 
farm in Michigan, and, amid its various duties 
and the freedom of air and opportunity for self- 
dependence which the life afforded, he acquired 
the health of body and the resoluteness, self-reli- 
ance and readiness for emergency that have been 
a large part of his capital in the battle of life. 
He was primarily educated in the public schools 
of his native county, finishing his course, how- 
ever, and getting the most practical part of his 
education in the school of experience and active 
effort. When he was eighteen years old he as- 
sumed the care and responsibility of his own 
career, and since then he has made his own way 
in the world, without the aid of adventitious cir- 
cumstances or of fortune's favors. For six years 
he was occupied with various pursuits in his na- 
tive state, Michigan, whither his parents, Daniel 
and Rowena Weller, came from New York where 
they were born and reared, becoming a part of the 
army of occupation and conquest that has con- 
quered that state from the wilderness and made 
it great and prosperous. In 1877 he sought the 
frontier, as his parents had done in their day, 
then coming to Wyoming and locating at Lan- 
der. He took up land in that vicinity and at once 
began to improve it and enlarge a stock indus- 
try which he started on it in small dimensions. 
Llere he remained until 1882, making substantial 
progress, but longing for a more active life with 
quicker returns for his labor. In 1882 he came 
to Meeteetse Creek and erected a sawmill, the 
first ever put up and operated in the Bighorn 
basin. After a few years of close attention to 
the lumbering business he sold his outfit in this 
line and, homesteading on Wood River, again 
engaged in stockraising and farming, carrying 
on the industry until 1899. He t ^ len move d to 
Meeteetse and opened and conducted the first 
restaurant in the place, keeping his ranch, how- 



ever, which he still owns, and continuing his 
operations in stock. In 1902, at Meeteetse, he 
built and furnished the Weller House, a fine two- 
story, steam-heated brick hotel, and from its very 
opening he has been its proprietor and manager. 
In this capacity he has demonstrated his wisdom 
of choice of occupation, being one of the popu- 
lar and highly esteemed landlords of this portion 
of the state, a favorite with the traveling public 
and also with those modern knights-errant, the 
commercial travelers. In connection with his ho- 
tel he has a large and well-appointed livery and 
feed barn, which is also of decided popularity in 
the community and the best of its kind within a 
wide extent of country. He belongs to the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and is active 
and zealous in loyalty to his lodge. He was 
married at Lander in 1882 to Miss Mary L. 
Trenholm, a native of Illinois. They have three 
children, Mabel, Homer and George. 

WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS. 

One of the well-to-do stockmen of Albany 
county, Wyoming, whose residence is near Tie- 
Siding, about twenty-eight miles southeast of 
the city of Laramie, is William Richard Williams. 
He is a native of the Province of Nova Scotia, 
Canada, where he was born in 1840, the son of 
Patrick and Mary (Wallace) Williams, natives 
of the same country. The father was born in 
1807, and followed the occupation of farming in 
his native land, up to the time of his decease, 
at the age of eighty-nine years. He was the 
son of John Williams, also a native of Nova 
Scotia, who, through all of his life, was engaged 
in farming. The mother of Mr. Williams, the 
subject of this sketch, was born in 1814, being 
the daughter of John and Mary (Fenton) Wal- 
lace, both natives of the same country. She was 
a remarkable woman, who died in 1892, being 
mother of thirteen children, ten of whom are still 
living (1902). William Richard Williams, the 
second child of his parents, grew to man's estate 
in his native Nova Scotia, and received his early 
education in its schools. Wheft he arrived at the 
age of twenty-one years, he left the home of his 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



709 



parents, and began life for himself. He first se- 
cured employment as a farm hand in the vicin- 
ity of his old home and continued to be thus 
occupied until 1867, when he set out for the dis- 
tant city of Denver, then in the territory of 
Colorado. He remained there and in that vicin- 
ity for a short time and then came to Wyo- 
ming, being engaged in lumbering for about five 
years, and then located a -ranch of 160 acres of 
grazing land, beginning in a small way the busi- 
ness of raising cattle. In this venture he has 
met with marked success, and has increased his 
landed holdings from year to year, until he is 
now the owner of a fine ranch of over 12,000 
acres of land that is well-fenced and improved, 
with large and suitable buildings, and he is count- 
ed as one of the most prosperous and successful 
stockmen and property owners in his section of 
Wyoming. He has a large herd of fine graded 
and thoroughbred cattle, making a specialty of 
the Polled Angus and Galway breeds, being 
more hardy and profitable than the ordinary 
grades of stock. By industry, perseverance and 
good business judgment, he has built up a 
large and lucrative business, and is rapidly amass- 
ing a fortune. In 1872, Mr. Williams was united 
in marriage with Miss Margaret Keyes, also a 
native of Nova Scotia, and being a daughter of 
William and Sarah Jane (Logan) Keyes, both 
natives of the same country. To this union have 
been born seven children, Hattie, Rachel, Arthur, 
Chester, Harry, Stella and Earl, all of whom are 
living. The home is noted for its gracious and 
generous hospitality, and it is a popular gath- 
ering place for their large circle of friends in 
the vicinity where they reside. 

MRS. MARGARET B. WILSON. 

Mrs. Margaret B. Wilson, widow of the late 
Andrew B. Wilson, then of Meeteetse, in Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, whose death on March 2, 
1886, at the very meridian of life, before any of 
his faculties had lost their vigor, while his useful- 
ness still impressed itself on every form of activ- 
ity in the community, which he loved and had 
helped so materially to build up and improve, 



was universally lamented, aided by her sons, Dan- 
iel and Charles Wilson, conducts one of the fin- 
est ranches and most extensive and progressive 
stock industries in Bighorn county, and also one 
of the leading mercantile enterprises in the town. 
She was born in Ohio, the daughter of Daniel 
and Nancy (Jackson) Hoover of that state, na- 
tives there, being reared and educated in the com- 
munity in which they first saw the light of this 
world. When she was but one year old her par- 
ents moved to Indiana. In that state she grew 
to womanhood and was educated, removing as a 
young woman to Missouri. Mr. Wilson was the 
son of William and Rebecca (Pierce) Wilson, 
and while he was yet quite young his parents 
took up their residence in Illinois and later re- 
moved to Missouri. In that state he met Miss 
Margaret B. Hoover, their mutual tastes brought 
them together and they were married in 1859. 
Soon after they took up their residence in Kan- 
sas and they remained in that state until 1876, 
when they came to Colorado, and for four years 
thereafter, were actively engaged in raising stock 
and farming. In 1880 they sought a new home 
on the virgin soil of Wyoming, locating near Sar- 
atoga Springs. In 1881 they came to Meeteetse 
and again engaged in raising stock and farming. 
They also opened a general store, which, by close 
attention to business, a studious observance of 
the needs of the community and a commendable 
enterprise in supplying them, united also with a 
strict probity in business and a courteous and 
considerate manner toward their customers, they 
have made one of the commercial' institutions of 
the section and laid a large scope of country 
under tribute to its coffers. On March 2, 1886, 
as has been stated, Mr. Wilson died, and since 
that time Mrs. Wilson has carried on the various 
interests, in which they were mutually concerned, 
with the same care, skill, business capacity and 
public spirit that distinguished their manage- 
ment prior to his death. The mercantile stock 
is selected with a correct judgment, based on a 
thorough knowledge of the trade whjch it is to 
supply, and the business is conducted, with every 
regard to the strictest uprightness and integrity. 
Additional to this mercantile establishment, which 



yio 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF W YO MING. 



occupies the most of her time and attention, 
Mrs. Wilson has a ranch of 2,000 acres of ex- 
cellent land, well-improved and highly cultivated, 
and on this ranch she maintains extensive herds 
of cattle and bands of horses, keeping them in 
good condition and always sustaining the high 
standard of her brand. She has seen much of life 
in its various attitudes as exhibited on the fron- 
tier, and early became inured to its privations and 
dangers, as well as warmly interested in the de- 
velopment of the section to which she belongs. 
In the struggle for advancement, she has borne 
her full share of the labors and burdens incident 
to the conditions, and has kept in the front rank 
of every line of progressive activity. She was 
the first postmistress in this part of the state, 
and administered her office with systematic atten- 
tion to her duties and to the general satisfaction 
of its patrons. One of the special features of 
her stock industry is a herd of elk, one of the 
finest to be found in the Northwest, which is 
looked after with great care. 

JOSEPH M. WOLFF. 

The interesting subject of this review is one 
of the highly enterprising and progressive con- 
tributions of Wisconsin to the inchoate civiliza- 
tion and very rapid development of the farther 
West, and, like most other rural inhabitants of 
Wyoming, he is actively engaged in the leading 
industry of the state, the livestock business, con- 
ducting it with expanding magnitude and in- 
creasing profits. He is located on a fine ranch 
of 160 acres of excellent land in the Meeteetse 
Valley, on which he settled when it was virgin 
soil to the plow and knew naught of systematic 
cultivation or obedience to the skill of the hus- 
bandman. He was born on December 15, 1862, 
and at the early age of sixteen took up the bur- 
den of life for himself, armed only with a stout 
heart, a vigorous frame, a clear head and a reso- 
lute will, and with almost no training beyond 
a very limited education in books, secured by ir- 
regular attendance at the public schools for a 
few weeks in the winter months of his boyhood. 
His first engagement in the contest with men 



and circumstances was as a freighter in Dakota, 
and farther along the line of construction of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad, which was 'then in 
building, and which he attended as far as Bill- 
ings in Montana. In 1882 he came to Wyoming, 
settling within the limits of what is now Bighorn 
county, where he devoted himself to rangerid- 
ing until 1898, when he located on a ranch he had 
taken up in 1888, which he had developed and 
improved with the view of establishing on it a 
stock business as soon as he was able. All his 
energies were bent in this direction, and all of 
his earnings were carefully used in furtherance 
of his design, so that when he took up his resi- 
dence on the land he was well prepared to carry 
forward with enterprise and vigor the contem- 
plated industry which he then began and is still 
conducting. His herd has grown from a small 
beginning to 250 head of superior cattle and he 
has also usually about 100 fine horses. Mr. Wolff 
belongs to but two of the fraternal orders so nu- 
merous and popular among men, the Indepen- 
dent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern 
Woodmen of America. In 1897 he was married 
at Meeteetse to Miss Elsie Ward, a native of 
Minnesota. They have one child, their son, Lind- 
ley. The healthy and steady development of his 
neighborhood and of his county has a strong hold 
on the interest and the hopes of Mr. Wolff, and 
to the promotion of such development he gives 
active aid in every way that has his approval, 
omitting no effort and withholding no help that 
he can contribute toward securing the best and 
most desirable results. And, in proportion to 
his zeal in this behalf, he enjoys the confidence 
and esteem of his fellow citizens as a man of pub- 
lic spirit and progressiveness, a feeling which is 
intensified and established by the integrity of 
his character, the uprightness of his life and the 
attractive geniality of his manners. 

DAVID P. WOODRUFF. 

Near the middle of the nineteenth century, 
when unreasoning bigotry united with apostolic 
zeal and fervor to drive the Mormon church from 
the banks of the Mississippi, on which it had be- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



711 



gun to erect its "City of Beauty and Everlasting 
Habitation," among the number of faithful ad- 
herents who attended Brigham Young, the re- 
nowned head of the church, in the perilous and 
memorable transition across the plains to a new 
land of hope and promise, and who served most 
capably as one of the Twelve Apostles of the 
organization, was Wilford Woodruff, a native 
of Connecticut and an early convert to the faith. 
He was accompanied by his wife, Phoebe Carter 
Woodruff, the mother of Daniel P. Woodruff of 
this review. She was born and. reared in Ohio, 
and on their arrival at Salt Lake they located a 
block of government land in the city and entered 
with zeal and industry on the work of building up 
the new domain which had been selected as head- 
quarters of the hierarchy, and in this work they 
passed the residue of their lives, the father dying 
in 1898, and being at the time of his death the 
president of the church, a position he had held 
continuously from the death of John Taylor, his 
predecessor, in 1887. His labors in behalf of the 
church were prodigious and far-reaching in ex- 
tent and value, and form the theme and subject 
matter of profound volumes. They included 
150,000 miles of travel in missionary tours, and 
an enormous volume of work in Salt Lake City 
and vicinity. His widow, the mother of Mr. 
Woodruff, now resides at Proyo, Utah. In Salt 
Lake City their son, David, was born on April 
4, 1854, and within its limits he was reared and 
educated. On reaching his legal majority he 
went to Bear River and passed six years engaged 
in cultivating the soil and in raising stock. From 
there he removed to the Cache Valley and soon 
after to Ashley Valley, where he clerked in a 
store until 1893. In that year he came to Wyo- 
ming and located on Wood River. For three 
years he here prosecuted vigorous and profitable 
stockgrowing and farming operations until he 
was elected treasurer of Bighorn county in 1896. 
He then devoted his attention with energy and 
close scrutiny to the duties of his office, and dis- 
charged them in a manner so satisfactory to the 
people that at the end of his term in 1898 he was 
forced by public sentiment to accept a reelection, 
which was followed by still another in 1900. 



When he relinquished official life he returned to 
his ranch, which has since been his home and 
which has fully occupied his attention, and start- 
ed again in the business of raising stock and the 
cultivation of the soil. He has 320 acres of land, 
and, while he runs a small herd of high-grade 
cattle, his principal stock product is a strain of 
thoroughbred Hambletonian, Kentucky saddle- 
bred and Hackney horses, of which he has us- 
ually about 200. These are much desired in the 
markets, and hold high place in the esteem of 
horsemen. In church affiliation Mr. Woodruff 
is loyal to the faith which his father helped so 
materially to establish, and in the work of the 
church he has been zealous and diligent from his 
early manhood. He has filled a number of places 
of trust in its government, and is now a mem- 
ber of the high council of the Bighorn stake. On 
February 19, 1877, he was married to Miss Ara- 
bella Hatch, a native of Lehi, Utah, daughter 
of Jeremiah and Louisa (Alexander) Hatch, who 
were early pioneers in the state. Eleven chil- 
dren have blessed their union, Amy, Phoebe, 
David P., Wilford L., Willard C, Jeremiah, 
Louisa, Mary, Erma A., Torrey B. and Beulah A. 
In the church, in business, in official life, in social 
circles and in his domestic relations, Mr. Wood- 
ruff has ever borne himself with due regard to 
his own integrity and proper consideration for 
others, and is correspondingly esteemed. 

HARRY S. YOUNT. 

No compendium, such as the province of this 
work defines in its essential limitations, will serve 
to give a complete record of the remarkable life 
of adventure and daring deeds which Harry S. 
Yount has led. If written in detail it would form 
a volume rivaling in interest and thrilling situa- 
tions the lives of Daniel Boone, David Crockett, 
Kit Carson and other daring frontiersmen, whose 
deeds through the medium of the printed page 
have long been the wonder and delight of the 
lovers of the adventurous and tragic. As a 
brave soldier on many bloody battle fields, as a 
daring scout, leading expeditions through all 
parts of the wild West, as a fearless hunter, 



'12 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



whose deeds border on the marvelous, as a trap- 
per, a successful miner, and as a quiet, unobtrus- 
ive citizen, pursuing" the even tenor of his way 
"far from the maddening crowd," the career of 
Harry S. Yount everywhere presents points of 
interest and experiences, which are unknown 
quantities to the lives of the great majority of 
men. Nothing but a very brief synopsis of his 
story can be here attempted, but some future 
writer should put his whole life in a form for 
permanent preservation. Harry S. Yount, son 
of David and Kate (Shell) Yount, was born in 
Susquehanna county, Pa., on March 18, 1847. 
His father was also a native of the Keystone 
state, and the mother born in New York. David 
Yount was a ship carpenter, who worked at his 
trade in Philadelphia and Harrisburg until about 
1852, when he moved to Missouri, where he 
engaged in mining and spent the remainder of his 
life, dying some years ago in Henry county. Har- 
ry S. Yount received his educational training 
in the schools of Springfield, Mo. When old 
enough to perform manual labor he hired to 
farmers in his neighborhood and was thus en- 
gaged until the commencement of the Civil War, 
when he took up arms for the Union. In Oc- 
tober, 1861, he enlisted at Rolla, Mo., in the noted 
Lyon Legion, under Colonel Phelps, and this was 
a part of the force under the gallant General 
Lyon who fell at the battle of Wilson's Creek. 
After serving about six months Mr. Yount joined 
the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, with which he ex- 
perienced the fortunes of war until the close of 
the war, being the quartermaster sergeant of his 
company during the greaterpart of the time earn- 
ing the reputation of a careful and conscientious 
officer. After his discharge Mr. Yount went to 
AVyoming and then to Dakota, and, in 1866, be- 
gan freighting, which business he followed for 
years in many parts of the western territor- 
ies. In 1873 he joined Dr. Hayden's Geological 
Survey, and in this occupation served some years. 
traveling over nearly every part of the great 
West, meeting with many interesting experiences 
and encountering dangers calculated to try the 
fortitude of the most daring. During this occu- 
pation, in 1878, in company with Prof. A. D. 



Willson, one of the most etcpert mountain climb- 
ers of the geological party, Mr. Yount went to 
the Grand Teton mountain to attempt the diffi- 
cult task of ascending it. Going to the Teton 
Pass from Jackson Hole, they there noticed cut 
plainly in the bark of a spruce pine tree the in- 
scription "1832. P. S. C." Their way took them 
down to the Teton basin and up Teton Creek 
until they had arrived above the timber line, 
where they made their camp as near the foot 
of the mighty Teton Peak as they could. Start- 
ing early on the next morning they continued 
their way toward the Grand Teton, after two 
miles of- travel coming to a deep canyon which 
they had to travel down to cross. This was 
filled with an ancient glacier and icebergs. Mr. 
Yount slipped on the treacherous ice of the sur- 
face, falling down and sliding close to a deep 
chasm in the glacier, where a large stream of 
water came down from the cliff above. The hold 
that his. buckskin pants kept on the ice was the 
only thing that prevented him from being car- 
ried down into the unfathomable depths of the 
great crevice. They crossed the canyon finally 
and kept on their ascent up the steep mountain 
side, which was composed of slide rock, which 
kept falling from under their feet. The hard 
work and danger of being hurled down the pre- 
cipitous mountain side into one of the fathomless 
crevices added to the excitement of the climb. 
About 1,000 feet below the top they reached a 
small niche or cave in the steep wall of rock, in 
which they found a small enclosure of rocks piled 
in a circle, perhaps t the work of Indians. They 
reached the top at last and Mr. Yount describes 
it as the grandest view he ever saw. On the 
descent he broke off a piece of mineral from a 
large ledge they encountered, which he later sent 
to Washington. D. C, for an analysis. The U. 
S. government assayers pronounced it as one of 
the richest specimens of silver ore that they had 
ever seen, running up into thousands of dollars 
value to the ton. Mr. Yount says that the ledge 
from which this was taken lies 12,000 feet above 
sea level, far aboA r e the timber line. Professor 
Holmes, of the Hayden Geological Surveying 
party, said that this ledge was the richest min- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



713 



eral belt that he had ever seen in all of his ex- 
tended examinations of the Rocky Mountain re- 
gion. In the Hayden Geological Reports of 1877 
and 1878 Harry S. Yount's name appears in a 
very complimentary connection, while on the map 
of the Yellowstone Park accompanying the re- 
port, the name of Yount's Peak is given to a 
mountain standing at the head of the Yellowstone 
River. After his labors with the Survey were 
ended he was appointed by President Hayes the 
gamekeeper of the Yellowstone Park, performing 
the duties from 1880 to 1882 inclusive. In 1882 
he turned his attention to hunting and trapping, 
and visited every part of Wyoming and adjacent 
territories, having no fixed abode, sleeping wher- 
ever night overtook him and enjoying the wild, 
free life, amid the most lonesome and romantic 
scenery of the continent. While thus engaged 
he experienced his most thrilling adventures, fre- 
quently fighting for his life with fierce wild 
beasts, and, at other times, encountering the not 
less wild and dangerous red man. These experi- 
ences fostered a spirit unknown to fear as many 
of his actions abundantly demonstrate. He has 
been known to enter without the slightest trepi- 
dation a cavern in which a number of bear had 
made their den, and, then, single handed, kill the 
beasts one by one, and drag them into the light. 
This is but one of numerous instances of daring, 
and serves to show his fortitude under the most 
trying and dangerous circumstances. In this oc- 
cupation Mr. Yount had abundant opportunities 
to observe the country and determine its mineral 
deposits. In 1882 and in 1887 he located several 
valuable mining claims, which he still owns and 
promise valuable returns when properly devel- 
oped/ and he also discovered and filed on a fine 
marble quarry in the immediate vicinity of his 
mining property. In due time both mines and 
quarry will doubtless prove the source of an 
independent fortune, movements being now in 
progress for their development. In 1898 Mr. 
Yount took up land on Halleck Creek, near his 
mines, on which he has since made his home. He 
has surrounded himself with many of the com- 
forts of life, and, though living for the most part 
alone, he is happy and contented, being cheered 



and encouraged by what the future development 
of his property has in store for him.. His long 
and adventurous career in all parts of the West, 
has given his name wide publicity and today there 
is no man in Wyoming or adjacent states so well 
or more favorably known. He has been thrown 
into contact with all classes and conditions of 
people, and, by attending strictly to his own af- 
fairs and doing by his fellow men as he would 
be done by, he has won their high regard and un- 
bounded esteem. He is a member of John J. 
Reynolds Post, No. 33, Grand Army of the Re- 
public, and takes an active interest in its work. 
He discharges his duty as a citizen and, in every 
relation of life, his actions have been directed 
by those correct principles which win and retain 
warm personal friendships. 

SOREN YENSEN. 

At the present a prominent resident of Gran- 
ite, Wyoming, and a native of the kingdom of 
Denmark, having been born in that country on 
February 27, 1857, Soren Yensen is the son of 
Yen Erickson and Kirsten Yensen, both natives 
of Denmark. His father followed the occupation 
of blacksmithing in his native country until his 
death, which occurred in 1883. His mother is 
still living and resides in Denmark. The sub- 
ject of this sketch grew to man's estate, and re- 
ceived his early education in the schools of his 
native country, and, after he had finished his 
school days, he also learned the trade of black- 
smithing and remained at home at work with his 
father until he had attained the age of twenty 
years. He then engaged in business for him- 
self, following his trade in various cities of Den- 
mark until 1 88 1. In that year he took passage 
for America, when, in the city of New York, 
he immediately secured employment at his trade, 
thereafter visiting several places in the Empire 
state, and finally locating at Mechanicsville, in 
that state. Here he followed blacksmithing until 
the fall of 1883, when he removed to Cheyenne, 
Wyo. There he worked at his trade for a short 
time, and in the next winter took up a ranch near 
a place owned by his brother, near Granite. He 



7H 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



remained there until the spring of 1884, when he 
formed a copartnership with his brother and they 
engaged in cattleraising at the ranch property 
where the subject now makes his residence. The 
brothers conducted this business jointly for a 
number of years with great success, Soren, in 
1890, purchasing his brother's interest. Since 
that time he has carried on the business in his 
own name, meeting with substantial success, and 
he is now one of the large individual owners of 
cattle in his section of country, having a fine 
ranch of some 2,800 acres of land, well fenced 
and improved. On June 13, 1889, Mr. Yensen 
was united in marriage, at the city of Cheyenne, 
Wyo., with Miss Christiana Yensen, also a na- 
tive of Denmark, and a daughter of Yens Lar- 
son and 'Karen Yensen, both natives of Den- 
mark. The father of Mrs. Yensen was a farmer 
in Denmark, and followed that occupation up to 
the time of his death in 1884. They have seven 
children, Arthur Nels, John E., Clara. Martha, 
Matilda, Viggo and Esther, all of whom are liv- 
ing. Mr. and Mrs. Yensen are members of the 
Lutheran church, and take a sincere interest in 
all church and charitable work in the community 
where they maintain their comfortable, home. 
Politically, Mr. Yensen is identified with the 
Democratic party, a stanch supporter of that 
organization, taking a prominent part in public 
affairs. The habits of thrift and industry which 
he learned in childhood in his native country 
have attended him through his life, and have 
materially contributed to the success which he has 
made in all of his business undertakings. He 
is a hard-working, earnest and successful man, 
and is building up a fine property. He enjoys the 
respect and esteem of his neighbors, and of all 
who come in contact with him. 

MARION J. ALLAMAND. 

Marion Jacques Allamand was born in sunny 
France in 1868, and was reared and educated 
in his native land. Early in his manhood he 
turned his back upon his own country, hoary as it 
is with glorious traditions of peace and war, 
crowned with triumphs of art and science, bask- 



ing in the sunlight of present prosperity, viva- 
cious with an exuberance of spirit and vitality 
which must insure future welfare and continued 
greatness, yes, he left them all to seek in the wil- 
derness of the New World a land wherein his 
personal hopes might expand and flourish, and on 
which his domestic shrine might rise and be 
blessed. In 1892 he came to the United States, 
and after spending two years in California, came 
to Wyoming in 1894, located in the Bighorn 
basin and took up a homestead on which he start- 
ed a stock industry, handling sheep. This has 
expanded with steady progress until he now has 
500 acres of land well selected for the business 
he conducts thereon, and handles on an average 
2,500 sheep, with numbers of cattle and horses. 
Sheep form his staple line, however, and to this 
branch of the stock business he has mainly given 
his attention, with the result that he is considered 
one of the most successful and progressive sheep 
men in the state, and is regarded as an authority 
on every phase of the sheep industry. Nothing 
that skill and enterprise has fashioned is wanting 
to the comfort and proper care of his flocks, and 
the best interests of his family are well subserved 
in an artistic and commodious residence which 
he has erected on his ranch. He was married at 
Buffalo, this state,' in 1898 to Miss Hester Childs, 
a native of Louisville, Ky., and they have two 
children. Marguerite and Hester. 

THOMAS F. BURTON. 

Like his younger brother, Arthur F. Burton, 
an account of whose life appears on another page 
of this work, Thomas F. Burton, of the firm of 
Wm. W. Burton & Sons, leading merchants of 
Afton, Uinta county, has been very generally 
useful to the community in which he lives. There 
is scarcely any form of productive enterprise or 
public interest that has not been quickened by 
the touch of his tireless hand and broadened by 
the force of his active mind. He was a pioneer 
in this region and has here lived and worked for 
its development through all the changes that 
have come over it. His life began at Ogden, 
Utah, on May 12, 1871, and his parents are Wil- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



/i5 



Ham W. and Sarah A. (Fielding) Burton of that 
city. • (For an account of their ancestry and fam- 
ily history see the sketch of Arthur F. Burton.) 
He was educated at the public schools of his na- 
tive city. Immediately after leaving school he 
entered the employ of his father in the large im- 
plement and general store at Ogden, which was 
then and is now one of the leading mercantile 
establishments of the place, and served a short 
apprenticeship there. In 1886, when he was but 
fifteen years of age, he came to Afton and went 
to work in the general store his father had opened 
here, and has been connected with it ever 'since, 
and with the other extensive mercantile interests 
of the family here and at Ogden. These embrace, 
in addition to the stores already mentioned, one 
of the largest creamery and cheese factory plants 
in the West, which is located at Afton, and also 
an immense stock and farming industry, in which 
cattle, horses and sheep are handled in large 
numbers. The creamery has a capacity of 40,- 
000 pounds of milk per clay and is thoroughly 
equipped for its work with every modern device 
for the business that is of value. Scarcely any- 
thing that the sleepless eye of science has dis- 
covered or the cunning hand of skill has fash- 
ioned in the way of machinery or convenience for 
creamery work is wanting to the complete equip- 
ment of this model establishment. The ranches 
belonging to the firm and devoted to the stock 
interests of the business, embrace 1,200 acres of 
the best land in the valley, stocked with a large 
number of graded Shorthorn cattle and superior 
breeds of horses and sheep. Mr. Burton has en- 
tire charge of the ranch and the stock of this 
giant mercantile concern excepting the sheep, and 
has conducted his department on the same high 
plane of excellence and uprightness that charac- 
terizes the other departments, his great aim be- 
ing to give his trade the best article attainable 
for the money, and to treat every patron with the 
utmost fairness and consideration. Mr. Burton 
is a gentleman of great progressiveness and pub- 
lic spirit, taking a constant and genuine interest 
in everything that tends to improve the commun- 
ity and advance the welfare of its people. For 
a number of years he has acted in the church 



bishopric of his ward, and is now connected with 
the high council. Nature endowed him with mu- 
sical talent of an exalted character, and he has 
given to the church the benefit of his capacity 
in this line. On June 22, 1898, he was married 
at Salt Lake City to Miss Alice M. Call, a daugh- 
ter of Anson V. and Alice J. (Farnham) Call, 
of Afton, but natives of Bountiful, Utah, where 
Mrs. Burton was born. Extended mention of 
Mr. Call is made elsewhere in this volume. Mr. 
and Mrs. Burton have winsome and interesting 
daughters, Sarah Alice and Lila Maud. 

DANIEL C. BUDD. 

Nurtured amid the memorable and historic 
scenes of the old Keystone state and receiving 
his education in the common schools, where loy- 
alty to one's country was as faithfully taught 
as were the all important "three R's", it was 
the natural sequence of early training for Daniel 
C. Budd to be among those who early enlisted 
in Co. I, Seventh Kansas Cavalry as defenders 
of the Union in the great Civil War and he con- 
tinued to share his country's perils while "grim- 
visaged war smoothed her wrinkled front" and 
until his country was victorious, receiving his 
discharge on May 27, 1865. He was born in 
Lawrence county. Pa., on February 24, 1838, a 
son to the marriage of John C. and Caroline 
(Painter) Budd, both native Pennsylvanians and 
descendants of old Colonial families. He was 
the seventh in a family of eleven children, only 
four of whom are living, Joseph of Oregon, Wil- 
liam. P. of Missouri, Mary J. Johnston of Ohio, 
Florence M. Dicks of Pennsylvania, and Skid- 
more, the youngest. After peace was restored 
Mr. Budd for five years was engaged as an offi- 
cer in the penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., 
after which he pursued agriculture until 1880, 
when he came to Bigpiney, Uinta county, Wyo., 
and took up 360 acres of land about four miles 
from where the family now resides. Later he 
sold that and bought a tract of 640 acres, also 
160 acres where they now live, engaged in stock- 
raising and also in running a store and the post- 
office. From his war record one is not surprised 



yi6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



to find him active in public affairs and doing ef- 
ficient work as a notary public for a number of 
years, besides being an enthusiastic member of 
Grand Army of the Republic at Atchison, Kan. 
Fraternally, he was affiliated with the Masons at 
Doniphan, Kan., and with the Maccabees at Ev- 
anston, Wyo. His political affinities were in 
the Republican party, which he supported with 
the same zeal that animated his conduct as a 
soldier. He married at Atchison, Kan., on Jan- 
uary 8, 1871, Miss Josephine Boyer, a daughter 
of Peter and Mary A. (Misenhelder) Boyer, 
native Pennsylvanians, her father being descend- 
ed from Jacob Boyer of Germany, and a long 
antecedent line of forebears in the Fatherland. 
They had six children, all of whom are living 
and holding responsible positions in the world. 
After years of patient toil for his family, of faith- 
ful, loyal service for the good of his country and 
for the betterment of humanity, amid associa- 
tions where he had been so long an honored fac- 
tor, Daniel C. Budd was called to his eternal 
rest on February 19, 1902, having nearly com- 
pleted his sixty-fourth year. A man whose 
watchword was his country's honor, whose ambi- 
tions were ever to be a faithful, loving house- 
holder, a loyal, progressive citizen and an hon- 
orable, upright man, whose word was as good as 
his bond, could not but be a power in the circle 
where he lived and be esteemed as one of the 
foremost pioneer citizens of Wyoming. 



EDWARD DAVIS. 

Edward Davis, the popular proprietor of the 
Afton Bazaar and one of the prosperous mer- 
chants of the town, was born in London. Eng- 
land, on November 11, 1842, where his parents, 
George and Mary A. (Timpson) Davis, natives 
of County Essex, England, were then living. 
His father was a carrier in the great metropolis 
and died there from an accident when he was 
but forty-eight years old. His son, Edward, was 
the youngest of his five children, all of whom 
are living, and was educated in the city of Lon- 
don, soon after leaving school being apprenticed 



to a physician to learn pharmacy, after this ser- 
vice being employed in a sugar refinery two years. 
At the end of that time he secured a berth on a 
training ship and for four or five years followed 
the sea. In 1862 he landed in Australia and re- 
mained there eleven years, being engaged in 
freighting and merchandising. Near the close 
of 1873 he sold out in that country and came to 
Salt Lake City. There he engaged in business 
with his brother, G. W., and afterward with 
Kimble & Lawrence for two years. From there 
he removed to Paris, Idaho, and passed five years 
in business. He was then sent on a mission to 
England for the Church of the Latter Day Saints, 
to whose interests he was warmly and zealously 
attached. He remained in his native land for 
two years, working with gratifying success. He 
presided over the London conference of the 
church and brought with him on his return to 
this country a company of emigrants, converts 
to the faith. For three years he was engaged in 
farming and clerking in the Teton basin of Idaho. 
In 1895 he settled at Afton and was employed 
by the Burton & Sons Co. until 1900, when he 
began business for himself in a general store, 
which is called the Afton Bazaar, and is one of 
the attractions of the town. It is a neat and taste- 
fully arranged establishment, with a prime stock 
of goods and has as an attachment the only butch- 
er shop in the place. He also owns a number 
of cattle and has a pleasant home in the little 
city to which he is devoting the powers of his ma- 
ture life. In church affairs lie has been active 
and forceful from his early manhood. He was 
a high counsellor in Bear Lake county, Idaho, 
and holds the same rank here, and is also the 
chorister for the stake Sunday-school. Nature 
endowed him amply with musical talent, and, 
wherever he has lived, he has contributed largely 
through this means to the enjoyment and benefit 
of his fellows. In April, 1872, in Australia, he 
married with Miss Ellen Ryan, a native of Ire- 
land and daughter of John Ryan. They had 
three children. John and Annie R. living at Af- 
ton. and Mary E., now wife of Frank Rounds, 
of Pocatello, Idaho. Mrs. Davis died at Paris. 
Idaho, in 1886. aged about forty-three years, and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7^7 



Mr. Davis later married at Salt Lake with' Miss 
Annie Tuellar, a native of Switzerland. They 
have had six children, Jesse T.,- Shem, Sarah, 
Wilford and Rachel, who died in infancy, and 
Ephraim W. In 1881 at Salt Lake City, he was 
united with Mrs. Frances A. (Godsel) Morgan, 
widow of Owen Morgan and daughter of John 
Godsel of Birmingham. Mrs. Morgan had three 
children by her previous marriage whom Mr. 
Davis adopted. They are Elizabeth, now the 
wife of Frederick Shepard of Paris, Idaho; Al- 
thea, now the wife of Robert Sweeton of Utah; 
and Maggie, now the wife of Alexander Baker of 
Utah. By this marriage Mr. Davis had two chil- 
dren, Phoebe E. and Joseph G., who are living 
at Salt Lake City, Utah. 

H. M. CLENDENNING. 

The worthy gentleman, whose record these 
few lines will preserve for unnumbered genera- 
tions of future existence, is a native of the town 
of Van Wert, Ohio, where he was born on May 
22, 1864. He is the son of John and Nancy 
(Morton) Clendenning, both natives of the state 
of Ohio. His father was long engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits, and was also largely interested 
in the elevator business in his native state. He 
was a man of prominence in the community 
where he resided and lived to the hale old age 
of eighty-two years. The mother passed away 
from life at the age of seventy years. The pater- 
nal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was 
Charles Clendenning, who was a native of Scot- 
land, who emigrated to America in the days of 
his early, vigorous manhood. H. M. Clenden- 
ning was the eldest of their family of four chil- 
dren, of whom two were boys and two were 
girls. His education was diligently acquired 
in the public schools of Van Wert, Ohio, and, 
upon the completion of his education, he secured 
employment as an apprentice in the machinist 
line for the purpose of learning that trade. He 
served in this occupation for a period of four 
years, and acquired a thorough knowledge of 
that pursuit. In 1884, desiring to seek his for- 
tune in the West, he left his home in the state 



of Ohio and came to the then territory of Wyo- 
ming, where he engaged in ranching and stock- 
raising. In 1897 he came to the vicinity of the 
place where he now resides, and located 320 acres 
of fine bottom land, embarked in the business of 
raising graded cattle and now is the owner of a 
fine herd of Herefords. He has met with a grat- 
ifying success in his business, and is constantly 
adding to his holdings of both land and cattle. 
He is one of the progressive business men and 
property owners of Fremont county, and is in- 
terested in all measures - calculated to advance 
the interests of that section of the state. He is 
the president of the local stockgrowers' associa- 
tion, and was recently appointed as the postmas- 
ter at Union, Wyo., where he resides. On Jan- 
uary 5, 1896, Mr. Clendenning was united in 
marriage at Evans, Colo., to Miss Barbara Fin- 
ger, also a native of the state of Ohio, and the 
daughter of Christian and Margaret (Rentz) 
Finger, both natives of Germany. Fraternally, 
Mr. Clendenning is affiliated with the order of 
Red Men, and is. a leader in the social and fra- 
ternal life of the community where he resides. 
He is one of the leading business men of Western 
Wyoming, progressive and public spirited, and is 
held in high esteem by a large circle of friends 
and appreciative acquaintances. 

WILLIAM C. FAUST. 

From the teeming millions of Iowa's thrifty 
and enterprising population, whose progenitors, 
many of them, within the memory of men yet 
living, found her an untrodden waste of wild 
plain and primeval solitude, and, by right of con- 
quest over nature, gained dominion on her soil 
and established there a new empire of agricul- 
tural and industrial wealth, have come forth 
many men of energy, resourcefulness, daring and 
stern endurance to help in the subjugation and 
civilizing of the wilderness of the farther West, 
and among this number is William C. Faust, now 
of Cody in Bighorn county, Wyoming, who was 
born on April 30, 1868, in Iowa, whither his 
parents came from their native Pennsylvania 
soon after their marriage. They were Emanuel 



7 i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMIXG. 



and Sarah (Runkle) Faust, (see sketch on an- 
other page.) prosperous farmers in Iowa until 
1884, when they removed to Nebraska and set- 
tled near the city of Lincoln. There they reared 
their family and gave them such educational ad- 
vantages as were available under the circum- 
stances. Their son, William, had reached the 
age of sixteen before this removal took place, 
and his school education was practically complet- 
ed in his native state. Thereafter the lessons of 
life for him were to be learned in the rugged and 
exacting but highly effective school of experi- 
ence, and to its teachings he was subjected soon 
after taking up his residence in the new state. 
He remained with the family, however, for a 
few years longer, in 1891 accompanied them to 
Montana and in 1892 to Wyoming, arriving in 
the vicinity of the present town of Otto on No- 
vember 8, 1892. He there located a homestead, 
where until 1902 he lived and carried on a flour- 
ishing stock and farming business. In that year 
he sold this property and bought a home at Gody, 
where he now lives. He is still engaged in the 
stock industry, however, having large herds of 
cattle and numbers of fine graded horses. He 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica and his zeal and activity in the service of the 
order is highly appreciated. On July 23, 1893, 
at Otto, he was married to Miss Ivie Perkins, 
a native of Nevada and a daughter of Harvey L. 
and Elizabeth (Park) ' Perkins, the former a 
native of Illinois and the latter of Missouri. They 
have two children, their daughters, Vella and 
Stella. An account of Mr. Perkins' interesting 
life appears on other pages of this volume. 

HENRY AND JOHN HADDENHAM. 

These enterprising citizens of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, come of ancient English lineage, their 
great-grandfather, William Haddenham, being 
a lifelong resident of Nottinghamshire, England, 
his son, William, however, emigrating and,, lo- 
cating at Provo, Utah, there still maintains bis 
home at the age of ninety years. His son, Wil- 
liam, was the father of Henry and John, and his 
early life was passed in Nottinghamshire where 



he was educated and learned the trade of stock- 
ing weaving, in which he was employed a number 
of years, then, pursuing the requisite technical 
studies, he came to this country in 1878, when 
for about two years he continued in Almy, Wyo., 
as a fireman, thence removing to Ogden, Utah, 
being there connected with various forms of in- 
dustrial activity and still maintains his home, 
standing high in the regards of the people. Mrs. 
Haddenham was born in England in 185 1, being 
a daughter of Henry and Sarah (Saunderson) 
Burton, her father being a puddler in large iron- 
works of England, and eventually emigrating 
and locating at Almy, Wyo., in 1875, where he 
identified himself with the coal-mining indus- 
try for his subsequent life and being there killed 
by an explosion in the mine on March 25, 1895. 
His wife survives him and resides at Diamond- 
ville. Henry Haddenham was born in Notting- 
hamshire, England, on March 13, 1868, the son 
of William Haddenham, and, in the year of 
1881, at the age of thirteen years, he formed a 
part of the family migration to Almy, and in this 
vicinity he has since resided and been an ener- 
getic member of society, devoting his endeavors 
to the domains of mining and ranching, perform- 
ing also public duties to which he has been called 
with the same industrious intelligence that his 
discriminating care bestows upon his private op- 
erations, being identified with the Democratic 
party as one of its most consistent supporters, 
and, while personally a most unostentatious citi- 
zen, is well-known as a man of clear foresight 
and tenacious, resolute purpose, possessing sa- 
gacity, ingenuity and firmness in overcoming ob- 
stacles in the way of his enterprises. In 1895 
Mr. Haddenham married with Miss Catherine C. 
Simpson, a native of England, and a daughter 
of George and Frances (Johnson) Simpson. 
Three children complete the home circle. Wil- 
liam, Margaret and Mabel. John Haddenham, 
the brother of Henry, was also born in the old 
family home in Nottinghamshire, England, and. 
like Henry, he was a member of the emigrating 
party which, in November, 1881. dedicated a 
new home in Almy. Here Mr. Haddenham has 
"Town from early youth to mature manhood. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7*9 



engaging for a period of time in mining opera- 
tions and meeting with a satisfactory success and 
making many friends. John Haddenham observes 
political and public matters from a Democratic 
standpoint, and is always found in active sympa- 
thy with all things tending to the welfare and 
the improvement of the community. In 1888 
John Haddenham entered into matrimonial rela- 
tions with Miss Mary Miller, the daughter of 
Joseph and Mary Miller. Of their seven chil- 
dren, William died in May, 1891, aged one year 
and Samuel on June 1, 1895, aged nine months. 
The others are Elsie, David, Lillian, Dewey and 
Florence, now making the home happy. 

JAMES JENSEN. 

Bishop James Jensen of Grover, Uinta coun- 
ty, is a native of Denmark, where he was born 
on October 3, 1833, a son of James and Mary 
(Larsen) Jensen, also natives of that country 
and of families long resident there. His father 
was a farmer and a son of Jense and Kistil Nel- 
son. The family consisted of seven children, 
of whom James was the first in order of birth 
and four of them are living. James attended 
the state schools in the vicinity of his home, and, 
after securing their fine educational advantages 
he went to farming in his native country. 
On April 20, 1862, he was married with Miss 
Bodiel Larsen, a daughter of Larse Petersen, 
and at once set sail with his bride for the New 
World, where they arrived in due time and with- 
out incident worthy of note made their way to 
Utah. Here Mr. Jensen went to work as a labor- 
er, and continued his operations in that capacity 
for a number of years. He then cultivated a 
tract of land in Utah until 1886 when he came 
to Uinta county, Wyoming, and followed the 
same pursuit. He was a pioneer in the neigh- 
borhood where he lives, and, although the place 
was lonely, the conditions hard and danger ever 
present, he persevered in his determination to 
make a home in this land and kept improving 
and reducing to productive cultivation the quar- 
ter section of government land he had taken up, 
which he still owns and which he has brought to 



a high state of fertility, and on which he con- 
ducts a prosperous and profitable business in rais- 
ing cattle. Mr. Jensen takes a prominent part in 
local affairs, earnestly and actively interested 
in the government and progress of his church, 
that of the Latter Day Saints. For thirteen years 
he has served this people as its faithful and ca- 
pable bishop, and has been of substantial benefit 
to their church interests. As has been heretofore 
noted, he married just before leaving his native 
country, Miss Bodiel Larsen, who died in Utah 
on November 22, 1869, leaving two children, 
James, who is married and living at Grover, and 
Larse P., who is married and living in Utah. On 
July 6, 1870, at Salt Lake, Mr. Jensen married 
with Miss Henrietta Christensen, a native of 
Denmark, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary 
Christensen. Six years thereafter, on April 3, 
she died, leaving all her four children, Joseph, 
who, in 1892, perished in a snow storm in 
Wyoming ; Hiram ; Martin, who is married and 
living in Utah, and Henrietta, now the wife of 
R. T. Astle of Grover. Mr. Jensen in September, 
1879, solemnized his third marriage in Utah, 
marrying then with Miss Albina Jensen, also 
a Dane by nativity, a daughter of Jense C. and 
Anna M. Jensen. The third marriage has 
brought to the household eight children, Alfred, 
who is married and a resident of Grover, Wyo. ; 
Lorenzo, Nephi, Anna E., Nellie Bodiel, Heber 
C., Wilford L. and Leland L. 

GEORGE W. KERSHNER. 

Born and reared amid the scenes of rural and 
pastoral life in the eastern part of the Mississippi 
Valley, and receiving his education in the coun- 
try schools of his neighborhood, George W. 
Kershner of the Shell Creek district of Wyoming, 
approached his maturity little dreaming of the 
stirring and awful scenes of carnage in which 
he was to take part at the very verge of his man- 
hood. His life began on July 26, 1841, in the 
state of Ohio, where his parents, David and 
Mary (Fletcher) Kershner, the former a native 
of Maryland and the latter of Ohio, were then 
living prosperously engaged in farming. When 



720 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



he was nine years old they moved to Indiana and 
four years later to Illinois, and there he reached 
his twentieth year without unusual experiences. 
On August 20, 1 86 1, he enlisted in the Union 
army as a member of Co. B, Thirty-eighth Illin- 
ois Infantry, and in this command he served 
three years, the most of the time being actively 
engaged in the field or on the march, seeing many 
of the extreme hardships of the contest, and par- 
ticipating in the terrible and bloody battles of Cor- 
inth, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, 
and those of the Atlanta campaigns, besides many 
others. At the end of his three years term he 
veteranized and was mustered out of the service 
on March 20, 1866. He then returned to his 
Illinois home and remained there until 1882, 
when he removed to Kansas and for the next five 
years was actively engaged in farming in that 
state. In 1887 he came to Wyoming, and, tak- 
ing up the homestead on Horse Creek on which 
he still resides, devoted his life and energies to 
raising stock and farming, carrying on there a 
very prosperous business, which has grown large- 
ly, both in proportions and profits, as the years 
have passed and was brought to him the entire 
confidence and high respect of his fellow men 
by the upright and very liberal manner in 
which it has been conducted. His ranch com- 
prises 200 acres of the best land on the creek, 
and his herd numbers seldom less than 100 cat- 
tle and is always up to a high standard of ex- 
cellence. With vivid recollections of his militarv 
experiences, and a genuine devotion to his com- 
rades in arms, Mr. Kershner is a loyal and zeal- 
ous member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
but holds affiliation with no other order or frater- 
nity. He was married in Illinois, on January 13, 
1867, to Miss Cynthalia Layton, a native of that 
state, who died in Wyoming on January 13. 
1894, leaving these children, Andrew A. and 
Charles B. (see sketch on other pages), Man- J., 
Fletcher L., Clark M. and George W., Jr. In 
the peaceful vocations which he has followed on 
the fruitful soil of Wyoming he has met the re- 
sponsibilities of life in every relation with the 
same manly, ready courage and the same loval 
devotion to dutv which distinguished him on the 



field of battle and sustained him in the long and 
wearying marches of the war. And he has main- 
tained in the home of his adoption and mature 
life the regard and esteem of his associates as he 
did that of his companions in the struggle for 
the integrity of the Union. Whether tried by 
the fierce tests of sanguinary strife or by the less 
intense but more continued and searching com- 
parisons of every-day life, he has come forth 
untarnished and with merit of a high degree, and 
presents himself without dishonor. 

R. H. LEWIS. 

This pioneer settler of the country immediate- 
ly surrounding Fossil postoffice, one of the lead- 
ing stockmen of the region, was born in Janes- 
ville, Wisconsin, on April 1, 1842, the son of 
William and Margaret (Clark) LeAvis, the fa- 
ther being a son of William Lewis, a native of 
Spain, who later became a resident of Ireland, 
where he died at a hale old age. The father of 
Mr. Lewis lived all of his life as an active and 
industrious resident of Ireland, at his burial at 
Tepority receiving the funeral honors of a large 
extent of country. His wife, a daughter of Wil- 
liam and Margaret (Kelly) Clark, both natives 
of Ireland, came to Canada after her husband's 
death, where her death occurred at the age of 
seventy-four years in 1888. Not long did our 
subject tarry at home in his youth, for at the 
age of fourteen years he adopted a maritime 
life on the Great Lakes, continuing this for eight 
years, when he came west to Colorado, there en- 
gaging in freighting from Fort Laramie, contin- 
uing this for two years, his next employment be- 
ing the conducting of a saloon and a brewery 
at Evanston, Wyo., in which he was prosperously 
engag-ed for seventeen years, the date of his ar- 
rival at Evanston being 1864. Forecasting the 
tremendous possibilities of wealth awaiting the 
individuals who should take the initiative in cov- 
ering the succulent plains and valleys with herds 
of cattle, in 1885 Mr. Lewis located at Fossil, 
at his present location, being the first settler to 
there establish a home. Here his earnest and 
unremitting endeavors have been duly prospered, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



721 



his landed estate of 640 acres showing a high de- 
gree of development and improvement, and man- 
ifesting the discriminating care and skill that 
have been bestowed upon it. He is held in high 
esteem by an unusually wide range of acquaint- 
ance, who value him, not only for his sagacity 
and practical wisdom, but also for the many qual- 
ities of manliness and worth which he has ever 
shown, being public spirited -to a high degree, 
and manifesting his interest in all matters affect- 
ing the general weal as an active member of the 
Democratic party, with which he has long been 
affiliated. In 1870 occurred the wedding cere- 
monies of Mr. Lewis and Miss Susannah Jones, 
who is a native of Wales and the daughter of 
Lewis and Susannah (Davis) Jones, who- emi- 
grated from their native land in 1865, and there- 
after conducting agricultural operations in the 
Cache Valley of Utah until 1871, when they re- 
moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where was their 
home until they closed their eyes in death. The 
children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are : Kate, 
Margaret, Susannah, Sarah, William, John, 
Richard, deceased, and Nellie. History lives in 
the men who make it, and the people are thus the 
first study, not only as they appear in public, 
but more so as they are found in private life and 
in their home relations, and judged by this un- 
erring criterion, Mr. Lewis stands out as one 
of the strong characters of a truly pioneer era. 

JOHN J. McCORMICK. 

This substantial cattleman, having his produc- 
tive and extensive ranch on the Laramie River, 
in Laramie county, Wyoming, was born in Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, on April 26, 1850. His father 
was a native of Louisville, a carpenter by trade, 
but who, believing in the justice of the cause of 
the South, served in the Confederate army 
throughout the Civil War. John J. McCormick 
was educated in his native city and resided there 
until he was twenty years of age, when he came 
west, arriving in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1872, 
and was soon employed by the U. S. government 
in freighting supplies to Fort Laramie, Sidney 
and to other northern posts, and later he com- 



menced working on the range. In 1890 he set- 
tled on the Laramie River one and one-half miles 
west of his present ranch, engaged in the cattle 
trade and lived there until 1891, when he re- 
moved to his present place on the river, eleven 
miles east of the fort. Mr. McCormick was 
united in marriage on May 27, 1885, on the Lar- 
amie River, at the P. C. ranch, to Miss Minnie 
L. Sutherland, a native of Denver, Colo., and a 
daughter of James H. and Emma P. (Boler) 
Sutherland', the former of whom was born in 
New York and the latter in Kentucky. The 
McCormick family is of Scottish origin and 
the immediate ancestors of John J., were settlers 
in New York state in Colonial days. The Suth- 
erlands were also of Scottish ancestry. James H. 
Sutherland, the father of Mrs. McCormick, re- 
mained in New York until he was seventeen 
years of age, when he came west and located at 
Denver, Colo., here engaged in mining until 
1861, and then enlisted in Co. D, First Colorado. 
Cavalry, in which he became disabled after one 
year's service, took a position in the sutler's store 
attached to the camp and in this employment 
served out the remainder of this term of enlist- 
ment. Before the war Mr. Sutherland had start- 
ed west from Kansas City with a large quantitv 
of merchandise belonging to others and valued 
at $5,000. While camping on the Platte River 
near Julesburg, Colorado, he was raided by In- 
dians and robbed of everything and was forced 
to return to the city from which he had de- 
parted. After the war Mr. Sutherland married 
in Kansas City, Mo., and with two teams trav- 
eled across the plains to Colorado, then built the 
first hotel in Denver, the St. Charles. This he 
conducted about two and one-half years, and in 
1867 removed to a ranch on Cherry Creek, nine 
miles from Denver, and engaged in the cattle 
business for about two years, when he was forced 
to retire on account of trouble with the Indians, 
and he was next engaged in mining near Central 
City, which he followed until 1876. He then 
started for the Black Hills, but on reaching Fort 
Laramie, was warned by the soldiers of the In- 
dian troubles then existing, and he consequently 
took up a ranch on the Laramie River, twelve 



722 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



miles from the fort, engaged in the cattle busi- 
ness and there resided until his death on Febru- 
ary 17, 1 89 1, being then the oldest settler in 
the section and he was buried on the old home- 
stead. His wife had died on May 17, 1879. John 
J. McCormick possesses all the inherent shrewd- 
ness of the indomitable race from which he de- 
scends, and this is made manifest in every tran- 
saction of his life. He also possesses the deep- 
seated religious sentiment with which the Scots 
are imbued, and his walk through life has been 
marked by the strictest integrity. He has made 
hosts of friends since he has resided in Laramie 
county, who admire him for his straightforward 
and manly conduct, as well as for his genial dis- 
position and open-handed generosity. 

CHARLES MOSLANDER. 

One of the prominent and representative 
agriculturists and stockmen of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, is Charles Moslander, whose fine 
ranch is located on the Big Muddy, eight miles 
south of Altamont. He was born in St. Louis, 
Mo., on June 29, 1857, a son of Joseph and 
Belle (Humes) Moslander. His father was a 
native of Wisconsin, while his mother was borri 
in England. Until he was fourteen years of age 
Mr. Moslander diligently attended the common 
schools of St. Louis, and acquired a scholastic 
foundation for the practical knowledge which 
has come to him through long years of associa- 
tion with men and affairs. Commencing the re- 
sponsibilities of life for himself at the age of 
fourteen, for seven years he was a teamster in 
St. Louis, but, on attaining his majority in 1878, 
he took the long and wearying journey across 
the plains to Utah, where be located in Cache 
county and for one year was engaged in work- 
ing for wages, he then came to Wyoming and 
was employed for six months in Aspen, and 
then in Beaver Canyon in Idaho, he engaged 
in teaming for himself. Eight months later he 
returned to Utah for the winter, going to 
Blackfoot, Idaho, in the spring and following 
freighting for six months from Blackfoot to 
the Wood River country. He then went back* 



to Cache Valley and to Beaver Canyon, Idaho, 
where he was engaged in freighting for six 
other months and then following freighting 
from Cache Valley to Camas, Idaho, and also 
from the mine Viola to Camas, to Cache Valley 
and to Rawlins, Wyo., occupying in all two 
years' time in this vocation. From Rawlins he 
went to Aspen, Wyo., and was engaged in the 
sawmill business and in ranching. In 1887 Mr. 
Moslander located 600 acres of government 
land in partnership with A. K. Stoddard, with 
whom he formed a business connection in 
stockraising, which they have conducted with 
great success to the present. These gentlemen 
now own about 6,500 acres of productive land 
and give their attention to the raising of graded 
Hereford and Durham cattle, of which they 
raise a large number. They are also interested 
to some extent in raising sheep and horses on 
the same property. Mr! Moslander is also con- 
nected with Mr. Stoddard in the sale of hard- 
ware and implements and in a lumber and coal 
business in Nampa, Idaho. Their business 
operations have been conducted with skill and 
discrimination and have brought them satisfac- 
tory and profitable returns. Mr. Moslander 
has always taken an active part in local affairs 
as a prominent and valued member of the 
Democratic party, in whose cause, campaigns 
and elections he has done valuable service. 
Fraternally he is a member of the Brotherhood 
Protective Order of Elks, holding membership 
with Salt Lake City Lodge, No. 89, at Salt Lake 
City, and is also identified with the Maccabees 
at Evanston, Wyo. Mr. Moslander was mar- 
ried in Logan, Utah, on January 19, 1882, with 
Miss Maggie Manghan, a daughter of William 
H. and Elizabeth (Hill) Mangham, who was 
born in Wellsville, Cache county, Utah, her 
mother being a native of Canada and her father 
of England. Eight children constitute the fam- 
ily of Mr. and Mrs. Moslander, Nora M., a 
graduate of Brigham Young College at Logan, 
Utah, and now teaching school in Spring Val- 
ley, Wyo. ; Bessie, Margaruite, Isabelle, Va- 
leria, Charles, Harold and Zadia. Mrs. Moslan- 
der has long been prominently connected with 




CHARLES MOSLANDER. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



723 



and a useful member of the church of Lattcr 
Day Saints, and her daily walk and character 
are in fullest accord with the honorable teach- 
ings of the church. 

GEORGE LOGAN. 

Life has been by no means all sunshine and 
pleasure with the subject of this review. For- 
tune has buffeted him with vigor, and opportuni- 
ties for profit have been swept away just as they 
were almost within his grasp. The unkindness 
of man has hampered him and the wrath of the 
elements has wrought him violent and perman- 
ent injury. Yet he has met all misfortunes with 
a courageous and conquering spirit. He was 
born in Nova Scotia on January 11, 1831, the 
son of Hugh and Jeannette Logan, natives of 
Scotland. When he was seven years old they 
removed to Fall River, Mass., and soon after 
to "Newport, R. I., where he was educated and 
passed his majority. In 1858, when he was twen- 
ty-seven, he emigrated to Kansas and took up 
his residence at Manhattan. There a cyclone 
demolished his house and made him a cripple for 
life. In 1865, yielding to the persuasive voice 
of the siren that proclaimed the discovery of gold 
in what seemed fabulous quantities in Alder 
Gulch, Mont., he sought that promising field for 
wealth, locating at what is now Virginia City. 
He did not follow mining for any great length of 
time, however, but courted fortune's winning 
smile in other directions, worked at and erect- 
ed and later operated Mr. Harrison's sawmill, 
to supply a very exacting and growing demand 
for their products. When the demand had in a 
measure subsided or was supplied he engaged 
in freighting fruit from Salt Lake City to the 
new mining camps he had helped to build. While 
doing this he made a trip with his team to Los 
Angeles, Calif., crossing the desert, daring the 
dangers and enduring the hardships of the long 
and tedious journey. On his return he hauled 
quartz mills to Virginia City for the miners, later 
lived for a short time at Salt Lake City, and, in 
1868, came to Wyoming, being a veritable pioneer 

in the state. He located at what is now Atlan- 
45 



tic City in Fremont county, and for twenty-six 
years was engaged in a sheep industry of good 
proportions. In 1888 he made a trip east and 
on his return therefrom took up a homestead in 
Bighorn county on which he now lives. He 
owns 158 acres on the North Fork of the Sho- 
shone River and carries on an active stock busi- 
ness.- A few years ago he sold his sheep and now 
raises only cattle, of which he has about 200 
head. They are mostly well-bred stock and are 
kept in good condition. His ranch is an attract- 
ive and productive one and well adapted to his 
business. Mr. Logan was married while living 
in Kansas and his wife died in that state. He 
is one of the substantial and enterprising citizens 
of the county and has the respect of all who know 
him, commercially or socially, having met the 
responsiblities of life in a manly manner wher- 
ever he has lived and under all conditions. 

REUBEN A. MILLER. 

Born in Warren county, Pennsylvania, in 
1863, Reuben A. Miller, now a representative . 
stockman of Uinta county, Wyoming, is a son 
of Joseph and Mary (Westfall) Miller, both na- 
tives of Pennsylvania, the mother being a daugh- 
ter of James and Hannah Westfall. Joseph 
Miller has been a farmer and stockman all of 



his life, coming to Wyoming in 1 



He is 



now located in Idaho, a hale old gentleman of 
seventy-five years, while the mother now main- 
tains her home at Ham's Fork, Wyoming. Reu- 
ben A. Miller was nineteen years old when he ac- 
companied his people from the East, where he 
had received the education given at the schools 
of his native county, and, after various mutations 
and changes of occupation, the principal ones, 
however, being the care of cattle and riding on 
the range, in 1893 he homesteaded 160 acres on 
Flam's Fork, sixteen miles from Kemmerer and 
engaged in cattleraising, for which he was by 
this time particularly well qualified. His herds 
increasing he soon added eighty acres more to 
his estate, which he has put well under improve- 
ment, but he has recently made his home on sec- 
tion No. 12, township 23, in Uinta county, near 



724 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the Bigpiney postoffice, continuing there to be 
employed in raising choice breeds of cattle. In 
politics Mr. Miller supports the Democratic par- 
ty and is of much importance in local matters of 
public interest, being a good citizen and a useful 
member of the cattleraising fraternity. Mr. 
Miller married in 1896, Miss Lizzie Sutton, a 
daughter of William Sutton, a prominent citizen, 
who is more particularly mentioned in the sketch 
of Edward Sutton elsewhere in this volume, and 
to which we refer the reader for further details. 
Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three children, Bertha 
May, Agnes Irene and Edward. 

OSBORNE LOAV. 

Bishop Osborne Low, whose services to his 
church in exalted stations have been long con- 
tinued and are much appreciated in this county, 
is a native of Bear Lake county, Idaho, where he 
was born on April 1, 1865, a son of Sylvester 
and Anna A. (Paton) Low, natives of Scotland, 
who came to L T tah in 1856, while living in that 
state the father was a miller and merchant. He 
was prominent in the affairs of the church, serv- 
ing as clerk of the stake and in the order of the 
high priesthood. The mother was a daughter 
of Thomas and Jacobina (Osborne) Paton, and 
with her husband she is now living at their home 
in the province of Alberta, Canada. The bishop 
is one of a family of fourteen children, of whom 
eleven are living and all married. He was edu- 
cated in the district schools of Cache county, 
L T tah, and when he left school engaged in farm- 
ing in that state until 1890, when he sold out 
there and came to his present location in Wyo- 
ming, near Afton in Star Valley. Here he has 
conducted a prosperous and expanding business 
in ranching and stockgrowing, handling graded 
and registered Holsteins principally, and furnish- 
ing milk to the Burton creamery. He owns a 
fine farm of 120 acres near the town, which he 
has improved with a good brick residence, hav- 
ing nine rooms, one of the best in the neighbor- 
hood and being the second brick house erected 
in this valley. He is a man of great enterprise, 
and takes an active interest in everything pertain- 



ing to the improvement of the community. He 
was one of the promoters of the woolen mill re- 
cently erected at Afton and gives his hearty and 
serviceable aid to every good enterprise. As a 
member of the board of education he has given 
inspiration to the school forces and breadth and 
vigor to the school system. His tenure of the 
office of bishop already covers eight years of act- 
ive work, five at Freedom and three at Afton, 
and for some time he has been in the high priest- 
hood. He is a man of restless energy and indus- 
try, fond of work and fond of association with 
the progressive people around him, especially the 
young. For a time he acted as leader of a band, 
and made application for articles of incorpora- 
tion to secure its more perfect and efficient organ- 
ization. On December 1, 1887, in Utah, the 
bishop was married to Miss Sylvia Merrill, born 
and reared in that state, a daughter of George 
G. and Alice (Smith) Merrill, natives of New 
York who came to L T tah in 1852. She died in 
her native state on January 8, 1889, leaving one 
child, Alice A., who died in July of the same 
year, aged seven months and nineteen days. On 
November 8, 1894, the bishop contracted an- 
other marriage in Utah, his choice on this occa- 
sion, being Miss Mary A. Kennington, who was 
born in Idaho, the daughter of William H. and 
Annie R. (Seward) Kennington, natives of Eng- 
land, but now living at Afton, of whom specific 
mention is made on other pages of this work. Mr. 
and Mrs. Low. have four children, Osborne, Jr., 
Jennie, Bessie and Wanda. 

FRANK J. MURTA. 

This energetic and prosperous business man 
of Uinta county has been long identified with 
varying phases of the industrial elements which 
combine to form the prosperity of the state of 
Wyoming, and, from his business ability, his 
close connection with progressive movements and 
his strong personal popularity, he well merits 
consideration in this work. Mr. Murta was 
born in 1847, i n Cincinnati. Ohio, the son of 
Patrick J. and Alice (Ward) Murta, the fa- 
ther being a native of Belfast, Ireland, where the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



725 



mother was also born in 1824, the daughter of 
Patrick and Catherine Ward, who were natives 
of Belfast. Patrick J. Murta was a contractor 
in Ireland, and, after his emigration, he followed 
this occupation in New Orleans and Cincinnati, 
until the time of the Civil War, when he enlisted 
in the U. S. Heavy Artillery and gave honorable 
service until the return of peace, thereafter re- 
suming contracting operations in Cincinnati until 
1867, when, coming to Omaha, he filled railroad 
contracts until 1869, when he took up land on 
Bear River, Wyo., and engaged in successful 
ranching, and he is now living a retired life in 
Montana, He was well-educated, being a close 
and diligent reader of scientific books_ and other 
literature and was and is a very popular individ- 
ual. Frank J. Murta had good educational 
advantages in Ohio and at the age of eighteen 
commenced life on a Wyoming ranch, taking up 
a preemption claim and engaging in raising a 
high grade of cattle and horses. This he con- 
tinued with satisfaction and good financial re- 
sults until 1894, when he changed the nature of 
his business activity from cattleraising to mer- 
chandising, locating in Kemmerer, Wyo., where 
he is prosecuting a business that will ultimately, 
according to present indications, become of great 
scope and importance, as he is a popular dealer 
and citizen, being held in the highest esteem. He 
is an active and influential member of the Repub- 
lican party and fraternally one of the Eagles. His 
first wife, Sarah Bartlett, a native of Iowa and 
daughter of George and Jane Bartlett, whom he 
married in 1878, died at the age of twenty-seven 
years, leaving but three children, Alice, Nettie, 
and Frank; and in 1900 Mr. Murta, wedded 
Miss Hannah Morgan, a native of Wales. Mr. 
Murta stands well in all classes of the com- 
munity and is a public spirited gentleman. 

JOHN B. BOYDEN. 

It is an ofttold tale that the restless energy of 
New England has pushed the conquest of man 
over nature in all portions of our country, and 
has carried side by side with the physical develop- 
ment of its new footholds the intellectual growth 



and progress which has made America famous 
in every capital of the old world, and also made 
her people potential in every line of mental, me- 
chanical, and civic enterprise. Wherever her 
sons and daughters have planted their feet, na- 
ture has begun to "stand ruled," and the essen- 
tial dignity and independence of man has been 
loudly proclaimed. From this fruitful, and seem- 
ingly inexhaustible, hotbed of creative and sub- 
duing energy came forth the ancestry of John 
B. Boyden, of Crook county, who, on this west- 
ern soil, amid the scenes and responsibilities of 
frontier life, has well exemplified all the sturdy 
characteristics, the manly traits, the unyielding 
determination and the broadening progressive- 
ness which have ever distinguished his family 
through all the generations of its American his- 
tory. And, while his parents came from New 
England, his father being a native of Boston, 
Mass., and his mother of Maine, he was himself 
a product of the frontier, having been born at 
what is now Minneapolis, on November 19, 1855, 
the son of Edwin R. and Mary (Goss) Boyden, 
who came from Maine to Minnesota while it 
was yet a new territory, settling near Minneapolis 
when it was scarcely more than a military reser- 
vation. When Minnesota was opened for settle- 
ment the father was one of the first to take up 
land in the neighborhood, locating on ground 
that was later incorporated as Minneapolis. He 
was a miner by instinct and by practice, sailed 
around the Horn in 1849 and traveled much in 
Colorado, California, Utah and Montana, seeking 
fortune's favors in all and assisting in establish- 
ing the supremacy of law and order in each. In 
Montana he was a member of the Vigilantes, and 
from time to time he took part in the tragical en- 
forcement of that organization's vigorous but 
necessary discipline. As a logical sequence of 
the hazardous life in which he was engaged he 
yielded up his spirit at the behest of a highway- 
man's bullet in Texas in 1868. His widow yet 
makes her home in Minnesota. Mr. Boyden was 
educated in the schools of Minneapolis, and, after 
leaving school he went into business in a store, 
but finding the work too confining, at the end 
of a year he apprenticed himself to the machin- 



726 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ist's trade in that city and spent four years learn- 
ing the craft. But still the roving disposition he 
had inherited led him, in 1877, to the Black Hills, 
where he spent the winter prospecting in the 
vicinity of Deadwood. In the spring he removed 
to Bear Gulch in Wyoming, and the next fall 
settled on land on Sand Creek, five miles south 
of the present site of Beulah. He was one of 
the first settlers in this section of the state, all 
the land for many miles around. being wild and 
unsurveyed, yet its conditions of life satisfied his 
adventurous disposition, and there he passed his 
winters in pleasant occupation, prospecting in 
Bear Gulch in the summers. In the fall of 1880 
he took up his residence permanently on the 
ranch, and when, in 188 1, the survey through this 
section was completed, he filed on his claim. In 
1884, when the time came to prove up on his 
ranch, he rode to Cheyenne to perform this duty 
on a pony which he still owns, and which, al- 
though perhaps one of the oldest in Wyoming, 
yet shows the spirit and "grit" of his youth, jus- 
tifying the warm regard in which he is held 
throughout the surrounding country. With a 
genuine Yankee's clearness of vision, Mr. Boyden 
saw the possibilities of the water-power at the 
head of Sand Creek at the time he located on his 
land, and has not overlooked it since. He began 
improving his ranch from his first possession and 
has steadily pushed forward the improvements 
until his property is now one of the desirable 
ones in the county. When Crook county was 
organized, in 1884, he was elected the surveyor 
of the hew political bantling, was reelected in 
1888 and again in 1890. In this position he gave 
definiteness and stability to its outlines in various 
ways, surveying all over its territory and that 
of the adjoining counties to some extent. In 
1889, when the state fish hatchery distributed its 
fish for propagation in the streams in the Black 
Hills, Mr. Boyden secured a portion of the distri- 
bution and stocked the stream on his ranch, dam- 
ming it for the purpose of aiding the developing 
of the plant, and from this origin has grown his 
present hatchery, which is of such ample propor- 
tions and superior quality in its product that it 
has been made a sub-station of the U. S. govern- 



ment hatchery at Spearfish, S. D. Nature has 
done much for the section in which he lives, lav- 
ishing on it a wealth of scenery, wild, pictur- 
esque and grand, that has made it a great resort 
for tourists, adding to the beauties of the scenery 
a bounty of sporting features in hunting, fish- 
ing and other facilities, sufficient to gratify a most 
exacting nature. Mr. Boyden has largely im- 
proved his place, but by so doing he has only 
whetted his appetite for improvements and is ar- 
ranging for making them on a still larger scale. 
He is also engaged in the cattle industry to a 
limited extent. On December 22, 1890, at Sun- 
dance, Wyo., Mr. Boyden was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Anna B. Olson, a native of Illin- 
ois. They have four children, Bliss, Margaret, 
Cora and Mary. The head of the house is an 
ardent Democrat in politics, and has always ta- 
ken a very active and useful interest in the affairs 
of his party, both local and general. 

JAMES L. BESS. 

This successful ranchman of Uinta county 
and the present public spirited postmaster of La 
Barge dates his arrival in Wyoming in 1886, 
when he took up 160 acres in Uinta county and 
later added to it until he has now 440 acres of 
deeded land on which he raises horses and cattle. 
He is a descendant of old Colonial stock in New 
York state, through his father, who was James 
L. Bess, a son of Alfred and Laura (Richard- 
son) Bess, who immigrated to Utah in 1850. On 
his mother's side he claims the distinction of 
relationsbip with Gen. Sterling Price of the Con- 
federate army, who was an uncle of his mother, 
Joana P. Fulmer, the daughter of John S. and 
Mary (Price) Fulmer of Tennessee, who also 
migrated to Utah in 1850. In the family of 
James L. Bess there were six children, but he 
was the only son of his parents and came to 
them in Salt Lake City on June 16, 1856, remain- 
ing- there until his school days were over and he 
bad later passed some time in mining and ranch- 
ing. In 1882 he married with Miss Martha E. 
Zyderland, a daughter of Martin and Cornelia 
(Ages) Zyderland, native Hollanders, and they 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7V 



also have seven children, Josie May, Laurence Z.. 
Murel A., Coranelia, Delbert, James V., Lula I. 
Notwithstanding the numerous cares devolving 
upon him for the support and training of so large 
a family, Mr. Bess has been a popular postmaster 
for several years and also an active and intelli- 
gent worker on the school board, and, in every 
public cause which tended to the true growth of 
his section of Wyoming, he has been a vigilant 
but wisely conservative factor. Fraternally he 
associates with the Maccabees and socially he 
and his good wife are respected and loved for 
the virtues and open-hearted hospitality that are 
their natural heritage from their ancestors, the 
good, old Dutch families of New York and Hol- 
land and from the unfailing and far-famed cour- 
tesy of the Southern planter. They are justly 
ranked among the prominent pioneers of a state 
noted for its rapid increase in growth and impor- 
tance and in, the sturdy and intelligent character 
of its diversified population, among whom this 
family stands in a high position, and also for hav- 
ing some of the wildest, grandest scenery on the 
American continent. 

CHARLES A. DEREEMER. 

An oldtime rider of Wyoming who is a past- 
master in the art of handling cattle, who has 
learned by long years of practical and pleasant 
experience all that there is to know concerning 
the stock business on the great plains of the 
West, Charles A. Dereemer is now one of the 
prominent stockmen of Laramie county, Wyo- 
ming. He was born in Lorain county, Ohio, 
on February 25, i860, the son of Joseph and 
Emma M. Dereemer, the father having his birth 
at Camden, Lorain county, Ohio, and the mother 
receiving her nativity in Otsego county, N. Y. 
In 1863, when but three years of age, he accom- 
panied his parents on their long, dangerous and 
wearisome way to California, and, after residing 
in that state for three years, the mother and son 
returned to Ohio in 1866, the father remaining 
in California, where he later died at Blue Can- 
yon, in Placer county. From 1866 Charles lived 
with his maternal grandparents, William and 



Eunice (Gibson) Armstrong, who were honored 
residents of AVakeman, Ohio, until he was eleven 
years old, where he accompanied his mother to 
Wyoming, where she located a ranch on Horse 
Creek and soon thereafter married with Daniel 
Stanton Lathan. Of the very estimable and ca- 
pable mother an extended personal history will 
be found on page 74 of this volume. Mr. De- 
reemer commenced his long life of activity in 
cattleraising on his mother's Horse Creek ranch, 
where he grew to man's estate, receiving his early 
education in the schools of that section, and later 
attending the graded schools at the city of Chey- 
enne for two years. After the completion of his 
education he continued on the Horse Creek ranch, 
managing the business for his mother and carry- 
ing it on with great success. He also acquired 
an interest in the business and continued oper- 
ations there until 1888, when he married and re- 
moved to his present ranch on Horse Creek, where 
he has since resided. This property he acquired 
in 1886, and has improved from that time. He 
has carried on here a successful business in cattle 
and horseraising, and is now considered as one 
of the substantial business men and property 
owners of his section of the state of Wyoming. It 
may be said that Mr. Dereemer has graduated 
from the saddle into the business which is now 
occup)dng his mature years, having ridden Wyo- 
ming ranges as a cowboy for more than fifteen 
years, and now being one of the oldest practical 
stockmen in that section of the western country 
and counted as one of the best posted cattlemen 
in Wyoming. It is very interesting to hear him 
relate his early experiences on the range dur- 
ing frontier days. During a considerable portion 
of this time the Indians were very hostile and 
troublesome, and their annoyances and depreda- 
tions were often of such a nature as to severely 
try the courage, judgment and endurance of the 
stockmen during the early history of Wyoming. 
The discretion and coolness of Mr. Dereemer, 
combined with his invincible courage and deter- 
mination, were often the means of. carrying him 
through places where both his life and property 
and that of others were in danger. On Septem- 
ber 27, 1888, Mr. Dereemer was united in the 



728 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



holy bonds of wedlock in Chicago, 111., to Miss 
Ida J. Mosher, a native of Ohio, and the daugh- 
ter of Lewis and Hannah E. (Whitney) Mosher, 
natives of the same state. The father followed 
the occupation of farming in Ohio, and continued 
in that business in the county of Lorain until his 
death, which occurred on April 7, 1888. Her 
mother had passed away on March 15, 1886, 
aged fifty-one years and five months. Both lie 
buried in Lorain county, Ohio, as does their only 
son, William J. Mosher, who died on October 
17, 1880, being aged twenty-four years and nine 
months. Lewis Mosher was an honored citizen 
of Lorain county, standing especially high in 
Masonic circles for many years. He was born 
in Perry, Lake county, Ohio, on September 27, 
1826, and his wife was born on October 16, 
1835, in Camden, Lorain county. In a quiet, un- 
pretentious manner they accomplished much 
good in their lives and the world was the better 
for their having lived. Mr. and Mrs. Dereemer 
have six children, Emma E., Lewis M., William 
S., Charles H., Gertrude I. and Joseph E., and 
their home is noted for its many comforts and 
congenial surroundings. Mr. Dereemer is a 
stanch adherent of the Republican party, and is 
one of the most trusted of the advisers of that 
political organization in Laramie count}". He 
has never sought or desired any public office, but 
has consistently pursued his successful course 
as a practical ranchman and stockgrower, first 
of the territory and afterwards of the state of 
which he is an honored citizen. 

JAMES M. HOGE. 

A successful and progressive stockman of 
Albany county. Wyoming, James M. Hoge, now 
a resident of Laramie, is a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, having been born in that state in 1853, be- 
ing the son of Solomon and Sarah (Overturff) 
Hoge, natives of the same state. The father was 
born in 181 5, and followed the occupation of 
farming, in which he continued up to the time 
of his decease, which occurred in 1873. He was 
an active factor in the political life of the section 
where he resided, identified with the Democratic 



party, and he for many years held the position 
of justice of the peace in his native county. He 
was the son of Thomas Hoge, also a native of 
the same state. The mother of the subject of 
this review is of German descent, being the 
daughter of John and Sarah (Allison) Overturff, 
both natives of the 'Keystone state. She was a 
woman of remarkable strength of character and 
the mother of eleven children, all of whom are 
living. James M. Hoge grew to maturity and 
received his early academical training in the 
schools of his native state, and subsequently at- 
tended for a short time the college at Waynes- 
burg, in that state. Leaving college at the age 
of twenty years, he engaged in the business of 
civil engineering in Pennsylvania, and later took 
up the study of the law, and was in due time ad- 
mitted to the bar of that state. Engaging in the 
practice of his profession he was soon thereafter 
tendered an appointment as clerk of the Probate 
Court by Governor Pattison, which he accepted 
and served in that responsible position for about 
one year. In 1890 he removed his residence to 
Wyoming and established himself near the city 
of Laramie in the business of ranching and cat- 
tleraising. He has met with success in this line 
and he finds the occupation more congenial to his 
tastes, if not more profitable, than the practice 
of the law. He is now the owner of a fine ranch 
property of about 6,000 acres of land, improved 
with good fences, modern buildings and all the 
conveniences and appliances for the carrying on 
of a successful ranching and stockraising busi- 
ness. He gives especial attention to the breeding 
of fine thoroughbred and graded Hereford? and 
Shorthorns, and is the owner of some of the most 
valuable animals in the state. By his energy, 
enterprise, thrift and progressive methods of 
conducting his business he is rapidly accumulat- 
ing a handsome fortune and is one of the leading 
stockmen of his section of Wyoming. In 1878. 
while yet a resident of his native state, he was 
united in marriage to Miss Martha M. McNeely, 
also a native of that state and the daughter of 
John and Catherine (Stockdale) McNeely. both 
natives of Pennsylvania. They have two chil- 
dren, Owen S. and Catherine E., hoth of whom 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



729 



are still living. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Hoge 
is noted for its refined surroundings, and for 
the hospitality which they take pleasure in ex- 
tending to their large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances. Mr. Hoge is identified with the 
Republican party, taking an active interest in 
public affairs, although he has never sought or 
desired any political position, preferring to give 
his time and attention wholly to the management 
and promotion of his private business. He is, 
however, a leader in the husbandry interests of 
the community where he maintains his home and 
enjoys the high esteem of all. His ability and 
popularity are such that, should he desire to 
seek public honors, his fitness for any position 
of trust or honor would be conceded by all classes 
of his fellow citizens. 

WILLIAM H. HUNT. 

William H. Hunt is in all respects essentially 
both a product and a representative of the fron- 
tier and the cattle industry, having passed his 
life so far practically as a pioneer and on the 
range. He was born in Texas on December 12, 
1858, and became a resident of Wyoming in 
1880. His parents were William H. and Cath- 
erine (Cardell) Hunt, natives of Ithaca, New 
York, who migrated to Texas soon after its ad- 
mission to the American Union as a state. The 
father there engaged in the stock industry and 
became one of the best-known and most exten- 
sive of its prominent land and cattle owners. His 
son, William, attained manhood and was educat- 
ed in his native state, and, in 1880, when he was 
twenty-two years old, he came with a drove of 
cattle to Wyoming, locating at first in Johnson 
county, and, two years later, removing to Sheri- 
dan county, where he accepted a position as fore- 
man of the Grinnell Live Stock Co. He remained 
with this company until 1884, when he took a 
contract from a number of cattlemen to keep 
their stock away from the Indian reservation. 
After engaging in this hazardous and trying oc- 
cupation for two years, in 1886 he removed to 
what is now Bighorn county, Wyoming, and set- 
tled on Shell Creek, where he located a ranch 



and began a promising industry in the raising 
of stock and in general farming. For six years 
he continued operations on this site and then 
moved to the ranch which he now owns and occu- 
pies, and on which he has since then carried on 
the same branches of husbandry with commend- 
able and fruitful diligence and system. He has 
a fine ranch of 160 acres, well-improved and 
vigorously cultivated, and runs on it an average 
of nearly 200 cattle of superior breed and quality, 
keeping his output up to a high standard, with 
all of his stock in prime condition. In public af- 
fairs Mr. Hunt has always taken an active in- 
terest, and has been of great service to northern 
Wyoming by his enterprise and public spirit. He 
helped to organize Johnson, Sheridan and Big- 
horn counties, and in 1896 was elected clerk of 
Bighorn county on the Democratic ticket, being 
the first clerk of the county by election. He was 
the nominee of his party for the same position 
in 1898 and again in 1902. In 1900 he was on 
the Democratic presidential electoral ticket and 
the same year helped to found and became the 
editor and manager of the Wyoming Dispatch. 
Through the columns of this paper he advocated 
the cause of his party with vigor and force, and 
helped materially in making it popular with the 
electors of the county. In 1883, at Dayton in 
Sheridan county, this state, he was married to 
Miss Emma L. Whitcomb, a native of Indiana. 
They have six children, Hudson, Catherine, Em- 
mett, Sylvanus, Edwin and Belle. 

LEVI LEHMER. 

The great state of Ohio, which has contrib- 
uted so liberally to the official life and govern- 
mental control of the nation, has not been inactive 
or niggardly in contributions to other lines of 
useful activity. Her sons have exemplified the 
best elements of American manhood in every 
forum, and helped in the development of every 
frontier state and territory. Among those born 
on her soil, who have been potential factors 
in building up Wyoming, and also in bringing 
her resources to the knowledge and service of 
mankind, Levi Lehmer, of Bigpiney, Uinta coun- 



730 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ty, holds a deservedly high rank. He was born 
in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on October 30, 1852, 
and, four years later, his father, Henry D. Leh- 
mer, a native of Pennsylvania, descended from 
old Holland Dutch ancestors, died in Ohio at the 
age of forty-six years. When her son, Levi, was 
twelve years old, the widowed mother removed 
her young family to Indiana, and there she reared 
and educated them as best she could on the slen- 
der means available for the purpose. But, early 
in his life, even when he was but fourteen, Levi 
Lehmer was obliged to shift for himself and 
then and there began the career of industry and 
frugality that has brought him his present pros- 
perity and standing, by working on farms in the 
neighborhood of his Hoosier home and at such 
odd jobs as he could get in other lines. When 
he was nineteen years old he made a long stride 
into the then far West, stopping in Nebraska, 
where he engaged in farming three years, in 1874 
coming to Wyoming, where for a year he worked 
for the Union Pacific at Medicine Bow. From 
there he went to Green River and continued with 
the same company for seven more years. He 
began his railroad service as a section hand and 
by regular promotions became an engineer be- 
fore he quit it. In the year of 1879-80 be was 
engaged in the cattle business on the Spur ranch, 
which he owned at that time, but, in 1883, he set- 
tled on the pleasant and fertile one he now owns 
and occupies, which consists of 306 acres of 
productive land, all under irrigation, much of 
it being cultivated for the benefit of his cattle 
and horses, of which he has a large number of 
a good quality. In addition to his stock indus- 
try he runs a sawmill about fifteen miles north- 
west of Bigpiney on Middle Piney Creek, and, 
with all its capacity, which is considerable for 
its kind, he is unable to supply the demand for 
its product. Being a public spirited and enter- 
prising man, he has in contemplation the enlarge- 
ment of its equipment which the trade demands. 
Mr. Lehmer has been deeply and actively inter- 
ested in the advancement and improvement of the 
community, and to this end has given time and 
attention to local public affairs in many ways. 
He has served as a justice of the peace and he 



has been at the front of every commendable 
movement along the lines of safe and healthful 
progress. On March 3, 1895, he was united in 
marriage with Mrs. Alice J. Bugher, widow of 
Dr. J. O. Bugher, of this county, and a daughter 
of Edward and Jane (Hargraves) Davis, na- 
tives of England. Mrs. Lehmer had five chil- 
dren by her first marriage, Archie C, Ralph C, 
John C, Christina F. and Ruby E. Bugher. One 
child has blessed her second marriage, a daugh- 
ter, Bessie M. Lehmer. The father of Mrs. Leh- 
mer is still living, at the age of eighty years, at 
AVhitewater, Kan., with his son, Edward Davis, 
who is the editor of the AVhitewater Independent. 
Mr. Lehmer's mother, some years after the death 
of his father, contracted a second marriage, being 
then united with Jacob Sliffe of Pennsylvania. 

GRIFFITH H. MAGHEE. 

Although one of the younger business men of 
the city of Rawlins and the state of Wyoming, 
Griffith H. Maghee of the Ferris-Maghee Drug 
Co., of Rawlins, is easily in the front rank of 
the business forces of the state, and his enter- 
prise and breadth of view will keep him there, 
however rapidly those forces may advance or 
widen the sweep of their operations. He is the 
son of a Wyoming pioneer of 1873. a native of 
Evansville, Indiana, born on January 25, 1872, 
and brought by his parents to reside in this new 
land when he was about a year old. His parents. 
Dr. Thomas G. and Mary E. (Williams) Maghee. 
were natives respectively of Indiana and Ken- 
tucky. The father grew to manhood in his native 
state and was educated in its public and other 
schools. At the beginning of the War between 
the Sections he enlisted in the Union army, and 
his service lasted to the close of the contest. He 
then completed his medical studies and joined 
the U. S. regular army and was appointed a sur- 
geon in the service. In this capacity he was first 
stationed at Omaha, and in 1873 was transferred 
to Wyoming and stationed at Fort Stanbaugh. 
Later he was at Fort Brown and then at Fort 
Washakie. In 1878 he resigned, and locating 
at Green River, he opened a drug store, and, a 






PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



73i 



year later, he removed his base of operations to 
Rawlins and engaged in the practice of medicine, 
in which he is still actively ocupied. In 1884 
his wife died, leaving as her surviving children 
three sons, Morgan M., Griffith H., Torrey B. 
Morgan M. is the efficient manager of the 
Rawlins electric light plant, and was the captain 
of Troop K in Colonel Torrey's Rough Riders 
in the Spanish- American war ; Torrey B. is a 
cadet at West Point; Griffith H. is the immediate 
subject of these paragraphs. In 1885 the Doctor 
was married to his second wife, Miss Evelyn 
Baldwin, daughter of the late Major Noyes M. 
Baldwin, of Lander. Griffith H. Maghee has so 
far passed his whole life from infancy in this 
state, except such time as he passed at school, 
and he is therefore thoroughly identified with the 
interests of the commonwealth and with the vital- 
ity and progress of her commercial, industrial 
and moral forces. He was primarily educated 
in her public schools, and, in their more ad- 
vanced courses of instruction, prepared himself 
for the University training, which later he re- 
ceived at the State University of Nebraska, lo- 
cated at Lincoln. After leaving that institution 
he attended the Philadelphia College of Phar- 
macy and thereafter the Northwestern Univer- 
sity at Chicago, from the pharmaceutical de- 
partment of which he was graduated with honors 
in 1897. He returned to Wyoming and at Raw- 
lins started a drug business, which in 1902, was 
merged in the present enterprise, conducted un- 
der the firm-name of the Ferris-Maghee Drug 
Co., which is conducting a strictly first-class es- 
tablishment, down-to-date in every way, being 
well worthy of the great confidence and popular- 
ity which it enjoys in the community through 
which its benefits are spread. The men at the 
head of the enterprise are pharmacists, in truth 
and in fact, and their chief desire, commercially, 
is to make their place of business essentially a 
pharmacy, and not subordinate that feature to 
any side line, not even any of those which are 
by custom allied with it. Their store is one of 
the finest in equipment and arrangement, and 
their stock is one of the most complete in the 
Northwest, where the large number of patrons 



may always be sure of finding the best of every 
article of standard and staple drugs, patent med- 
icines, toilet requisites, perfumes, rubber sun- 
dries and the other commodities belonging to the 
business. The genial and popular proprietors 
give their personal attention to the prescription 
department, where they use only the freshest and 
purest drugs and chemicals, and also exercise the 
most discriminating intelligence and skill in all 
the. operations of their accurate prescription com- 
pounding. Their devotion to their business, their 
careful attention to its every detail and their un- 
varying integrity and courtesy of manner, have 
won for them a well-deserved mercantile and pro- 
fessional success. In 1902 Mr. Maghee was ap- 
pointed by the late Governor Richards a mem- 
ber of the state board of pharmacy, of which he 
has been made secretary, and in this position it 
has been his constant effort to have the laws 
governing the practice of pharmacy strictly en- 
forced, and he has won high commendation for 
his care and conscientiousness in the matter. He 
is a prominent member of the order of Odd Fel- 
lows in all of its branches and also belongs to 
the Woodmen of the World. On February 6, 
1903; he and R. L. Newman, of Rock Springs, 
organized the Wyoming Pharmaceutical Associa- 
tion, and he was chosen secretary of the new or- 
ganization. At Lander, in this state, on June 11, 
1900, Mr. Maghee wedded Miss Florence C. 
Baldwin, a native of Fremont county, Wyes, and 
a daughter of the late Major Noyes M. Bald- 
win of Lander, a sketch of whom appears else- 
where in this work. His wife is a sister of his 
stepmother. Both of these ladies possess high 
accomplishments combined with the most pleas- 
ing manners and presence. 

RICHARD MAY. 

The subject of this sketch is a familiar Wyo- 
ming personage, commonly known as Indian 
Dick, whose residence is at Wind River, about 
forty-two miles west of Fort Washakie, Wyo- 
ming. He is supposed to be one of the few sur- 
viving members of the very lamentable Mountain 
Meadow massacre. When he was about the age 



73 2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of nine years, he left Salt Lake City, where was 
then his home, and went to reside with the Ban- 
nock tribe of Indians, with whom he made his 
home for the next six months. At the end of 
that time he was "rescued" or rather taken from 
the Indians by U. S. soldiers under General Can- 
by, the same gallant officer who was afterwards 
treacherously murdered by the Modoc Indians. 
Young May was carried by General Canby to 
Fort Bridger, where he remained for about one 
year. He then ran away from that post, found 
his way unto the Shoshone Indians, and was af- 
terward sold by the Indian who had laid claim to 
him to another Indian for a blanket. He had a 
number of exciting experiences while making his 
home with this tribe, and participated in two 
of their wars with other tribes. Subsequently 
he left the Shoshones and for two years lived in 
Montana with the Crow Indians. Still later he 
joined his fortunes with the Cheyennes, and went 
with them into Colorado, where he joined with 
them in their wars with the white settlers there. 
Returning again to the Crow nation, he lived 
with that tribe during its fierce wars with the 
Sioux. Upon leaving the Crows the spirit of 
adventure led him to find his way to the Black- 
feet tribe of northern Montana, for a time he 
resided with them and also joined in their wars 
with other tribes. He also lived with the Flat- 
heads and with the Montereys, thus becoming 
thoroughly familiar with Indian character and 
languages. He speaks the Flathead, Blackfoot, 
Crow and Shoshone tongues and is well-known 
to all of the Indians of the western country. 
During a period of three years he was the guide 
and interpreter at the military post at Fort 
Washakie. In 1876 he was with the army of 
General George Crook which was campaigning 
against the Sioux, serving in the capacity of 
government scout, and made a great reputation 
for himself by his great efficiency. He participat- 
ed in the fight at Slim Butte and was in all of 
the stirring and trying episodes of the campaign 
of that year. He continued to reside with the 
Shoshone tribe until he purchased the ranch 
which he now occupies, engaged in the business 
of ranching and cattleraising and is now the own- 



er of a fine place of about 320 acres, with a con- 
siderable herd of cattle, and he is steadily adding 
to his holdings of both land and cattle. During 
his early life among the Shoshones he was 
united in marriage to Lucinda, a member of 
that tribe. She was a superior woman and was 
a valued helpmeet to him for more than twenty- 
two years before her death. In November, 1900, 
he was again married, his present wife having 
been Miss Annie Calhoun, the daughter of James 
Calhoun, one of the early pioneers and a respect- 
ed citizen of the Wind River country. They 
have one child, Frank, and their home is one of 
the most hospitable ones of their section of the 
state. During his life on the plains Mr. May 
acted for a number of years as guide into the 
Yellowstone National Park. Among other not- 
able parties Of whom he had charge, a prominent 
one was that of President Chester A. Arthur, 
General Phil Sheridan and Secretary of War 
Robert Lincoln along in the eighties, many other 
dignitaries also receiving his care. 

S. CONANT PARKS. 

On each side of his house descended from a 
long line of distinguished ancestors, S. Conant 
Parks, the genial and companionable vice-presi- 
dent of the First National Bank of Lander. Wyo- 
ming, exemplifies in his daily life the character- 
istics of good citizenship which have given so 
many of his family prominence and public re- 
gard. He was born at Auburn, 111., on May 15, 
1859, the son of Thomas S. and Nancy C. (Po- 
ky) Parks, the father a native of Indiana, born 
on May 22, 1822, and the mother of Muhlenberg 
county, Ky., born on March 24, 1828. On the 
father's side his forebears run back in an un- 
broken continuance to Sir Robert Parks, of Pres- 
ton, England, whose son, Samuel, emigrated to 
America and settled at Wethersfield, Conn., in 
1640; and to Roger Conant, of England, who 
landed at Plymouth in 1623 and became the gov- 
ernor of the Dorchester Company and thereby 
the first governor of Massachusetts. In both 
lines the genealogy sparkles with the patronymics 
of men well-esteemed in their several stations 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7SS 



and localities as elevated and influential citizens, 
who both ■ dignified and adorned every walk of 
life in which they were found, and inspired with 
healthy and increased vitality every line of use- 
ful activity among men. The father of Mr. 
Parks was the president of the leading bank at 
Auburn, 111., and a prominent man in the public 
affairs of that section of the country. He died 
at the ripe age of sixty-nine years, on January 
28, 1 89 1, at Auburn, where most of his life of 
mercantile and public usefulness had been passed, 
and where his widow still resides. His parents 
were Beaumont and Nancy (Conant) Parks, the 
former a native of Bethlehem, Conn., and the lat- 
ter of Windsor, Vt. Beaumont Parks was a pro- 
fessor in the University of Indiana and a son of 
Elijah and Hannah (Beaumont) Parks, natives 
of Connecticut. Elijah was a son of Nathaniel 
Parks, Jr., and a grandson of Nathaniel, whose 
father was Edwards Parks, then of Killingworth, 
Conn. Edward was a lineal descendant of Sir 
Robert Parks, native to Preston, Eng. Hannah 
Beaumont was a daughter of William and Sarah 
(Everett) Beaumont, of Windham, Conn., the 
former of whom became a celebrated physician 
of St. Louis, Mo. Nancy Conant's father was 
Stephen Conant, a veteran of the Revolutionary 
War, born in June, 1762, a son of Ezra and Mili- 
cent (Newell) Conant. He enlisted as a youth 
in Capt. Enoch Chaplin's company of Massachu- 
setts volunteers early in the war for independ- 
ence, and lived to see the triumph of the prin- 
ciples for which he fought and their crystalliza- 
tion in the complete establishment of the new 
republic among the nations of the earth. Ezra 
Conant died on December 7, 1804. He was a 
son of Benjamin and Martha (Davidson) Con- 
ant, and a leading man in both the Colonial and 
the Federal periods of New England history. His 
father was John Conant, born on December 15, 
1652, at Beverly, Mass., and the husband of 
Bethiah Mansfield. He also took a prominent 
part in the public affairs of his day and section, 
aiding materially, as a gallant soldier in Captain 
Samuel Appleton's company in King Philip's 
War, in securing the peace and prosperity of 
New England and in many other ways contribut- 



ing to the growth and development of the colo- 
nies after that bloody contest was over. He was 
a son of Lot Conant, who was born at Nantasket,. 
Mass., in 1624, and married with Elizabeth Wal- 
ton. For twelve years Lot Conant served as a se- 
lectman, proving himself as wise in counsel as 
he was vigorous in action. His father, Roger 
Conant, was baptized at East Budleigh, Eng- 
land, in 1592, and emigrated to America in 1623,. 
landing at Plymouth. He was later chosen gov- 
ernor of the Dorchester company, and thus be- 
came the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay 
colony. He was a son of Richard, and Rich- 
ard was a son of John Conant. Mr. Park's moth- 
er was a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Gos- 
sett) Poley, both belonging to Southern families, 
the Poleys being long solidly established in Ken- 
tucky as were the Gossetts in Louisiana. Joseph 
Poley was born on February 1, 1802. He grew 
to manhood and was educated in his native state, 
and afterwards became one of the early settlers 
of Sangamon county, 111., where he accumulated 
a large estate and became prominent in its busi- 
ness and public life. His father, Charles Poley, 
was born in the province of Alsace, then a part 
of France, and was carefully educated in Paris 
for the Christian ministry. Changing his plans, 
however, after reaching man's estate, he came to 
this country and settled in Kentucky, then a 
vast expanse of largely unbroken wilderness, but 
making such rapid strides in progress and devel- 
opment that it was already clamoring for admis- 
sion to the dignity of statehood, and this it soon 
thereafter assumed. In the movement which se- 
cured this result, and in the establishment and 
early administration of the state government, Mr. 
Poley was active, prominent and serviceable. S. 
Conant Parks of Lander, the immediate subject 
of this review, was the second of the five children 
born to his parents, three of whom are now liv- 
ing, one of his two sisters being Miriam, the wife 
of Silas S. Lewis, of St. Louis, Mo., and the 
other, Mary Parks, being a resident of Illinois. 
He received his preliminary scholastic training 
in the elementary and high schools of his native 
city, later being graduated from the University 
of Michigan in the class of '85 with the degree 




734 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of A. B., and still later receiving that of Ph. D. 
from the University at Halle, Germany. In 1888, 
after finishing his course of instruction at the 
noted German school, he came to Wyoming, and, 
locating at Lander, became the vice-president of 
a private bank in that city, which, in 1892, was 
reorganized as the First National Bank of Lan- 
der. Of this institution he is still a director and 
the vice-president, having in addition to the du- 
ties connected therewith a number of business 
connections of importance. He is one of the 
leading men in the control of the First National 
Bank of Thermopolis, and is also one of the di- 
rectorate conducting the banking house of Amor- 
etti, Parks & Co., of Cody. To every enterprise 
in which he takes an interest he gives devoted 
attention, making it feel the quickening impulse 
of his master hand. In fraternal relations he 
has ascended the Masonic ladder through the 
lodge, chapter and commandery, and is an act- 
ive worker in the various bodies. He was mar- 
ried on April 24, 1889, to Miss Clara Hills, of 
Chicago, a daughter of John N. and Caroline 
(Tuttle) Hills of that city, natives of Vermont. 
Mrs. Parks is a Daughter of the Revolution and 
a Colonial Dame ; being also an active worker- 
in the Episcopal church. They have one child, 
Harold Hills Parks, whose sunny presence helps 
to brighten their pleasant home on Third street 
in Lander. In the business and social circles of 
the community no man stands higher than Mr. 
Parks, and none has or is entitled to a higher 
place in the public regard as a citizen. 

JOHN B. WARREN. 

Descending from distinguished American an- 
cestors who were identified prominently with the 
Massachusetts colony long before the Declaration 
of Independence was drafted, the original Eng- 
lish emigrant being one of the founders of the 
commonwealth, and also being connected collater- 
ally with that distinguished physician of Bos- 
ton, who, as Gen. Joseph Warren, was killed at 
the battle of Bunker Hill, where he was in com- 
mand of the Patriot troops, John B. Warren, now 
of Granger, Wyoming, has well maintained the 



loyalty and devotion of every generation of his 
American kindred by valiantly defending the in- 
tegrity of the national flag on many a bloody 
battlefield of the Civil War, and, by his uniformly 
manly endeavor in the vocations of his peaceful 
life, where he has won material prosperitv b^ 
the force of his native talents and industry, secur- 
ing at the same time universal public esteem and 
confidence. It is eminently fitting that he should 
have a fixed place in this volume, devoted as it 
is to the progressive men of the state, and it is 
with pleasure that we here give a review of his 
active and eminently useful career. John B. 
Warren was born in Lapeer county, Mich., on 
February 7, 1837, a son of John and Elizabeth 
(Evans) Warren, natives of New York, the 
mother also descending from prominent English 
stock. The father was a farmer and stockraiser, 
a quiet, home-loving man who wrought well in 
the station of life where Providence had placed 
him, until came the summons of war, when, one 
of the earliest of the citizens of his state to re- 
spond to -the call of his country, he enlisted in 
the First Michigan Engineer Corps, early in 
1 861, and followed the dangerous adventures of 
that organization through the first battle of Bull 
Run, and numerous other hotly contested en- 
gagements, until he was mustered out by death 
at Nashville, Tenn., in 1862 at the age of forty- 
nine years. His widow is still residing at her 
Michigan home at the venerable age of eighty- 
five years. Having attained mature life and 
receiving the benefits of the excellent com- 
mon-schools of Michigan, the innate patriotism 
of the race impelled our subject to throw his en- 
ergies, and life if God so willed, into his coun- 
try's defense, and in 1863 he enlisted in Co. I of 
the same organization in which his father had 
served, the historic First Michigan Engineer 
Corps, with which he participated, in its bloody 
march through the South, in the battles of Shiloh. 
Crab Orchard, Rock Creek. Lookout Mountain 
and many another lesser engagement, until Octo- 
ber 15. 1864, when he was honorably discharged 
from service at Atlanta, Ga. Upon returning to 
civil life Mr. Warren engaged in lumbering oper- 
ations in Michigan with his brother-in-law, Les- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



735 



ter Weston, for about a year, then started for the 
illimitable opportunities of the great West. In 
1865 he outfitted at Leavenworth, Kan., and 
crossed the plains with a U. S. government train, 
continuing with it until it arrived at Fort Doug- 
las, Utah, and he was thereafter connected with 
various industries for about three years, when 
he returned to Denver, soon, however, remov- 
ing to Cheyenne, Wyo., where he became identi- 
fied with railroad work, continuing to be em- 
ployed in this capacity until May 10, 1869, when, 
by an accident, he lost his right leg. Being thus 
incapacitated for a continuance of his labors 
there, he came to Green River and was here em- 
ployed bv the railroad company until 1873, when, 
perceiving a good opportunity, he engaged in car- 
pentry, in whish he continued successful opera- 
tions until he retired from active business but a 
short time since. He came to Granger in 
1883, building there and for some years success- 
fully conducting the hotel, which he now leases. 
He has erected and now owns several of the im- 
portant buildings of the town and is considered 
one of the leading citizens of the community. 
Always willing to do his share in every public 
duty or private beneficence, Mr. Warren has 
faithfully and capably filled such of the public 
offices as he would accept. He has been an able 
deputy sberiff, and he was the second justice 
of tbe peace elected at Green River, Wyo., and 
was the first incumbent of the latter office 
at Granger, holding it by successive reelections 
until he would hold it no longer. Mr. Warren 
in 1873 wedded Miss Ruby Rumble, a daughter 
of Henry Rumble, at Green River, Wyo.. On June 
10, 1875, she was called from earth, leaving two 
children, John, who resides in Terrace, Utah, 
and Andrew, now of Granger. He secured his 
second wife on June 23, 1884, in his marriage 
with Mrs. Sarah (Hughes) Edwards, who was 
the mother of four children by her marriage to 
James Edwards, namely, James, Jr., now of 
Granger; Sarah, now Mrs. David Hughes, of 
Montpelier, Idaho; Barbara, wife of J. R. Bren- 
nan, of Montpelier, and Gertrude, who yet lives 
with her mother. Mr. and Mrs. Warren have 
had two children, Alice and Frederick, the latter 



meeting an untimely death in the railroad yards 
at Granger on December 2, 1885. Mr. Warren 
and his estimable wife exhibit in their cheery 
home the liberal hospitality of the West, many 
friends and strangers as well being the recipients 
of a truly home-like welcome and cheer. 

FRANK L. SENFF. 

"Not honored less than he who heirs is he 
who founds a line." This sentiment from our 
American Quaker poet applies aptly to Frank L. 
Senff, one of the pioneers and builders of John- 
son county, Wyoming, whose- untimely death on 
July 22, 1892, at the age of fifty-three, in the 
full maturity of his physical and mental powers, 
when his influence for good in his community 
was at its height, caused universal regret. He 
was a native of Germany, born on November 19, 
1839, and there he grew to manhood, received 
his education and learned his trade as a cutler. 
When he was twenty-four years old, feeling 
cramped by the crowded condition of labor and 
the obstacles to aspiration in the Fatherland, and 
hearkening to the voice of the New World offer- , 
ing each workman what his special craft de- 
mands, each brain a ready market for its wares, 
he embarked his hopes in the venture and came 
to the United States, landing at Philadelphia 
and there living and working at his trade for a 
period of five years. At the end of that time 
he removed to Chicago and in that city started 
an enterprise in cutlery on his own account, 
which he conducted on an expanding scale for 
fourteen years, then sold to seek a home in the 
farther West. This business is still in vigorous 
progress and all the industries with which he was 
connected in the state of his last adoption are 
flourishing and healthy. When he came to north- 
ern Wyoming, in 1882, he stopped at Pine Bluffs, 
near Cheyenne, long enough to get together and 
fit up wagons for the transportation of himself 
and his belongings across the territory, and, ar- 
riving in April of that year, on the banks of Lit- 
tle Piney Creek, he took up a ranch near the 
mountains. But, soon after, not liking the loca- 
tion, he purchased the rights which had accrued 



736 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in the ranch he now occupies and used his right 
of preemption in connection therewith and thus 
secured a desirable home, which he continued to 
occupy until his death. The ranch is on Big 
Piney Creek, fourteen miles north of Buffalo, 
well located, highly improved, made very pro- 
ductive by skillful cultivation, and has an envi- 
able name throughout all the countryside for its 
genuine and generous hospitality. The next year 
after his arrival his family joined him, and they 
inaugurated an industry in cattleraising which 
is still in prosperous and progressive activity and 
has grown .to great dimensions. The ranch con- 
sists of 720 acres of deeded land and has attached 
a large acreage of leased land. It is now under 
the direct supervision of Mr. Senff's widow, who 
has carried on its work successfully and skillfully 
since his death, continuing, in her way and as 
far as she can, the public spirit and interest in 
every good enterprise for the advancement of 
the county which distinguished her honored hus- 
band and made him one of the most esteemed, 
as he was one of the earliest and most useful, 
citizens of his portion of the state. On Novem- 
ber 20, 1864, in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., 
Mr. Senff married with Miss Pauline Roesiger, 
his companion and helpmeet to the close of his 
life. She was a native of Germany and came 
to America, when she was quite a young woman, 
with friends of her family, making her home with 
her aunt until her marriage. Nine children blessed 
their union, all of whom are living and prospering 
in various lines of active usefulness. They are : 
Frank R., now engaged in mining at Dawson, 
Alaska : Arthur, who has a ranch adjoining his 
mother's ; Mildred, now married with J. G. Cors- 
lett and living at Sheridan, Wyo ; Fred, engaged 
in the pursuit of ranching, also in Wyoming : 
Lena, now a popular teacher in the schools of the 
state of Washington ; Agnes, married to W. F. 
Sonnamaker, and living on Prairie Doq-; Harry, 
Ernest and Edel, all belonging to the family 
household. The family are Lutherans in church 
connection, as was Mr. Senff. He was also a 
Republican in politics, but, while taking an active 
interest in the welfare of his party, always sin- 
cerely loyal to its principles and policies, he was 



not an office-seeker nor a bigoted partisan. His 
love for his adopted country was genuine and fer- 
vent, and where the interests of his community 
were concerned he forgot party and every other 
narrowing affiliation, in his broad and substantial 
patriotism. The name of this family is a house- 
hold word throughout its section of the state, 
standing high in public and private regard wher- 
ever known as a synonym for all the best ele- 
ments of progressive American citizenship. 

JOHN W. AGEE, 

The growth and development of every new 
country is deeply and lastingly indebted in all 
essential particulars to the numbers of its citi- 
zens, whose course in life has not lain along the 
points and pinnacles of great affairs, where his- 
tory holds her splendid march, and any record 
of achievements by its progressive men must ne- 
cessarily contain the names and deeds of many 
who have only performed, with cheerfulness and 
fidelity, and without ostentation or claim of merit, 
the daily duties of life, found ever at hand, which 
are small in their individual magnitude, but 
mighty in their aggregate importance. Among 
the men of this class in Wyoming, must be named 
J. W. Agee of Bighorn county, living two and 
one-half miles east of Burlington, on a fine ranch 
of 640 acres, which he has redeemed from the 
waste and made attractive in appearance, com- 
fortable as a home and prolific in fertility, by his 
energy and skill, paying, by his long years of 
systematic effort in labor and faith, the price of 
a good estate and now enjoying its fruits, in the 
possession of a stock and farming business of 
considerable extent and giving profitable returns. 
Mr. Agee first saw the light of this world on 
September 14, 1867, in Nebraska, whither his 
parents. Dr. James W. and Eliza M. (Hurst) 
Agee, moved, in 1864, from Missouri, where the 
mother was born and reared, the father being a 
native of Tennessee. They located at Valley in 
Douglas county, and there the father still lives, 
actively engaged in the practice of his profession. 
His wife died in 1902 and was laid to rest in the 
soil of her adopted state. In his native place 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



737 



their son, John W. Agee, grew to manhood, re- 
ceived his education, and, after leaving school, 
engaged in farming until 1893, when he came to 
Wyoming and cast in his lot with her people, lo- 
cating in the Bighorn basin, and, falling in with 
the prevailing industry of that region, he took 
up a homestead in the neighborhood of Burling- 
ton, subsequently increasing his holding by pur- 
chase until he now owns a full section of as good 
land as can be found in this part of the state. 
This he has brought to a high state of productive- 
ness, in the portions of it under cultivation, and 
here he conducts an extensive and thriving stock 
business, giving special attention to the produc- 
tion of high-grade cattle. Mr. Agee is a valued 
and serviceable member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, but belongs to no other fraternal 
organization. He is, however, actively interested 
in the advancement of the county and of the com- 
munity in which he lives, giving to their affairs 
intelligent and helpful attention. On December 
24., 1889, he was married in Nebraska to Miss C. 
S. Harmer, a native of that state. They have six 
children, Ernest, Elma, Grace, Ivan, Warren and 
Edna, all living at home and diligently attending 
school in the proper season, by their presence and 
cheer making the home more attractive. 

FELIX ALSTON. 

While no one, who takes into view a sufficient 
length of time to form a proper base of compar- 
ison, can fail to be gratified with the evidences 
of the elevation and progress of humanity, it is 
nevertheless a lamentable fact that the lawless 
element of mankind is still abundant among us 
and that a multitude of police and tipstaves is ne- 
cessary to keep the world in order. It is gratify- 
ing, therefore, when the functions of enforcing 
the law, where the peace and good order of the 
community are at stake, fall into the hands of an 
efficient and upright official, as is the fact in the 
case of Felix Alston, the popular deputy sheriff 
of Bighorn county, whose past record, as a mer- 
chant, public official and leading citizen in his 
neighborhood, gives abundant assurance of the 
proper and judicious discharge of his official du- 



ties. Mr. Alston was born on December 7, 1869, 
in the state of Texas, where his mother also was 
native. His father, Philip Alston, was born and 
reared in Florida, and, in 1834, moved to Texas 
and while there was united in marriage with 
Miss Mary Marris. He engaged in the live- 
stock business and here also owned and conduct- 
ed a large cotton plantation, living and flourishing 
in the state of his adoption until his death in 

1891. His widow is yet living there. In his 
native state Felix Alston grew to manhood and 
was educated, his facilities for scholastic training 
being furnished wholly by the public schools in 
the vicinity of his home. On leaving school, he 
at once became connected with the stock indus- 
try, which brought him to seek a new and more 
fruitful range for his cattle. Accordingly, in 

1892, he came to Wyoming and established him- 
self on Shell Creek in Bighorn county. He soon 
thereafter, however, temporarily abandoned the 
cattle business and for three years was engaged 
in mining in his neighborhood. At the end of 
that time he came to Basin and opened a livery 
and feed barn, and conducted a flourishing busi- 
ness in this line, being soon elected justice of the 
peace, the first one in the town. At the end of 
this first term of official duty he was appointed 
deputy treasurer and tax collector, and in this 
dual capacity served the public for two years. 
He then moved to Lovell, carried on a general 
store for a time, and after selling this business, 
located at Irma, took up land and also opened a 
store at this point, also equipping himself with 
an outfit for the conveyance of parties of tour- 
ists through the romantic and picturesque coun- 
try, for which this part of the state is so famed. 
All these lines of activity have prospered in his 
hands, and he has accumulations of property of 
value, not only in Basin but in various other 
places. In 1903 he was appointed deputy sheriff 
of the county, and discharged his duties with 
fidelity and courage, duly observing the rights, of 
individual citizens, while protecting the interests 
of the community. Of the fraternal societies, 
so numerous and esteemed among men, he has 
affiliation with but one, the Modern Woodmen 
of America, but takes a warm and active interest 



738 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in the affairs of that order. In 1889 he was 
united in marriage with Miss Mamie A. Payne, 
a native of Seward, Neb. They have two chil- 
dren, the eldest being named Unis. 

WILLIAM M. REYNOLDS. 

A leading and progressive stockman of Con- 
verse county, William M. Reynolds, whose resi- 
dence is at the city of Lusk, Wyoming, is a na- 
tive of Kansas, having been born in that state on 
October 17, 1861, the son of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth (Massey) Reynolds, natives of Illinois and 
Missouri. His paternal grandfather, also named 
Thomas, was a native of Scotland, and one of 
the earliest settlers and pioneers of Illinois 
where he resided at the time of the organization 
of the territory, and he received the appointment 
as the first territorial governor, a position which 
he held for a considerable time with distin- 
guished honor. Subsequently he removed to 
Kansas, continued in his former business of 
farming and stockraising and remained there 
until his death. The father of Wm. Reynolds 
made his home in Kansas during his entire life, 
except a short time in 1864, when he crossed the 
plains to California, being extensively engaged 
in farming and stockraising operations and he 
also was a successful and representative man of 
his state and the father of seven children. Wil- 
liam M. Reynolds grew to manhood in his na- 
tive state and received his education in the pub- 
lic schools. When he had attained the age of 
fifteen years his desire to make his own way in 
the world induced him to leave school and go to 
Texas in pursuit of fortune. Here he remained 
for about one year and then went to Nebraska, 
where in company with John Sharp, he located 
near the later site of Fort Niobrara. They re- 
mained here during the winter of 1878-9 and 
in the spring he came to Wyoming, mak- 
ing his headquarters in the southern part of 
the territory. The following year he passed in 
the vicinity of Cheyenne, employed in riding the 
range, thus acquiring- a practical knowledge of 
the cattle business. The next year he came to 
the site of the city of Lusk, and secured employ- 



ment with the Western Live Stock Co., and re- 
mained with them for about two years. He 
then resigned his position to engage in business 
for himself and located a ranch at the head of 
Rawhide Creek, about sixteen miles south of 
Lusk. In the fall of 1885 he sold his interests 
there, and went to Kansas, purchased cattle 
which he brought back to Wyoming and located 
on Rawhide Creek, near the present location of 
Patrick postoffice and here he remained for 
about eight years in the cattle business, and was 
successful,, then, disposing of his ranch, he pur- 
chased the Newton meadow ranch about one 
and one-half miles south of Lusk. He has re- 
mained here since that time and is one of the 
most prosperous and successful ranch and stock- 
men in that section. His favorite breed of cat- 
tle is the Hereford, and he is the owner of a 
large herd, among them being some of the finest 
animals in the state. He is also interested in 
horses, having a considerable number of the 
best grades of Clydesdales and Percherons. -A 
view of his fine ranch, with the stock ranging on 
it, is one of the most attractive sights of Con- 
verse county. He is the owner of 4,000 acres 
of land, a great deal of which is under irriga- 
tion, and he grows many hundreds of tons of hay. 
On November 24, 1881, Mr. Reynolds was united 
in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Goodwin, a 
daughter of O. P. Goodwin, a highly respected 
citizen of Lusk, Wyo. To their union have been 
born four children, Lewis, George, Nomie and 
Russell. The home of Mr. Reynolds is well 
known for its generous hospitality and the fam- 
ily is held in high regard. Fraternally, Mr. Rey- 
nolds is affiliated with the Masonic order as a 
Knight Templar and as a Thirty-second degree 
Mason of the Scottish Rite. He also belongs 
to the AVoodmen of the World and takes an active 
interest in the fraternal and social life of the 
community. He is one of the solid business 
men and property owners of Converse county, 
and is respected for his many sterling qualities 
by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
When the historian of the future traces the name 
of the men of the pioneer period, he will surely 
number Mr. Reynolds anion"' them. 




L^ 




foM 



(flj-y^^^ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



739 



EUGENE ALEXANDER. 

This prominent stockman and progressive cit- 
izen of the New Fork country of Uinta county, 
Wyoming, was born in Onondaga county, New 
York, on February 5, 1844, where his parents, 
William and Maria (Ives) Alexander, were born 
and reared, and after long lives of usefulness 
were laid to rest amid the scenes they loved and 
the institutions they had improved by their la- 
bors and their influence for good. The father 
was a man of prominence in local affairs, serv- 
ing two terms as sheriff of the county, and being 
active and potential in all matters contributing 
to the welfare of the community. His wife died 
in 1 86 1, aged sixty- four years, and he in 1862, 
aged sixty-five, both being of old Colonial stock 
and English ancestry. Their son, Eugene, was 
the eleventh of their twelve children, of whom 
eight are still living. He was educated in the 
schools of his native county, thereafter engaging 
in driving stage between Fort Kearney and Albia- 
ville for the Holliday Overland Stage Line for 
two years. In 1866 he went to Yankton, S. D., 
and was employed by the U. S. government in 
freighting, and in other capacities, for about three 
years and during this time he built a government 
warehouse above Fort Sully on Ash Bend at the 
mouth of the Cheyenne River. At the end of 
his government service he settled on a ranch on 
the Missouri River, ten miles west from Yankton, 
and remained there until the spring of 1880, then 
going to the Niobrara country where he ranched 
for four years. He then sold his ranch and re- 
moved to Bear Lake, Idaho, with his cattle, win- 
tering there two years. In 1888 he came to Wyo- 
ming and located on the ranch which is now, and 
has since been, his home, and which consists of 
240 acres. Here he and his family own land ly- 
ing four miles in extent along the creek, a tract 
of about 720 acres, the most of which is fine 
meadow, furnishing excellent grazing for their 
cattle. They have all the land under fence and 
well improved, making it show in every feature 
their enterprising and progressive spirit, and 
tributary in all respects to the support of their 
herds of superior cattle and horses. Mr. Alex- 

46 



ander was married, at Yankton, S. D., on June 
6, 1867, to Miss Nancy Butler,, a native of Arm- 
strong county, Pa., and a daughter of John and 
Elizabeth (Replinger) Butler, also natives of 
that state, descendants of old New Jersey Colon- 
ial families of English ancestry. Mrs. Alexander 
was made postmistress of the office which bears 
their name when it was established in 1900. They 
have five children, Charlotte, married to James 
Redmond "of Montpelier, Idaho ; Frank ; Eugene 
E., living at Fort Washakie ; Charles C. ; William 
J. The sons are much sought for as guides for 
hunting parties, being well trained for the busi- 
ness and having a thorough and accurate knowl- 
edge of the country. 

LARS ANDERSON. 

Among the successful men of foreign birth 
who have passed away, but whose worthy lives 
have left a permanent impress upon the institu- 
tions of their adopted state, is Lars Anderson, 
formerly a resident of Salem, Wyoming, who, a 
native of Sweden, was born on July 1, 1837, the 
son of Andrew and Kate Anderson, both natives 
of that country. The father followed the occu- 
pation of farming in his native country, and was 
engaged in that pursuit up to the time of his de- 
cease. The subject of this sketch grew to man- 
hood in his native country of Sweden, and fol- 
lowed there the same occupation which had en- 
gaged the attention of his father before him, 
up to 1882. In that year he determined to go 
to the New World beyond the Atlantic, reports 
of which had come to his neighborhood in Swe- 
den, in the hope of there bettering his condition, 
and there establishing a more comfortable home 
for his growing family. He therefore disposed 
of his household goods, and, gathering his fam- 
ily about him, bade farewell to the home of his 
childhood and early manhood, and took ship 
for America. Upon arriving here he proceeded 
first to the state of Nebraska and established his 
home at Wahor, in that state. Here he purchased 
land and entered at once upon the business of 
farming and stockraising. He there followed 
that occupation, with varying success, until li 



74° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



when he disposed of his farm, stock, and other 
property in Nebraska, and removed his residence 
to the territory of Wyoming. Upon arriving 
here he at once located his present ranch, which is 
situated about fifteen miles northwest of the 
present city of Pine Bluffs, and engaged in cat- 
tleraising and general ranching. In this venture 
he met with conspicuous success, and continu- 
ally adding to his herds and increasing his prop- 
erty holdings from year to year up to the time 
of his death, which occurred on July 3, 1899. He 
is buried at Salem, in the state of Wyoming. On 
September 17, 1870, in his native land of Sweden, 
Mr. Anderson was joined in matrimony with 
Miss Kate Larsdotter, a native of Sweden, whose 
parents were well-known and respected residents 
of that country. Four children were born unto 
them, Nathalia, John, Gustavus and Charles, all 
of whom are still living. The family are mem- 
bers of the Lutheran church, taking an active in- 
terest in all matters affecting the welfare of the 
church or the work of charity and religion in the 
community where they now maintain their home. 
Since the death of the father, who, by reason of" 
his industry, sobriety and sterling worth as a 
man and a citizen, had the respect of all who 
knew him, the sons have carried on the business 
on the lines laid down by the father during his 
life. They have met with marked success in their 
management of the business, and have steadily 
increased it from year to year, as their father 
had done before them. They have a fine ranch, 
well fenced and improved, with about seventy- 
five acres of land under cultivation, with large 
areas of good meadow land, and a handsome 
bunch of cattle. The sons are worthy successors 
of their father and are sure, by their industry, 
frugality and good citizenship, to become leading 
factors in the business and social community in 
which their home is located. All of the brothers 
are actively interested in the management of the 
cattle and ranch property, but the lead in most 
matters affecting the joint business is conceded 
to Gustavus, who is a man of safe and conserva- 
tive judgment, noted also for his enterprise. Tt 
is a pleasant sight to witness such energetic peo- 
ple laboring together in an amicable harmony. 



O. FRED ANDERSON. 

The building up of civilization and the devel- 
opment of the immense industrial enterprises of 
the great West has been accomplished by the 
bravest and most energetic sons of many widely 
differing nationalities. Among them are those 
given by the Northland countries of Europe, who 
sent one of the best elements that could by any 
possibility enter into the structure of a state. And 
of the representative and successful men of 
Uinta county, Wyoming, we must now make rec- 
ord of one who left the shores of his native land 
of Sweden to create a new home in the new lands 
of the far West, where opportunities are ever 
open to such industry, energy and perseverance 
as have been here displayed by O. Fred Ander- 
son, now the owner of a fine estate of 320 acres 
of rich bottom land on Ham's Fork, seven miles 
west of the active little city of Granger. Mr. 
Anderson was born on October 1, 1869, at Os- 
karshamm in Sweden, a son of Andrew and 
Gustava (Wolf) Oleson, his father being an in- 
dustrious and skillful ship-carpenter, while his 
mother was the daughter of a gallant old soldier. 
His father, who was born on March 14, 1833, 
was the son of Olaf F. Oleson. Of the nine 
children of Andrew Oleson six are now living, 
our subject being the only one residing in the 
United States. After attending the excellent 
Swedish schools until he was eighteen years old, 
the young man courageously took up his journey 
of thousands of miles to a country where every- 
thing was unknown, but which was pictured in 
his imagination as a land of glorious possibilities 
to the diligent and deserving worker, and this 
hope sustained him in his departure from home 
and the dear home ties, buoying him up to meet 
the future with a bold and fearless heart. His 
first location in America was the great city of 
Chicago, where he became connected with rail- 
roading, which he continued in Kansas for a year, 
then, returning eastward, he was employed in 
the lumber woods of Michigan for four years, 
thereafter coming to Colorado and being identi- 
fied with railroading for two years, in all of these 
vocations giving honest service and looking well 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



741 



to the interests of his employer. Still following 
railroading, he came to Wyoming in 1894 and 
was employed on the railroad at Green River 
for two more years. Frugal, saving and eco- 
nomical, as well as energetic and industrious, by 
this time his savings gave him thought of mak- 
ing a home and an estate of his own, and, in 1896, 
he located on the land where he now resides and 
engaged in ranching and in cattleraising. His 
estate comprises 160 acres of excellent bottom 
land and here he is prosperously running fine 
herds of cattle, showing great discrimination and 
care in his operations, and being considered one 
of the representative stockmen of this section of 
the state. In all matters of public interest and 
improvement Mr. Anderson takes a leading part, 
being a generous contributor to private as well 
as to public benefactions. Politically, Mr. An- 
derson gives stalwart support to the Republican 
party, being interested in its various campaigns, 
while fraternally, he is identified with the Imp- 
proved Order of Red Men as a member of Ute 
Tribe, No. 6, at Green River. On May 14, 1896, 
Mr. Anderson was joined in matrimony at Green 
River, Wyo., with Mrs. Josephine E. Johnson, 
the widow of Paul Johnson, one of . the best 
known of the old-timers of this section and who 
died on January 14, 1895. She was born in 
Norway on February 27, 1865, the daughter of 
Hans and Gustava A. Paulson, natives and resi- 
dents of Christiana, Norway, where her father 
died at the age of fifty-four years and her mother 
is still living at sixty-four years. She was the 
second of the nine children in the family and is 
now the sole survivor. She emigrated from Eu- 
rope in 1885, the same year coming to Wyo- 
ming, where occurred her first marriage, Mr. 
Johnson being a native of Copenhagen, Den- 
mark, born on April 25, 1849, and he was a resi- 
dent of Wyoming from 1870, extensively engaged 
in the stock business. There are two children of 
the first marriage, Edgar P., born in Granger, 
Wyo., on June 7, 1887, and Annie L. Johnson, 
also born in Granger, on September 10, 1889. 
to the interests of his employer. Still following 
also born in Granger, on September 10, 1889. 
These children possess many of the leading char- 
acteristics of their parents. 



THOMAS J. ANDERSON. 

The career of the gentleman whose name ap- 
pears above most happily illustrates what may 
be attained by faithful and continued effort in 
carrying out honest purposes. It is the simple 
story of a man unknown to fame, as the world 
estimates greatness, but, measured by the true 
standard of excellence, his life abounds in much 
that is admirable, in that he has always endeav- 
ored to do the right and to live in harmony with 
his ideal of duty. Thomas J. Anderson was born 
in 1858, and claims Leavenworth county, Kan- 
sas, as the place of his nativity. Caswell Ander- 
son, his father, was born in Tennessee in 181 8 
and followed blacksmithing for his life work. 
When he moved to Kansas the elder Anderson 
carried on farming in connection with his trade, 
and after living in that state for several years, 
changed his abode to Benton county, Arkansas. 
There he also combined blacksmithing with farm- 
ing until his death in 1886. The maiden name of 
the mother was Elizabeth Davis ; she was both 
born and married in Tennessee, departing this 
life in Kansas when Thomas J. was a small child. 
Thomas J. Anderson was young when his fa- 
ther migrated to Arkansas, and his early life was 
spent on a farm in that state. The public schools 
afforded him the means of acquiring a practical 
knowledge of the fundamental branches of study, 
and, at the age of eighteen, he left home to make 
his own way in the world. After following agri- 
culture for two or three years in his adopted 
county, he went to Texas, where, for a period of 
three years, he followed agriculture with vary- 
ing success, thence returning to Arkansas. Re- 
maining one year there, Mr. Anderson went to 
Kansas and engaged in lead mining, which busi- 
ness received his attention until the spring of 
'1884, when he came to Wyoming, and stopped 
for a short time on Twin Creek, subsequently 
removing to his present place near Fontenelle, 
Uinta county. Mr. Anderson owns 320 acres of 
land lying forty miles north of Kemmerer, which 
he has stocked with a fine lot of cattle, building 
up a prosperous business as a stockman, also 
earning the reputation of being an enterprising 
and public spirited citizen. While not as exten- 



742 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sively engaged in cattleraising as some of his 
neighbors, he has yet met with encouraging suc- 
cess, his investments proving fortunate and his 
real-estate steadily increasing in value. He keeps 
in touch with everything connected with the cattle 
business, is a close and intelligent observer, by his 
sound judgment and prudent management, as 
well as by determined perseverance, overcoming 
many obstacles in the pathway of his success, and 
he is now on the well-defined high road to pros- 
perity, fame and fortune. Mr. Anderson pos- 
sesses the rare faculty of binding friends to him 
as with bonds of steel, and is exceedingly popu- 
lar among those with whom he mingles, and he 
ever manifests a lively concern in the material 
and intellectual advancement of the community 
of which he is an honored resident. His tastes 
and inclinations naturally fit him for the inde- 
pendent life he now leads, and, with his fortune 
bound up in the West, he will, in all probability, 
make this part of the country his permanent place 
of abode. In 1882 Mr. Anderson chose a life 
partner in Miss Isabella Robinson, a daughter of 
James and Mary E. Robinson, the union resulting 
in the birth of five children, Fred, Pearl, Allie, 
Abbie and Thomas. The father of Mrs. Ander- 
son was a native of Tennessee and by trade a 
tanner. He moved to Arkansas a number of 
years ago and died in that state in 1861. Mrs. 
Anderson was born and reared in Arkansas and 
there lived until her removal to Wyoming. 

MRS. MARY. J. ANDERSON. 

This public spirited and accomplished lady 
is fully a product of the farther West, owing to 
that favored section, on which the perpetual smile 
of a beneficent Providence seems to rest, all that 
she has and is, for she was born at Provo, Utah, 
a daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Wors- 
ley) Haws, natives respectively of Illinois and 
Missouri, who came to Utah in its ver)' early 
history, bringing to their new home a resolute- 
ness of spirit and readiness for every emergency 
born of their former pioneer life, and by service 
on his part of the father in the noted Black Hawk 
War, being a man of fine public spirit and 



abounding enterprise, now living in Idaho, where 
his wife passed over to the activities which know 
no weariness at the age of forty-six years, leav- 
ing twelve children, eight of whom are living. 
Mrs. Anderson was educated in the public schools 
of Utah and at the Brigham Young Academy 
in Provo. On November 24, 1886, she was united 
in marriage with J. C. Anderson, also a native 
of Utah, son of John and Carrie Anderson, emi- 
grants from Denmark, the land of Hamlet and 
the bold and conquering Norsemen, having been 
born and reared in Copenhagen. She and her 
husband were engaged in farming in Idaho for 
nine years, in 1895 they came to the Jackson Hole 
country of Wyoming, and located on a place in 
Spring Gulch, which now consists of 200 acres, 
and is as fine a body of land of that extent as 
can be found anywhere. By their thrift and in- 
dustry it has been highly improved, tastefully 
adorned by their art and esthetic spirit, and made 
fruitful as a garden by their skillful husbandry. 
On this farm they conducted a thriving stock- 
raising industry with careful management until 
the autumn of 1901, when they purchased the 
property on which they now live, and built on it 
a commodious brick house, which is at this time 
not only the postoffice but the only hotel in Jack- 
son. Mrs. Anderson gives personal attention 
to these two lines of activity, having been post- 
mistress of the town since 1900, having conduct- 
ed the hotel since its opening. Mr. Anderson, 
true to his native instinct for outdoor life, acts 
as guide to parties hunting in the reserve. Three 
children are in the home, Oliver. Mark. Myrtle. 

HIRAM A. ANDREWS. 

A prominent and successful stockman of 
Laramie county, in the state of Wyoming, is 
Hiram A. Andrews, of Davis' Ranch, who was 
born on December 3, 1862, a native of Iowa, and 
the son of William and Mary Andrews, residents 
of that state, where his father followed the busi- 
ness of farming until the time of the outbreak 
of the Civil War, when he enlisted as a member 
of an Iowa regiment and was killed in battle. 
Thereafter Hiram A. Andrews made his home 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



743 



with the parents of his mother in the county of 
Jefferson, in the state of Nebraska, there grew to 
manhood and there received his education in the 
public schools. In 1881, having an ambition to 
make his own way in the world, he left his home 
in Jefferson county, and removed to the county 
of Merrick, in the same state. Here he secured 
employment on a farm and, soon after, he en- 
gaged in the business of farming on his own 
account. He continued there, following that oc- 
cupation until 1888, when he disposed of his prop- 
erty in Merrick county and removed his family to 
the territory of Wyoming, secured a position on 
a cattle ranch, where he remained for about one 
year, and then accepted a position as foreman of 
the L. C. ranch of the Snow Cattle Co., situated 
on Horse Creek, Wyo. He continued in the man- 
agement of this property up to 1893, when he 
resigned for the purpose of engaging in business 
for himself, and removed to the place known as 
the Stone ranch, where he has since resided, 
engaged in the business of raising cattle and 
horses. He is also the owner of 1400 acres of 
land adjoining this ranch, upon which is located 
one of the finest sandstone quarries in Wyoming, 
and since 1897 he has been carrying on a highly 
successful and profitable business in the selling 
of sandstone for building purposes. On July 15, 
1883, Mr. Andrews was married, in Merrick 
county, Neb., to Miss Celia Trout, a native of 
Ohio, and the daughter of John and Lettie 
(Black) Trout, the former a native of Pennsyl- 
vania and the latter of Ohio. Her parents were 
among the earliest of the pioneers of Merrick 
county, and for many years were engaged in the 
business of farming and stockraising in that sec- 
tion, the mother passing away in 1896. Subse- 
quently to her death the father disposed of his 
interests in Nebraska, and removed his residence 
to Wyoming, where he now makes his home in 
the city of Cheyenne. Fraternally, Mr. Andrews 
is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World, 
being a member of the lodge at Cheyenne, and 
politically, he is a stanch member of the Republi- 
can party, and takes an active interest in public 
affairs, believing it to be the duty of every citi- 
zen to see that the public business is conducted 



in an honest and patriotic manner. He has never 
sought or desired preferment at the hands of his 
party, but gives his undivided attention to the 
management of his business affairs, in which he 
has met with conspicuous success. He is a capa- 
ble and enterprising business man, clear of judg- 
ment, direct in his purposes and successful in his 
methods. He has varied business interests, but 
his sandstone quarry is the one which promises 
to make him one of the wealthy men of his sec- 
tion of the state of Wyoming. 

D. ELMER ANKENY. 

The representative citizen of whom we now 
write occupies a position in the front rank of 
Wyoming's successful stockmen, and, as a citizen, 
he has long enjoyed distinctive precedence in the 
various localities where his lot has been cast. His 
business qualifications, of a high order, have won 
him recognition among his fellow men and all 
with whom he has had relations, business, frater- 
nal or otherwise, have been quick to recognize 
his merit and to appreciate his true worth as an 
enterprising, energetic man of affairs. D. Elmer 
Ankeny is a native of Ohio, the son of Alexan- 
der and Nancy Ankeny, the father born in Penn- 
sylvania and the mother in the Buckeye state. 
By occupation Alexander Ankeny was a black- 
smith. He was married in Randolph county, 
Ohio, and lived there until 1856, when he mi- 
grated to Iowa, locating at the town of Marietta, 
where he worked at his trade until his death in 
1861. His son, D. Elmer, was born in the county 
of Randolph on July 20, 1855, but spent his child- 
hood and youth in Iowa, whither he was taken 
when about one year old. He was a lad of only 
about eleven years when his father died, and, 
being the eldest of the children, was early obliged 
to contribute to the support of the family. He 
worked at any kind of honorable employment 
that his hands found to do and turned over his 
earnings to his mother, thus proving a valuable 
help to her while she was rearing her younger 
children. Meanwhile he attended at intervals the 
schools of Marietta and later pursued his studies 
as opportunities afforded at Marshalltown, devot- 



744 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ing the spring and summer seasons to farm labor 
until his nineteenth year, when, in the spring of 
1875, he went to Colorado and for some months 
thereafter worked on a ranch near Fort Collins. 
Believing that money could be made in the stock 
business, and not caring longer to remain an em- 
ploye, he purchased a few cattle and branched 
out as a stockman upon his own responsibility. 
Beginning in a modest way he soon succeeded in 
greatly increasing his business and in due time 
found himself on the high road to success. He 
located a ranch in Larimer county, about forty 
miles west of Fort Collins, and remained there 
until 1895, when he sold and came to Wyoming, 
purchasing his present ranch on Sybylle Creek, 
eighteen miles southwest of Wheatland, in the 
county of Laramie. Since the latter year Mr. 
Ankeny has been busily engaged in raising cattle 
and horses, building up a large and lucrative 
business, and, as already stated, he has won a con- 
spicuous place among the leading ranchmen of 
this section of the state. He owns a valuable 
tract of grazing land, embracing several hundred 
acres, which is well-watered and covered with a 
dense growth of the nutritious grasses for which 
the rich valleys of Laramie county are especially 
noted. On this range he keeps large herds of 
cattle, which, like the fine horses in his posses- 
sion, are in prime condition, his live stock repre- 
senting a fortune of no small magnitude. He is 
widely known among the enterprising cattlerais- 
ers of Laramie county, and is one of the leaders 
of the rich industry in his section of the country. 
Mr. Ankeny was married at Fort Collins, Colo., 
on March .11, 1877, to Myra Harris, a daughter 
of Joseph and Sarah (Adams) Harris, the par- 
ents moving to Colorado from Iowa about 1871. 
Mr. Harris farmed near Greeley for a number 
of years, subsequently moving to Wyoming, 
where he did not long remain, returning to Colo- 
rado after a few months and settling at Fort Col- 
lins, where his death occurred in 1893. Mrs. Har- 
ris preceded her husband to the "Silent Land," 
departing this life on March 19, 1892. Mr. and 
Mrs. Ankery have five children. Carroll, John, 
Aubrey, Iva and Floyd. Mr. Ankery takes a 
deep interest in everything pertaining to the in- 



dustrial development and general welfare of the 
county and state of his adoption, and is deserv- 
edly classed with its most progressive men. Prac- 
tical industry, wisely and vigorously pursued, and 
sound judgment in matters of business, have 
brought their reward in the liberal amount of this 
world's goods which he now possesses. He is a 
creditable representative of a class of men to 
whom, more than to any other, is due the con- 
tinued growth and prosperity of the West. In 
every relation of life he has lived up to his con- 
ception of right, proving himself an honorable, 
upright and progressive member of the common- 
wealth in which he exercises citizenship. 

BOYD M. FYE. 

The junior member of the well-known cattle 
firm of Fye Brothers, the progressive young 
ranch and stockmen of Laramie county, is the 
subject of this sketch, Boyd M. Fye, whose post- 
office address is Hecla, Wyoming. A native of 
the state of Illinois, he was born in Jo Daviess 
county, on May 12/ 1877. His father was en- 
gaged in the occupation of farming in Illinois, 
and disposed of his property in that state, and 
removed with his family to the state of Wyoming 
in the year 1890. The subject of this imperfect 
sketch grew to man's estate in the state of Wyo- 
ming, having passed his childhood days in Jo 
Daviess county, Illinois. In the latter state he 
attended the public schools in the vicinity of his 
home, chiefly at the town of Orangeville. near 
the city of Freeport, and there acquired such ed- 
ucation as his limited opportunities permitted. 
Upon arriving in the state of Wyoming he contin- 
ued his attendances the public schools until he 
had arrived at the age of sixteen years, when he 
left school and began work for his father on the 
home ranch, situated on the North Laramie 
River. He remained in this employment for a 
period of five years and acquired a thorough and 
a practical knowledge of the business of raising 
cattle and of general ranching. Upon arriving 
at the age of twenty-one years, he secured em- 
ployment from several outfits, who were handling 
cattle in Laramie county, and was not long in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



745 



becoming to be known as one of the most capable 
men ever engaged in that occupation in that vi- 
cinity. He remained in this pursuit, saving his 
earnings and preparing himself for a future busi- 
ness on his own account to be taken up as soon 
as opportunity presented itself. In 1900 he en- 
tered into a partnership agreement with his broth- 
er, Arthur H. Fye, and they secured a lease on 
the well-known property, extensively called the 
Gilchrist cattle ranch, situated on Middle Crow 
Creek, about seventeen miles west of the city of 
Cheyenne, Wyo., and there engaged in the cattle 
business. During the short time they have been 
operating in this locality they have shown them- 
selves possessed of the requisite qualities which 
assure success in any calling, ability, persever- 
ance and industry. They control about 7,500 
acres of fine land, and are among the most prom- 
ising young stockmen in that section of Wyo- 
ming. Pushing, energetic, possessing good busi- 
ness judgment, they are certain to continue the 
success with which they have entered upon their 
chosen occupation and they are highly respected. 

WILLIAM ARNOLD. 

One of the leading hotel men of Laramie 
county, and one who has met with conspicuous 
success in business, William Arnold, of Wheat- 
land, Wyoming, was born in Ulster county, New 
York, on November 4, 1861, the son of John and 
Rachel (Frear) Arnold. His father followed 
the occupation of wheelwright at Ellenville, in 
Ulster county until 1874, when he disposed of his 
property there, and removed to the state of Kan- 
sas, where he established his home in Pawnee 
county, engaged in farming and continued in 
that pursuit up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1899. He was buried in the city of 
Larned, Kan. The mother had passed away in 
1865 while residing in New York, and was bur- 
ied at Ellenville, in that state. William Arnold 
accompanied his father from New York to Kan- 
sas, grew to manhood in the latter state, re- 
ceived his education in the public schools in 
Pawnee county and after he had completed his 
education remained with his father, assisting in 



the work and management of the farm until he 
had attained the age of twenty-three years. In 
1884 he determined to seek, his fortune in the 
country farther to the north, and came to the then 
territory of Wyoming. Here he secured employ- 
ment with the Swan Land & Cattle Co., one of 
the largest concerns operating in the western 
country, and went with one of their roundup out- 
fits as a cook. He remained with this company 
about ten years, and witnessed, and was some- 
times a participant in, some exciting experiences 
on the frontier. During this time he traveled 
over the greater portion of Wyoming and Ne- 
braska, seeing nearly every phase of western life, 
both savage and civilized. In 1895 he resigned 
his position with this company to engage in busi- 
ness for himself, and, coming to Wheatland, 
Wyo., he erected a building opposite the railroad 
station at that place and engaged in the restau- 
rant business. He continued with success in this 
occupation until 1897, when he purchased the 
Globe Hotel, which he now owns and conducts, 
and then disposed of his restaurant property. In 
this hotel venture he has prospered exceedingly, 
and is now the owner of the largest and best hotel 
in Wheatland, doing a large and profitable busi- 
ness. He is one of the most popular and success- 
ful landlords in the state, and, in order to ac- 
commodate his growing patronage, has recently 
had plans drawn for an extensive addition to his 
hotel. By his energy, perseverance and enter- 
prise he has built up a large and constantly grow- 
ing business, and is one of the representative bus- 
iness men of Laramie counjty. Foremost in every 
public enterprise, an enthusiastic advocate of ev- 
ery measure calculated to promote the general 
welfare, he is one of the most valued citizens of 
the community. On January 3, 1895, Mr. Ar- 
nold was united in marriage, at Cheyenne, Wyo., 
to Miss Zelnora Carmichael, a native of Nebras- 
ka, and the daughter of William H. and Jane 
(Bowen) Carmichael, the former a native of 
Ohio, and the latter of Iowa. Her father came in 
early life from his native state to Nebraska, 
where he engaged in farming during the territor- 
ial days of that state. In 1859 he disposed of his 
property in Nebraska, went across the plains to 



746 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



California and there engaged in mining for a 
number of years. In 1870 he disposed of the 
property he had acquired in California and re- 
turned to' Nebraska, where he again followed 
the occupation of farming until 1890, when he 
removed his residence to Wyoming, settled on 
the Laramie River, and engaged in the business 
of raising cattle up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in May, 1900. The mother is still re- 
siding upon the ranch on Laramie River, continu- 
ing the business of cattleraising which her hus- 
band established. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have 
four children, Eunice L., Cecil, Harry H. and 
William, all of whom are living. The family are 
members of the Congregational church, held in 
the highest esteem. Mr. Arnold is affiliated with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with 
the Woodmen of the World, being a member of 
the lodges at Wheatland, Wyo. He is a stanch 
member of the Republican party, and an earnest 
advocate of the principles of that political organ- 
ization. He has often been solicited by his partv 
friends and associates to become a candidate for 
positions of trust and honor, but has invariably 
declined to do so, preferring to give his entire 
time and attention to the care and management 
of his private business interests. He is one of 
the most progressive and enterprising citizens of 
his section of the state and is deservedly popular. 

RUSSELL H. AUSTIN. 

For many men, who are properly attuned to 
its harmonies, the wilderness, rough, harsh and 
inexorable as it may seem to others, has charms 
more potent than all the blandishments of culti- 
vated society, and often he on whom it has cast 
its magic finds no heart to dissolve the spell, re- 
maining in the midst of its untamed and untu- 
tored attractions for all of the balance of his life, 
dwelling in the closest presence of Nature, wide- 
awake to her voice of melody and power, deeply 
touched by her ennobling influences, which pene- 
trate and mold the heart. This has been the ex- 
perience of Russell H. Austin, now one of the 
extensive and prominent farmers and stockmen 
on Shell Creek, in Bighorn county, Wyoming, of 



which he is one of the most esteemed citizens. 
For more than half a century he has been a resi- 
dent of Wyoming, being one of the first white 
men to pitch his tent on her fertile soil, here to 
dream of the future empire of industrial, com- 
mercial and political wealth and power thereon to 
be erected. He was born in 1830, in Michigan, 
then but a part of the far frontier, yet yielding 
so rapidly to the army of occupation and indus- 
trial conquest, that had camped upon her soil, 
that she was already moving with confidence to 
wards the large dignity and consequence of state- 
hood in the great American Union. His parents 
were* William and Hannah (Hoag) Austin, na- 
tive respectively in Connecticut and Ohio. In 
1848, when he was but eighteen, he enlisted in 
the Sixth Infantry, U. S. A., was sent to the Jef- 
ferson barracks at St. Louis, where he was taken 
ill, and, for the benefit of his health, was trans- 
ferred to Fort Snelling, Minn., where he re- 
mained for two years. In 1850 he aided to build 
Fort Dodge in Iowa, then located in the primeval 
wilderness, but now a thriving and busy little 
city, with hundreds of happy homes and striding 
forward in the race for commercial and social 
advancement. The nearest house to the fort at 
the time of its erection was "twenty miles away" 
and all of the conditions of life were primitive in 
the extreme. In 1852 Mr. Austin came to Wyo- 
ming, being stationed with his command at Fort 
Laramie, and, there, in 1853, he was discharged 
from the army, his term of service having ex- 
pired. For two years thereafter he was engaged 
in trapping and prospecting on Powder River, 
and then he went, in search of other opportuni- 
ties, to Denver, Colo., which, at that time, con- 
sisted of six uncomely shanties. He remained 
in that neighborhood, prospecting and hunting 
until 1862, when he joined a foot party traveling 
with pack outfits on their way to Bannock. Mont. 
From Bannock he went with the first stampede 
to Alder Gulch and mined there for a year, after 
which he hunted and prospected until 1866. 
About this time the neighborhood of Salmon 
City, Idaho, attracted the attention of the mining 
world by its golden music, and he went thither 
on a prospecting tour. The next year he again 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



747 



came to Wyoming, locating in the vicinity of 
South Pass, and once more engaged in mining. 
In 1868 he removed to the neighborhood of the 
site of Lander, and on ground on which a 
portion of the city now stands, he raised pota- 
toes, which he sold to the miners at twenty-five 
cents a pound. Here he also conducted a dairy, 
selling his butter at one dollar a pound, and find- 
ing himself unable to supply the demand. In 
1872 he located temporarily on Snake River in 
the southern part of the state, and in 1873 drove 
his cattle to a convenient market and sold them. 
Then he went to Kansas, purchased 200 fine cat- 
tle and brought them to Rawlins, where he en- 
gaged actively in the stock industry until 1881. 
In that year he purchased the old Fort Halleck 
ranch and made that his home for a number of 
years thereafter. In 1882 he bought $15,000 
worth of cattle and lost them all in one season. 
For three years following this disaster he tempted 
fortune in various ways, in 1885 moving to Raw- 
lins, where he lived two years, then, in 1887, he 
settled on the homestead near the present town 
of Shell, which is still his home, and which he has 
transformed into a beautiful and highly cultivat- 
ed farm, yielding generously to the faith of the 
husbandman, rewarding his toil with every prod- 
uct suited to its climate and the nature of the 
soil. He has good buildings and a full comple- 
ment of the best farm machinery, and other ne- 
cessary appliances, and has reared with care, 
and brought to vigorous fruitfulness, a fine or- 
chard, one of the first to blossom and fling its 
bounty into the hands of man in this part of 
the country. Mr. Austin belongs to the Ma- 
sonic order, and has for years been prominent 
in its membership. He married in Iowa, in 1879, 
Mrs. Lydia P. Sweney, a native of Ohio and the 
widow of Grigg Sweney. She has three children 
by her former husband, Grace, Robert and Har- 
ry K. Sweney, and of the two sons extended men- 
tion is made on other pages of this work. During 
his long residence of fifty-one years in Wyo- 
ming, Mr. Austin has so borne himself, in all 
the relations of life, as to win and keep the re- 
spect of his fellow men, and has never been 
known to lag or be backward in support of any 



enterprise that promised well for the community 
in which he lived. While a genuine frontiers- 
man and warmly attached to the life of the pio- 
neer, he has never been oblivious of the advant- 
ages of civilization, nor slow in aiding to procure 
them, being in all respects a live, active and pro- 
gressive citizen of a progressive state. 

ROBERT A. BALDWIN. 

Robert A. Baldwin, prominent as a farmer 
and stockman and serviceable to the community 
as an attorney at law, came to Wyoming in 1892. 
He was born at Keokuk, Iowa, on February 4, 
1864, of parents who were natives of Ohio, J. 
A", and Emeline (Beardsley) Baldwin. While 
he was yet a child, his parents removed with their 
family to Fillmore county, Neb., where he grew 
to manhood and was educated. After leaving 
school, he was engaged in teaching for a time 
and during his work in this line he studied law. 
In 1889 he was admitted to practice, and, a year 
later, removed to Scott's Bluff county and was 
employed as principal of the Gering schools, re- 
maining there in that capacity two years. He 
then, in 1892, came to Wyoming, and, select- 
ing Bighorn county as his permanent home, he 
located on the land which he now owns and occu- 
pies, taking up a homestead as the nucleus of his 
splendid ranch of 640 acres. To the improve- 
ment of this he has sedulously devoted himself, 
and has brought it to a fine state of development, 
equipped it with good buildings and fences and 
adorned it with shrubbery artistically disposed. 
His herd consists of 250 fine cattle, to whose 
care he gives the most continual and skillful at- 
tention, and their condition shows the benefit of 
the effort. He is also one of the most extensive 
growers of hogs in the county, dealing in this 
branch of the stock industry on a scale of great 
magnitude. In the political affairs of the county, 
Mr. Baldwin takes an active and potent interest, 
being always found in the van of his party's ef- 
forts for supremacy. He is an ardent Republican, 
from the beginning of his residence in the county 
being prominent and influential in the councils 
of that political organization. He served as the 



74 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



chairman of its first county convention in Bighorn 
county, and has many times since been useful 
in stations of prominence in its work. In Fill- 
more county, Neb., on August 7, 1895, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Lona A. Dams, a 
native of Illinois. They have one child, their 
graceful daughter, Ruth R. Baldwin. 

ALBERT O. BANKS. 

Born in the busy, and progressive province 
of Nova Scotia, Canada, there reared to the age 
of seventeen, then left an orphan and thrown on 
his own resources by the death of his father, 
well lias Albert O. Banks, of Crook county, Wy- 
oming, one of the prominent and enterprising 
ranchmen of his section, justified the hopes of his 
friends in his childhood by carving out of hard 
conditions a fortune of comeliness and graceful 
proportions. His life began on February 14, 
1858, in the rural home of his parents, Joseph 
and Dorothy (Payson) Banks, residents of Nova 
Scotia and highly esteemed farmers. In 1875 his 
father died and was buried in his native soil, 
while his mother, a native of St. Johns, still re- 
sides in Nova Scotia. Albert O. Banks was 
educated in his native land and remained at home 
for a few years after the death of his father, 
working on farms in the neighborhood, when not 
engaged on that of his mother. In 1879 ne ^ft ' 
home and coming to Massachusetts worked on 
farms in that state for a period of five years. 
In 1884 he turned his face to the great and grow- 
ing West, and made his way to Fort Collins, 
Colo., where he remained a few months, at the 
end of which he came on to Wyoming and took 
up the ranch he now occupies, located about ten 
miles southeast of Sundance. For a few years 
after lus settling here he worked at times in the 
timber at lumbering, but, since getting his ranch 
industry well started, he has sedulously devoted 
his time and energies to that, and has' won, by 
diligence and close attention to business, a grat- 
ifying success and he has risen to a desirable 
place in the regard and esteem of his fellow men. 
He owns 560 acres of land, has a large leased 
tract, and lias improved his possessions with good 



buildings, fences, etc., and brought them to a high 
state of cultivation by skillful farming. His 
principal industry is raising cattle, but he also 
does farming on a scale of some magnitude and 
by methods that embrace all that is known to the 
intelligent and progressive tiller of the soil. On 
November 15, 1894, Mr. Banks was married to 
Miss Jennie Hawkins at Sundance. Mrs. Banks 
is a native of England, but for years she has been 
a resident of Wyoming. They have two chil- 
dren, Claud R. and Earl. Mr. Banks is an act- 
ive and zealous Republican, seeking always the 
welfare of his party and its proper guidance along 
the lines of safe and healthful progress, but not 
desiring for himself any of its honors. 

IRA S. BAWKER. 

With the love of nature that distinguishes the 
true husbandman, Ira S. Bawker, of Inyankara, 
Wyoming, has turned his back upon the allure- 
ments of mercantile life, for which he was spec- 
ially prepared, devoting himself to the peaceful 
and productive pursuits of agriculture, in which 
the man of industry and thrift sees the fruits of 
his labor blooming and ripening around him, 
refreshing the landscape with their beauty and 
gladdening the heart with the promise of sub- 
stantial comfort. Mr. Bawker is a native of 
Jo Daviess county, 111., where he was born on 
July 12, 1868, the son of James T. and Catherine 
(Brickler) Bawker, an account of whose career 
is to be found elsewhere in this volume. Ira be- 
gan his scholastic training in the schools of Illin- 
ois, continued it in those of Kansas, where the 
family lived for a time, and completed it at Sun- 
dance, Wyo., after the home was established in 
that neighborhood. After completing the course, 
he returned to his native state and attended an 
excellent commercial college in Dixon, for the 
purpose of fitting himself for business. Instead 
of mercantile life, however, he joined the great 
army of agriculturists in Wyoming, working for 
his father on his ranch, and also on land of his 
own, which he took up adjacent to that of his 
lather. In 1895. with his father, he bought the 
ranch on Skull Creek, twenty-five miles north- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



749 



west of Newcastle, on which he has lived since' 
his marriage in 1898. This he has greatly im- 
proved, having there built up a thriving industry 
in cattleraising and general farming. In the 
ranch there are 480 acres, and he has also con- 
trol of a large body of leased land. His residence 
is an attractive cottage, which he has built and 
furnished with due consideration for the comfort 
and pleasure of its inmates, and his cattle are 
housed in good sheds and fed from the capacious 
stacks with which the place is supplied. On Jan- 
uary 4, 1897, at the home of the bride's parents 
on . Skull Creek, Mr. Bawker was married to 
Miss Laura J. Holwell, a native of Nova Scotia, 
and a daughter of William and Margaret E. 
(Beaglehole) Holwell. Her father was born in 
England and her mother in New Jersey. Mr. 
Holwell came west' in 1878, locating a little la- 
ter, in Wyoming, and taking up his residence 
in 1 88 1 on Skull Creek, where his family joined 
him in 1883, and is one of the successful and 
prominent cattlemen of the section. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bawker have one child, Edgar I. The 
head of the house is a Democrat in politics, stead- 
fastly adhering to his party in all issues involving 
real government principles. 

JOHN F. BARNES. 

One of Wyoming's successful stockmen, John 
F. Barnes, is a native of Missouri and a son 
of Joseph and Jane (Bennight) Barnes, the fa- 
ther born in Alabama, and the mother in the same 
state in which their son, John, first saw the light 
of day. Joseph Barnes settled in Dent county. 
Mo., as early as 1844, and became one of the 
prosperous farmers of that part of the state. Af- 
ter remaining there until 1868, he migrated to 
northern Arkansas, where he spent the remain- 
der of his life in agricultural pursuits, dying in 
Sharp county in August,' 1875 ; Mrs. Barnes pre- 
ceded her husband to the other world, departing 
this life in Misouri in 1863. John F. Barnes was 
born on November 17, 1857, in Dent county. 
Mo., and, at the age of ten, he accompanied the 
• family to Arkansas. He was reared on the 
farm and spent his early life as his father's as- 



sistant, growing up with a strong constitution, 
which enabled him easily to withstand the rough 
usage he afterwards experienced on the range. 
He remained at home until he was about sixteen 
years old, when he severed the ties which bound 
him to the family fireside, and, in company with 
his brother, Thomas, returned to Dent county, 
Mo., where they there engaged in farm work. 
Subsequently he quit that kind of labor and found 
employment in the mines of Dent county, follow- 
ing the latter vocation until coming to Wyoming 
in 1883. During the six years following his ar- 
rival in this state, Mr. Barnes worked on differ- 
ent ranches near Cheyenne, meantime becoming 
associated with a Mr. Blackwell in the cattle bus- 
iness, the two taking up land in Laramie county, 
about twenty miles east of Fort Laramie. They 
stocked their place, after which Mr. Barnes re- 
turned to his work near Cheyenne, leaving his 
partner to look after their mutual interests on 
the ranch. Mr. Barnes continued in the em- 
ployment of various parties until 1889, when he 
returned to ' his ranch to assist in the manage- 
ment of the business, which had gradually grown, 
in magnitude and importance during the inter- 
vening years. Mr. Barnes and Mr. Blackwell 
kept up their partnership until 1894, at .which 
time the latter sold his interest to Mr. Barnes, 
who thus became sole proprietor. Since that year 
he has steadily continued to build up a prosper- 
ous business and, at the present time; he has a 
fine herd of cattle, which, with the ranch in his 
possession, represents a fortune of sufficient mag- 
nitude to place him in independent circumstances. 
Mr. Barnes is a man of enterprise, imbued with 
the true western spirit which seldom fails to win 
success. While primarily interested in his own 
affairs, he has not been unmindful of his duty to 
the community, consequently all movements for 
the public welfare find in him a zealous patron, 
and, to the extent of his ability, a liberal sup- 
porter. Personally, he enjoys the confidence of 
his fellow citizens and is popular with all parties 
with whom he mingles. He is a liberal provider 
for his family and has a comfortable home, which 
is the abode of a genuine western hospitality, 
freely dispensed to all who claim it. The mar- 



75° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



riage of Mr. Barnes and Miss Catherine Weber 
was solemnized near Fort Laramie on March 
10, 1897. Mrs. Barnes was born in Idaho, being 
the daughter of John and Mary Weber, natives of 
Germany and early settlers of the Platte River 
Valley. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have two bright 
children, Delia G. and Alice M., in whom are 
centered many hopes for the future. 

CLEMMER C. BELKNAP. 

Every civilized country on the globe and ev- 
ery state in the Union has contributed to popu- 
lating and developing the great Northwest of 
the United States. Among them Wisconsin, on- 
ly recently herself a remote frontier, has given 
a generous share in brain and brawn, in enter- 
prise and business capacity, in public spirit and 
progressive citizenship. It was in this western 
state that Clemmer C. Belknap, now one of the 
successful and influential stockmen of Fremont 
county, Wyoming, first saw the light of this world 
on October 27, 1865. Pie was born- at Argyle, 
in the southwestern part of the state, where his 
parents, Walter P. and Elmira J. (Seeley) Bel- 
knap, were successfully engaged in farming, his 
father being a native of Vermont and a half- 
brother of Com. Charles Belknap of the U. S. 
navy. They were sons of Moses Belknap of 
Vermont, a veteran of the War of 181 2, descend- 
ed from old Colonial stock. Walter P. Belknap 
died at Goldfield, Iowa, in 1881, aged seventy- 
four years, and his widow also died on July 4, 
1889, aged seventy-two years. Their family con- 
sisted of ten children, seven sons and three 
daughters. Of these seven are yet living. Clem- 
mer C. Belknap was educated in the district 
schools of Iowa, his parents having moved into 
that state in his childhood, and, after leaving 
school he learned his trade as a telegrapher and 
worked at it in that state for a number of years. 
In 189T he took up his residence in California 
and there also worked at telegraphing for about 
two years. lie (hen lived successively in Mon- 
tana and Wyoming, being employed at Opal in 
the latter state by the Oregon Short Line Rail- 
road Co. for three years. In 1899, having tired 



©f railroad work, he took up the ranch on which 
he now lives and settled upon it with the reso- 
lute purpose of making it his permanent home, at 
once beginning to improve it and to enlarge its 
extent. He now owns 640 acres, the most of 
which is fine bottom land and yields abundantly 
of hay, its annual output being more than 150 
tons. The principal part of his crop is timothy 
and red top, but he also raises grain and is contin- 
ually increasing his acreage in this product. His 
place is well improved, and very desirable in loca- 
tion, being generally considered one of the best 
in the valley, and is a visible tribute to his judg- 
ment in selection, and to his skill and enterprise 
in its cultivation and management. The cattle 
upon his range have good pedigrees and their 
place in the markets is justly high and well-estab- 
lished. Mr. Belknap is one of the public spirited 
men of the section and his portion of the state 
owes much to his progressive and elevating citi- 
zenship. He belongs to the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, holding membership in Lodge 
No. 122 at Clarion, Iowa. On January 5, 1879, 
in Iowa, he was married to Miss Emily Sill, a na- 
tive of that state and a daughter of William and 
Rhoda (Grey) Sill, natives of Ohio, whither 
their parents came from Virginia in early days, 
daring all of the dangers and enduring many of 
the privations of the most rigid pioneer life. Mr. 
and Mrs. Belknap have four children living, An- 
gie, married to Fred O. Shaeffer of Stratford, 
Iowa ; George Earl, Clifford Vernon and Mar- 
jorie. Another daughter, Blanche, died in infan- 
cy. The head of this house is still in the very 
prime of life, with all his faculties in full vigor, 
his aspirations proper and realizing their agree- 
able fruitage, and his position well established 
in the regard of his fellows. He may hopefullv 
look forward to many vears of usefulness. 



JAMES T. BAWKER. 

Born and reared in Jo Daviess county, Illin- 
ois, and orphaned by the death of a devoted fa- 
ther at the age of nine years, James T. Bawker, 
now of Weston county. Wyoming, has passed 
almost his whole life in rural pursuits and has 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



75* 



been dependent on himself since an early period. 
He first saw the light of this world on December 
8, 1 84 1, and, in 1850, his father went, under the 
great excitement of the time, to the promising 
gold fields of California,- dying on his return home 
after a career there of varying success. His name 
was Ira Bawker, being a native of New York, 
who, as a young man, had come to the great 
prairie state of what was then the far West, with 
his bride, nee Rebecca Borthwick, also a native 
of the Empire state, and had there engaged in 
farming until the gold fever took him far from 
his home and family never to return alive. His 
widow survived his loss until 1891, and, until 
her death, continued the farming operations he 
had begun. Their son, James T. Bawker, re- 
mained at home until he was fifteen years old, 
attending the public schools of the neighborhood 
and assisting on the farm. He then started in 
life for himself by hiring out as a farm hand 
near his home and passed the next four years 
of his life in this occupation. In 1861 he removed 
to Goodhue county, Minn., and, "at the breaking 
out of the Civil War soon after, he enlisted as 
a member of the Third Minnesota Infantry in de- 
fense of the Union, following his convictions and 
the flag of his country through three years of 
bloody strife, seeing much of the hardship and 
arduous service of war in its worst form, re- 
turning in 1864 to his former Illinois home with 
an honorable discharge from the army and the 
consciousness of having maintained, on every field 
and in every crisis, the good name of the Amer- 
ican citizen soldiery, which has been won in every 
war in which it engaged. He remained and 
farmed in his native county until 1871, in that 
year going to Mitchell county, Kan., where he 
took up land and continued farming operations 
until 1884. In June of that year he sold out 
and came to Wyoming, locating in Crook coun- 
ty and beginning a prosperous and expanding 
business in the stock industry near Sundance. 
Two years later he transferred his base of oper- 
ations to his present ranch on Skull Creek, twen- 
ty-eight miles northwest of Newcastle, and has 
since been fully occupied there with his stock 
and farming interests. His ranch consists of 



640 acres of excellent land, with sufficient vari- 
ety of altitude and quality to form a very de- 
sirable estate and yield the best results in agri- 
cultural products and grazing features. A large 
portion is under irrigation and in a high state 
of cultivation, while the improvements are suit- 
able in character and sufficient in scope for the 
purposes of the ranch. They are modern in 
style, convenient in arrangement and substantial 
in structure. On this pleasant and productive 
estate, Mr. Bawker has resided for half a genera- 
tion of life in company with the wife of his 
youth, who still abides with him, and with whom 
he married on October 11, 1866, in Jo Daviess 
county, 111., where her parents, as well as his, 
were pioneers and substantial farmers. Before 
her marriage she was Miss Catherine Brickler, 
a daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth (Rinds- 
bacher) Brickler, the former a native of Canada 
and the latter of Switzerland. The Bawkers have 
three children, Ira S., a prosperous farmer and 
stockman of Weston county, mentioned on an- 
other page of this work, Ernest A. and Nellie A., 
now Mrs. Davis. Mr. Bawker is a Republican in 
politics, but not an active partisan. He is one 
of the oldest settlers in this section, who has 
contributed essentially to its growth. 

. J. GEORGE BEEHLER. 

The subject of this brief review is a native 
of Germany, having been born in the Fatherland, 
on April 15, 1864, the son of J. George and Mary 
(Deininger) Beehler, natives of Germany. His 
father followed the occupation of a weaver in his 
native country, residing in Sachsenhausen, and 
remained there up to the time of his death, which 
occurred there in 1880. The mother passed away 
in Germany in 1887, and was buried by the side 
of her husband in the soil of the Fatherland. The 
subject of this review grew to manhood in his 
native land, receiving his early education in the 
schools of Sachsenhausen, remaining at home un- 
til he had attained the age of eighteen years. In 
1882, his imagination was fired by reports of the 
opportunities for advancement existing in the 
great country beyond the sea, and he determined 



752 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



to seek his fortune in the New World. Leaving 
the home of his childhood at the early age of 
eighteen years, with no capital except a few dol- 
lars of his meager savings and the blessing of 
a good mother which has attended him through- 
out all his life, he took ship and sailed away to 
America. Arriving here in due time he first 
went to Oilman, 111., where he secured employ- 
ment in a wagonmaking establishment and re- 
mained there for three years and during this 
time he acquired a thorough knowledge of the 
wagonmaking trade. In 1885 he removed his 
residence from Illinois to Nebraska, where he 
established himself at Wood River, and continued 
to follow his occupation of wagonmaking. He 
remained here, engaged in that pursuit, until he 
came to Greeley, Colo., where he was offered and 
accepted a position with the F. E. Smith Imple- 
ment Co., one of the largest concerns dealing in 
agricultural implements in the state of Colorado. 
He remained in the employ of this company until 
the early part of 1893, when he resigned his po- 
sition for the purpose of engaging in business for 
himself, and opened a carriage shop at Greeley. 
This business he conducted successfully about 
one year, when he disposed of it and came to 
the state of Wyoming. Arriving here in January, 
1894, he purchased the farm which he still owns 
and occupies, situated on Wheatland Flats, about 
four and one-half miles northwest of the city of 
Wheatland. He was the first settler on these 
flats and has remained there since that time, con- 
tinuously engaged in the combined occupation of 
farming and stockraising. He has met with con- 
siderable success, and now is the owner of a fine 
farm, well fenced and improved, with a com- 
fortable brick residence and many evidences of 
thrift and prosperity. He has found this life more 
profitable, as well as more congenial and attend- 
ed with less risks than his former business of car- 
riage and wagonbuilding. When at Wood River, 
Neb., 011 April 15, 189T, Mr. P.cehler was united 
in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Etta Burmood. 
a native of Illinois, and the (laughter of Peter 
and Lottie (Sparks) Burmood, the former a na- 
tive of the empire of Germany, and the latter 
of the state of Illinois. The father formerly fol- 



lowed farming in the latter state, subsequently 
removing to Nebraska, where he continued in 
the same business near Wood River, where his 
home is now located. To Mr. and Mrs. Beehler 
two children have been born, J. Elmer and Etta, 
both of whom are living. In 1897 Mr. Beehler 
was so unfortunate as to lose his wife, she pass- 
ing away on the 20th day of May, in that year, 
being buried at Wood River, Neb. The subject 
of this sketch is one of the most highly respected 
citizens of his section of the state. His habits 
of thrift, industry and frugality, which he in- 
herited from his sturdy German ancestors, have 
enabled him to build up a good business in the 
land of his adoption, and he is now the owner of 
a fine property, which is gradually being added 
to from year to year. 

GEORGE A. BELL. 

Born in Indiana, reared in Ohio and Pennsyl- 
vania until he was seventeen years of age, then 
living 'in Kansas until 1887, when he became a 
pioneer of Wyoming, George A. Bell, of near 
Bonanza, Bighorn count}', has seen human life 
in man}- places and has been in contact with the 
institutions peculiar to several states. His par- 
ents were Charles and Catherine Bell, the former 
a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ger- 
many. When he reached the age of seventeen, 
turning his back on every local tie, he determ- 
ined to make his own way in the world and sought 
the undeveloped West as the field of his opera- 
tions. He reached Garnett, Kan., where he re- 
mained for a short time. From there he went 
to Colorado, and, in 1887, came to Wyoming, 
and, settling in Johnson county, engaged in the 
lumber business. In 1891 he located his present 
ranch and has occupied it ever since. It repre- 
sents the fruition of his hopes in an industrial 
way, being the product of his toil and taste in 
the way of improvement and present comfort, 
fertility and equipment. Virgin soil when he 
took possession, on which the hand of systematic 
labor had never been employed, it stands forth 
now a tribute to his enterprise and skill, his pro- 
gressiveness and public spirit, being a model to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



753 



the neighborhood, one of the most attractive and 
desirable homes in his section of the county. 
It comprises 320 acres of excellent land, much 
•of it under advanced cultivation, and he has on 
it 250 fine cattle. In addition to his ranch and 
cattle interests he owns valuable coal land, which 
is now being developed and shows promise of 
great results. Everything he touches receives an 
accelerated forward motion, and- this industry 
will not be an exception to the rule. On the con- 
trary he has his other interests so well in hand, 
and his various fields of labor so systematized, 
that he is able to give to the development of his 
mines more earnest and active attention than 
. heretofore, and to thus secure a more active 
production of their hidden stores of wealth and 
at the same time build up increased industries in 
their neighborhood. Mr. Bell was married at 
Tensleep, in this county, in 1897, to Miss Blanche 
Lockhart, a native of Iowa. They have one child, 
their daughter, Irene. In every line of commer-* 
cial, industrial, educational and social progress, 
Mr. Bell is present with sympathy, encourage- 
ment, and, where it is possible, with substantial 
aid. He has prospered in this country, and has 
helped to build it into its present state of progress 
and development. It is now his permanent home 
and, in a measure, the product of his influence 
and efforts. He therefore has an abiding inter- 
est in its welfare, and is earnest and constant in 
showing that interest in practical ways of value. 
To such citizenship as his, the great Northwest 
owes its rapid and enduring progress. 

GEORGE A. BENEDICT. 

Born on October 7, i860,, at Arlington, Ben- 
nington county, Vermont, on the very same street 
where Ethan Allen lived so long ago, reared and 
primarily educated in that old New England 
town, and finishing his course at an academy in 
Manchester, which is one of the oldest in the 
United States, George A. Benedict, of Upton, 
Wyoming, is far from the scenes and associations 
of his early life, engaged in pursuits almost un- 
known to his native place. His parents, Charles 
and Esther (Burton) Benedict, were also natives 



of Vermont and prosperous farmers, as farming 
goes in that state. The father died in 1898 and 
the mother in 1900, and both are buried in Ar- 
lington, where their useful lives were passed, 
their home being, as has been noted, located on 
the street of that town which has the historic dis- 
tinction of being the one on which stood the home 
of that remarkable patriot, Ethan Allen, during 
the closing years of his life. After leaving school, 
George A. Benedict worked with his father on 
the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, 
then, after a year of effort in his native state on 
his' own account, he came to Missouri, and, lo- 
cating at Sedalia, began business in the sheep in- 
dustry. In a few months, however, he gave this 
up and, going to Independence, went to work 
on a sheep ranch. In the autumn of 1883 he 
drove a large flock of sheep from Lexington, Mo., 
to Mitchell county, Kan., and there spent three 
years in the sheep business for himself, b^ing 
one of the largest sheepmen in that part of the 
country. In the fall of 1886 he removed his stock 
to Buffalo county, Neb., where he sold them. 
He then accepted employment with Swift & Co. 
as a buyer and superintendent of outfits, cover- 
ing the territory embraced in Montana, Wyoming 
and Utah, with his headquarters in Nebraska. 
His duties were to buy sheep and look after the 
outfits which took them back to Nebraska to 
be fed. After some years he also did sheepshear- 
ing for the firm. He remained in their employ 
thirteen years. He took up his residence in Wy- 
oming in 1897 and lived at Newcastle until 1901. 
In January of that year he resigned his position 
with Swift & Co., and formed a partnership with 
C. L. Erickson, for the purpose of conducting 
an extensive sheepshearing business. They have 
two plants for this industry, one in Wyoming 
and one in Montana, and, that they sheared in 
1902 more than 150,000 sheep, indicates the mag- 
nitude of the business. The firm-name is Bene- 
dict & Erickson, and it is well known throughout 
the sheepraising country. Mr. Benedict is also 
interested in various commercial enterprises, 
among them being the Cambria Live Stock Co., 
running sheep in Weston county, Wyo., in which 
he is a stockholder. He is also manager of all 






754 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the outside interests of the company, and, under 
his skill and care, they have been prospered and 
greatly multiplied. In fraternal relations he is 
connected with the order of Freemasons and with 
the order of Red Men, holding membership in 
lodges at Arlington, Vt. In politics he is an act- 
ive Republican, deeply interested in the success 
of his party and contributing his share toward 
its advancement. 

GEORGE W. TIBBETS. 

Although comparatively a young man, it is 
no exaggeration to say that George W. Tibbets, 
whose productive estate is situated on Mill 
Creek, about eighteen miles south of Evanston, 
Wyoming, ranks as one of the leading business 
men of his section. Possessed of a clear and a 
sober judgment, he belongs to that class ^f men 
which always leaves its impression forciblv and 
strongly upon the communities where they re- 
side. His energy, enterprise, shrewdness and 
integrity have ever been marked and pro- 
nounced factors in his gratifying success in 
business and in social life. Mr. Tibbets was 
born in Rensselaer county, N. Y., on May 26, 
1863, the youngest son of Lester G. and .Emily 
Tibbets, who were likewise of the Empire state, 
and his paternal grandfather, also George W. 
Tibbets, was a native of that state. He early 
married Miss Ellen Greene, who was born in 
Massachusetts and was like her husband de- 
scended from prominent and illustrious fami- 
lies of that state, connected with the various 
departments of the development, progress and 
prosperity of the commonwealth from early 
Colonial days, members of both families having 
been represented in professional, industrial and 
military circles. General Nathaniel Greene, of 
Revolutionary fame is perhaps the most nota- 
ble one of the Greene family. Lester Tibbets 
was a farmer in Rensselaer and Scoharie coun- 
ties, N. Y., and his marriage to Emily Cook oc- 
curred in Huntersland, Scoharie county. They 
had four children, Co':a F., who married Dr. 
II. II. Weyburn of Geneva, N. Y., and died 
leaving five children ; Louis D., who resides in 



Argenta, Mont. ; Annie, who died at the age of 
five years ; George W., left an orphan at the age 
of six years by the death of his mother, who 
passed away when thirty-six years old, and 
was buried in the beautiful little rural cemetery 
at Huntersland. George \V. Tibbets received 
the educational advantages of the excellent 
public schools of the county of his nativity until 
he attained the age of nineteen years. He then 
commenced his independent course of business 
for himself by becoming a farmer in New York, 
where he continued agricultural operations for 
about eight years. The West, with its possi- 
bilities for better remuneration for earnest and 
energetic labor, attracted him and he went first 
to Kansas, later becoming a resident of Salt 
Lake City, Utah, where for about eighteen 
months he conducted a profitable meat business. 
He came to Wyoming in 1889 and located upon 
a . quarter-section of government land, a portion 
of his present valuable property on Mill Creek, 
Wyo., where he now maintains his home, having- 
erected thereupon a commodious residence of 
modern architecture and design, one of the 
pleasantest homes in a wide range of country ; 
and here he has been and is extensivelv en- 
gaged in stockraising. He now owns 1,120 
acres of valuable land, and in addition to this 
rural estate he leases for grazing purposes one 
section of state land. His business operations 
have steadily increased and have been con- 
ducted with wise judgment and discriminating 
care, his herds of cattle being numerous and of 
the best quality. Mr. Tibbets has always taken 
an active part in local and public affairs and is 
the present efficient road superintendent of his 
district and for a number of years he has been 
the treasurer of his school district. He is an 
earnest supporter of the principles and policies 
of the Republican political party, with which he 
has been identified since he became a voter. 
He was married on March 21, 1882, in Hunt- 
ersland, X. Y., with Miss Missoura Swart, a 
daughter of Daniel A. and Caroline (Wagner) 
Swart, and also a native of New York. Her 
father was a son of David Swart. David Swart 
was a native of Germany, he marrying, how- 



■ .; :; i . ■ .: ;: 



■ ' : ■ ' : ' ■■:■..:■■ ■ ■ ' ■ ■ :;.:; : 




PROGRESSIVE- MEN OF WYOMING. 



755 



ever, a lady named Green, who was born in 
New York, which state was also the birthplace 
of the parents of Mrs. Tibbets. Mr. and Mrs. 
Tibbets have five children, Viola C, who mar- 
ried Jonathan Jones, Jr., and resides on Mill 
Creek; Flora E. ; Cora F. ; Esther G., and George 
W. Mr. Tibbetts is always willing to give his 
time, money and influence to promote the inter- 
ests of his community and the public in general, 
while his home is a home of marked hospitality 
and had he paid the same attention to public 
matters that he has to his successful business 
operations, he has the qualities that might easily 
have carried him well into the front of official 
life. He is truly a self-made man and is always 
ready to help along and advance every worthy 
public enterprise and private benefaction. 

JOSEPH BENZON. 

Among the most prominent of the native-born 
American stockmen of Uinta county, Wyoming, 
is Joseph Benzon, whose ranch is on Mill Creek, 
eighteen miles southeast of Evanston. He was 
born in Salt Lake county, Utah, on January 10, 
1869, the fourth of the eight children that con- 
stituted the family of Andrew B. and Katie 
(Wickle) Benzon, the former of whom was a 
native of Denmark and the latter of Germany. 
Andrew B. Benzon was still a young man when 
he came to America and was an ardent worker in 
the church of the Latter Day Saints. He was 
married at Nauvoo, 111., to Katie Wickle, a 
daughter of Herman and Katheryn Wickle, whose 
eight children were born in the following order : 
Elenora, deceased, "wife of H. A. Silver, of Salt 
Lake; Andrew B., Jr., married and also a resi- 
dent of Salt Lake ; Edward, deceased ; Joseph, 
whose name heads this biographical notice ; Min- 
nie, wife of William Afflick, of Salt Lake City; 
Arthur, deceased ; Owen, and another whose 
name was not given to the writer. In 1849 An- 
drew B. Benzon settled in Salt Lake City, where, 
for a number of years, he was engaged in the 
drug business and then was in the drygoods trade 
until his death, which occurred on July 22, 1901, 

at the age of sixty-eight years, his remains being 

47 



interred in the cemetery of the Latter Day Saints. 
His widow, one of the most domestic and amiable 
of women, still retains her residence in Salt Lake 
City. Joseph Benzon received a good and prac- 
tical education in Salt Lake City, and there, also, 
learned the machinist's trade, which he followed 
at Salt Lake until he came to Uinta county, Wyo., 
in 1899. Here, in partnership with his brother- 
in-law, H. A. Silver, he purchased the tract of 
600 acres on which he still lives and engaged in 
stockraising and in dealing in cattle, in which 
business he has met with unqualified success. Al- 
though his residence in Wyoming has hardly ex- 
ceeded three years, he has proven himself to be 
no "tenderfoot," but a hardy and vigorous fron- 
tiersman, equal to all the emergencies and re- 
quirements necessary to be possessed by a dweller 
in a new and rugged country, diversified, though 
Uinta county is, with broad-spreading plains and 
steep and precipitous hills and mountains. Mr. 
Benzon has done much toward the improvement 
of the face of the country in the immediate vicin- 
ity in which his ranch is located, and his ranch 
itself is a model of thrift and neatness. Having 
been reared by most respectable and well-in- 
formed parents, he is well qualified, through his 
personal attainments, to elevate to a high plane 
of thought and refined civilization any commun- 
ity in which he may by chance happen to live, and 
his upright life and habits of industry wield a 
powerful influence over all his neighbors, who 
have not been slow to recognize his merits in 
these respects. He has, solely through his indus- 
try, acquired a competency, and stands today 
among Uinta county's most prominent citizens. • 

M. J. BLAKE. 

The development of the new states of the 
Rocky Mountain region has called into its service 
able men from many nationalities and from all 
sections. Conspicuously, however, among them 
appear sons of the state of Missouri, who have* 
here achieved grand results and wonderful suc- 
cess as captains of great industrial operations. 
Among this number is M. J. Blake, of Cumber- 
land, Uinta county, Wyoming, who has long de- 



756 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



voted himself with a tireless industry to capable 
and energetic labors in coal mining, and who, 
today, as a symmetrical result of his merits, is 
occupying the distinctly important position of 
foreman of Mine No. 2 at Cumberland, Wyo. 
It is the mission of this publication to give a 
review of the lives of such men, that they may 
be preserved and handed down to coming gen- 
erations as examples of what true ability will 
accomplish, even when totally unaided by the 
adventitious support of inherited wealth or high 
position. Mr. Blake was born on November 25, 
1864, in. Macon county, Mo., a son of Michael and 
Ellen (Keating) Blake, both of the parents being 
natives of Ireland. The father was long in the 
railroad service of this country and finally lo- 
cated on the farm in Missouri where he and his 
faithful wife still hold their residence. Three 
of their eight children survive, and our subject 
was the fourth of the number in order of birth. 
Agnes is a. graduate of a business college at 
Quincy, 111., and is now located in St. Louis, Mo. 
Johanna is another member of the family, and 
M. J. Blake is the third. He received a good 
common-school education in the schools of Mis- 
souri, and when twenty years of age he engaged 
in coal mining in his native state, following this 
occupation consecutively for four years, and un- 
til 1888, when his ambitious courage brought 
him to Wyoming. Here he was actively engaged 
in his former employment for nine years at Rock 
Springs, success steadily following his persistent 
efforts. He opened up and developed the Blair 
mine, during the interval of time from 1888 to 
'1892 having entire charge of its operation. From 
1892 to 1897 he was in service as weighman for 
the U. P. Coal Co., at Rock Springs, while for 
the succeeding four years he was the foreman of 
a mine at Frontier, in all of these stations showing 
industry, care and steady devotion to his em- 
ployers' interests. In 1901 he came to Cumber- 
land, his present residence, where he has been in 
charge as foreman of the opening and developing 
of Mine No. 2, giving the best of satisfaction by 
his businesslike procedures and attaining good re- 
sults. Mr. Blake has other and important busi- 
ness associations, among them he is connected 



with the Kemmerer Oil and Development Co., 
and also with the Fossil Consolidated Co., hold- 
ing a position in the directorate of the first named 
corporation. A thoughtful and patriotic citizen, 
it is to be expected that Mr. Blake would take 
a vital interest in the questions of the day, and in 
public matters affecting the weal of the commun- 
ity, the state and the nation. He warmly sup- 
ports and advocates the principles of the party 
which stands for his views, and in 1900 was 
its nominee for sheriff of Uinta county, polling 
a more than normal vote and clearly indicating 
his personal popularity. He was in attendance 
at the national convention of his party held at 
Kansas City and spares neither time nor his 
personal energies in its service. Mr. Blake wed- 
ded, at Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 28, 
1898, Miss Elizabeth Welch, a daughter of 
Byron and Martha (Welch) Welch, a lady of un- 
usual ability and culture, who is a leading mem- 
ber of the local Baptist church and the. present 
superintendent of its large Sabbath-school. She 
comes of fine old English stock, domiciled since 
Colonial days on Virginia soil, and there her 
parents were born, her father being a man of in- 
fluence, a member of the State Legislature and 
also holding other offices of trust with con- 
ceded ability. He died in Virginia in 1887 aged 
forty-five years, surviving his wife, who preced- 
ed him in 1885 at the age of thirty-eight years. 
Of their nine children, seven are now living. Mr. 
Blake is a member of the Catholic church and 
belongs to Rock Springs Lodge, No. 624, Be- 
nevolent Protective Order of Elks. The fam- 
ily stands in a very high position in the esteem 
of the people, their home being a center of 
gracious hospitality. 

WILLIS J. BOOTH. 

The men of nerve and enterprise who con- 
duct the vast and fruitful industries of the Big- 
horn basin are fortunate in having available 
for their needs banking facilities ample in scope, 
responsive in action and adapted to specific 
wants. Such facilities are furnished in part by 
the Bighorn County Bank, of Basin, of which 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7S7 



Willis J. Booth has been president from its or- 
ganization, in which he was one of the leading 
factors. Mr. Booth is by nature and attain- 
ments a financier, and this institution, and oth- 
ers involving the use of large sums of money, 
afford scope for his capacities and his aptfulness 
in this department of commercial activity. He 
is a pioneer of 1879 in Wyoming, and has there- 
fore spent the most fruitful and serviceable por- 
tion of his life among this people, coming 
among tliem before he reached his majority, 
becoming an element of force in their midst 
by immediate adaptation to the genius of the 
region, and to the .habits, conditions and insti- 
tutions which were prevalent therein. Mr. 
Booth is a native of Wisconsin, where his useful 
life began on July 27, 1862. His father, Will- 
iam Booth, came to this country from his native 
England in his youth and settled in Pennsyl- 
vania. There he married with Miss Betty C. 
Jenks, and soon after their marriage they re- 
moved to Wisconsin, where their son, Willis 
was born. In 1872, when he was ten years old, 
they removed to Olmsted county, Minn., and a 
year later, to Albert Lea, in Freeborn county. 
For five years his home was at that place, and 
there he completed his meager schooling. In 
1878, at the early age of sixteen, he started in 
life for himself, and, a year later, in 1879, came 
to Wyoming and located at Laramie. In that 
neighborhood he rode the range for a period of 
seven years, then came to the Bighorn basin 
and located a homestead on Paint Rock Creek, 
where he engaged in ranching, stockgrowing 
and rangeriding until 1891. At that time he 
sold out and took up his present ranch on the 
same stream. This estate comprises 440 acres 
of land, especially well adapted to the stock 
business, and here he has a herd of 250 fine cat- 
tle and 100 good horses. Throughout his life 
Mr. Booth has been industrious and thrifty. His 
early accumulations were small and slow in 
reaching an appreciable magnitude. But the 
blandishments of social life and the seductive 
smiles of sport were alike unnoticed by him, and 
he saved his earnings for future use in enterprises 
of greater volume and of more elevated charac- 



ter than the work in which he was then en- 
gaged ; and so, in time, he had capital, and in 
acquiring that capital he had won the confi- 
dence of those around him. He associated with 
him a few congenial men and organized the 
Bighorn County Bank at Basin and became its 
president. The institution has prospered from 
its inception, and, under his careful and pro- 
gressive management, it has greatly enlarged 
the volume of its business and the body of its 
clientele. It has, moreover, been a reservoir 
of monetary strength to the community and 
poured streams of benefaction among its peo- 
ple. He is also a heavy stockholder in the 
Bighorn Canal Co., giving a due share of his 
time and attention to its affairs. In local pub- 
lic affairs he has always taken a deep and ser- 
viceable interest, and has served his party well 
as a soldier in the ranks and in its responsible 
official stations. He was elected county clerk 
in 1898 and was reelected in 1900, and rendered 
very creditable service to the county in that 
position. Of the fraternal societies esteemed 
among men he has united with but one, the 
Modern Woodmen of America. At Hyattville, 
Wyoming, in 1892, he was married to Miss 
Hattie Allen, a native of Colorado, but for a 
number of years preceding her marriage a resi- 
dent of this state. They have two children, 
James W. and F. Allen Booth. Mr. Booth is uni- 
versally recognized as a leading and representa- 
tive citizen of the county, and enjoys in a 
marked degree public esteem and confidence. 

EDWARD J. BRANDLEY. 

It is a far cry from the studies of a polytech- 
nic school and the industrial activities of bridge 
construction in the East to the free, unfettered 
and independent life of a prosperous stockman 
in western Wyoming, but Edward J. Brandley, 
now . residing on Hani's Fork Creek in Uinta 
county, Wyoming, has experienced this great 
transformation. He comes of good parentage, 
his father, James Brandley, a native of New 
York, being an educated gentleman and a piano 
manufacturer of Troy, that state. He was a 



758 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



man of quiet and home-loving ways, but was 
a valued and prominent member of the Masonic 
fraternity. He married Ann E. Rodner, also 
a native of New York, but, like her husband, of 
Swiss ancestry, and they had four children, Ed- 
ward J., Matilda, deceased, Albert R., now a 
business man of New York City, and Emma T., 
now wife of Joseph G. Converse, of Selma, Ala. 
The mother died in St. Louis, Mo., on Febru- 
ary 7, 1870, the father surviving her to the hale 
old age of eighty years, when he departed this 
life in New Jersey on December 18, 1899. Mr. 
Brandley was born on August 14, 1844, in the 
beautiful city of Troy, N. Y., and received his 
early educational discipline in the excellent 
schools of New York City and St. Louis, Mo., 
and supplemented this education by a thorough 
technical course of instruction in the polytech- 
nic school of St. Louis, being thereafter em- 
ployed by the St. Louis Bridge Co. on the 
great bridge crossing the Mississippi at that 
city, for the long term of fourteen years, this 
protracted tenure of place demonstrating con- 
clusively the ability and the valuable services of 
Mr. Bradley. Commencing as an office boy, 
step by step, he climbed the ladder of promo- 
tion, becoming the chief clerk of that great cor- 
poration, then for seven years holding the re- 
sponsible position of its purchasing agent. In 
1882 the great West attracted him, and he estab- 
lished a mercantile business in Salt Lake City, 
which, after successively conducting it for two 
years, he sold and transferred his energies to 
stockraising, becoming identified with the Wa- 
satch Stock Co. In 1897 he homesteaded the 
place on Ham's Fork, where he now maintains 
his residence, and he has increased his acreage 
until he now has an estate of 320 acres, princi- 
pally consisting of rich bottom land, which is 
kept in the best condition by the most improved 
methods of agriculture. This property is giv- 
en over to the raising of fine grades of sheep 
of which he runs large bands, conducting his 
business with discrimination and care, and se- 
curing the best of results, and holding a high 
position in the minds of the people, who consider 
him as one of the best types of the representative 



sheepmen of the state. Mr. Brandley and Miss 
Mary E. Dolar, a daughter of Andrew and Car- 
oline (Hughes) Dolar, were united in matri- 
mony on July 28, 1897, and at their pleasant 
home she dispenses a truly western hospitality. 
Mr. Brandley is fully in accord with the principles 
and policies of the Republican party, earnest in 
support of its cause, manifesting also great pub- 
lic interest in all matters tending to the im- 
provement of the community and state. 

ALBERT W. BRISTOL. 

Among the progressive and enterprising 
men who are doing so much to build up the 
industries of the state of Wyoming, and to 
make it, as it is destined to become, one of the 
leading commonwealths of the American Un- 
ion, is Albert W. Bristol, of the city of Chey- 
enne. He is a native of the Green Mountain 
state, born on July 23, 1852, at Vergennes, Ver- 
mont. He is the son of Philo and Prudence 
(Rugg) Bristol, the former a native of Ver- 
mont, and the latter of Massachusetts. His fa- 
ther was a merchant, residing at Vergennes, 
where all his life he was engaged in mercantile 
pursuits, and where he passed away in Janu- 
ary, 1885. The mother died at the old home in 
July, 1893, and the worthy people are buried 
side by side near the scenes of their former ac- 
tivities. Albert W. Bristol, of this review, grew 
to manhood in his native place and received 
his early education in the graded schools of 
Vergennes, and afterwards entered Barre Acad- 
emy, a well-known educational institution, be- 
ing graduated from this academy in the class of 
1 871. Upon the completion of his course of ed- 
ucation, he entered the employ of his father in 
a clerical position in the store at Vergennes, for 
the purpose of acquiring a practical knowledge 
of the mercantile business. Subsequently, 
however, he left this employment, and became 
a popular teacher in the public schools, where 
he remained until 1873. In that year, desiring 
to avail himself of larger opportunities of en- 
gaging in business than were offered him in 
his native state, he set out for the citv of Chev- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



759 



enne, in the territory of Wyoming. Upon ar- 
riving in that place, then a typical frontier town, 
the center of the stockgrowing industry, he 
gathered all the information possible with a 
view to engaging in the live stock business, and 
then proceeded to Fort Collins, Colo. Short- 
ly after his arrival at the latter place, he formed 
a partnership with W. N. Bachelder, and to- 
gether they embarked in sheepraising and wool- 
growing, following this business successfully 
at their ranch near Fort Collins for two years. 
They then divided their interests and holdings 
and closed their partnership. Mr. Bristol then 
leased his flocks of sheep on shares and moved 
his residence to Cheyenne, Wyo., where he 
remained until 1879, when, becoming restless 
to again engage in active business, he left his 
family in Cheyenne, and- purchased his present 
ranch at the headwaters of Bear Creek, about 
thirty-one miles north of Cheyenne. Here be- 
ginning with only 160 acres of land, he has 
extended his business and increased his hold- 
ings, until now (1902) he is the owner of 2,100 
acres of patented land, well fenced and im- 
proved and holds several thousand acres under 
lease from the state. His home ranch is one 
of the show places of Wyoming, being a model 
stockfarm, with fine buildings, barns and all the 
modern improvements and appliances. In 1897 
Mr. Bristol began handling thoroughbred Here- 
ford cattle, and in this industry he has been 
very successful, having now one of the finest 
herds in the West. He has also engaged in the 
business of dealing in registered Rambouillet 
rams, and has found this enterprise very prof- 
itable, while rendering very material assistance 
to his section of the state in the improvement 
of the grades of sheep. Up to 1899 he was ex- 
tensively engaged both in the sheep and wool 
business, but he then disposed of all his sheep 
interests, except his thoroughbred rams. He is 
also engaged in the raising of fine horses, con- 
fining himself to the best grades of riding and 
driving animals. In all his varied enterprises, 
Mr. Bristol has been very successful, and his 
business is now one of the largest, best man- 
aged, most extensive and most profitable in 



Wyoming. This has been due to his careful 
management, shrewd business judgment and 
progressive spirit. The keen intelligence, prac- 
tical common sense, and habits of industry 
which he inherited from his Vermont ancestry, 
have stood him in good stead, and he is now 
counted as one of the most successful and sub- 
stantial business men of his state. On July 7, 
1876, Mr. Bristol was united in marriage at 
Fort Collins to Miss Jennie Nickson, of that 
place. Two children have been born to them, 
namely, Albert W. and Delia M. Politically, 
Mr. Bristol is affiliated with the Republican 
party, and takes an active interest in public af- 
fairs, although he has never sought or desired 
to hold a public office, his extensive business 
interests occupying his entire time and requir- 
ing his full attention. In recent years Mr. Bris- 
tol, in addition to his other interests, has en- 
gaged in buying and selling cattle. Each year 
he purchases large numbers of range steers, 
mostly in Texas and other southern states, and, 
after holding them until the conditions are 
favorable for a profitable sale, disposes of them 
in the markets of the North. He has found this 
branch of his business to be very remunerative 
when carefully conducted, and has been stead- 
ily enlarging his operations from year to year. 
He first began speculation in live stock when 
a young man, in 1877, and shortly after his ar- 
rival in Wyoming territory. In that year, short- 
ly after the great gold excitement in the Black 
Hills, in Dakota, when many thousands of peo- 
ple were flocking thither, he saw an opportunity 
for making a profitable sale of sheep for mutton 
in the markets of that section, and, gathering 
up a large herd in the vicinity of Fort Collins, 
he drove them to the Black Hills. Here he dis- 
posed of them at a large advance, which more 
than satisfied his expectattions. This trip was 
one that was fraught with many thrilling exper- 
iences, the Sioux Indians being then on the 
warpath, and it was necessary to exercise the 
greatest judgment and cool discretion to bring 
his animals through that country in safety, and 
to save the lives of the men in his employ. Mr. 
Bristol is a type of the successful, shrewd, hard- 



760 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



headed progressive men of the West, who by 
their energy, judgment and enterprise, have 
developed large business operations from small 
beginnings, and have laid the foundations of 
great states. He is one of the men whose de- 
sert has been even greater than his achieve- 
ment, and whose sterling qualities of character 
have won the high opinion and lasting esteem 
of all who know him. 

JOSEPH BROWN. 

To his stalwart English ancestry Mr. Joseph 
Brown, the subject of this review, is indebted 
for an inheritance of physical vigor, great pow- 
ers of endurance and a tenacity of purpose that 
have proven' of great benefit to him in his un- 
aided battle with life's conflicting forces. Handi- 
capped in many ways, commencing life in early 
childhood as a fatherless member of a family 
of ten children, labor has ever been his lot. He 
has diligently endeavored by industry, persist- 
ent endeavor and mental activity to rise su- 
perior to the conditions originally surround- 
ing him, and today he has the proud satisfaction 
of knowing that his position of independence 
has been worthily won by his own ability, and 
that his numerous friends honor and esteem 
him for his personal worth and good citizenship. 
Joseph Brown was born in 1842, in England, 
the son of John and Ann (Bartlett) Brown. His 
early years were passed in earnest strivings for 
an education and in laboring to aid in the sup- 
port of his widowed mother and brothers and 
sisters. Right loyally did he devote his ener- 
gies to this purpose, and may well feel a proud 
satisfaction in the faithful performance of fil- 
ial duties. This could be the best accomplished 
through labor in the mines, and here he toiled 
and planned, year after year, until, in 1866, he 
saw his way clear to the accomplishment of a 
long cherished purpose, his emigration from 
England. Crossing the Atlantic, he made his 
first American home at Pittsburg, Pa., and, af- 
ter remaining for five or six years, he came to 
Utah, and there, in 1872. to Almy, \Vyo. Here 
he again became connected with the mining in- 



dustry, following it steadily for many years, in 
the meantime entering a homestead claim of 
eighty acres, on which he engaged in cattlerais- 
ing, and where he has developed a fine property. 
He has never been an idler, always a producer 
of value to the land, and merits, and has ob- 
tained, the regards of the people of his home. 
Mr. Brown was first married to Miss Mary A. 
Jenkins, who died after a brief matrimonial ex- 
istence and was buried in Pennsylvania. His 
second marriage was with Miss Thirza Sims, 
a daughter of John and Mary A. (Phillips) 
Sims. (For ancestral history see the record of 
John Sims elsewhere in this volume.) They 
are the parents of the following named children : 
John; Mary A., deceased; Joseph; Sarah; Han- 
nah ; David ; Lizzie ; Rose ; Lillie, deceased ; 
Thirza ; Alfred, deceased. Mr. Brown deserves 
great credit for the earnest life he has lived and 
for the success he has attained. He is one of 
the representatives of a class, that, under the 
present progress of industrial methods and in- 
ventions, will soon be a matter of history, rather 
than a living entity, the sterling, honest, indus- 
trious English miner. He and also his family 
stand high in the regards of their associates 
and take part in all matters of public interest. 

CHARLES A. BUNCE. 

One of the prosperous and progressive 
sheepbreeders and business men of Lander is 
Charles A. Bunce, whose name is familiar 
throughout the social and business community 
as a synonym for courtesy, probity and energy. 
He was born in Utah on September 19, 1879, a 
son of Austin F. and M. Eleanor (Burns) Bunce, 
who were numbered among the early residents 
of Utah and as contributing forces to its devel- 
opment. The father died on October 16, 1901, 
aged forty-three years, leaving a large and 
profitable sheep business. He was a man of 
public spirit and enterprise, inheriting from 
prominent ancestors the best elements of pro- 
gressive American citizenship, enforcing them 
ever amid the activities of his useful life. His 
widow still survives. His father was Lewis 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



761 



D. Bunce, a cousin of Admiral Bunce of the 
U. S. navy, and his mother, Esther (Voorhees) 
Bunce, was a sister of Senator Voorhees. 
Charles A. Bunce received his scholastic train- 
ing in the schools of Utah, Wyoming and Cali- 
fornia, and was prepared for business in the 
Eastman Business University at Poughkeepsie, 
N. Y. On his graduation from college he was 
employed as .clerk and bookkeeper for his fa- 
ther, and, after several years passed in this ca- 
pacity, he took active charge of a sheep industry 
belonging to them, which now embraces one- 
half interest in 36,000 sheep. Large commercial 
enterprises also engage his attention, and an 
extensive real-estate business also demands his 
time and talents, together with the affairs of the 
local brewery and the Garfield mine, in both of 
which he has valuable interests, as he has also 
in valuable tracts of land in different parts of 
the county. But, although engrossed by a mul- 
titude of business affairs, he still finds time to 
cultivate and exemplify the graces and courte- 
sies of life in a social way, and to mingle with 
his fellows in two of the fraternal orders, hold- 
ing membership in Lander Lodge, No. 10, 
Knights of Pythias, and in Rock Springs Lodge, 
No. 625, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. 

' U. ROSS BUNCE. 

The great Northwest of the United States 
has been a legitimate domain for the conquest 
of man, and the story of his triumphs in sub- 
duing its wilds to subjection and fruitfulness 
is the proper theme of poetry and romance. It 
is the dominion of man over nature, of mind 
over matter, intensified and made more thrill- 
ing because of the conditions of unusual diffi- 
culty. Among the soldiers in this army of con- 
quest U. Ross Bunce, of Lander, Wyoming, 
and his parents, who were pioneers in Utah, 
are entitled to honorable mention. Mr. Bunce 
was born on June 14, 1876, in the present state, 
then territory, of Utah, the son of Lewis and 
Esther (Voorhees) Bunce, the former a New 
Yorker by birth and the latter a native of Illinois. 
After a career of marked usefulness and vigor- 



ous activity, both" parents were laid to rest be- 
neath the sod of their adopted state, the mother, 
in 1882, at the age of forty years, and the father, 
in 1900, at that of seventy-six years. They were 
among the early settlers in Utah and there lived 
the simple and diligent life of farmers, redeem- 
ing the virgin soil from its barbaric luxuriance 
of wild vegetation and bringing it into glad ser- 
vice for the sustenance and happiness of civil- 
ized society. They were the parents of ten 
children, seven of whom survive them and are 
useful citizens of the American republic. Their 
son, U. Ross Bunce„was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of his native city, and, after leav- 
ing school, he immediately engaged in rearing 
and handling sheep, on a scale commensurate 
with his talents for the business and his op- 
portunities for employing them. He is still con- 
ducting his chosen line of work in a profitable 
and expanding way, rising in importance with 
its development, making his due impress on 
the community as a man of excellent business 
qualifications and sterling integrity, studious 
of the general welfare, along with his own, and 
giving to his fellows the commendable example 
and influence of a good citizen. His ranch of 160 
acres, on the Muskrat Creek, and another, which 
he owns in the Bighorn basin, are models of 
thrift and of skillful cultivation, being also sup- 
plied with all the needed appliances for their 
work and exhibiting good taste and judgment 
in the disposition of their improvements and 
adornments. Mr. Bunce has from his early 
manhood taken an intelligent and forceful in- 
terest in public affairs, and has contributed his 
share' of the stimulus for their proper manage- 
ment. Fraternally, he is identified with the 
Knights of Pythias, holding membership in 
Lander Lodge, No. 10. He is universally es- 
teemed in his immediate neighborhood and has 
a host of friends wherever he is known. 

HON. JEROME F. BROWN. 

Prominent in business and politics, with a 
long and varied experience in several states and 
occupations, Hon. Jerome B. Brown, now of Big- 



762 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



horn, Wyoming, has had unusual opportunities 
for serving his fellow men and has made an 
excellent use of them. He is a native of New 
York, where he was born on July 9, 1835, the 
son of Theodore and Eliza (Stone) Brown, who 
were born and reared in Connecticut. Mr. 
Brown lived and attended school in his native 
place until he reached the age of sixteen. He 
then started out for himself in life, coming to 
Illinois and engaging in farming. In this pur- 
suit he was occupied for seven years, when he 
forsook it to engage in teaching. This he left 
in turn to engage in merchandising, and from 
that line of activity he transferred his activities 
to stockgrowing, which he followed in Illinois 
until 1880, then removed to the Red River Val- 
ley of Minnesota, and there started a wheat- 
raising industry, which for seven years he car- 
ried on with vigor and energy. In 1887, follow- 
ing his bent for frontier life, he came to Wyo- 
ming, homesteaded on his present location and 
actively engaged in stockgrowing, and this in- 
dustry he has pushed forward with enterprise 
and success ever since and until he has made it 
one of the leading adventures of its kind in 
this part of the state. His knowledge of affairs 
and his general fitness early marked him for ad- 
ministrative duties, and he was elected a mem- 
ber of the board of county commissioners, a 
position in which he rendered signal service to 
his young but ambitious county. In 1896 he 
was chosen to represent his people in the low- 
er house of the State Legislature, and in the 
field of legislation he continued the usefulness 
he had shown in that of local administration. 
For some years he had been prominent and act- 
ive in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
and, in 1898, he was elected grand master of 
the order for the state of Wyoming, at the 
close of his term of office being made state rep- 
resentative to the Grand Lodge of the United 
States. In 1859, in Ilinois. Mr. Brown was 
married to Miss Clementine A. Martin, a resi- 
dent of that state, but a native of New York, 
where her parents, Parley and Eliza J. Martin, 
were born and reared. Five children have 
blessed and brightened their domestic shrine. 



May, now married to D. W. Sulliday, of Illinois ; 
Clara, married to H. O. Davis, also of Illin- 
ois ; Nora, married to Frank Anderson, of Mon- 
tana ; Edna P., married to R. R. Wood of Wyo- 
ming ; Leroy M., residing in Montana. In what- 
ever community he has lived, Mr. Brown has 
been a leader of thought and action, an upright 
and model citizen, a valued public official and a 
stimulating civic force. His children, in their 
several localities and stations in life exemplify 
in their daily walk the lessons of thrift, integrity 
and progressiveness so carefully inculcated in 
the beloved parental homestead. 

GEORGE W. BURCH. 

Having learned by actual experience every 
phase of the cowboy's wild and strenuous life, 
enduring its hardships, courting its dangers, 
and modestly enjoying its triumphs, George W. 
Burch, of Marquette, in Bighorn county, Wyo- 
ming, was well fitted to go before the public 
in all parts of this land and also to appear be- 
fore the crowned heads of Europe and exempli- 
fy that life in mimic display, as he did for four 
seasons as the chief cowboy of Buffalo Bill's 
great Wild West aggregation. He is now a 
man of quiet pursuits, putting into practice, as 
the manager and part owner of one of the lead- 
ing cattle companies of this state, what he early 
learned of the business in a long and trying 
apprenticeship on the range of new Wyoming. 
Geo. W. Burch was born in Iowa in 1863, the 
son of James H. Burch, and when he was but 
twelve years old he left home and joined a 
stock outfit in the Black Hills. S. D., where he 
passed seven years and then, in 1882, he came 
to Wyoming, and, in this state and Montana, 
was in charge of a cattle industry on Tongue 
River. In 1887 he went to British Columbia 
and the Canadian Northwest Territory and while 
there spent three years in mining. In T890 he 
returned to Wyoming, and, locating at Sheri- 
dan, became the manager of the Grinnell Live 
Slock Co. In 1895 he joined Buffalo Bill as chief 
of the cowboys of his great exhibition, and re- 
mained with it in that capacity until 1899. He 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



763 



then resigned and came to the Bighorn basin, 
where he bought ranches and, in partnership 
with Capt. Jack Hagerman, fully organized the 
Shoshone Cattle Co. In this proposition they 
now own about 2,000 acres of land in an admir- 
able location, and most of it is well watered 
from their own irrigation ditch. Here they 
have 1,000 well-bred cattle, and carry on an ex- 
tensive stock industry. The estate of Mr. 
Burch, on the banks of the Shoshone River, is 
one of the most beautifully located and at- 
tractive residences in this part of the state, and 
he is everywhere recognized as one of the most 
enterprising and successful of Wyoming's 
stockgrowers. He pushes his business with 
commendable energy, omitting no effort neces- 
sary to the highest and best results, yet has al- 
ways time and active zeal to aid any worthy 
project for the benefit of the county and the 
advantage of its people. He holds membership 
in the Knights of Malta and in the Modern 
Woodmen of America. In 1897, he was mar- 
ried, in Pennsylvania, with Miss Lillian Wood- 
ward, a native of that state and a daughter of 
Lewis Woodward, who belongs to old and 
prominent Pennsylvania families. They have 
three children, George, Jr., Lillian and an in- 
fant. Their home is as attractive with a refined 
and generous hospitality within, as it is beauti- 
ful with natural and artistic adornment without, 
and is a very popular resort for their numerous 
friends, who prize its good cheer. 

JOSEPH BURGER. 

An early pioneer and an old soldier, whose 
career on the frontier has ever been full of ad- 
venture, Joseph Burger, now a successful ranch 
and stockman of Uva, Laramie county, Wyo- 
ming, is a native of Germany, born on February 
3, 1835, the son of Michael and Therisa Burger, 
both natives of Germany, where his father fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming, continuing in 
that pursuit up to the time of his demise. The 
subject of this review grew to man's estate in 
his native land, and received his early education 
in the public schools in the vicinity of his boy- 



hood's home. When he had attained to the age 
of seventeen years, the spirit of adventure, 
which had been increased by the reports which 
had come to him of the wonderful country ly- 
ing beyond the sea, became so strong that he 
determined to seek his fortune in the New 
World, so, in 1852, he bade farewell to his 
parents and the Fatherland and took ship for 
America. Upon his arrival in this country he 
proceeded first to New Orleans, where he re- 
mained for a short time, and then came to 
Louisville, Ky., where he secured employment 
on a farm in that vicinity for about six months 
and then came to St. Louis, Mo. Remaining 
in that city but a short time, he came to the 
Iron Mountain region of Missouri, and there 
secured employment in the lead mines, where 
he remained for about two years. In 1855, he 
returned to the city of St. Louis, where he en- 
tered as an apprentice in a machine shop for 
the purpose of learning the trade of machin- 
ist. After thoroughly learning the trade he se- 
cured employment in St. Louis, where he re- 
mained until i860. In the latter year he re- 
signed and removed his residence to Bargetown, 
Ky., where he resided about one year and then 
■ returned to St. Louis. Here, in March, 1861, he 
enlisted as a member of the Fifteenth Missouri 
Infantry, being assigned as a musician in the 
regimental band. In the fall of 1861 the regi- 
mental band was discharged, and, upon being 
mustered out of the service he again secured 
employment as a machinist and remained in 
St. Louis following that occupation until 1865, 
when he enlisted in the Ninth Regimental band 
of the regular army. He was first stationed 
at Omaha, where he remained until 1867, and 
then was transferred to Cheyenne, Wyo., sub- 
sequently being assigned to Fort Russell, in 
the same territory. Here he remained about 
thirty months, when his term, of service ex- 
pired, and he then accepted a position as man- 
ager of a hotel and roadhouse in the vicinity 
of Fort Russell, remaining in that connection 
for about five years. In 1875 ne disposed of his 
interest in the hotel, and, coming to the vicin- 
ity of the place where he now resides, located 



764 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



his present ranch on the North Laramie River, 
about three miles west of Uva, Here he en- 
gaged in ranching and cattleraising, which he 
has continued to the present time, increasing 
his business from year to year, and gradually 
adding to his holdings of both land and cattle. 
He was one of the earliest pioneers of this 
section of the state, one of the first men to 
notice the superior advantages of this locality 
as a cattleraising section. His ranch was the 
second one located on the North Laramie 
River, and he has seen the country in every 
stage of its development from its original fron- 
tier and savage condition to its present improve- 
ment and civilization. He has been successful 
in his business undertakings, and is now counted 
one of the solid business men and property own- 
ers of that section of the country, being highly re- 
spected by all classes of his fellow citizens. In 
May, 1862, while a resident of St. Louis, 
Mr. Burger was united in the bonds of wedlock 
with Miss Mary Benner, a native of Germany, 
and the daughter of a highly respected citizen of 
St. Louis, to which city he had removed from his 
native Fatherland. To Mr. and Mrs. Burger 
have been born seven children, Joseph, William, 
Jacob, Clara, Bessie, Lillie and Emma. The 
oldest son, Joseph, is the owner of a ranch ad- 
joining his father's place, and he is also in the 
cattle business, and the family is held in high 
esteem. Politically, Mr. Burger has all his life 
been a stanch adherent of the Republican party, 
although he has never sought or desired political 
office. 

CHARLES EUGENE BURKE. 

There are not many forms of industrial ac- 
tivity in the wild life of the Great West with 
which Charles E. Burke, now a prosperous stock- 
man, twenty miles north of Kemmerer, Wyo., 
has not been personally identified, in all of them 
showing race persistency, courage and unremit- 
ting industry, winning success where many would 
have failed. He was born in Chicago, 111., in 
[859, the son of Patrick Henry Burke and his 
good wife Mary H. (Kelley) Burke. He knew 



but little of city life, however, for he was but 
three years old when the family home was trans- 
ferred to Nebraska. The father was a native of 
Boston, Mass., his father being also Patrick H. 
Burke, born in New York city and a son of 
Henry Burke, the Irish emigrant,' who located in 
New York during the war of 1812. All of his 
paternal ancestors being skilled blacksmiths, it 
was but a matter of course that our subject's 
father should also learn that trade, which he fol- 
lowed successively and successfully in Boston, 
Montreal and Chicago. He was a man of great 
force of character and of unbounded energy, the 
very man to make his mark in enduring charac- 
ters upon the plastic conditions of a new country. 
His first business in Nebraska was the erection of 
the first house built in Beatrice, and which is 
now standing. Subsequent to this he was en- 
gaged in conducting large freighting operations 
for the Federal government between Nebraska 
City and old Fort Kearney, in which capacity he 
owned and utilized three large outfits, two drawn 
by horses and one by oxen. While thus en- 
gaged, he started on August 22, 1865. with a sin- 
gle team to overtake his ox train and was sur- 
rounded and killed by a war party of Cheyennes 
and Sioux, being then seventy-five years of age. 
He was one of those broad, generous, whole- 
souled men whose death is a distinctive loss, not 
only to the family circle, but to the community 
and the state. His wife was born and married 
him in Canada, being the daughter of John and 
Catharine (Young) Kelley, whose early ancestors 
were of mingled French and Irish lineage. Her 
birth occurred in 1834, and she died in 1868, be- 
loved by all who knew her. Charles E. Burke 
attended the Nebraska schools until # he was 
eighteen years old and then engaged in farming 
for himself in Gage county, of that state, but 
he did not remain there long, removing thence 
to Colorado, where he was a successful pros- 
pector and miner in the gold fields. His advent 
t'i Wyoming was in 1881, and there for over 
twenty years he has been connected with the 
active development of the state and a factor in 
creating its prosperity. His first business was 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



7 6- : 



filling a stage and mail contract he had taken 
from the U. S. government for the route be- 
tween Green River and Fort Wankee, following 
this for a year, thereafter engaging in successful 
mining operations for two years, then passing 
a vear in thorough exploration of California, 
ending this travel in Nevada, where he con- 
ducted ranching for two years, returning then 
to Wyoming, and making a permanent location 
on the fork, where, by his homestead and desert 
claims, he has acquired a fine estate of 320 acres, 
and is profitably carrying on a stock business 
that is sure to eventuate in large herds of high- 
grade cattle under his wise and discriminating 
care and here he has developed a very pleasant 
home. His energetic nature brings him into 
close relations with public matters and he is 
active in his political party, and prominent in 
school matters. He now holds by election the 
office of justice of the peace and is considered 
one of the county's representative men. He 
was married in 1894 to Miss Florence Grace 
Hopkins, a daughter of John W. and Mary E. 
(McMahan) Hopkins, of Kansas, where she 
was born. They have two children, Florence 
and Frankie, who cheer and bless the home. 

FINCELIUS G. BURNETT. 

The subject of this sketch is the head farmer 
at the Shoshone Indian agency, and he is a 
man who has had a most interesting and varied 
career on the western frontier. He has seen 
Wyoming grow from the desert and the wilder- 
ness, inhabited only by wild beasts and savages, 
to a prosperous and progressive commonwealth, 
on its rapid course to become one of the leading 
states of the American Union. Born in April, 
1844, Mr. Burnett is a native of the county of 
Lewis, Missouri, the son of Washington J. and 
Eliza (Fenley) Burnett, both natives of Ken- 
tucky. His father was one of the pioneer set- 
tlers of Missouri, having removed there from 
his native state when a young man. He long 
followed harness and saddlemaking, and was 
an extensive operator in that line of manufacture 



and merchandising. He was a man of local prom- 
inence in the community where he resided, taking 
an active part in public affairs, and was at one 
time the sheriff of Lewis county, Mo. He sub- 
sequently removed his residence to Texas, where 
he resided up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1896, at the age of seventy-seven 
years. The mother also passed away from earth 
in Texas, having there survived her husband until 
1900, when she had also attained to the age of 
seventy-seven years. To this worthy pair were 
born nine children, Samuel, who was killed in 
battle while a soldier during the Civil War; 
George W., now a resident of Lewiston, Mo. ; 
Fincelius C, the subject of this sketch; the Rev. 
Richard H. H. Burnett, now a prominent min- 
ister of the Christian church, residing in Dallas, 
Texas ; Eugene D., now a leading business man 
of Austin, Texas; Minerva, who died in infancy; 
James G., now engaged in business at Ennis, 
Texas ; Margaret, now the wife of Mack Als- 
brook, also of Ennis, Texas ; Sarah, now the wife 
of George Higginbotham, of the same place. F. 
C. Burnett received his early education in the 
public schools of Missouri, and he subsequently 
attended for a short time the Christian University 
at Canton Mo, Upon the breaking out of the 
Civil War he enlisted in the Monticello Grays, 
C. S. A. The greater part of the army service 
in which he participated was on the border. Af- 
ter the termination of the war he came to Omaha, 
Neb., where, in 1865, he entered the employ of 
A. C. Leighton, and came with the Powder River 
expedition of General Connor against the Indi- 
ans. The expedition came as far as Fort Cas- 
per and was in service some eleven months. 
During that time they had many thrilling ex- 
periences and narrow escapes. In October, 1865, 
they were surrounded t>y the Indians above Al- 
kali Station on the South Platte River. It was 
generally reported that all the members of the 
party had been killed and the wagon train burned, 
but, while their condition was desperate, they 
being only sixty-three in number, and surrounded 
by more than 400 bloodthirsty Indians, their total 
loss was twenty-two, of whom seventeen were 



766 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Omaha scouts. During the engagement six sol- 
diers volunteered to break through the line of 
Indians and they started to go to the military 
station to notify its commanding officer of their 
peril and secure relief, but only one of the par- 
ty, a lieutenant, reached the destination, the oth- 
ers falling on the way. Relief finally came, and 
thereafter Mr. Burnett returned to Omaha and, 
later, to his home in Missouri. In 1866 he again 
came to Omaha and engaged again with Mr. 
Leighton, coming this time to Fort Phil Kear- 
ney. He was subsequently employed at Fort 
Connor, afterwards called Fort Reno, on the 
Powder River, which had been built by the troops 
on the first expedition, and at other military posts, 
In 1868 he came to the North Platte, where for a 
time he was engaged in contracting on the Union 
Pacific Railroad. In 1869 he came to South 
Pass, Wyo., and there worked in the mines until 
1871, when he came to the valley where he now 
resides. He was associated with Doctor Irwin, 
and accepted the position of head farmer on the 
Shoshone reservation. He continued in this re- 
sponsible position for six years, and then individ- 
ually engaged in cattleraising, in which he met 
with considerable success. In 1896 he was again 
appointed head farmer on the reservation, in the 
duties of which he has continued to the present 
time. Prior to his entering the employ of the 
government, he was engaged in the jewelry busi- 
ness at Lander, Wyoming, but his place of busi- 
ness was destroyed by fire. Fraternally, he is 
affiliated with the Masonic order, being a mem- 
ber of Wyoming Lodge, No. 2, a Knight Tem- 
plar and a Royal Arch Mason. On March 2. 
1870, Mr. Burnett was united in marriage at 
Atlantic City, Wyo., to Miss Eliza A. McCarty, 
a native of New York. Eight children have been 
born to them, James, now engaged in the cattle 
business in Montana; Frank, the first white child 
born in this valley, now married and residing in 
the Jackson Hole country of Wyoming; Mar- 
garet, the wife of William L. Simpson, a leading 
attorney of Lander; William, who is engaged in 
the jewelry business at Lander; F. C, a stock- 
man of Fremont county ; Eva"; Ida C. ; Lynn. 



The family are members of the Episcopal church, 
although Mr. Burnett is a member of the Chris- 
tian church. He is also one of the leading citi- 
zens of western Wyoming, and has been largely 
instrumental in bringing about the present civilized 
condition existing in that section of the state. 
Through many years his life on the frontier has 
been crowded with experiences of the greatest 
interest, and he is a type of the hardy, fearless, 
just and successful men who have created the 
great western country of today. He is held in 
high esteem by all classes of men with whom he 
has been associated during his long and useful 
life, both in private life and in official station. 

O. W. BURLEIGH. 

This representative citizen of Almy, Wyo- 
ming, comes from one of the oldest and proudest 
families of England, where the name stands 
high on the rolls of knightly, military and pro- 
fessional achievement. The first American an- 
cestor emigrated from England to the Massachu- 
setts Colony not many years after the landing 
of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and representatives 
of the name are now found in nearly all of the 
states of the Union. Mr. Burleigh is a son of 
Ithiel and Sarah (Van Etten) Burleigh, and was 
born in Seneca county, N. Y., in 1848. The fa- 
ther, born in Connecticut in 181 8, learned the 
carpenter's trade and wrought at this in various 
locations, finally settling in the city of Corning, 
Steuben county, N. Y., where he now maintains 
his home. He is a son of John Burleigh, and his 
paternal ancestors gave faithful service in the 
early French and Indian Wars of New England 
and in the Revolution. Mrs. Sarah V. Burleigh 
was born in New York in 1821 and died in 1855, 
and lies buried in the beautiful cemetery at Corn- 
ing, N. Y. She was a member of the Presby- 
terian church and the mother of two children, 
O. W.. our subject, and Louisa, who died in 
1875 an d is also buried at Corning. Samuel Van 
Etten, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Burleigh, 
was a native of New York and for his soldierly 
conduct in the American army of the Mexican 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



767 



War, received a pension in his later years. The 
name is perpetuated in the village of Van Etten, 
lying on the border of Chemung and Tioga 
counties, N. Y. The early life of Mr. Burleigh 
was passed in attendance at the excellent public 
schools of his native state and still later in agri- 
cultural labors on a farm in western New York, 
he here attaining vigor and health, qualifying 
himself for the arduous life of a miner, in which 
so many of his subsequent years were passed. 
In 1875 he became identified with mining in the 
coal fields of Pennsylvania, and was profitably 
engaged therein until 1889, when he came to 
Almy, Wyo., and for five years was a miner 
here, then returning to Pennsylvania and its 
mining operations for a period of four years, 
when he again came to Almy, and he is now one 
of the popular citizens of that progressive town. 
Mr. Burleigh has been twice married. His first 
union was with Miss Ida Collins, at Corning, 
N. Y., in 1870. She was called from earth after 
a useful life of beneficent activity in 1892, leaving 
two children, Ithiel and Cecil. In 1899 occurred 
the marriage of Mr. Burleigh and Miss Mary 
Crompton, a native of Wyoming and a daughter 
of William and Hannah (Hobson) Crompton, 
of whom individual mention is made on other 
pages of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Burleigh have 
one child, an interesting lad, Glenn. 

GEORGE H. BURKHALTER. 

The popular and highly efficient president 
and general manager of the Opal Supply Co., 
whose name heads this article, is a native of 
Ohio and a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Fisher) 
Burkhalter, both parents being native of Ger- 
many. Peter Burkhalter was born near the city 
of Strasburg, province of Alsace, in 1834, the 
country at that time belonging to France. He 
was brought by his parents to the United States 
when young, the family settling in Muskingum 
county, Ohio. There he grew to maturity and 
married. Later in life he moved to Doniphan 
county, Kan., where he carried on a meat market 
until his retirement from business pursuits a few 



years ago. George H. Burkhalter himself was 
born in Taylorsville, Muskingum county, Ohio, on 
March 29, 1858, and, when a lad of nine years, 
he accompanied his parents to Kansas. His pre- 
liminary education, acquired in the common- 
schools of White Cloud, was supplemented by 
a full course of instruction at the University of 
Missouri, after which he engaged as clerk with 
a mercantile firm at White Cloud. Subsequently 
he opened a store of his own, which he conducted 
very successfully until 1899, when he disposed 
of his stock and came to Opal, Wyo. Here he 
was instrumental in organizing and incorporat- 
ing the Opal Supply Co., the object of the com- 
pany being to do a wholesale trade on an ex- 
tensive scale and furnish a base of merchandising 
supplies for neighboring towns and remote in- 
terior points, Mr Burkhalter, being the leading 
spirit in bringing about the organization, was 
elected president of the company, a position he 
still most capably holds. He is also the largest 
stockholder of the corporation and, in the ca- 
pacity of the chief executive and general mana- 
ger, he has increased the business to such mag- 
nitude that it is now one of the largest and most 
important enterprises of its kind in the state. 
The company carries a much larger stock of gen- 
eral merchandise than is found in many leading 
wholesale houses in metropolitan cities, and from 
the beginning, the trade, has grown in propor- 
tion, and extended in scope, until nearly all the 
outlying towns, within a radius of many miles, 
draw their supplies from this source. The man- 
agement of this extensive and far-reaching busi- 
ness calls for abilities of a very high order, and 
Mr. Burkhalter has fully met the requirement. 
By sound methods and careful control, supple- 
mented by close personal attention to details, he 
has won the unbounded confidence of all with 
whom he deals, and his prudent and eminentlv 
satisfactory course thus far insures the com- 
pany's future growth and prosperity. He is an 
intensely practical and far-seeing business man, 
considering well the end from the beginning, 
and laying his plans in harmony therewith. In 
matters of business policy, his judgment is sel- 



768 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



clom at fault, while his capacity for large enter- 
prises has led him to venture, with every pros- 
pect of success, into undertakings before which 
the man of ordinary caliber would retire in de- 
feat. His life has been exceedingly busy, if not 
eventful, and, that his efforts have been crowned 
with a much greater measure of success than 
falls to the average man, his present enviable 
position in the commercial world abundantly tes- 
tifies. In his social relations, Mr. Burkhalter 
enjoys the esteem of all who know him. He 
takes a deep interest in the growth of his town 
and the development of the county's resources, 
and gives his influence and aid to all legitimate 
enterprises having these objects in view. He is 
regarded by his acquaintances as a genial neigh- 
bor, a sincere and loyal friend, and, as a citizen, 
his upright, manly conduct has won an abid- 
ing place in the confidence of the public. Mr. 
Burkhalter married at White Cloud, Kan., on 
July 22, 1883, with Miss Katie Farncrook, a 
daughter of W. H. and Matilda (Maquirken) 
Farncrook, of Pennsylvania, and they have these 
children, Paul, Ada, Dana and Catherine. 

JOHN C. BURNS. 

Enjoying distinctive prestige as one of the 
representative stockmen of Laramie county, and 
being equally prominent as a public spirited citi- 
zen, the subject of this review has achieved much 
more than local repute in the recent history of 
his section of Wyoming. John C. Burns is a 
southerner, hailing from Chattahoochee county, 
Georgia, where his birth occurred on April 12, 
1 86 1. He is the son of John and Carrie (Fol- 
som) Burns, natives respectively of Scotland 
and of Georgia, the father coming to this coun- 
try a number of years ago, and settling in the 
latter state, where, for some years, he worked at 
hlacksmithing, but, in the early seventies, mi- 
grated to Texas, locating in the town of Tay- 
lor, where he is living at the present writing. 
Mrs. Burns departed this life in Georgia and 
was buried in the old Folsom cemetery in the 
county of Chattahoochee, where many of her an- 



cestors and immediate relatives have long been 
sleeping the sleep that knows no waking. When 
he was seventeen years of age, the immediate 
subject of this sketch entered upon an apprentice- 
ship with his father to learn blacksmithing and 
he remained in the latter's shop and employment 
at Taylor, Texas, for three years, meanwhile ap- 
plying himself diligently to the technical and 
special knowledge there to be acquired and be- 
coming a very efficient workman. After master- 
ing the trade he was hired by the Snyder Broth- 
ers to accompany their outfit to Wyoming and 
keep their horses well shod on the way. This 
task he performed to the satisfaction of his em- 
ployers, after which accomplishment he returned 
to Texas, where he did not long remain, going 
back to Wyoming in 1881 with the object in 
view of engaging in mining. After spending 
about one year prospecting and mining, with 
only fair results, Mr. Burns, in 1882, took charge 
of the blacksmithing department of the Wyo- 
ming Copper Co., and continued to act in that 
capacity until 1884, when he accepted a similar 
position in Colorado with the Colorado Copper 
Co. He remained in the latter state until August 
of the above year, when he severed his connec- 
tion with his employers and returned to Wyo- 
ming, then locating at Cheyenne, where he 
worked at his trade until the following fall. From 
Cheyenne he went to Hartville, where he spent 
the ensuing winter on assessment work in the 
mines and the next spring engaged with the 
Congress Cattle Co. After remaining with that 
company for two years, in the spring of 18S5. 
Mr. Burns- purchased of R. A. Proctor a ranch 
of 313 acres situated about four and one-half 
miles east of Guernsey, and turned his attention 
to cattleraising. From the beginning success 
appears to have crowned his efforts, for his ca- 
reer as a stockman, from that time to the pres- 
ent, has had few parallels in this section of the 
state. Additional to the above ranch, he has 
come into the ownership of other valuable lands 
at intervals, his holdings at this time amounting 
to over 1,800 acres, and he has also been obliged 
to lease a number of neighboring ranches in 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



769 



order to accommodate and successfully carry on 
his large and constantly growing- business. Mr. 
Burns came to Wyoming with but little avail- 
able capital and the remarkable strides he has 
made presents a series of continued successes 
rarely equalled among cattlemen of the great 
West. His business career shows him to be the 
possessor of rare judgment, keen discrimination 
and a forethought, which enables him to calculate 
with exactness the outcome of his various tran- 
sactions. In the broadest sense of the term, he is 
a progressive man, and to him is the county of 
Laramie largely indebted for much of its business 
prosperity. Coming to this country, poor in 
purse, but endowed with an energy akin to gen- 
ius, he has overcome every obstacle calculated to 
impede or discourage, and has mounted, step by 
step, the ladder of success, until he now occupies 
a proud position in the business world, such 
as few, under similar circumstances would or 
could have achieved. What his hand finds to do, 
he does with all the might of his strong aggress- 
ive nature, and, carefully considering the end 
from the beginning, he is rarely at fault in his 
calculations and seldom, if ever, makes mistakes. 
He is decidedly a western man. Few men of 
the county have done as much to promote the 
general welfare of the West and to advance the 
standard of citizenship and none exceed him in 
the hold he has obtained upon the confidence 
and esteem of the public. He was happily mar- 
ried on March 28, 1894, to Miss Efne Robinson, 
a native of Virginia, whose parents, James M. 
and Lucie Robinson, are still living in that state. 
Mr. and Mrs. Burns have a pleasant and attract- 
ive home, brightened by the presence of two in- 
teresting children, Carrie and Carl B. Burns. 

JOSEPH H. BROWN. 

Joseph H. Brown, of near Otto, Wyoming, 
was one of the early pioneers of the state, com- 
ing hither in 1889, and has passed the whole of 
his life on the frontier at one place or another, 
enduring all its hardships, braving all its dangers, 
engaging in all phases of its strenuous activi- 



ties, and winning success from the most ob- 
durate and unpromising of its conditions. He 
has lived long and actively in Wyoming, and, 
by fidelity to every duty, readiness for every 
emergency, zealous support of every civilizing 
agency and wise counsel as a leader of thought 
and effort at every period of her history since 
he came to reside among her people, he has been 
of signal service in the development and progress 
of the state and in the advancement and im- 
provement of her best interests. He was born 
in New York City on March 28, 1864, but was 
not allowed to remain long in this center of 
social culture and intense commercial life. When 
he was quite young his parents, William and 
Mary Brown, removed with their young family 
to western Kansas, and there he grew to man- 
hood and received a very limited common-school 
education, being obliged by the circumstances 
of the family and the conditions of the section 
of country in which he lived to begin earning 
his own living at an early age. He secured his 
first regular employment as a range rider, in 
which he was engaged for a few years, and then 
began driving stage which he continued for a 
few years more. In 1880 he came to Wyoming, 
and after a short residence at South Pass, locat- 
ed at Lander. He was then but sixteen years of 
age, but a man in experience, force of character, 
self-reliance and capacity for work. From Lan- 
der he removed in 1889 to his present home, tak- 
ing up a homestead and purchasing adjoining 
land near the promising little town of Otto, and 
there he has since lived and built up one of the 
leading stock industries in this part of the coun- 
ty. He owns 480 acres of land and has 640 
acres under lease. He has part of the land in 
an advanced state of cultivation, and the rest 
furnishes ample range for his cattle, of which 
he has usually about 200 head, all of good qual- 
ity and choice breeds. In the public affairs of the 
county he has ever been active and prominent, 
and is generally looked up to as one of the lead- 
ing citizens of his locality, who has and deserves 
the universal respect and esteem of the people. 
In fraternal relations he belongs to the Modern 



77o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Woodmen of America. In 1891, in the state of 
Minnesota, he was married to Miss Kate Crox- 
all, a native of New York, but for the greater 
part of her life a resident of the West. Their 
children are Josephine L., Mary E. James D. 

FREDERICK SALATHE, PH. D. 

The youthful but progressive young state 
of Wyoming is fortunate in many ways, not the 
least one of these being the great number of 
men of acknowledged and conspicuous ability 
who have cast in their lots with her fortunes. 
Each calling, profession, vocation, that has its 
place in the wide range of the capabilities of the 
state has its representative men of the most dis- 
tinguished order, men of not only preeminent 
ability in their respective spheres of action but 
also possessed of sterling character, animated 
by high principles, considering the public good 
through able, well-directed personal endeavor. 
Among the most distinguished of the sons of 
the state, standing in the foremost rank of the 
world's great chemists, is Frederick Salathe, 
Ph.D., now of Casper, Wyo., whose distinctive 
talents and fame are bounded by no narrow 
horizon, but are known and honored by the 
most distinguished scientists of America and 
Europe. Doctor Salathe was born at Basle, 
Switzerland, on May 8, 1857, the son of H. and 
Dorthoy (Baerwart) Salathe, also natives of 
Basle. They trace their Huguenot ancestry to 
a residence in France in the time of the Moor- 
ish wars in the years immediately antecedent to 
the middle of the sixteenth century, where 
they stood in the full splendor of the grace, 
courtesy and other brilliant qualities then at- 
taching to the people of their faith, renowned 
alike as scholars, soldiers and lovers of country. 
The name was then spelled Saladdin, and the 
family enjoyed life in the sunny land of France 
until after the Revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes in 1685, when they were among the 
half-million of Protestants who fled to foreign 
countries, and locating in Basle, they soon be- 
came prominent as merchants and in civic life. 
The paternal grandfather was for long years 



the treasurer of the federal government of 
Switzerland, holding this office by repeated and 
consecutive elections until he resigned on his 
retirement from business. The father, also, 
was a successful merchant, and the originator 
of and the pioneer operator in the silk industry 
of Basle, which has attained such huge propor- 
tions and is now largely devoted to the manu- 
facture of silk ribbons. Owing to the high 
reputation he had acquired as the leader in this 
industry and on account of his high moral char- 
acter, business capacity and integrity, he was 
commmissioned by President Grant as U. S. 
consul at Basle, retaining the appointment dur- 
ing Grant's successive administrations. The 
Doctor's maternal uncle, Edward Baerwart, was 
one of the leading merchants of Rio Janeiro, 
Brazil, during the past generation, and his ex- 
tended mercantile operations (the wholesaling 
and importation of woolen goods) are now con- 
tinued by the Doctor's younger brother, Ed- 
ward. Receiving his preliminary educational 
training in the schools of Basle, Frederick 
Salathe supplemented this by an attendance at 
and a graduation from the Basle Industrial 
School, thereafter pursuing a full course of 
three years at the Federal Polytechnic School 
at Zurich, being graduated therefrom with the 
highest honors and acquiring thereby the ap- 
pointment of assistant director of the Chemical 
Technical Laboratory under, first, Herr Prof. E. 
Kopp and second, Prof. George Lunge, here 
remaining' two years, within which time he had 
prepared his thesis for submission to the fac- 
ulty of the University of Zurich upon the deriv- 
atives of dimethylaniline. for which he re- 
ceived the degree of Ph. D., after this the doc- 
tor invented the process by which aniline colors 
and dyes are manufactured from the refuse of 
petroleum oils. Applying for a patent in Swit- 
zerland, he came to this country to introduce 
his invention, and in 1879 he had suitable chem- 
ical works for his process erected in Titusville, 
Pa. These proved very successful under the 
doctor's supervision until the tariff on aniline 
products was largely reduced, the price of cer- 
tain necessary imported chemicals at the same 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



77 1 



time being increased, and these changed finan- 
cial conditions caused the business to become 
unprofitable. Doctor Salathe was then employed 
as chief chemist of the Tidewater Oil Co., with 
headquarters at New York City, and introduced 
new processes of refining mineral oils, and 
from there was called to California by the 
Union Oil Co., with a salary of $10,000 and an 
interest in the plant to erect and conduct the 
first oil refinery operated in that state. Three 
years from this time his services were obtained 
by an English syndicate operating in Uvalda, 
Tex., to erect and put in operation a large plant 
for the refining of a natural asphaltic product, 
which the doctor named litho-carbon, and from 
which he produced various valuable commercial 
substances, useful in the manufacturing of arti- 
ficial rubber and insulators for electricity. Ac- 
complishing this labor the doctor established 
himself in Los Angeles, Calif., devoting his espe- 
cial attention to lubricating oils, paving asphalts 
and the installations for the use of fuel-oils in 
all branches of railroad work and other indus- 
tries, in this connection putting in the first oil.- 
burner used in a locomotive on the Santa Fe 
system, this being done on the California 
Southern Railroad, a branch of the Santa Fe. 
In 1897 Doctor Salathe was called to Wyoming 
to conduct the refining business of the Pennsyl- 
vania Oil & Gas Co., and in this he is largely 
interested and has here introduced the latest pro- 
cesses for the refining of the Salt Creek oil, 
which he claims to be the finest natural oil of 
the world, his claim being supported by such 
eminent -scientists as Redwood of London and 
others of equal reputation. The Doctor has also 
constructed the electric lighting plant of Casper 
and to his scientific skill the people are in- 
debted for the excellent light they are priv- 
ileged to enjoy, Mr. C. H. King being asso- 
ciated with him in this enterprise. Doctor Salathe 
has attained the Thirty-second degree of the 
Scottish Rite of Masonry, also is a Knight 
Templar and a member of the Royal Arcanum. 
In scientific circles his abilities have been ac- 
knowledged by his admission to numerous En- 
ropean scientific societies, general and special, 

48 



being the German member of the National 
Chemical Society of Berlin, and he also affil- 
iates with the American Society for the Ad- 
vancement of Science. The marriage ceremo- 
nies uniting Doctor Salathe and Miss Antionette 
Michaelis were solemnized on September 16, 
1886. She is a native of New York City, where 
her father, Edward Michaelis, who was born in 
Hamburg, Germany, has long conducted a 
prominent real-estate agency. Their children 
are Frederick, now attending a preparatory 
school preliminary to entering a university ; 
Valerie, a student of the Casper high school ; 
Antionette and Edward. The family is one of the 
most popular in the community and its home 
is a center of attractive hospitality. 

JOSEPH H. CALL. 

Joseph H. Call, the leading furniture dealer 
at Afton and of a large surrounding country, is a 
native of Bountiful, Utah, where his life began on 
February 23, 1853. His parents were Anson 
Vasca and Charlotte (Holbrook) Call, the former 
a native of Ohio and the latter of New .York. 
The father crossed the plains to Utah with his 
parents in 1847 or 1848, and, when he grew to 
manhood, he taught as one of the early teachers 
of the first school opened in his native county 
of Davis, and also cultivated the soil. He died 
and was buried on the plains in Wyoming 
territory, on July 4, 1867, while returning from 
a mission to England. His wife preceded him to 
the Silent Land, having died at her home in 1866. 
Mr. Call was a man of prominence in the chuch, 
holding the office of high priest and other posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility. His father, 
Anson Call, grandfather of Joseph H., was also 
a farmer, prominent in public life as well as in 
church circles. He was a member of the Territor- 
ial Legislature of Utah for a number of years and 
held exalted position in the Mormon church, be- 
ing one of Brigham Young's most trusted advis- 
ers and an intimate associate of the prophet Jo- 
seph Smith, serving also as the bishop of his 
ward and as one of the members of the Stake 
presidency. He had fought in the War of 1812, 



772 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 






by his valor in the field well sustaining the family 
record, which runs back to 1620, when its first 
American progenitor landed in New England. 
Joseph H. Call was the third of the children of 
his father's family and got his education in the 
school of experience, under a hard but effective 
teacher. He began life's utilities for himself as 
a farmer and later learned his trade as a carpen- 
ter. He worked at his trade and furnished build- 
ing material by contract for some years, and, 
in 1888, he settled at Afton, and carried on the 
business of building and furnishing building ma- 
terial on an extensive scale. Himself and brother, 
Anson V. Call, to whom reference is made at 
length on another page of this work, furnished 
the material and built nearly all the houses in 
the town, including the opera house, of which 
he is the proprietor and in which is located his 
furniture establishment. Here he carries a large 
and well-assorted stock of house furnishings of 
every kind, and keeps it down-to-date with the 
best material and most approved designs. He 
was married at Salt Lake City on June 26, 1875, 
to Miss Isabelle Barrow, of Utah, a daughter 
of Israel and Lucy (Barlow) Barrow. Thev 
have had eleven children, of whom eight are liv- 
ing : Lois, married to Maurice Hale of Afton ; 
Lucy, married to Arthur Osmond of Afton ; and 
Jelette, Roland, Irene, Truman, Leone, Elenora 
and Gladys, still living at the parental home. 

CHARLES C. BURKHALTER. 

This representative farmer and stockman, 
who is now residing on Fontenelle Creek, Uinta 
county, Wyoming, thirty-two miles north and 
west from Opal, was born in Taylorsville, Mus- 
kingum county, Ohio, on September 9, 1864. 
Peter and Elizabeth (Fisher) Burkhalter, his 
parents; are respectively natives of Alsace, Ger- 
many, formerly a province of France, and of 
Ohio, and, at the present time, they reside in 
White Cloud, Kan., whither the family moved 
when Charles C. was about eighteen months 
old. The elder Burkhalter came to America 
in 1834, when a youth, and grew to manhood 



in Muskingum county, Ohio. For other infor- 
mation concerning the parents the reader is re- 
ferred to the sketch of his older brother, George 
H. Burkhalter, which appears elsewhere in these 
pages. Of the seven children constituting the 
family of Peter and Mrs. Elizabeth Burkhalter, 
Charles C. is the fourth in the order of succes- 
sion. Receiving a good education in the schools 
of White Cloud, he prepared himself for the 
practical duties of life by taking a course of 
bookkeeping in a business college at Omaha, 
Neb., after which he served as a clerk in his 
father's meat market until 1892. In that year he 
came to Wyoming and took up eighty acres of 
land on Fontenelle Creek for the purpose of en- 
gaging in sheepraising, which business he has 
since carried on with most gratifying financial re- 
sults. Extending the area of his ranch, he has 
greatly enlarged the magnitude of his enterprise, 
running all the way from 3,000 to 8,000 sheep, 
besides devoting attention to cattle and agricul- 
tural pursuits, in both of which his success has 
been commensurate with the efforts he has made 
to carry them on. In addition to his business af- 
fairs, Mr. Burkhalter finds time to attend to the 
claims which any community has upon its citi- 
zens, taking a lively interest in all matters per- 
taining to the material growth and development 
of the country, bearing his full part in questions 
of a public character. He is enterprising and 
progressive, possesses that energy and persever- 
ance which is ever characteristic of the men of 
the new West, and, by a straightforward manly 
course, he has now an enviable standing in the 
community where he resides. Possessing a pleas- 
ing address and affable manners, he knows how 
to win warm personal friendships, and his loyalty 
to those who have gained his confidence and good 
will, is unshaken in its strength and steadfastness. 
What he considers worth doing, he does with all 
the intensity of his strong nature, and, being of 
an optimistic turn of mind, he is always looking 
on the bright, instead of the dark, side of life. 
Like the majority of western men, Mr. Burkhal- 
ter is accustomed to take large views of men and 
things, and there is nothing contracted, nar- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



773 



row or intolerant in his mental make-up. He has 
unbounded faith in the future prosperity of Wyo- 
ming and hesitates not to do everything within 
his power to promote the best interests of the 
state and its people. Mr. Burkhalter has a pleas- 
ant home, presided over with grace and womanly 
dignity by a companion eminently fitted to be 
the wife of a man of his position and sanguine 
temperament. She bore the maiden name of 
Myrtle Moore, and the ceremony, by which she 
was made Mrs. Burkhalter, was solemnized in 
White Cloud, Kan., on January 25, 1899. Mrs. 
Burkhalter is the daughter of Wiley and Melvine 
(Uts) Moore, and she has borne her husband 
one daughter, Elizabeth M. Burkhalter. 

MAJOR ROBERT CALVERLY. 

Range rider, buffalo hunter, a fearless civil 
officer and a brave military leader, whose services 
in the Spanish-American War and the Philip- 
pines have conferred honor and distinction upon 
him, Major Robert Calverly, of Cumberland, 
Wyoming, is a man whose memory should be per- 
petuated for the edification of all coming Amer- 
icans. He was born near Barnard, in Andrew 
county, Mo.,, a son of Henry and Mary (Wood- 
stock) Calverly, and was the eldest of their six 
children, of whom five are now living. His par- 
ents both died before he was ten years old, and 
as a mere lad he commenced the battle of life, sin- 
gle-handed and alone, and well has he conducted 
himself in the action. He early made his way to 
Texas and went to herding cattle and horses on 
the range, from 1872 to 1889, in this vocation, 
traveling extensively through Texas, Montana, 
Indian Territory, Arizona, New Mexico and Ne- 
braska, stopping to hunt buffalo for two years 
in Montana, then coming in 1884 from Montana 
to Wyoming, his first employment here being 
in charge of a cattle ranch for Judge Carter of 
Fort Bridger. This he successfully and satisfac- 
torily conducted for several years, then made a 
trip to Portland, Ore., and on to Puget Sound, 
soon, however, returning to this state, where he 
run the pumps at Almy for a time, but later was 



an efficient steward of the State Insane Asylum 
at Evanston, under Doctor Hocker. Then he 
became the city marshal of Evanston for a year ; 
by his strict and able service in this office win- 
ning reputation, and being chosen by Sheriff 
Ward of Uinta county as his deputy, in which 
responsible and, at times dangerous office he 
served with capability until 1898. In this incum- 
bency he had numerous adventures and some 
thrilling experiences. One of his exploits was 
the capture of the noted road agent and bank 
robber, George, or "Butch," Cassidy. While in 
this service there came the summons to war, and 
Mr. Calverly organized a troop of cavalry in 
Evanston in 1898, of which he was elected cap- 
tain, and with it he was mustered into the U. S. 
service as one of the companies of Colonel Tor- 
rey's regiment of "Rough Riders." His qualifi- 
cations for military life and command were so 
pronounced that when the regiment reached 
Cheyenne he was commissioned as major. The 
regiment served in Florida until its muster-out at 
Panama Park, Fla., on October 24, 1898, when 
Major Calverly returned to Evanston and re- 
sumed his duties as deputy sheriff until 1899, 
then being commissioned as captain of Co. I, 
Thirty-fourth U. S. Infantry, which he accepted 
and went with his company to the Philippines, 
where it was in active service in many sanguinary 
encounters with the natives, campaigning over 
much of the Island of Luzon in the pursuit of 
Aguinaldo, and participating, among others, in 
the battles of Mont Corona and Samatbaa un- 
der General Funston, and of Penarando, Calios, 
Santa Cruz and Gapan. He won credit as a 
brave and efficient officer, sharing the inconven- 
iences of field life with the soldiers until, after 
a wearying and exhaustive service of fourteen 
months, he was prostrated by paralysis, which so 
affected him as to necessitate his discharge from 
service. He returned to Wyoming, and, in the 
spring of 1902 made his residence in Cumber- 
land. In politics the Major has ever done good 
service in his party's interests. Fraternally, he 
is a valued member of the Evanston lodge of 
United Workmen. On April 30, 1889, at Evans- 



774 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ton, Wyo., occurred the wedding nuptials of the 
gallant major and Miss Annie Sessions, a daugh- 
ter of Brighton and Mary (Yeager) Sessions, 
natives of Pennsylvania and long residents of 
Park City, Utah. Her father was one of the 
early Mormon emigrants to Utah, and, after a 
life of useful activity, he now rests from his la- 
bors in the soil of the Promised Land. Four 
children have been born to Major and Mrs. Cal- 
verly, Arthur; Frances, died when six years of 
age and was buried in Evanston ; Alice ; Flor- 
ence, died in infancy, and buried in Evanston. 

JOHN A. CANFIELD. 

The first twenty-one years of the life which 
forms the subject of this brief review were passed 
at Cleveland, Ohio, where Mr. Canfield was born 
on November 23, 1840. From long lines of dis- 
tinguished ancestry he inherited a love of ad- 
venture and an intense and patriotic devotion to 
his country. And, in his day and generation, he 
has borne the brunt of battle on many fields of 
strife and carnage among men, as well as in the 
no less strenuous, if less dangerous and fatal, 
fields of conquest over the savage and opposing 
forces of untamed nature, as his forefathers did 
in theirs. His parents were Alexander and Eliz- 
abeth (Scott) Canfield, the former a native of 
Massachusetts and the latter of Virginia. The. 
father belonged to a family long prominent in 
the local annals of New England, and the mother 
was a sister of Gen. Winfield Scott. Their son, 
John A. Canfield, was reared and educated in 
his native state, and, on June 17, 1861, obeying 
the first call of his country to defend the integ- 
rity of the Union against armed opposition, he 
enlisted in Co. I of the Seventh Ohio Infantry 
under Col. A. J. Smith. At the end of his term 
of enlistment he reenlisted in the Tenth Ohio 
Cavalry under Colonel Kilpatrick, and in this 
command he remained until the close of the war, 
being mustered out of the service on June 17, 
1865, as first sergeant, just four years from the 
day on which he entered the army as a private. 
He was during most of the war engaged in active 



field work, participating in many of the most 
sanguinary and memorable battles of the con- 
flict. He was taken prisoner at Corinth, for 
months suffered all the hardships of Ander- 
sonville and Libby prisons, was wounded at Re- 
saca, and, before he was fully recovered from his 
disability, was again in the field, thereafter never 
missing the most exacting requirements of his 
command until the last Confederate flag went 
down in everlasting defeat. After the war he 
returned to his Ohio home, whence, after a short 
time, he came to Wyoming, in 1866, and halted 
at South Pass, where he engaged in mining for 
a time. From there he went to Salt Lake City 
and wintered, returning to South Pass in 1868. 
After that he mined and prospected at various 
places in Nevada, California and Oregon, and at 
the time of the Wood River excitement moved 
into Idaho, where he took up a ranch and fol- 
lowed farming and freighting until 1893. He 
then sold his Idaho interests and came to Wyo- 
ming a third time. He first settled on the Big- 
horn River and remained there until 1896, when 
he moved to his present location, in the vicinity 
of Burlington, where from that time he has been 
conducting a prosperous business in the raising 
of stock and in farming. His farm is a fine and 
well-improved body of 160 acres of excellent land, 
where he produces large numbers of well-bred 
cattle and high-grade horses. He also takes an 
active and serviceable interest in local public af- 
fairs, and has done much to establish the political 
institutions of his county and preserve law and 
order. In the early period of the county's ex- 
istence for four years he served as justice of 
the peace, and, with admirable zeal for the wel- 
fare of the new organization, he went as a dele- 
gate to its first Republican count)' convention and 
belped to make the party ticket. Mr. Canfield's 
first marriage was to Miss Alice Johnson, of 
Utah, and occurred in that territory in 1872. She 
died in Utah, leaving five children; John, now a 
resident of Idaho ; James, an ensign in the U. S. 
navy, who was with Admiral Dewey at the battle 
of Manilla; Jacob, also in the navy, serving on 
the battleship Oregon ; Ella and Emma. The sec- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



775 



ond marriage was to Miss Martha Mcintosh, 
a native of Pennsylvania, and occurred at Oak- 
ley, Idaho, on November 26, 1892. They have 
ten children : William, Mary, Stella. Frank, 
George, Theodore, Harrison and Morton, twins, 
and Emma and Lucretia. Mr. Canfield is a val- 
ued member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
and a highly esteemed citizen. 

THOMAS CANNON. 

The cleanest and best furnished meat market 
and butcher shop in Rawlins is that owned and 
conducted by Thomas Cannon, who was born on 
March 7, 1832, in Yorkshire, England, a son of 
John and Margaret (Lambert) Cannon. John, 
the father, was born in the same shire in 1805, 
and in early manhood was a Methodist minister, 
a calling he followed a number of years before 
he became a butcher, which line of business he 
assumed in order to add to his income. He came 
to the United States in 1879 an d settled in New 
York state, where he still continued to follow 
both vocations until 1879, when he was called to 
his eternal home, his remains being interred at 
the cemetery at Niagara Falls. Thomas Cannon, 
the father of John, was a farmer of Yorkshire, 
and died in his native country. Mrs. Margaret 
(Lambert) Cannon, also a native of Yorkshire, 
was born in 1804. She was married in her na- 
tive country, and died in 1895, a prominent 
church member. Her father, William Lambert, 
came with his family to the United States in 
1830 and settled in Illinois, where he followed 
agricultural pursuits until his death. Thomas 
Cannon was reared and educated in New York 
state, where he learned butchering, and at the 
age of twenty-one years began the business on 
his own account. This trade he followed about 
ten years in the Empire state and, in 1861, went 
to Illinois and carried on the same business at 
Jacksonville for thirty years. In 1891 he came 
to Rawlins, Wyo., and opened the shop which 
he still carries on and which is the best-kept and 
is the most popular in the city. Mr. Cannon 
was united in marriage at Niagara Falls, in 185 1, 



with Miss Helen O'Connell, who was born in 
1 83 1. To this prolific and happy union have been 
born nine children, Charlotte, married to John 
Irwing of Rawlins ; Thomas ; Ellen, now Mrs. 
McMicker, of Rawlins ; Lida, now Mrs. Seabon, 
of Jacksonville, 111. ; William ; Annie, now Mrs. 
Eastwood, of Illinois ; Amabel, single ; Isabella, 
now Mrs. Blydenberg, of Rawlins, and Stella, 
now Mrs. Boham, of Illinois. Mr. Cannon has 
built up a fine reputation in his line of trade 
in Rawlins and is enjoying the cream of public 
patronage in the retail business, and he certainly 
deserves it, as no other person in the section 
has had so long an experience in the handling 
of meats especially prepared for table use. 

AMOS M. CANTLEY. 

The adventurous spirit which he inherited 
from a long line of pioneer ancestors, and the 
enjoyment he has ever found in the wild free- 
dom of the frontier, has kept Amos N. Cantley, 
of Crook county, Wyoming, all of his life on the 
edge of civilization, his present residence being 
in the most thickly populated country in which 
he has ever lived. In his career of wide and 
varied experience he has had many thrilling ad- 
ventures, many hairbreadth escapes from wild 
beasts and savage men, many sudden calls to 
high daring and lofty endeavor, and many tests 
of his endurance, resourcefulness and self-reli- 
ance. He is a native of New Haven, Mo., where 
he was born on October 20, 1850, the son of 
John L. and Elizabeth (Miller) Cantley, who were 
also born and reared in that state of and- by par- 
ents who were among its first settlers. When 
twenty-one years of age his father took up a 
homestead two miles from his birthplace and has 
lived on it continuously since that time. When 
he was twenty-two years old he married and both 
himself and wife are still living, he being eighty- 
nine and she eighty-six years old, and both hale 
and hearty. Their family consists of five chil- 
dren, of whom Amos is the only son. He was 
sent to school in his native county until he was 
thirteen and then went to Texas with an uncle, 



7 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



who left him with his family at Gainesville while 
he went to another part of the state to look up a 
suitable location for a homestead. The lad was 
bold and hardy, and chafed under the restraint 
of his situation, and within a week after his ar- 
rival at Gainesville he ran away from his new 
home and took a position on a ranch to learn 
the cattle business. From his childhood he was 
fond of horses and readily took to the life of a 
cowboy, in which he found congenial employment 
and just the excitement he craved. Often during 
the years of his minority the pleasures, toil and 
tedium of his life were relieved by contests with 
the Indians, who were nearly always hostile. 
Once with a companion he was attacked by a 
party of the savages superior in numbers, but 
while his companion was killed, he escaped un- 
hurt, having, however, a hard ride for safety. 
He remained in Texas until 1868, then went to 
New Mexico and spent a year on the range in that 
territory. He next appeared in Colorado, near 
Denver, which was then a small town. All over 
that state he rode the range and conducted vari- 
ous enterprises until 1882, when he was elected 
sheriff of Elbert county. He was reelected in 
1884 but resigned before the expiration of his 
term. The country was unsettled, men were 
desperate and continual nerve and vigilance were 
required in the administration of his office. On 
one occasion, when arresting outlaws, he was 
shot through the arm. The wound made him 
a cripple for life and frequently gives him trouble 
now. In August, 1884, he came to Wyoming 
with a large band of horses which he had bought 
in Colorado. He kept them the first year on the 
North Powder River, near his present ranch, and, 
finding the country inviting and full of promise, 
in 1885 he took up the ranch on which he now 
lives, on Wildcat Creek, twenty-five miles north- 
west of Gillette, and here continued to' raise 
horses until T898. In that year he sold the most 
of his horses, and bought cattle, and since then 
has been actively engaged in raising cattle. He 
is one of the oldest settlers in his part of the 
state, and has seen it advance from a wild and 
lonely region to its present vigor and activity 



of life, fruitfulness and progress, and he has 
well done his part towards the result. He is a 
typical westerner, whose bachelor home is ev- 
erybody's home who drops in there. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. 

THOMAS B. CARNAHAN. 

An active and successful man of affairs, a 
public official of courtesy and ability, having a 
broad acquaintanceship with all classes of peo- 
ple in numerous parts of the Great West, Thomas 
B. Carnahan is now a prosperous dealer in fur- 
niture at Cumberland, Uinta county, Wyoming, 
and also the highly popular postmaster of that 
town. He was born in Marshall county Pa., on 
March 17, 1854, a son of Thomas and Sarah 
(Moore) Carnahan, both of whom were born 
in Pennsylvania, of Irish descent on the father's 
side and of English on the mother's, the father be- 
ing the son of Adam and Margaret (Robinson) 
Carnahan, of Westmoreland county. Pa., where 
their emigrant ancestors had located in the time 
of William Penn, and where they had furnished 
gallant soldiers for the Revolutionary Army and 
the War of 1812, members also participating in 
the Great War of 1861. Thomas B. Carnahan 
was the third in order of birth of the five chil- 
dren of his parents, all of whom being boys, and, 
after exhausting the educational supply of the 
public schools, he supplemented the instruction 
he there received by effective attendance at the ex- 
cellent academy of Lebanon, Pa., acquiring a 
solid basis for the added knowledge later coming 
to him from his wide experience in life. Re- 
maining in his native state until 1884. and learn- 
ing carpentry, he proceeded to Nebraska and . 
there followed his trade and was a dealer in lime. 
In 1885 he took up a ranch comprising the site 
of the present lively city of Holyoke, Colo., which 
he eventually sold to the B. & M. Co. Prom 
1804 to [896, inclusive, he was a contractor and 
builder in Kansas, in the latter year coining to 
Kemmerer, Wyo., when the city had just been 
created, and he soon was busily and profitably 
occupied in real-estate and building operations. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



777 



being also elected to the office of city councilor, 
holding this responsible position with great ac- 
ceptability until 1901, when, removing to Cum- 
berland, he there established a furniture busi- 
ness, which is rapidly increasing in trade. On 
October 22, 1901, Mr. Carnahan was commis- 
sioned postmaster, and his satisfactory manage- 
ment of its affairs has met with decided public 
approbation, the receipts of the office showing a 
large increase and advancing to a high rank in 
the fourth class. In public matters he has ever 
been greatly interested, giving largely of his time 
and money to aid the campaigns of his party, al- 
though in no sense is he a seeker or a striver 
for nominations to any office. He, however, has 
very capably served as notary public in Nebraska, 
Colorado and Wyoming, holding the office at the 
present writing. Mr. Carnahan is held in high 
esteem in the order of United Workmen, being 
one of its oldest members in the state and occu- 
pying various positions of prominence in the fra- 
ternity. On March 17, 1875, in Pennsylvania, 
occurred the nuptial rites of Mr. Carnahan and 
Miss Hattie Scrivens, a daughter of Benjamin 
and Susan (Ferguson) Scrivens, both being na- 
tives of Pennsylvania and of Holland and Scot- 
tish ancestry. The children of Mr. Carnahan are 
Charles, Susie and Sadie (twins), Susie being the 
wife of Charles Walker, of Huntingdon, Ore.. 
James, deceased; Henry, Merrill and Ruby. 

EDWARD CARRUTHERS. 

Ohio was ■ settled by a hardy and determined 
people, and has well maintained the character 
those sturdy pioneers gave her, for she has given 
to the settlement of the Northwest many of its 
best elements of citizenship and also much of its 
most tense and enduring fiber in the army of 
conquest, which has subdued it for the uses of 
man, and is now enlarging its power and mul- 
tiplying its forces for good. From this state 
came Edward Carruthers, who was born on Oc- 
tober 2, 1862, the son of Robert and Martha 
(Breahman) Carruthers, also natives of that 
state. When he was four years old the family 



removed to Kansas, and there he remained until 
he was sixteen, when, wishing to make his own 
way in the world and seek his own opportunity 
for advancement, he left the paternal roof and 
went to Colorado, where he rode the range for a 
time, then proceeded to Utah, and from there 
came to Wyoming, a pioneer in 1882, locating in 
Johnson county. On the fertile plains of the 
Powder River section for three years he rode 
the range and found the life invigorating and 
decidedly a pleasant one, and, thus imbued with 
the spirit of the stock industry, having by expe- 
rience of length and value acquired a full knowl- 
edge of it in every detail, in 1885 he came to 
the Bighorn basin and took up his .residence 
where he now lives, settling on a homestead, 
which his skill and labors have transformed into a 
beautiful and well-improved ranch, now increased 
to 360 acres by subsequent addition. He has 
a herd of 225 superior cattle, for whose com- 
fort and proper maintenance he has made due pro- 
vision in barns, sheds and other outbuildings, as 
he has. for the good breed of horses he also han- 
dles in moderate numbers. He was married at 
Hyattville, Wyoming, in 1888, to Miss Jennie 
Hatten, a native of Ohio, and they have three 
children, John, Alvin and Edna. 

ELMER E. CHATFIELD. * 

Elmer E. Chatfield, one of the prosperous and 
progressive stockmen and farmers of Bighorn 
county, is a native of Colorado, where he was 
born on June 8, 1863. His parents were Isaac W. 
and Eliza (Harrington) Chatfield, the former a 
natives of Illinois, and the latter of Missouri. 
When but a small boy he sold papers in Denver, 
working eagerly and industriously, cherishing al- 
ways the expectation of some day being a man 
of consequence and standing in his community, 
ever bending his energies to that result. Mean- 
while his father was rising into prominence as 
a cattleman, and he now occupies a leading place 
in the great cattle industry, having his headquar- 
ters at Denver. He has also been prominent in 
other lines, having served as the mayor of Aspen, 



77 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Colo., and later as a member of the State Sen- 
ate. In all the lines of his activity he has ex- 
hibited superior capacity, and borne himself in 
a masterly manner. This characteristic his son 
inherits, being equal to every emergency that 
confronts him, making the best of his situation 
all the time. He came to Wyoming in 1894, 
bought the ranch on which he now lives, and at 
once engaged earnestly in the stock business. His 
ranch comprises 520 acres of fine land, it is well- 
improved as to buildings, complete in equipment 
for its purposes, skillfully cultivated in such parts 
as are put into crops. He owns 400 Shorthorn 
cattle of superior quality and a band of fine 
graded horses. Notwithstanding his exacting 
and extensive duties on the ranch and in his cat- 
tle business, Mr. Chatfield finds- time to aid in 
the development of the community and in secur- 
ing the conveniences of modern life for its people. 
He was one of the projectors of the telephone line 
into Tensleep, being now the treasurer of the lo- 
cal company. He was united in marriage with 
Miss Delia Chatfield, a native of Nebraska, the 
nuptials being solemnized at Ogden, Utah, on 
September 18, 1892. They have four children, 
Helen, Marian, Savilla and Andrew, whose father 
is a wide-awake, enterprising citizen, whose in- 
fluence has always been given on the side of 
progress and improvement in his community, and 
whose life has ever been an example and an in- 
citement to others. He is modest in assumption, 
but tenacious of conviction, possessing a clear- 
ness of vision, firmness of purpose, generosity of 
feeling and a commendable public spirit. 

JOHN W. CHAPMAN. 

Having accumulated a bountiful share of this 
world's goods by his own energy and thrift, and 
secured a high place in the esteem of his fellow 
men through his sterling character, public spirit, 
generosity of disposition and pleasing manners, 
having a highly improved and productive ranch 
in Bighorn county, and an attractive winter resi- 
dence at Red Lodge, Montana, possessing finan- 
cial and commercial interests of magnitude and 



importance enough to engage the time not occu- 
pied with his stock industry, the life of John W. 
Chapman is an eminently useful and fruitful one. 
for his example is inspiring and helpful, his career 
instructive and suggestive, and his personal com- 
fort and happiness seem well assured. He il- 
lustrates in his achievements and in the record 
he has made, how plastic the conditions of life 
are in this western world, and how easy it is 
for thrift, enterprise, shrewdness and application 
to here mold a shapely destiny out of an}' cir- 
cumstances that fate may furnish. Mr. Chap- 
man is a pioneer of 1880 in Wyoming, and since 
that time he has lived and worked among her 
people. He was born at Springfield, Illinois, 
on June 15, 1850, the son of William and Arta 
Chapman, both natives of Illinois. When he was 
nine months old his father died and his mother 
removed with her young family to Douglas coun- 
ty, Ore., and when he was fourteen years of age 
they took another flight, locating in the Sac- 
ramento valley of California. After a few years 
Mr. Chapman thence returned to Oregon, and 
was engaged in the stock business in Harney 
county for others awhile and then for himselt. 
He took up a ranch on Tourque River, and was 
prospering finely, when the hard winter of 1879 
killed all of his cattle. He then sold his ranch, 
and, in 1880, came to Bighorn county, Wyo., and. 
settling near Heart Mountain, began another 
stock industry, which he has ever since prosper- 
ously conducted. He has over 800 acres of land, 
where he handles horses, cattle and sheep, his 
herd of cattle consisting of more than 300 thor- 
oughbred Herefords. He also has extensive 
interests in several lines of commercial activ- 
ity in Montana. He is a banker at Red Lodge, 
there also having- a hardware store and a lum- 
ber yard. His interests in the Wood River mines 
are extensive and valuable. There is scarcely 
an)- enterprise in this part of the country, in 
which invested capital and productive enterprise 
can be made profitable and serviceable to the 
community, that he is not connected with in 
.some influential and helpful way, and in fraternal 
relations he belongs to the Order of Elks. He 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



779 



was married in 1885, in Douglas county, Ore., to 
Miss Orphia Chapman, a native of that state. 
Mrs. Chapman passes the greater part of her 
time at their very pleasant home at Red Lodge, 
where Mr. Chapman may also be found, except 
when business calls him to the ranch. He is a 
typical frontiersman, having all of the best char- 
acteristics of that fast-fading personage, and all 
of his adaptability to circumstances, whether they 
be those of the wild life of the frontier or the 
blandishments of an advanced civilization. He 
has had experience in both, and in both has borne 
himself creditably, successfully, agreeably. Tried 
by both extremes of fortune he has never been 
subdued bv either, and in the Nez Perces, Modoc 
and Piute Indian Wars he saw arduous and dan- 
gerous service. In the settled conditions and pro- 
gressive civilization of this latter day, he bears 
a leading part with the same unwavering stead- 
fastness, readiness and masterful spirit that sus- 
tained him in times of hardship and peril. 

FRED P. CARR. 

Amid the everlasting granite hills of New 
Hampshire, where he was born in August, 1857, 
and where he passed the first sixteen years of his 
life, Fred P. Carr, a well-to-do and progressive 
stockraiser of Bighorn county, with headquarters 
at Hyattville, learned the lessons of frugality and 
thrift which have distinguished him in the state 
of his adoption, and which have not only enabled 
him to gather a competence for himself, but to 
materially assist in building up the locality in 
which he lives and developing its natural re- 
sources. His parents were Fred and Lucretia 
(Marston) Carr, also natives of New Hampshire, 
who in that state conducted a farm on which their 
son grew to the age of sixteen and in the vicin- 
ity of which he received his education in the pub- 
lic schools and attending Grafton College for 
one year. When he was sixteen he went to 
New York city for the purpose of engaging in 
business for himself, and lived there a number of 
years, dealing in horses. In 1888 he left all the 
blandishments of civilized life and the attractions 
of the great metropolis to seek wider opportuni- 



ties and more fruitful fields for his particular 
lines of enterprise in the Great Northwest. He 
came to Wyoming and located on the ranch which 
lie now owns and occupies, and on which he con- 
ducts a flourishing stock business, with 400 fine 
horses and a herd of good cattle. The ranch com- 
prises 420 acres of excellent land, well located 
for the business and well adapted thereto, and 
what is under cultivation has been made very pro- 
ductive by careful and skillful husbandry. It is 
well improved with good buildings and fences, 
and is recognized as one of the desirable and at- 
tractive places in this section, of which there, are 
many of that kind. In fraternal relations Mr. 
Carr is connected with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and has been a useful member of 
his lodge in the order for many years. On Jan- 
uary 29, 1897 he was married to Miss Isa B. 
George, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio. 
For more than fifteen years identified with the 
the history and development of Bighorn coun- 
ty, and in that time contributing his due share to 
the results which are so gratifying- on every hand 
as evidences of progress, Mr, Carr can be re- 
garded as one of the representative and most 
useful citizens of the portion of the state to which 
he belongs. When he settled in this neighbor- 
hood it was almost a primeval waste, and since 
then it has become the home of an industrious, 
prosperous and progressive people, multiplying 
human happiness, adding to the comforts and 
possessions of mankind, and showing forth in 
pleasing abundance and variety the results of the 
wise and energetic labors of the progressive men 
and patriotic women of Wyoming. 

HON. HIRAM D. CLARK. 

Hon. Hiram D. Clark, now of Star Valley, 
Uinta county, was born at Farmington, Davis 
county, Utah, on February 13, 1856, his parents, 
Ezra T. and Mary (Stevenson) Clark, who de- 
scended from old Colonial New England stock, 
having come to that place from their Ohio home 
in 1848. The father was a native of Ohio and 
the mother, of an English ancestry, was born at 
Gibraltar, Spain. Ezra T. Clark was a pros- 



78o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



perous farmer, stockgrower and banker at Farm- 
ing-ton, took an active part in the government 
of the county in which he lived, served there as 
county treasurer for a number of years and had 
a potential influence on local public affairs. In 
the church he was a high counsellor and pa- 
triarch. He was twice married, having eleven 
children by the first marriage and ten by the 
second. He died at Farmington in 1901, aged 
seventy-seven years, and was laid to rest with 
every demonstration of popular esteem amid the 
scenes he had hallowed by his useful labors and 
inspiring example of good citizenship. His wid- 
ow, the mother of Hiram, still resides in Farm- 
ington and is universally esteemed. Hiram D. 
Clark was the sixth child of his parents. He 
was educated in the public schools and at the 
University of Deseret, now the University of 
Utah, at Salt Lake City, and, after leaving his 
school, he entered upon the pursuit the family had 
followed for generations, farming, carrying it 
on in his native state until 1880, when he re- 
moved to Idaho, whence, after seven years of Ida- 
ho ranching having a varying success, he came to 
Wyoming in the spring of 1888, and has con- 
tinued farming and stockgrowing ever since. His 
large herd of cattle consists almost entirely of 
graded Durhams, and his farm of 960 acres is one 
of the best and most highly improved stock farms 
in this valley. His residence is the finest framed 
house in this part of the count}-, and is supplied 
with every available modern convenience. He 
al-so owns much property of value in Utah, and 
is looked upon as one of the leading citizens of 
the county, and his counsel is freely sought by all 
classes of the people. As a county commissioner 
he has served his people materially and wisely, 
and has thereby won general commendation in an 
office, which is one of the most difficult of admin- 
istration, as well as one of the most important, 
in the gift of the citizens. He has also acted as 
trustee of his district for a number of years, and 
in tli is position also, has given general satisfac- 
tion. In his church, that of the Latter Day 
Saints, he is the Sunday-school superintendent 
and a member of the bishopric. Mr. Clark con- 



tracted his marriage with Miss Anna E. Porter 
at Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 11, 1880. 
She was born and reared in Utah, a daughter of 
Alma and Minerva (Dent) Porter, who came 
to Utah in 1848. The Porters trace their Ameri- 
can ancestry back to Colonial times, they hav- 
ing been early settlers in Pennsylvania. The 
fruit of this marriage is ten children, all living : 
Eliza A., Mary M., Hiram D., Jr., Heber D., 
Edna, Alma P., Rachel, Rhoda, Rosel E., Zula. 

HON. CHARLES D. CAZIER. 

No roster of Wyoming's progressive men, 
not even a partial one, would be complete without 
an honorable mention of Hon. Charles D. Cazier, 
one of the foremost citizens of Uinta county, who 
has a well-improved and highly-cultivated farm 
adjoining the town of Afton, where he exempli- 
fies, from day to day, fidelity to duty, earnest in- 
terest in the affairs of the community which he 
was one of the first to form, active and prudent 
zeal in commercial enterprise and exalted devo- 
tion to the welfare of his church. Mr. Cazier was 
born in Kentucky, on January 21, 1837, the son 
of William and Pleasant (Drake) Cazier, na- 
tives of Virginia, who both descended from old 
Colonial families that bore their part courage- 
ously in all the struggles of their country and 
section, whether on the field of battle or in the 
arduous but productive pursuits of peace. The 
father was a cooper by trade and worked at that 
craft and also farmed in Kentucky for years, then 
removed to Iowa, and from there, in 185 1, to 
L T tah, where he died in 1878, aged seventy-eight 
years, the mother having passed away in Iowa in 
1840. The family consisted of ten children, of 
v\ horn Charles was the ninth. Only four are liv- 
ing, three sons and one daughter. To Charles D. 
Cazier fate denied the advantage of a scholastic 
education gathered in the schoolroom, but well 
supplied the deficiency by thorough teaching in 
the hard but effective school of experience. When 
he was but fourteen he encountered the daily 
peril and nightly apprehension, the hardships, the 
privations and the wearying toil of a journey 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



781 



across the plains with his parents, making the 
trip by means of oxteams. And on his arrival 
in the land of their chosen residence he was at 
once obliged to take his place as a workman on 
the farm to aid in subduing the wilderness to 
which they had come, and give of his best endeav- 
ors in making it fruitful. He continued farm- 
ing in Utah until 1879, when he removed to 
Idaho, thence, in 1880, he came to Wyoming, but 
soon returned to Idaho, where he remained until 
he came again to Wyoming, with the intention of 
remaining, and, taking up a place adjoining the 
then unpeopled site of Afton, began to improve 
it and build it into a home. He was one of the 
first nine householders to settle in the valley, and 
he has contributed his full share to the inspiration 
and the work necessary to make the lonely and 
uninhabited region, in which they first pitched 
their tents, the populous, progressive, highly im- 
proved and well-developed section it has become. 
His home is one of the choice ones of the valley, 
and all that there is appertaining to it of comfort, 
convenience and artistic adornment, is the result 
of his industry, enterprise, intelligent husbandry 
and judicious taste. His excellent judgment and 
store of worldly wisdom have won him the con- 
fidence of his people, and, in 1880, he was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Afton, being the first offi- 
cial of that class in the valley. In 1894 he was 
elected to the State Senate from his county and 
made a creditable record in the Legislature. In 
church affairs he has been active from his early 
manhood. He was the first bishop in the Mor- 
mon church of all this country, and held this of- 
fice for a number of years. He is at present 
(1902) the president of the high priests' quorum 
and patriarch of the stake. To the duties of 
these responsible and important positions he gives 
the most careful and conscientious attention. On 
June 12, 1858, in Utah, he married with Miss 
Harriet Gates, a native of Michigan and a daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Lydia (Downer) Gates, the 
former born in New York and the latter in Ver- 
mont. Twelve children, six sons and six daugh- 
ters, have blessed their union, but only six are 
now living. These are : Charles, William, Sam- 



uel and George, all married and living in Uinta 
county ; Sarah E., now the wife of Charles C. 
Leavitt, of Afton; and Willard O., who. is still 
one of the parental household. Those deceased 
are : Lydia, Margaret and Evelyn, the latter of 
whom died at Nephi, Utah, in infancy ; Harriet, 
former wife of A. B. Call, of Mexico, who died 
in that country at the age of twenty-two years, 
leaving- one child ; Miranda ; Artello, who died in 
Idaho in childhood. Mr. Cazier's life has not 
been one of entire calm, for he saw dangerous 
service in all the early Indian wars of this sec- 
tion, and for years, like others of the people, car- 
ried his life in his hands from day to day. Many 
times he was in desperate situations, many times 
he narrowly escaped a cruel death at the hands 
of hostile savages, many times he was compelled 
to endure great privations from hunger, thirst and 
from exposure to the fury of the inclement ele- 
ments. Through all these vicissitudes, as through 
his periods of enjoyment, he bore himself bravely, 
even cheerfully, and now finds that the recollec- 
lection of trials past but sweetens the enjoyment 
of rest and comfort thereby secured. 

HARRY D. CLARK. 

Holding a position of responsibility and dis- 
tinguished trust in the company's store at Rock 
Springs, Harry D. Clark, although comparatively 
a young man, ranks as one of the leading business 
men of this section. He possesses calm and sober 
judgment, great and rapid powers of investiga- 
tion and calculation, and is especially noted for 
his energy, enterprise, shrewdness and integrity. 
In business circles he has a high reputation for 
sagacity and ability. He was born in Chicago, 
111., on April 12, 1877, being a son of Dealton 
A. and Mary A. (Baker) Clark. For the ances- 
try and very interesting family history see the 
sketch of Charles F. Clark, appearing in another 
portion of this work. Harry D. Clark received 
his literary education in the public schools of 
Rock Springs, following this by a full course in 
the State University at Laramie, Wyo., from 
which institution he was duly graduated with 



782 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



honors. Immediately following this he estab- 
lished a jewelry and drugstore at Rock Springs, 
and in these mercantile lines was profitably en- 
gaged for five years. Sufficient financial induce- 
ment being offered him, however, he relinquished 
merchandising and took a position as bookkeeper 
in the company's store at Rock Springs, acquir- 
ing, in his five-years' service in this capacity, a 
thorough knowledge of all details, methods and 
principles of commercial life, as exemplified in 
the mercantile operations of this store. Having 
given the fullest satisfaction in the discharge of 
his duties as bookkeeper, his appreciative employ- 
ers advanced him to be the head bookkeeper of 
their Spring Valley store. Here he has since 
been engaged, and he has, by his diligent atten- 
tion to business, his devotion to the interests of 
his employers and his indefatigable efforts, made 
for himself an enviable reputation. On May 16, 
1898, at Rock Springs, Wyoming, occurred the 
marriage of Mr. Clark to Miss Annie Kellogg, 
a daughter of George and Martha (Garrett) Kel- 
logg, whose parents were natives of England, 
and early emigrants to Wyoming, where, after 
the death 'of her father, her mother became the 
wife of George Biscom, and now maintains her 
home at Rock Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have 
one child, Harry. Mr. Clark is ever mindful of 
his duties as a citizen of the state and nation, and 
acts with earnestness in accord with the princi- 
ples of the Republican party, to which he gives 
loyal support although not looking for political 
rewards, office or emoluments. Fraternally, he 
is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, and is at present the master workman 
of the local lodge. In religion he is a devout 
and conscientious member of the Congregational 
church, with whose activities and beneficence he 
is actively connected. Mr. Clark is thoroughly 
loyal to his numerous friends and his winning 
personal magnetism has made him stanch ones 
all along life's pathway. He enjoys to an un- 
usual degree the confidence of the better portion 
of the community and is one of the elements of 
support of the leading social activities of societv. 
He is ever liberal in his contributions to public, 



charitable and religious objects, and no case of 
individual or public suffering has ever appealed 
to him in vain. He is not only a respected busi- 
ness man, but, higher yet, a consistent Christian, 
whose untiring zeal has been manifested in many 
departments of education and religious activity. 

EDMUND CLEGG. 

The gentleman whose biography is herewith 
presented belongs to the older class of the citi- 
zens of Rock Springs, Wyoming, having been 
a resident of Sweetwater county since 1873. He 
has seen the city -grow from an obscure mountain 
hamlet into one of the most enterprising and 
prosperous industrial centers of the West and, in 
a large measure, he has contributed to bring 
about results as they today exist. Edmund Clegg 
was born in England in 1830, and is the son of 
Jonathan and Hannah (Hancoper) Clegg, both 
also of English birth. The father followed coal 
mining for a livelihood, the greater part of the 
time being a superintendent of mines, dying at 
the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was 
also the son of Christopher and Sarah (Wood) 
Clegg, whose genealogy is traceable to a very 
early period in the history of the kingdom of 
England. Mrs. Hannah Clegg was a native of 
Yorkshire and lived to the advanced age of over 
seventy-five years. . Edmund Clegg was reared 
to young manhood near the place of his birth, 
and, when twenty years old, began life for him- 
self as the assistant superintendent under his fa- 
ther. He continued mining in various capacities 
in England until the early sixties when he came 
to America, and, for a number of years there- 
after, he was similarly employed in different min- 
ing states. In 1873 ne cam< ? to Rock Springs, 
Wyo., at that time an obscure village, and en- 
gaged in his chosen calling, serving different 
parties as superintendent, and earning the rep- 
utation of an able and conscientious manager. 
Mr. Clegg assisted in developing many of the 
rich mineral resources, of Sweetwater county and 
his long experience as a mining expert caused his 
services to be much sought after. To him is 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



783 



due the credit of locating and developing a num- 
ber of the best paying mining properties in this 
section of the state, and, as long as he remained 
in the business, his advice was eagerly solicited 
and his valuable practical knowledge utilized. 
Severing his connection with mining Mr. Clegg 
turned his attention to other vocations, notably 
among them being that of dealing In water, which 
he followed for nearly eighteen years with en- 
couraging financial success. Being fortunate in 
acquiring a sufficiency of the world's goods to 
place him in comfortable circumstances, he finally 
abandoned business pursuits and retired to pri- 
vate life, one reason for so doing being the 
infirmities incident to advancing age. Mr. Clegg 
has taken an active interest and pardonable pride 
in the growth and development of Rock Springs, 
and during the last thirty years, his life and the 
history of the town have been very closely inter- 
woven. Realizing the needs of the thriving little 
city he supplied them with generous hand, and, 
to the limit of his ability, aided all enterprises 
tending in any way to improve the condition of 
its society and advance the standard of its citi- 
zenship. He has been especially active in pro- 
moting the community's intellectual and moral 
development, devoting much of his time and en- 
ergy to the matter of public education, in which 
he has- long been deeply interested. Largely 
through his efforts, the schools of the town have 
advanced in efficiency until the standard of edu- 
cation in Rock Springs is now as high as that of 
any other city in the state, or in any part of the 
West. In looking after this important and far- 
reaching trust, Mr. Clegg has been truly a public 
benefactor, and the results of his earnest and 
self-denying efforts will long remain a monu- 
ment to his interest in the people's behalf. Mr. 
Clegg has always been animated by an earnest- 
ness of purpose most admirable, and for him 
to recognize a duty is equivalent to its perform- 
ance. He has strong convictions of right, faith- 
fully and fearlessly discharges every trust con- 
fided to him, and in the line of his duty he is 
regardless alike of fear or favor. He has led a 
very active life, fraught with much good to his 



kind, and the world is certainly better because 
of his presence. Mr. Clegg was married in 
1871 to Mrs. Sarah Taylor, a native of Lan- 
cashire, England, and a daughter of Amber and 
Mary Ann Taylor, the union resulting in seven 
children, of whom are living, Emma, Elizabeth, 
Arthur and Hannah ; the deceased being Jona- 
than, Sarah and Charley. 

FREDERICK W. COATES. 

Brought to Wyoming in the prosecution of 
the pleasing business he has been engaged in 
since leaving school, that of surveying, which he 
has done for railroad companies, the U. S. gov- 
ernment, private persons and corporations, there- 
by made familiar with the lay of the land in all 
northern Wyoming and adjoining states, Fred- 
erick W. Coates deliberately selected his pres- 
ent location for a permanent home from a choice 
made through an extensive knowledge and a 
well-seasoned judgment. His fine ranch is locat- 
ed fifteen miles northeast of Newcastle, in West- 
on county, and is surrounded with an ample 
range for the herds of superior cattle to which 
it is devoted, and for which it yields annually 
large crops of hay. He came to this section of 
the country from a great mercantile and manu- 
facturing center, having been born in Minneap- 
olis, Minn., on August 1, 1856, the son of Don- 
ald and Sarah J. (Keith) Coates, natives of New 
York state, who came to Minnesota soon after 
their marriage and engaged in farming and fruit- 
growing near Minneapolis. In 1874 they re- 
moved to California, and, soon after their arrival 
in that state, the mother died. Her remains 
were taken to Scott county, Minn., and there 
buried. The father then returned to California 
and bought a fruit ranch in Santa Clara county 
on which he now resides. Frederick W. Coates 
remained at home until he was sixteen years old, 
receiving his education in the schools of Minne- 
apolis, taking a special course of instruction and 
training in civil engineering and surveying at a 
technical school of renown at Excelsior, from 
which he was graduated in 1872. He then for 



784 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



four years was in the service of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad as a surveyor. His next em- 
ployment was on a U. S. government survey 
in the Northwest, where he was engaged until 
1 88 1, his work in this connection calling him 
frequently to Wyoming, and, for a short time in 
1876, keeping him in the Black Hills country. 
After leaving the government service, he did 
surveying for himself and for others in the min- 
ing country around Deadwood until 1883, when 
he came to Buffalo, Wyo., and since that time 
he has been engaged in surveying in the northern 
part of the state, principally in Crook and Wes- 
ton counties, being still in great demand through- 
out a large extent of country. He has been in- 
terested in other business during the whole of his 
residence in the West. While he was in gov- 
ernment service he owned and also conducted a 
freighting outfit between Pierre, S- D., and the 
Black Hills, which he sold in 1882. In 1887 he 
bought a livery business in Sundance, Wyo., aft- 
erwards associating J. E. Duling with himself in 
this enterprise. This business continued until 
1889, when they opened and conducted a livery 
barn at Newcastle until 1892, when Mr. Coates 
sold his interest to M. B. Camplain. Before this, 
however, he had secured the ranch on which he 
now lives in exchange for a livery business, and 
when he sold to Mr. Camplain, he took up his res- 
idence on the ranch which is his home, and since 
then has devoted his entire time and energy to its 
improvement and the development of his cattle 
industry, except such time as he has been obliged 
to give to surveying, having been the county 
surveyor from the organization of the county, 
and his professional services being in frequent 
demand by private parties. His ranch is well 
improved, having good buildings and fences. It 
is a representative home of the section as he is a 
representative citizen thereof. It bespeaks his 
good taste and judgment, as his career among 
this people bespeaks his enterprise and public 
spirit. On April 24, 1888, at Deadwood, S. D., 
he was married to Miss Ellen McCaffrey, a na- 
tive of Glengarry county, Ontario, and a daugh- 
ter of John and Ellen McCaffrey, natives of Ire- 



land. Five children have brightened their home, 
James H., William, Herbert, Mamie and Flor- 
ence. Mr. Coates is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, belonging to the lodge at Newcastle, 
and in politics he is an active and zealous Re- 
publican, giving to his party good service in its 
various state and county campaigns. He is 
looked up to as a leading citizen, devoted to the 
welfare of the community. 

S. H. COCKINS. 

S. H. Cockins, of Bighorn county, Wyoming, 
living on a fine ranch of 400 acres on Grey Bull 
River, there conducting a stock and general farm- 
ing industry of increasing magnitude and cumu- 
lative profits, has been twice a soldier in the 
service of his country, once in the Civil War, 
when the conflict was marked with carnage and 
destruction, and since its close a soldier in that 
army of industrial progress, which has subdued 
the untamed wilderness of the Northwest and 
brought it to systematic productiveness. In both 
fields of conquest he has borne himself bravely 
and has rendered valuable service. He is a na- 
tive of Ohio, where his life began on February 
3, 1838, and where his parents, Vincent and Eliza- 
beth (Wright) Cockins, settled soon after their 
marriage, having come thither as pioneers of the 
state from the home of their nativity in Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr. Cockins was reared and educated in 
his native state, and soon after the Civil War 
broke out he enlisted in Co. A, Seventy-eighth 
Ohio Infantry. He saw hard service and was 
in many important and hotly contested engage- 
ments, until he was seriously wounded at the 
battle of Raymond, Miss., when he was a little 
later discharged on account- of the disability there- 
in incurred. He returned to his Ohio home and 
until 1876 was occupied in buying stock and 
shipping it to various points. Then, attracted 
by the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of 
South Dakota, and the opportunities for success- 
ful business operations it promised in that re- 
gion, he sold out in Ohio and came to this new 
Eldorado of the Argonauts, where he passed ten 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



785 



years in prospecting and mining. In 1888 he 
came to Wyoming and located in the Bighorn 
basin, on the Grey Bull River, where he now 
lives and has had his home continuously since. 
Here he carries on a flourishing and expanding 
stock industry, principally handling horses, but 
having some cattle, all being of good quality and 
well bred. His ranch is beautifully located and 
well adapted to its purposes, and has been highly 
improved by him, the portions under cultivation 
brought to a state of great fertility and product- 
iveness. Mr. Cochins is energetic in behalf of 
the best interests of the community, always to be 
found in active aid of any enterprise conducive 
of the progress and improvement of the county 
or of its people. He is highly respected as a rep- 
resentative and progressive citizen, a firm and 
helpful friend, an obliging neighbor and a genial 
and entertaining companion. He belongs to and 
takes great interest in the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, that fast-fading embodiment of the mem- 
ories, the heroism, the triumphs and the suffer- 
ings of the Northern side in the War between the 
Sections of our now reunited country. 

JESSE COLE, 

Jesse Cole, one of the prominent business men 
of the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a native of 
the county of Carter, state of Tennessee, having 
been born in that county on March 5, 1840, the 
son of Alfred and Harriet (Blevins) Cole, both 
natives of the state of Tennessee. His father 
there followed the occupation of farming, and, 
in 1842, emigrated from Tennessee to Jackson 
county, Mo., where he continued in agricultural 
pursuits, his family being among the earliest set- 
tlers of that section of the state, where thev 
founded their home about six miles southeast of 
the site of Kansas City. The History of Jackson 
County, Mo., contained an interesting account of 
the life and work of Alfred Cole, which justly por- 
trayed him as one of the prominent pioneers and 
representative farmers of that county, successful 
in business and possessing the highest esteem of 
all who knew him. He remained there until his 



death, on February 8, 1854. He lies buried on 
the old Jackson county homestead, and his good 
wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, 
who passed away at the same place on July 10, 
1876, lies buried by his side. United in life, they 
are not separated in death, and rest together near 
the scenes of their active and useful, lives. Mr. 
Cole grew to manhood in Jackson county, and 
there received his early education in the public 
schools. After the death of his father, he was 
compelled to leave school to take the management 
of the farm. In this he was very successfvd, and, 
upon the death of his mother, he became the sole 
owner of the handsome property. He resided 
here, conducting a prosperous business in farm- 
ing and stockraising, until 1897, when he dis- 
posed of the greater portion of his property in- 
terests in Missouri. For a short time after this 
he was not engaged in any active business, and 
his wife and children passed some months in vis- 
iting in the state of California. Desiring to en- 
gage in the live stock business on a scale more 
extensive than had been possible at his old Mis- 
souri home, he came to Wyoming, and, in the 
spring of 1898, purchased his present fine ranch 
property, situated on South Crow Creek, about 
sixteen miles west of the city of Cheyenne. Soon 
after having established himself in his new home, 
he was here joined by his family, and they have 
now one of the finest and best improved places in 
all of that section. They have a large two-story 
brick residence, barns, buildings and all modern 
improvements. Mr. Cole has 4,300 acres of pat- 
ented land, well fenced, irrigated and improved, 
with many acres of the finest meadow land, also 
having a large herd of cattle, and being consid- 
ered as one of the most substantial and progress- 
ive business men of the state. On December 29, 
1885, Mr. Cole was united in marriage to Mrs. 
Emma C. (Basye) Sampson, a native of Jack- 
son county. Mo., and the daughter of James and 
Mary (Coates) Basye, the former a native of 
Kent, England, and the latter of Missouri, where 
the father settled in Jackson county in the early 
forties, and followed the occupation of farming 
until his death in 1856. The mother passed away 



786 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in January, 1890, and lies buried by the side of 
the father in Jackson county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cole have one child, Silas L., who is residing with 
his parents, attending the public schools. Po- 
litically, Mr. .Cole is a stanch member of the 
Democratic party, and, while a resident of Mis- 
souri, he took an active and prominent part in 
the public affairs of his county and state, attend- 
ing conventions, and being one of the trusted 
leaders of his party. He has never held, or 
sought to hold, public office, however, and since 
his residence in Wyoming, has given his entire 
time to the management of his private business, in 
which he has met with conspicuous success. Fra- 
ternally, he is a member of the Masonic order. 
The family are members of the Christian church, 
in which they take a deep interest, and are active 
and earnest in all matters calculated to better 
the condition and promote the welfare of the 
community in which they reside. They are 
among the most highly esteemed and respected 
citizens of their section of the state. 

ALFRED D. GAMBELL. 

Honored and highly esteemed by all who 
know him, not only as an active business man, 
but also as one of the first seekers of gold in 
California, whither he made his way among the 
Argonauts of 1849, Alfred D. Gambell of Hart- 
ville, Laramie county, Wyoming, is truly a 
pioneer of pioneers, a business force among the 
commercial bulwarks of the state, having a life 
story full of varied and interesting incidents, 
being the prime actor in a career that has few 
parallels in the history of the Northwest. His 
forefathers came to New York in Colonial 
times and made their influence felt for good in 
the formation and development of that state. 
There his parents, Seth and Betsey (Thayer) 
Gambell, were born and reared, and from there 
they removed to Richland county, Ohio, where 
their son Alfred first saw the light on January 
27, 1822, and where he grew to manhood amid 
the quiet but stimulating scenes of rural life, 
assisting in the labors of the farm, for which 
lie developed great aptitude, and as he had op- 



portunity attending the subscription schools of 
the neighborhood, gathering from their slender 
streams of knowledge a modicum of scholastic 
learning, which, though small, was clear and 
serviceable. In 1844, when he was but twenty- 
two years old, he left the parental rooftree, and, 
making his way to the shore of Lake Erie secured 
a position on a steamer plying regularly on its 
waters, after some time locating temporarily at 
Buffalo, from there traveling extensively in 
New England and the Middle states. But the 
voice of the sea was still sounding persuasively 
in his ears and in 1847 he shipped at Stoning- 
ton, Conn., on a whaler for the Arctic regions 
and passed a year in that service. Returning 
to the United States he again went before the 
mast in a voyage "around the Horn" to Cali- 
fornia, reaching San Francisco in February, 
1849. I n April following he went to the min- 
ing region, after a year spent in mining and 
prospecting returning from San Francisco by 
the Panama route and New York City to his 
Ohio home, and there, in the autumn of 1851, 
was united in marriage with Miss Esther Lout- 
senheizer, a native of the state. The next four 
years were passed quietly on a farm in Wil- 
liams county, Ohio, and in 1855, leaving his wife 
to look after the farm in his absence, Mr. Gam- 
bell turned his face once more toward the set- 
ting sun and, taking passage by the Isthmus 
route, reached the mines of California without 
incident worthy of note, there passing another 
year in prospecting and mining, then returning 
to Ohio for his family, but coming west again 
as far as Colorado without them. There he 
was occupied in mining- for a year, in 1856 re- 
moving his family to the territory where he 
continued his mining operations with encourag- 
ing results, and in 1859 aided to organize the 
Colorado Pioneers' Society, being instrumental 
in having a medal made out of the first silver 
found in the territory to commemorate the 
event. One of these medals he still preserves 
among the highly-prized souvenirs of his event- 
ful career, lie also built and successfully oper- 
ated the first stampmill in Colorado, erected 
at Nevadaville. where he had extensive mines, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



787 



being run for years at its full capacity in re- 
ducing the ores from his claims. Mr. Gambell 
was not only a pioneer in the mining industry 
of Colorado, but bore a leading part in the de- 
velopment of its civil history and the direction 
of its public affairs, being essentially a represen- 
tative man, with keenness of vision to see and 
resolute energy to make known the resources 
of the new territory to which he had given alle- 
giance. In the midst of his success in mining 
his wife's health failed and she was obliged 
to go east for medical treatment. She found 
a suitable place in Toledo, Ohio, and there in 
1863 he joined her and finding her condition 
much improved, came west again to Nebraska, 
and purchasing land near Grand Island, became 
a farmer and stockraiser. After the death of 
his wife in 1879 he went with his daughter to 
the Black Hills of South Dakota, and for sev- 
eral years devoted his attention to erecting and 
equipping mills in that section, being an expert 
mechanic, with special qualifications for making 
and placing in operation intricate machinery, 
he found plenty of remunerative employment 
in this line. Among the works that stand 
strongly to his credit is a large mill at Grand 
Junction, nine miles from Custer. In 1882 he 
disposed of his interests in Dakota and col- 
lecting a force of workmen came to 'the vicinitv 
of Hartville, Wyo., to develop the mineral wealth 
of that locality and among the leading mines he 
here opened is the one that bears his name and 
belongs to him, one of the richest in the state, 
and now operated by a Colorado syndicate, its 
lessees. He superintended the construction of 
all the machinery for the mineral industries of 
the neighborhood and did other important 
work in bringing its products to the knowledge 
and use of the country, but is now living a life 
of ease and honorable retirement, realizing that 
there is even on this side of the grave a haven 
where the storms of life come not, or are felt 
only in gentle undulations of the water, a hale 
and peaceful old age. He has been active in 
Freemasonry, holding membership in Toledo 
Lodge, No. 144, since i860 and throughout his 

mature life he has been an active worker in the 
49 



ranks of the Democratic party, giving ardent 
and intelligent attention to its campaigns for 
more than sixty years, and although frequently 
importuned to allow the use of his name for 
exalted political stations, he has never con- 
sented to be a candidate for any office. The 
death of his wife in 1879, at Grand Island, Neb., 
where she was buried, was a great bereavement 
which has influenced all of his subsequent ca- 
reer. She was a member of an old Ohio family 
of high standing, both of her parents' passing' 
their entire lives in that state, and she inherited 
and exemplified all the best traits of her lineage. 
She was the mother of two children, Seth Gam- 
bell, who died on July 14, 1901, aged forty- 
seven ; Minnie, now widow of E. D. Clark, living 
at Custer, S. D. Mrs. Clark has six children, 
Alice, Avery, Frank, Minnie, Bessie, Eloise. 

HON. AUGUSTUS L. COLEMAN. 

To preside over the birth or formative period 
of a new political entity, to give shape to its plas- 
tic substance and establish its rules of action, to 
fix the trend of its civil policy and start in mo- 
tion its educational and moral forces, is a privi- 
lege allowed to few men, and those who possess 
it are entitled to all honor, if they perform their 
duties well and wisely. In this class must be 
numbered Hon. Augustus L. Coleman, of Big- 
horn county, Wyoming, a prominent ranchman, 
stockgrower, legislator and leading citizen, who 
is now living on his beautiful ranch of 320 acres 
near Bigtrails. He has been so essentially a leader 
of thought and mental and political action in this 
county that he must ever occupy a place of 
high regard among its people, and be revered as 
one of its founders. He was connected with the 
U. S. survey which fixed the metes and bounds 
of much of its land and he has also performed a 
considerable amount of other surveying within 
its limits. He helped to organize the first school 
district in the county and taught the first school 
in the Bighorn basin. In order to qualify as a 
member of the board for this school district he, 
was obliged to make an eight-days' trip to Buf- 
falo. He was a member of the first board of 



788 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



county commissioners of the county, and also one 
of the first justices of the peace. He represented 
the county in the lower house of the First State 
Legislature, and has since represented it in the 
State Senate. For many years he was a deputy 
U. S. surveyor, and is now a U. S. commissioner. 
In all these capacities he has served the people 
well, discharged his duties with fidelity and skill 
and maintained a high standard of official pro- 
priety and dignity. Mr. Coleman was born on 
May 23, 1855, in Otsego county, N. Y., where 
his parents, Morell and Helen (Curtis) Coleman, 
were also native, and where his ancestors on 
both sides had lived for generations. He passed 
his childhood and youth in his native county, 
and from her public schools secured his educa- 
tion in the way of scholastic training. After 
leaving school he engaged in both farming and 
teaching near* his home until 1885, when he ac- 
companied ex-Gov. W. A. Richards, of the Colo- 
rado Ditch Co., to Wyoming, the next year com- 
ing to his present location, where he began the 
raising of stock and farming. He was assiduous 
in improving his land, fitting it up with the neces- 
sary equipment for his purposes, beautifying it 
with a commodious and comfortable residence. 
He also labored diligently and judiciously in 
cultivating much of the land, thus making it sub- 
serve the requirements of his extensive and in- 
creasing herds of cattle, which now number 500 
head and rank in grade with any in his vicinity. 
As has been noted, he served in the First State 
Legislature, and in 1896 he was elected to the 
State Senate and served four years. In this ex- 
alted station, wherein he was associated with a 
number of the best and ablest men in the state, 
he was conspicuous for the wide and accurate 
knowledge which he displayed of the affairs of 
the state, for the correctness and wisdom of his 
views and for his skill and vigor in enforcing 
'them. He rendered valuable service to his con- 
stituents and to the state at large. He was mar- 
ried in New York, on June 2, 1878, to Miss Irene 
Slater, a native of that state. They have two 
children. George and Howard. Mr. Coleman is 
in all respects a truly representative man of the 



state, one of its most respected and influential 
citizens. Mrs. Coleman came to the West in the 
spring of 1887, and, although not strong physical- 
ly, and, for the past nine years, almost an in- 
valid, she has labored in the interests of her hus- 
band and family untiringly, often beyond her 
strength. One of the most self-sacrificing, kind- 
est and best of the ever noble women of the fron- 
tier, she is universally beloved in the county 
where she has done her full share in all matters 
aiding in the establishment of civilization. Mr. 
Coleman writes us thus : "If I have been suc- 
cessful here, either politically or in a financial 
way, she is certainly entitled to the credit, for, 
without her loving counsel, I certainly should not 
have attained to any prominence." 

FRANK K. COLLETT. 

There is, perhaps, no stockman of the immedi- 
ate locality of his home who is more extensively 
known or stands higher among his acquaintances 
than Mr. Collett, and it is but simple justice to 
incorporate a brief review of his life and activi- 
ties in this volume, as one of the wide-awake and 
representative citizens of Uinta county. He was 
born in October, 1865, at Logan, Utah, a son of 
Sylvanus and Lydia (Karens) Collett, of whom 
individual and collective sketches appear else- 
where in this volume, to which the reader is re- 
ferred for the details of the ancestral history of 
Mr. Frank K. Collett. After availing himself of 
the advantages of school education that were 
within the reach of his youthful years, Mr. Col- 
lett, at the age of fourteen, became a range- 
rider, acquiring, in the course of the years which 
he devoted to the caring for cattle, a skill and 
proficiency, a health of body and powers of en- 
durance which have been of admirable service to 
him in his life of intense activity, and given him 
distinction among the cattlemen with whom he 
was associated. Having become thoroughly fa- 
miliar with each and every department of the 
cattle industry, Mr. Collett established a home 
and business of his own, by securing a homestead 
of 1 do acres, located at Cokesdale. Wyo., and here 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



789 



he, with his customary activity and earnestness, 
engaged in general farming and in the stock 
business, from the first obtaining satisfactory re- 
sults, as his operations have been conducted with 
care and discrimination. He usually runs a 
large and valuable herd of high-grade cattle, 
mosth' of the Hereford breed. In December, 
1893, occurred his marriage with Miss Catharine 
Sims, born in Utah, in 1870, a daughter of Alex- 
ander and Elizabeth (McDermott) Sims, natives 
of Scotland and of Africa. Her father, a miller, 
came to the United States from his native land 
in company with a Mormon colony and settled in 
Utah, where he resided the greater part of his 
subsequent life, dying, however, at the age of 
fifty-one years in 1894, at Fish Haven, in Idaho, 
where had been his home for a short period of 
time. His wife survives him, having her home at 
Swan Creek, Utah. Mr. Sims was a thoughtful, 
intelligent person, keeping himself fully abreast 
of the world's latest movements, by his extensive 
and carefully selected reading of the best litera- 
ture, becoming extremely well informed. Mr. 
and Mrs. Collett's household is rounded out by 
the presence of two winsome daughters, Imogene 
and Lucile. Mr. Collett is an active and earnest 
observer of all public matters of local and gen- 
eral interest, and is heartily connected with the 
success of the Republican party of Uinta county, 
supporting its candidates and promulgating its 
principles in every campaign. Fraternally, he is 
a valued member of the Woodmen of the World. 

HON. W. S. COLLINS. 

Nature is seemingly very capricious and un- 
even in the distribution of her favors among 
men ; but, when her action is viewed in the light 
of a true discernment, it is often seen that she 
has a true system of balances, and compensations, 
which makes her distributions far more equitable 
than they at first appear. To one man she gives 
opportunity and the school education to prepare 
him for its proper use : to another she gives the 
inherent strength and fertility of mind and char- 
acter to hew out opportunities and compel even 
obdurate circumstances to yield a full, if not a 



ready, compliance with his will. To the latter 
class she consigned Hon. W. S. Collins, of Basin, 
Wyoming, the popular county attorney of Bighorn 
county, who neither inherited nor found by acci- 
dent the way to consequence and usefulness, but 
worked it out for himself with assiduous effort 
and by constant fidelity to every daily duty. He 
was born in Champaign county, Ohio, on March 
30, 1848, the son of worthy and industrious par- 
ents, whose circumstances, however, were such 
that he was not able to get much education at the 
schools, being obliged to help to make his own 
way in the world at an early age. When he 
was but seven years of age he began to work out 
among the neighbors of his home, receiving 
twenty-five cents a day as. wages, and, while he 
may have looked longingly at the little coun- 
try schoolhouse, wherein others who seemed far 
more fortunate were drinking copious draughts 
of the invigorating waters of knowledge, while 
he could catch only here and there a handful of 
the sparkling stream, as it sang and danced across 
his toilsome pathway, he was not discouraged by 
this condition, but "while his companions slept 
was toiling upward through the night." By his 
own efforts, diligently and judiciously applied, 
he qualified himself to teach school, and there- 
after followed this vocation until he was twenty- 
three years old. Having" earned, and saved, suffi- 
cient money for the purpose, he then entered Mc- 
Cain's Academy at Iowa City, Iowa, where he 
pursued a course of instruction as a preparation 
for a more advanced one at college, and in 1870 
was graduated from an agricultural college with 
the degree of civil engineer. In the spring of 
1877 he began the study of law with the firm of 
Hamilton & McGuire, of Springfield, 111., and, 
after completing his course in the profession, he 
was admitted to practice in the courts of the 
state by the Supreme Court on an open examina- 
tion. Soon afterward he moved to Brown coun- 
ty, Neb., and, not long after his location there, 
was made surveyor of the county. From there 
he moved to Fort Fetterman, Wyo., and, a little 
later, to Douglas, which had but recently been 
born and baptized as a new municipal entity, and 
he took an important part in forming and develop- 



79° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ing the bantling. Since 1888 he has been a res- 
ident of the Bighorn basin, and no man worked 
harder or more intelligently and systematically to 
build up this portion of the state, develop its nat- 
ural resources and establish its civil and educa- 
tional institutions on a healthy and progressive 
basis. Just prior to his coming to this section, 
he organized a company of Nebraska capitalists 
to develop the Bonanza oil-fields, and labored 
most faithfully for the success of the undertak- 
ing, but, after an expenditure of $22,000, the com- 
pany failed. Mr. Collins, however, did not be- 
come disheartened, but has firmly held to his be- 
lief in the wealth of the region and has been un- 
tiring in his efforts to bring it forth for the bene- 
fit of mankind. For a number of years he has 
served as U. S. commissioner and also devoted 
his time and energies to the reclamation and im- 
provement of arid lands. He was one of the 
founders of the town of Basin, and, on the organ- 
ization of Bighorn county, he became one of its 
prominent and representative citizens, a leader 
in Republican politics. In 1898 he was elected 
county attorney and prosecutor and was reelected 
in 1900. Prior to this, from the formation of the 
county, in 1895, ne na -d been zealous and active 
in developing its industrial, agricultural and 
financial resources. It was largely through his 
efforts that the Bighorn County Bank was estab- 
lished, in 1897, the Basin city water-works put 
into operation, in 1901, and the Bighorn Canal 
Co. organized and its great irrigating plant set 
in motion. In 1901 he organized the Basin Pub- 
lishing Co., and, a year later, the Bonanza Oil 
Development Co. His latest achievement was 
the organization of the Basin Light Artillery Co., 
and through his intercession the state has 
equipped this company with uniforms, revolvers, 
sabers and all other things needed for its effi- 
ciency, including two rifled field guns. The city 
and the county are equally objects of his intense 
and serviceable solicitude, seeing with a clear 
vision the great possibilities of each, and knowing 
also the capabilities of the people to work out 
harmonious and healthy development of those 
possibilities, he looks forward with abiding con- 
fidence to the great future, doing his part day 



by day and in every line of proper activity to 
aid in hastening the good results. American cit- 
izenship in the Northwest has nowhere a finer, 
more courageous, more resourceful or more high- 
ly esteemed representative. 

WILLIAM L. CONNELLY. 

A young and enterprising man of distinctive 
force of character and strong mentality, the sub- 
ject of this review is a creditable representative 
of that large and progressive class of Western 
men whose lives and energies are devoted to the 
live stock industry. William L. Connelly, a son 
of Charles P. and Mary (Hanna) Connelly, was 
born near Charlestown, West Virginia, on Feb- 
ruary 15, 1868. In 1869 these parents moved to 
Muscatine county, Iowa, where the father lived 
the life of a farmer until his death, the following 
year. Mrs. Connelly died some years later, and 
was laid to rest by the side of her husband, near 
their home in the county of Muscatine. William 
L. Connelly received his educational training in 
the public schools of the above county, and at 
the early age of sixteen was obliged to rely upon 
his own resources for a livelihood. Actuated by 
a desire to seek his fortune in the Great West, 
he started, in the spring of 1885, for Wyoming, 
and, reaching his destination, in due time, se- 
cured employment with the management of the 
P. F. cattle ranch, on the Platte River, in Laramie 
count\. From the above date until 1892 he rode 
the range in various parts of the country, work- 
ing for different parties, but in the latter year 
took up a ranch ten miles east of Fort Laramie, 
where he has since been actively engaged in 
the live stock business, and is a large raiser of 
alfalfa. Mr. Connelly exercised discreet judg- 
ment in selecting his ranch, which lies in a rich 
and beautiful grazing district, and which, with 
the attractive cottage, and other improvements he 
has since added, has greatly enhanced its value. 
It is now one of the most desirable places of its 
area in Laramie count}-, in many respects being 
an ideal home for a family of intelligence, good 
taste and enterprise. Mr. Connelly has succeeded 
well in his business undertaking's, by industry and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



79i 



good management accumulating a comfortable 
competence, sufficient, in fact, to place him in 
independent circumstances, so far as any anxiety 
for the financial future is concerned. He is a 
shrewd and a far-seeing business man, in all 
transactions with which he has been identified 
his name is a synonym for manly conduct and 
honorable dealing. At this time he owns 400 
acres, for which he has warranty deeds, and 1,100 
acres acquired by preempting. With this amount 
of real-estate in his possession, all rapidly in- 
creasing in value, it is eminently proper to pre- 
dict for him a career of continued prosperity. 
Mr. Connelly is a married man, the father of four 
bright and interesting children, whose names are : 
Catherine, Bernice, Frederick and Marion ; the 
first born, Lawrence, is not living. The maiden 
name of Mrs. Connelly was Grace E. Snyder, 
and the ceremony by which it was changed to 
the one she now bears was solemnized at Chad- 
ron, Neb., on January 31, 1892.' Mrs. Connelly 
is the daughter of Thomas B. and Sarah J. 
(Spaulding) Snyder, the father being a well- 
known and prosperous stockman of Nebraska. 
In his political adherency, Mr. Connelly is a pro- 
nounced Republican. While earnest in the sup- 
port of his principles, he has no political aspira- 
tions, preferring the independent life he now 
leads to any office within the gift of the people. 

. W, R. COPMAN. 

W. R. Copman, owner and manager of one of 
the most attractive and valuable stock ranches at 
Cloverly. in Bighorn county. Wyoming, and the 
postmaster at this place, the postoffice having 
been established through his efforts and at his 
earnest solicitation, has passed nearly the half of 
his life so far in Wyoming, and, during the whole 
of his residence in the state, he has been actively 
at work as one of the builders and developers of 
her commercial, industrial, agricultural and po- 
litical interests. He is a native of Pennsylvania, 
where he was born on April 15, 1850, the son 
of W. C. and Anna Copman, both of whom were 
born and reared in Saxony, Germany. He lived 
in his native state until he reached the age of six- 



teen, assisting his parents on the farm and, when 
he could, attending school. In 1866 he left home 
for Kansas, where he remained until 1877. He 
then went to Oregon, Washington and to Idaho, 
mining at various places and also riding the range 



between times. In 1880 he brought a drove of 
cattle to Wyoming, from the Grand Ronde Val- 
ley of Oregon, for H. C. Lovell, and thereafter 
remained in the territory, mining and riding 
the range until 1887, then locating a ranch on 
Shell Creek and going to work to develop on it a 
stock company of magnitude and profit. He re- 
mained on that ranch and carried on a good busi- 
ness until 1893, when he sold it and removed to 
the one he now occupies, which is a beautiful tract 
of land of 320 acres, to the natural attractiveness 
of which his skill and industry have made im- 
portant additions, and on which he has erected 
good buildings and built up a fine cattle business. 
He took up part of the land as a homestead, and 
part as a desert claim, and has responded to the 
bounty of the government in giving it, by dili- 
gently applying his enterprise, intelligence and 
systematic labor in its improvement. His stock 
consists of sheep, cattle and horses, sheep being 
the principal interest which engages his atten- 
tion, and of these he handles usually a band of 
about 1,000. His cattle and horses are well se- 
lected as to breeds, and are well kept by careful 
attention and ample provision for their comfort. 
On August 22, 1900, he succeeded in having a 
postoffice established at Cloverly, and was ap- 
pointed postmaster, accepting the office for the 
convenience of the neighborhood. He is also a 
school director, and has given valuable attention 
to the development and improvement of the 
school system Of the district. On November 4, 
1890. he was united in marriage at Billings, 
Mont., with Miss Elizabeth Yegen, a native of 
Switzerland, but for years a resident of the 
Northwest. They have three children, daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth, Emerita and Christina. Mr. Cop- 
man has given to the people among whom he 
has lived in this state an example of elevated and 
useful citizenship, and has left his mark on the 
civil and educational institutions of his county in 
enduring form. In all the lines of active effort 



792 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in which he has labored, he has performed his 
duties with fidelity and success, and, wherever he 
has halted long enough to accomplish a definite 
result, he has left the impress of a public-spirited, 
far-seeing man of enterprise and resourcefulness. 

JOHN F. CORBETT. 

A pioneer of 1877 in Wyoming, and a mighty 
Nimrod through all this northwestern country, 
having braved all dangers of the section and en- 
dured all privations incident to his wild life, with 
a competence of this world's wealth, won by his 
own thrift and enterprise, a town being named in 
his honor as proof of his public spirit and his 
permanent impress on the very body of his time, 
John F. Corbett, of Meeteetse, in Bighorn coun- 
ty, remains among us as a distinct and worthy 
type of that fast-fading personage, the real fron- 
tiersman and pioneer, who blazed the way for 
the advancing arm of civilization in that part 
of the world and first commanded the wild 
luxuries of nature to subjection for the uses of 
mankind. Mr. Corbett was born of Irish parent- 
age and Welch ancestry on his father's side. His 
grandfather, an Irish major in the British army, 
in that service well sustained the prestige of his 
forefathers, which they won on many a bloody 
field. Mr. John F. Corbett's parents were Mat- 
thias and Johanna Corbett. They were born and 
reared and married in Ireland. Soon after their 
marriage they came to the United States and 
settled in Massachusetts, where their son, John 
F., was born on December 28, 1846. He re- 
ceived a limited common-school education in his 
native place, and when he was seventeen years of 
age went to Tennessee, where he endeavored to 
enlist as a soldier in the Union Army, but was 
rejected on account of the frailty of his health. 
He then secured government employment as a 
teamster, in this capacity reached Kansas City, 
.Mo., and later was transferred to Lawrence, Kan. 
There he determined to become a scout, and for 
years thereafter he was employed in this thrilling 
but dangerous duty, serving in turn all the re- 
nowned men in the West who stood in need of 



his ability in this direction. He scouted with 
many noted personages, portions of the time being 
in the service of the United States, and portions 
in that of the several territories and of private 
parties. He also hunted buffalo and other game 
on an extensive scale. The life was full of diffi- 
culties, but his body and soul were hardened to 
meet them. It was beset with dangers, but these 
were the very spice of it. The wilderness, rough, 
harsh and inexorable, had for him, as it had for 
many another, charms more potent than all the 
lures of luxury and sloth. In June, 1868, a com- 
pany of scouts was organized, under command of 
Major Forsyth and Lieutenant Beecher. consist- 
ing of fifty-three citizens. They fought the well- 
remembered battle of the Riccara, on the Middle 
Fork of the Sweetwater, Mr. Corbett joining 
them after the battle, in August, when the band 
was recruited to its normal size, under the 
command of Lieutenant Papoon, of the Tenth 
U. S. Cavalry, with Malcolm Graham next in 
command as acting sergeant major. Among 
other prominent pioneers in this troop were 
Judge Stillwell, Jim Curry, French Pete, Jack 
Donovan, Joe Lane and others. He had here 
breathing room and scope for his adventurous na^ 
ture. So it was not to be wondered at that he 
returned to this life after a short respite, in 1877, 
as a clerk in a store at Cheyenne, which year 
marked his advent into Wyoming as a perma- 
nent resident. From there he went to the Pow- 
der River, and for two years was engaged in 
hunting on the Crow reservation. Here the game 
was abundant, worth}' of his prowess. In one 
section, with two other hunters, he killed 552 
deer and great quantities of other game. But 
lie tired of this life at last, and, on September 10, 
1880, he came to the Bighorn basin, determined 
to settle down to more quiet pursuits, and, locat- 
ing on the site of the present town of Cody, he 
carried on a brisk trade with the Indians, inci- 
dentally doing hunting at times. Four years la- 
ter he moved to the head of Meeteetse Creek, and 
there opened a general store, which he conducted 
with success for six years. In 1890 he took up 
his residence at Meeteetse, and he has since then 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



793 



made that town his home. He owns much val- 
uable property within its limits, and, also, much 
at Corbett, which was named in his honor. His 
life is now passing pleasantly towards its sun- 
set, being in peace after so many conflicts, in 
safety after so many dangers, and living in agree- 
able association with his fellow men, after so 
much companionship with Nature ; and, both on 
account of his record and his character, he is se- 
cure in the esteem of all good men. As a mem- 
ber of the order of Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica, he finds profitable enjoyment in fraternal re- 
lations, and as a citizen of patriotic devotion to 
the home of his adoption, he has enduring pleas- 
ure and satisfaction in the evidences of advance- 
ment and improvement he sees developing all 
around him in the community, in aid of which 
he has given freely his own contributions of time, 
service and substantial nutriment. 

REUBEN CORNWELL. 

Reuben Cornwell, a pioneer of June, 1881, 
whose adventurous footsteps were among the 
early ones that invaded that primeval solitude of 
northern Wyoming, and who has seen the region 
turned to a smiling garden of productiveness, 
basking in all the smiles of civilization and pros- 
perity, is a native of New York, where he was 
born on June 19, 1844. His parents, Wilbur and 
Sylvia (Mosier) Cornwell, were also native in 
the Empire state, and when he was six years old 
they removed to Oakland county, Michigan, 
where they were engaged in farming. On the 
Michigan farm he grew to manhood and at in- 
tervals attended the schools of the neighborhood. 
When he was twenty years of age, in September, 
1864, he enlisted in the Michigan Light Artillery 
and served until the end of the Civil War. He 
returned to Michigan at the end of his term, 
and, in 1871, moved to Iowa, locating in Chick- 
asaw county. There for ten years he followed 
farming, and, in 1881, came to Wyoming, settling 
in Sheridan county and taking up land on Prairie 
Dog Creek. He passed a year there in the stock 
business, and, in 1882, took up his residence in 



the town of Sheridan, and began to carry the 
mails under contract between that town and 
Berne, Mont. At the end of three years he re- 
linquished his contract for this work, and, during 
the next five years conducted a stock business on 
land he had taken up on preemption and desert 
claims. In 1900 he sold his ranch and again 
moved to Sheridan, and since then he has been 
handling cattle on the ranges, having generally 
200 head or more. Mr. Cornwell takes an active 
interest in the affairs of the town and county 
of his residence. He is a member of the Grand 
Army of the Republic and also of the Old Set- 
tlers' Club, being active in the service of both 
organizations. He was married in Iowa in 1874 
to Miss Martha Coutant, a native of that state 
and a daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Stohl) 
Coutant, early emigrants from Pennsylvania to 
Iowa, when the latter was a wild and unsettled 
frontier. Mrs. Cornwell is, also, like her hus- 
band, an interested and active member of the 
Old Settlers' Club, much esteemed in the social 
and church circles of the county seat. Her pres- 
ence and her influence are felt in all works of 
charity and benevolence. 

JOHN E. CRAWFORD. 

This representative farmer and stockraiser, 
one. of Laramie county's enterprising men of af- 
fairs, was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, on 
August 3, 1868. His parents were Robert and 
Mary (Hall) Crawford, both lifelong residents 
of Sullivan county, the father being a farmer by 
occupation. Robert Crawford was well known in 
the community where nearly all his life was spent 
and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his 
neighbors and fellow citizens ; his death occurred 
in February, 1877. Mrs. Crawford is still living 
in the county of Sullivan, making her home with 
a son, Charles, who carries on farming near the 
old family homestead. The early life of John 
E. Crawford, spent on the home farm, was with 
out events of striking interest and was passed 
very much like that of the majority of boys who 
are reared to industrious habits in the country. 



794 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



His educational experiences included an attend- 
ance at the public schools in the winter seasons, 
while the rest of the year was devoted to the 
honorable toil with which life on the farm is at- 
tended. Before attaining his majority, he left 
the parental roof and began life for himself, ■ 
working for farmers in the neighborhood where 
he was born and reared. He was thus engaged 
until the spring of 1890 when he went to Scotts 
Bluff county, Neb., where he followed agricul- 
tural pursuits for a limited period. Going thence 
to the northern part of Wyoming, Mr. Crawford 
spent about six months in the northern section 
of the state, and at the expiration of that time 
he located on the Rawhide, where, during the 
eighteen months following, he was engaged in 
ranching. In the spring of 1892 he assisted in 
driving cattle to Montana, but did not long re- 
main in the latter state, returning to Woyming 
after a lapse of six months, and, in the fall of 
1892, he took up his present ranch, seventeen 
miles east of Fort Laramie. Mr. Crawford erect- 
ed a comfortable house on his land but did noth- 
ing further in the way of improvement until 1899, 
devoting the intervening years to ranching for 
various parties in Laramie and other counties. 
In the spring of the above year he addressed him- 
self to the improvement of his place, since that 
time he has been actively engaged in farming, 
for which his land appears peculiarly adapted. 
In addition to cultivating the soil, he is also in- 
terested in stockraising, owning a fine herd of 
cattle, which is constantly increasing, the outlook 
being very favorable for a prosperous business 
in this important industry. Mr. Crawford is a 
stockholder in the Torrington ditch, which was 
organized in 1892 and which has done so much 
to redeem and make habitable so large and valu- 
able an agricultural district in the county of 
Laramie. He is one of the leading spirits in the 
enterprise, takes an active interest in the work, 
devoting no inconsiderable portion of his time to 
the further extension of the ditch to the end 
that a still larger area of fertile land may be re- 
duced to tillage. Fraternally, Mr. Crawford is 
a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 



men, and in his daily life exemplifies, in a prac- 
tical way, the teachings and precepts of this 
most excellent organization. He has never mar- 
ried, contenting himself to live alone, without 
assuming the responsibility of family ties. En- 
joying the respect and esteem of the community 
in which he resides, and having gained distinctive 
success in a temporal way, Mr. Crawford has 
no cause for regretting that he has cast his lot 
in the West, and, it is safe to assert, that the 
state of Wyoming has no more loyal supporter. 
He has led an active life and in many ways has 
done much to advance the material interests of 
the county which is honored by his citizenship. 

HENRY B. CUNNINGHAM. 

One of the most successful and progressive 
of the stockmen of the state of Wyoming is 
Henry B. Cunningham, of Meriden. He is a 
native of the county of McLean, in the state of 
Illinois, having been born there on January 23, 
1853, the son of King and Cyrena (Thompson) 
Cunningham, the former a native of Indiana, and 
the latter of Kentucky. The paternal grand- 
father of Mr. Cunningham was a native of Ire- 
land, who, upon emigrating to America, first 
settled in Virginia, where, for a time, he followed 
freighting in the Alleghany Mountains, an occu- 
pation which, in that early day, was one of great 
importance in the commercial transactions of the 
time, and very remunerative. Subsequently he 
removed to Indiana, where he settled in the vi- 
cinity of Wabash, and engaged in farming and 
stockraising. Here he remained for a number 
of years, in 1827 disposing of his interests in 
Indiana, and moving his family and belongings 
to Illinois, where he purchased a farm and settled 
down in McLean county, and engaged in farming 
and stockgrowing. at which he remained em- 
ployed to the time of his death, which occurred 
in 1861. His maternal grandfather emigrated 
to America in 1816, when he was but sixteen 
years of age, and first went to Lexington, Ky., 
where he soon entered upon the occupation of 
stockraising and farming. In 1827 he removed 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



795 



his residence to the state of Illinois, and estab- 
lished himself in the county of McLean, and there 
continued in the same pursuit until his death in 
1889. The father of Henry B. Cunningham, 
arriving at man's estate, also engaged in farming 
and in the raising of fine stock in McLean county, 
111., where he is still residing, engaged in that 
pursuit. The mother died on April 4, 1898, and 
was buried in that county. Mr. Cunningham 
received his early education in the public schools 
of his native place, and remained at home, as- 
sisting his father in the management of the home 
business until 1873, when, desiring to begin life 
for himself, he took a trip to California, and se- 
cured employment on a stock farm near San 
Francisco, where he remained until the fall of 
that year. He then returned to the Illinois home 
and there remained until December of that year, 
when he went to Creston, in Union county, Iowa, 
where he purchased a farm and entered upon 
stockraising and farming. He continued in this 
business until 1888 with great success, being also 
interested extensively in the buying and selling" 
of cattle, and also in merchandising at various 
places in Union county. He was one of the 
largest operators in that section of the state. In 
1888 he disposed of many of his interests in 
Union county and removed to Des Moines, Iowa, 
where he engaged for a time in the hardware 
business. He was one of the organizers and in- 
corporators of the Iowa Carriage Co., of Des 
Moines, Iowa, and was elected secretary and 
treasurer of that company. He also became the 
owner of the Central rolling mills, which he 
operated for a number of years, dealing also ex- 
tensively in real-estate in Des Moines and vi- 
cinity. In 1891, with other parties, he organ- 
ized a company for the manufacture of sash, 
doors and blinds, and went to Tacoma, Wash., 
where they built a large sawmill and a factory 
to carry on that business. Having an opportunity 
to dispose of this property to good advantage, 
the company sold out and he returned to his old 
home in Des Moines until 1897, engaged in a 
real-estate and brokerage business. In the latter 
year he closed out his holdings in Iowa and re- 



moved his residence to Wyoming, where he 
leased a large ranch property on Little Horse 
Creek, purchased a fine herd of cattle and em- 
barked in ranching and stockraising. This busi- 
ness he conducted very successfully until the 
summer of 1900, when he disposed of all of this 
property and, with his family, passed the entire 
summer on an overland pleasure trip to the Yel- 
lowstone National Park. Returning to Cheyenne 
in the fall he engaged in a live stock business, 
buying and selling cattle, horses and sheep on 
commission, and carried this on with marked 
success until February, 1902, when he secured 
a lease of his present ranch from Mr. J. B. Cul- 
ver, and again engaged extensively in the cattle 
business. On February 18, 1874, Mr. Cunning- 
ham was united in marriage in Union county, 
Iowa, to Miss Mary F. Cryst, a native of that 
state. The father of Mrs. Cunningham is a 
prosperous farmer of Union county, and is one 
of the very earliest of the settlers of that sec- 
tion of the state, while her mother, Nancy Cryst, 
was like the father, a pioneer of Iowa. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cunningham have seven children, Bert, 
Myrtle, Roy and Cyrena, Nelson, Lillian and 
Leola, all of whom are living. Politically, Mr. 
Cunningham is identified with the Republican 
party, and during all of his active life he has 
taken a prominent part in public affairs. Never 
a seeker for public position, he is in politics, as 
well as in business and social life, an active, liber- 
al and progressive man, and also one of the most 
respected citizens of his section of the state. 

THE CROMPTON BROTHERS. 

The Crompton Brothers, merchants, of Ev- 
anston, Wyoming, are the sons of Mr. William 
Crompton, deceased. William Crompton was 
born in Lancastershire, England, in 1837. He 
was a miner both in England and in the United 
States. He came to America about 1870, cross- 
ing the continent by ox team, and coming direct 
to Salt Lake City. He first worked in construc- 
tion on the Union Pacific Railroad until it was 
completed from Salt Lake City to Evanston, and 



796 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



there he became engaged in mining. He worked 
for some time in the coal mines at Almy, Wyo., 
and then went into farming and stockraising. 
He built a handsome brick residence about four 
miles from Evanston and lived in it until about 
three years before his death, which occurred at 
his Ogden home in October, 1900, at the age of 
sixty-three years. His remains are buried at 
Evanston. He was devoted to his home ; home 
life being his chief delight. Seldom could he be 
found away from his own fireside. He was a 
man greatly respected by all who knew him. He 
was married in England to Hannah Hobs'on, 
who survives him. She is a native of England, 
born in 1835, and lives at the Ogden home, at 
3 161 Adams street. Mr. and Mrs. Crompton 
were the parents of the following children : Jane ; 
John, died at the age of thirty-three years ; Ra- 
chel ; Joseph ; William ; Mary ; Walter ; Squire ; 
Anna, died when sixteen ; Lillian ; Carrie. 

SHERMAN G. DEVALL. 

While it may be, as has been said, that the les- 
sons of adversity are not always salutary, that 
they sometimes awaken or intensify the more un- 
welcome phases of human nature which are born 
of envy and a sense of injustice, it is undoubtedly 
true that there is scarcely a more decided and 
productive stimulus to effort and the develop- 
ment of manly qualities of self-reliance and re- 
sourcefulness than necessity and absolute de- 
pendence on one's own exertions. This truth 
is well illustrated in the life and achievements 
of Sherman G. DeVall, for the last ten years 
prominent as a ranchman and stockgrower on 
Stockade Beaver Creek, twenty-two miles north- 
cast of Newcastle, where he has a fine ranch of 
320 acres of well-improved and highly cultivated 
land, on which he dwells in a commodious and 
convenient modern residence, which is surround- 
ed with good barns, sheds, corrals and other ap- 
purtenances required for success in bis industry. 
His life began on August 9, 1867, at Preston, 
W. Va., where his parents, Absalom G. and Har- 
riet (Draper) DeVall, natives of that state, were 



engaged in farming, after an arduous and exact- 
ing service by the father in the Civil War, from 
his enlistment in 1861 until its close, in which he 
followed the fortunes of General Grant through 
his most dangerous and difficult campaigns, par- 
ticipating in many battles and many exhausting 
marches. After peace was declared he returned 
to his farm in West Virginia, where he remained 
until 1870, when he removed to Maryland, lo- 
cating in Garrett county. There his wife died 
in 1878 and he in 1880. Sherman G. DeVall 
was educated in the public schools of Maryland 
to a limited extent, but, being left an orphan at 
the age of thirteen years, he was obliged to take 
up the burden of life for himself at that early 
age, and, with a brother three years older, he 
went to Pennsylvania and there worked at var- 
ious occupations in different parts of that state 
for three years. He returned to West Virginia 
in 1882 and there for nine years followed mining. 
In 1891 he came to Nebraska, and, after farm- 
ing in Buffalo county of that state for a year, 
came on to Wyoming, where, in August, 1892, 
he took up his present ranch, on which he has 
since resided and carried on' a profitable and ex- 
panding farming and stockraising enterprise. 
When he came here this whole picturesque sec- 
tion, with its pleasing variety of hill and vale, was 
almost unoccupied. Now it blooms with the 
flowers, teems with the fruits and is fraught with 
the moral agencies of civilization, to the planting 
and growth of which Mr. DeVall has essentially 
contributed. His early necessities and struggles 
produced a rugged force of character, quick and 
alert readiness in action, a clearness of vision 
and a resolute perseverance, of a kind that de- 
serves success and usually commands it. In poli- 
tics he is an active Republican, and takes an eager 
interest in the success of his party. 

GEORGE W. DAVIS. 

One of the prosperous and rising stockmen 
of Laramie county, whose address is Glendo, Wy- 
oming, the subject of this sketch. George W. 
Davis, was born on January 23, 1861, being a 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



797 



native of the city of Elgin, Texas, and the son 
of Garland and Emily (Pettyjohn) Davis, the 
former a native of Georgia, and the latter of 
Illinois. His father was engaged in the occu- 
pation of farming in Texas, his farm being sit- 
uated near Elgin, and he there remained em- 
ployed in that pursuit up to the time of his death 
which occurred in 1893. The mother passed away 
in 1899, and both lie buried at Elgin. George W. 
Davis grew to man's estate at Elgin and upon 
the completion of his education, he remained at 
home with his father, assisting in the work and 
management of the farm until he had attained 
to the age of twenty-four years. He then determ- 
ined to seek his fortune in the country to the 
west and north, and he came to the territory of 
Wyoming. Here he remained for a short time at 
Cheyenne, and subsequently removed to the vi- 
cinity of his present home, where he secured 
employment as a range-rider, for the purpose of 
acquiring a practical knowledge of the cattle 
business, in which he intended to engage as soon 
as circumstances would permit. He was first 
employed by the T. & B. Cattle Co., one of the 
large companies which were operating in that sec- 
tion of Wyoming, and remained with them about 
three years. He then resigned this position and 
secured employment in other sections of the 
country in the same business until 1894. In that 
year he ceased working for others and com- 
menced ■ business for himself. Coming to his 
present place, situated on the Platte River, about 
thirty-five miles southeast of Douglas and three 
miles east of Glendo, Wyo., he there established 
himself in ranching and cattleraising. Since then 
he has been thus continuously employed and has 
met with success in his undertakings. Starting 
in a small way, as his limited means would per- 
mit, he has gradually added to his property 
holdings from year to year and is steadily in- 
creasing his business. By hard work, persever- 
ance and good business methods he is slowly but 
surely building up a successful business and is 
destined to become one of the leading stockmen 
of his section of the county. On December 17, 
1897, Mr. Davis was united in the holy bonds 



of matrimony at Douglas, Wyo., to Mrs. Daisy 
L. (Jackson) Blaisdell, a native of the state of 
Ohio, and the daughter of Nathan and Sylvia 
Jackson, both natives of Ohio and also highly re- 
spected residents of that state. The parents of 
Mrs. Davis formerly resided in the state of Wy- 
oming, but removed to the state of Ohio, where 
they are now residing. Mr. Davis has adopted 
the three children of his wife by her former hus- 
band, Daniel, Eaton and Sylvia, and they consti- 
tute a happy family at his home at Glendo, Wyo. 
Politically, he is a stanch member of the Demo- 
cratic party, although he has never sought or de- 
sired public office, preferring to devote his entire 
time and attention to the management of his pri- 
vate business. He is highly respected in the 
community where he resides. 

P. J. DELANEY. 

Among the progressive, energetic and pop- 
ular dwellers on the banks of- Green River, near 
the La Barge postoffice, where he is prosperously 
engaged in profitable labor at ranching and as 
a stockman, Patrick J. Delaney has traveled 
over many a mile of distance and seen 'many 
countries and sections of country. It is quite a 
testimonial to the value of the Green River Val- 
ley, when he has been content to here make his 
home and here throws his activities toward the 
development of the country. Mr. Delaney was. 
born in Chicago, 111., on April 25, 1867, the son 
of James and Margaret '(Cramer) Delaney, na- 
tives of Ireland. The father, a millwright, came 
to the United States in 1853, an d industriously 
pursued his trade until 1873, when, locating in 
Kansas with his family, he there followed agri- 
cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred 
in 1879 at the age of forty years. His faithful 
wife did not long survive him, dying in 1880, on 
the Kansas farm. Their seven children were 
Elizabeth, who died in Kansas, aged thirteen 
years; William J., now a successful stockman on 
LaBarge Creek ; Patrick J. ; Wilbert, a fireman 
on the Missouri Pacific Railroad ; Edward, now 
of Montana. Patrick J. Delaney, after attending 



79 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the public schools of Kansas, at an early age be- 
came identified with railroad operations and 
was connected with various departments of this 
activity on various railroads for ten years of 
consecutive labor. Following this he became a 
farmer in South Dakota, where he unremittingly 
conducted his operations until he came to Wyo- 
ming in 1895, very soon thereafter taking up 
the tract of government land which he has devel- 
oped into a fine property and he is now the owner 
of an estate of 320 acres on which he is carrying 
on ranching, being diligently occupied with the 
care of his fine and promising herds of cattle 
which range over his fertile acres and the ad- 
jacent range. Mr. Delaney is a man of practical 
common sense, having a large fund of general 
information, being an "all-around" good citizen 
who has many friends. 

JOSEPH DITLINGER. 

Joseph Ditlinger, one of the representative 
and progressive stockmen of northern Wyoming, 
was born on October 5, 1862, in Jennings coun- 
ty, Indiana, where his parents, Adam and La- 
Belle Ditlinger, were prosperous farmers, hav- 
ing come there from their native state of Georgia, 
and carried on their farming industry success- 
fully until the death of the father in 1887, and 
there the mother is still living on the old home- 
stead. Joseph remained at home until he was 
fourteen years old, attending the public school 
in his vicinity as he had opportunity, and then, 
in 1876, he went to Nevada, where he worked 
on ranches and rode the range until 1881. He 
then came to Wyoming, locating at Cheyenne, 
and engaged in freighting for two vears from 
that town to the northern part of the state for 
cattle outfits. In 1883 he settled in Crook county, 
there finding congenial employment as a range- 
rider and cowboy until the autumn of 1887, when 
he took up the ranch (in which he now lives (in 
Horse Creek, thirty-seven miles north of Gil- 
lette, where he has since remained, engaged in 
raising sheep and horses on a scale of increasing 
magnitude. His business is prosperous and pro- 



gressive, because he makes it so. His energy 
and his diligent attention to its every detail, his 
readiness in action, quickness of perception and 
breadth of view, combined with his knowledge 
of men and business methods, give him full com- 
mand of the situation, and would compel success, 
even if the conditions were unfavorable, which 
they are not, for his ranch is well located, sub- 
stantially improved and highly cultivated. Its 
natural facilities for his enterprise have been con- 
centrated, intensified and systematized by care 
and labor, having been by him many times mul- 
tiplied in their productiveness. In politics Mr. 
Ditlinger is an uncompromising Republican, who 
always takes an active interest in the affairs of his 
party, giving its principles and candidates loyal 
and serviceable support, yet seeking none of its 
honors for himself. He is also deeply interested 
in the welfare of the community in which he 
lives, being ready to aid in the development of 
every good enterprise for the advancement and 
improvement of the county or state. Fraternally, 
he is connected with the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, holding membership in the lodge 
at Gillette, and in church relations is a Catholic. 

JOHN W. DEANE. 

From the very acme of modern civilization 
and intellectual and social culture in this coun- 
try, a large Atlantic coast city, to the wilds of a 
Wyoming frontier ; from the stirring and strenu- 
ous life of a great commercial and manufacturing 
metropolis, pregnant with every form of business 
and mental activity in intense operation, to the 
lonelv, dangerous, untrammeled existence of a 
rangeriding cowboy, is a long stride in condi- 
tions as well as in longitude, but it is one that 
has been freely taken by many an adventurous 
youth in this great country, and taken, too, to his 
lasting and great advantage in many ways. This 
stride, made when he was but nineteen years of 
age, by John W. Deane, now of Bighorn county, 
Wyoming, living near Sunshine on Wood River, 
brought him to dwell in the closest presence of 
Nature, to listen to her voice of melody and pow- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



'99 



er, to feel her ennobling influences, which pene- 
trate and mold the heart, and to see the open 
door of opportunity for health, fortune and suc- 
cess in life. Mr. Deane was born in the city of 
Philadelphia, Pa., on January 2, 1857, the son of 
Isaac and Mary (Clift) Deane, natives of Eng- 
land and Ireland, respectively. In that city he 
grew to the age of nineteen and received a 
good public school education. In 1878, feeling 
a strong desire for a career on the open plains," 
he came west to the frontier and trailed cattle 
to Ogalalla, Neb., and from there came to Green 
River, Wyo., where," for three years, he was a 
busy range-rider and freighter. At the end of 
that period he moved to Fort Washakie and was 
for a time in the employ of J. K. Moore. At the 
conclusion of his term of service with Mr. Moore, 
he began carrying the U. S. mails between the 
fort and Stinking Water and Trail Creek, making 
the trips once a month for four years, when he 
took a contract to do the same work between the 
fort and Otto Franc's ranch, a convenient point 
of distribution for a large extent of northern 
Wyoming. In 1887, he located on Wood River 
and turned his attention to raising stock and 
general farming. He owns 320 acres of good 
land, which he has improved with good build- 
ings, and much of which he has brought to pro- 
ductive cultivation, running an average of from 
seventy to 100 cattle of choice breeds. With a 
due regard to the claims of the neighborhood on 
his time and faculties, he has served for a number 
of years as the postmaster at Sunshine, and has 
made himself very useful to the people around 
him by his faithful attention to the duties of the 
office. He is also interested in the Kirwin mines 
and in other industries of value and holds frater- 
nal relations with the Modern Woodmen of 
America. Mr. Deane's first marriage was to 
Miss Emma Shephard, a native of Wisconsin, 
and occurred in Chicago, in October, 1899. His 
second wife, Matilda, was native and partially 
reared in Germany. She has one child by a for- 
mer marriage, Miss Lulu Henderson. In all the 
relations of life, wherever he has lived, Mr. 
Deane has so borne himself as to win and re- 



tain the respect and esteem of his fellow men, and 
has so used his energies as to contribute essen- 
tially to the advancement and development of his 
community and the general good of his county. 

WILLIAM H. DICKINSON. 

The enterprising and progressive manager 
and treasurer of the Lander Commercial Co. is 
distinctively a Wyoming product, having been 
born, reared and educated in the town where his 
successful business career has been so far con- 
ducted. He first saw the light at Lander, Fre- 
mont county, on May 30, 1876, the son of Pester 
P. (see sketch on another page of this work) 
and Margaret (Burke) (Heenan) Dickinson, be- 
ing one of 'their four children, two of whom 
are living. The public schools of Lander fur- 
nished his scholastic education, which was sup- 
plemented by a course of training at the East- 
man Business College of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 
and one at Ilion College in the same state, while 
the commercial activities of the town gave op- 
portunity for the productive use of his business 
faculties. Upon his return from the eastern col- 
leges he was employee! as clerk in various stores 
and also in the First National Bank of Lander. 
In 1900 he bought the stock, of the Lander Mer- 
cantile Co., and, in association with Edson A. 
Earle, has since conducted a mercantile busi- 
ness, which has had a steady and healthful ex- 
pansion, and, from promising beginnings, has 
grown in popular favor, as it has more and more 
met the requirements of an enterprising and 
advancing community. Mr. Dickinson is also 
interested in large lumber and coal enterprises, 
and, in company with his father, he is actively 
engaged in the cattle industry. In public affairs 
he has a keen and constant interest, being intelli- 
gently concerned about everything that contrib- 
utes to the progress and improvement of Lander, 
willingly giving to it the benefit of his talents 
and energy. He has rendered valuable and ap- 
preciated service as city clerk, and has given an 
accelerating impulse to every public enterprise. 
In fraternal relations he is identified with the 



8oo 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



order of Freemasons. In marital relations he 
has been highly favored, his wife, a cultured lady, 
formerly being a Miss Gertrude L. Dobler, of 
Rawlins, a daughter of William L. and Laviniana 
(Kendall) Dobler, natives of Iowa, who were 
among the esteemed contributions of that great 
state to the development and progress of the 
mighty Northwest. 

A. LeROY DICKINSON. 

Whatever of achievement and adornment 
there may be to credit to the account of later 
men and women, the real foundation builders of 
the great Northwest were these trail-blazers and 
early settlers who opened the way for the ad- 
vancing march of civilization, gave trend and di- 
rection to the educational and moral forces, fixed 
the character of the political institutions and 
awakened and vitalized the commercial agen- 
cies of the various communities. All honor to 
the race of noble American pioneers ! Full well 
they met the demands of their day and condi- 
tions, far better than they knew, they builded 
for states and polities to govern and to bless man- 
kind. High on the roll of this advance guard 
of enlightenment and civilization is written the 
name of A. LeRoy Dickinson, now a progressive 
and enterprising farmer and stockgrower on a 
fork of Sundance Creek, four miles from Sun- 
dance, whose ranch proclaims his spirit of prog- 
ress, his skillful husbandry, his judgment in the 
character of its buildings and other improve- 
ments, and his taste in the arrangement of its ac- 
commodations and their adornment. It was 
among the earliest parts of this territory to fall 
under the reclaiming industry of civilized man, 
and has responded bountifully to the care be- 
stowed upon it. Mr. Dickinson was born on 
June 26, 1852, in Dane county, Wis., a son of 
Luke and Nancy (Crane) Dickinson, natives of 
New York and early pioneers in that portion of 
Wisconsin, where they settled in 1849. The fa- 
ther was a farmer and carpenter, who, after 
working at both vocations a number of years in 
Dane county, removed to Adams and later to 



Wood county in the same state, in Wood re- 
maining until his death in 1865, his widow dy- 
ing there one year later. Thus left an orphan 
at the age of fourteen, Mr. Dickinson, of this 
review, did not have opportunity for much of 
the education dispensed by the schools, but was 
forced to take his place at Nature's own form and 
get his training by actual contact with the world 
and its contests from his very youth. He worked 
on farms in Wood county, and as soon as he 
was old enough began learning the carpenter 
trade. He mastered it and wrought at it for a 
number of years in that locality, remaining there 
until he was twenty-five. In 1879 ne removed 
to Minnesota, and, locating in McLeod county, 
passed four years there in peaceful and profitable 
farming. In 1883 he came to Deadwood, S. D., 
and in the fall of the year came to Wyoming, 
settling in Crook county and there taking up 
a portion of the ranch he now occupies on a 
fork of Sundance Creek, four miles from the 
town. Here he has carried on a successful and 
expanding cattle industry, has added to the value 
of -his land by judicious and well placed im- 
provements, working out his advancement by his 
own efforts, and losing no foot of ground which 
he once gained in the progress. He is highly es- 
teemed as a leading and representative citizen, 
being a Republican in politics, but not an active 
partisan, a useful factor in every project for the 
real benefit of the community. On June 26, 1875, 
in Wood county, Wis., he was married to Miss 
Mattie Teed, a native of that state and a daughter 
of Stephen and Zenetta (Barnes) Teed, natives 
of New York. Her father was a merchant at 
Lake Mills, Wis., and there both of her par- 
ents died at a good old age. Mr. and Mrs. Dick- 
inson have two children, Zenetta, married to Mr. 
Shroyer, and Walter. 

SAMUEL D. DITTO. 

Prominent as an excellent breeder of horses, 
a successful ranchman and a competent man of 
affairs, active and influential in politics, with a 
wealth of experience gathered in extensive travel 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



80 1 



and being long a contractor and builder in vari- 
ous states and cities throughout the middle and 
the farther West, Samuel D. Ditto, of near Gil- 
lette in Crook county, stands well in the estima- 
tion of his community and is well equipped for 
all the duties of life he is called upon to perform. 
He was born on June 29, 1861, in Mercer county, 
Illinois, where his parents, John W. and Elizabeth 
(Redmon) Ditto, natives of Ohio, were living at 
the time, the beneficiaries of an extensive mer- 
cantile business, which was carried on by the 
father after having passed a number of years 
in successful farming. He passed nearly the 
whole of his life in that county, having been 
brought there when a boy by his parents, and, 
after a career of usefulness and honorable living, 
with all men and in every relation, he died in 
1885. His wife preceded him to the grave by 
fourteen years, passing away in 1871. Mr. Ditto 
grew to manhood and was educated in his na- 
tive county. He assisted his father on the farm 
and in his business until he was twenty- four years 
of age, after the father's death, in 1885, coming 
westward to Nebraska, where he began a con- 
tracting and building enterprise which called him 
from that state through surrounding ones and 
still farther to the west. He built the first house 
erected in Alliance, Neb., put up a number of 
superior building blocks and residences in Utah, 
Nevada and Idaho, and left the proofs of his skill 
and great capacity for construction wherever 
he halted long enough to secure a contract. He 
first saw Wyoming in 1889, when the now thriv- 
ing and comely little city of Newcastle had just 
been spoken into being and was fast rising from 
her slumber of infancy to vigorous and progres- 
sive activity. He returned, however, for awhile 
to Utah and Nevada and, three years later, in 
1892, after spending a few months in North Da- 
kota, came back to Wyoming and located at 
Sheridan where he remained until 1895. He 
then started in the horse business near Gillette 
and has since maintained his home in that town. 
In the fall of 1897 he homesteaded, on Donkey 
Creek, six miles east of Gillette, and, from that 
time, has devoted himself assiduously to build- 



ing up a profitable industry in the breeding of 
horses, giving attention to raising the standard 
around him, catering in a satisfactory way to an 
exacting market. He has scored a pronounced 
success in his business, enrolling his name high 
among the progressive men of his line and win- 
ning the good will of all classes of people with 
whom he has come in contact. He is active in 
local public affairs, being an ardent and unwav- 
ering Democrat in politics, of the kind who al- 
ways labor for party success, and are never beat- 
en until the result is announced. He is a repre- 
sentative citizen, esteemed wherever he is known. 

C. J. EARLY. 

Among the energetic and enterprising young 
men of Uinta county who are rapidly forging to 
the front through the force of their inherent abil- 
ity and a nobility of character, Christopher J. 
Early, of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, holds a con- 
spicuous place. He was born in Brooklyn, New 
York, on December 24, 1864, a son of James 
and Ellen B. (McNaughton) Early, both natives 
of Ireland. His father did valiant service in the 
bloody ranks of the Civil War, to attest the sin- 
cerity of his devotion to his adopted country, and 
was in the service at Fort Bridger, where Chris- 
topher received most of his education at the mil- 
itary school at the fort and at the local pub- 
lic school. Following this he was engaged with 
his father in the cattle business in this vicinity 
until 1898, when they disposed of most of their 
stock. In 1893 Mr. Early had filed a squatters' 
right-on the 160 acres, where he now makes his 
home, and his selection was a most valuable one, 
as he has it now well improved and producing 
bounteous crops of excellent hay. Mr. Early 
takes an active and earnest interest in public 
affairs as a member of the Republican party, and 
has served as a deputy assessor for several terms 
with marked acceptability, being also elected to 
the Legislature in 1902. Mr. Early was united 
in the bonds of holy matrimony with Miss Mary 
E. Kavanagh, a daughter of Dennis and Eliza- 
beth (Lyons) 'Kavanagh, in Salt Lake City, 



802 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Utah, on November 22, 1900. Her parents were 
natives of Ireland and both died in West Vir- 
ginia. Mrs. Early has two brothers residing in 
Chicago, 111., and a sister whose home is in West 
Virginia. Herself and husband are members 
of the Catholic church and they have a large cir- 
cle of appreciated friends. 

HON. MIKE MURPHY. 

We are in no danger of estimating too highly 
the extraordinary character of the age and the 
land in which our lot has been cast, and of the 
influences by which we are surrounded. What 
has old Romance wherewith to match the every- 
day realities of the past nineteenth century, es- 
pecially in the great Northwest of the United 
States? One of the forceful and productive 
actors in those every-day realities which carved 
out of the wilderness mighty states, and made 
them the home and the heritage of a great, free 
and progressive people, is Hon. Mike Murphy, 
a prosperous and influential ranchman of Fre- 
mont county, located twelve miles south of Lan- 
der and one and one-half west of Dallas, who, 
having borne the heat and burden of the day in 
the period of settlement and conquest, has now 
retired to the peaceful rest which comes only to 
the couch of private life. He was born in 
Pennsylvania on January 6, 1835, the son of 
John C. and Maria (Tiernan) Murphy, natives 
of Virginia. The father was a merchant of 
Irish lineage, and the mother came from an old 
Colonial family conspicuous in the early history 
of the Old Dominion in peace and war, her an- 
cestors of that day being valiant soldiers under 
Washington in the Revolution. When Mr. Mur- 
phy was but a young child the family removed 
to Illinois and some years later to Iowa. In these 
states he was educated and after leaving school 
began life for himself as a surveyor in Nebraska, 
going there before Omaha was founded as a 
deputy on the U. S. survey under surveyor John 
Calhoun. This was in 1854 and, although not 
yet a man in legal age, he rendered valuable serv- 
ice in helping to sectionize the territory. Set- 
tiny I here in Douglas count v. he was twice 



elected to represent her people in the Territorial 
Legislature. In 1859, at the time of the Pike's 
Peak excitement he removed to Colorado, but 
not succeeding to his taste in his mining ven- 
tures there, he traveled through that territory, 
New Mexico, Arizona and California into Idaho, 
stopping for a short time at Florence, and then 
going from there into the Boise basin, where in 
1862, he was appointed by Governor Wallace 
the first county clerk and recorder of Boise 
county. In 1865 he went over to Montana and 
passed three years mining in various places, and 
in 1868 came to Wyoming and to South Pass 
City and thence to the White Pine excitement, 
when he went to Nevada. In 1871 he returned 
to this state, settling at Rawlins, where he was 
engaged in merchandising until 1876, being 
elected to the Legislature in the fall of 1875. At 
the close of his term he sold out his mercantile 
interests and joined an expedition to the Black 
Hills. The party was attacked by the Sioux 
Indians on Hat Creek near the site of Waliska 
and one white man was there killed and several 
horses were lost. This changed their plans and 
they went to Arizona. In the expedition were 
Judge Harker, John C. Friend, and other history 
makers of prominence. Mr. Murphy remained 
in Arizona until 1883, prospecting and mining, 
and then returned to Wyoming where he fol- 
lowed the same line of industry for a year or 
two, at the end of which time he engaged in oil 
development. In company with his brother 
Frank Murphy, president of the Merchants Na- 
tional Bank of Omaha, he took up considerable 
oil land and together the}- pressed the develop- 
ment of the industry, until they sold their inter r 
ests to Doctor Henderson, of London, England, 
for the sum of $100,000. Within a radius of 
twelve miles of Lander they had on their land 
three flowing wells yielding daily from 300 to 400 
barrels of oil. In all of his wanderings Mr. Mur- 
phy's interest in public affairs never abated and 
soon after his return his well-known ability for 
legislative work and administration of official 
duties brought him into prominence as a public 
man. He was elected to the State Senate in 
1890, but after the expiration of his term he 







HON. MIKE MURPHY. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



803 



declined a further tenure of office. He owns a 
fine ranch of 200 acres and is devoting his time 
and energies to its improvement and that of the 
stock industry which he has started and is de- 
veloping. He has seen every phase of frontier 
life and Wyoming knows no truer pioneer, miner 
or trail-blazer in every good sense of the words. 

MARK EDWARDS. 

One of the leading sheepmen and woolgrow- 
ers of Carbon county, Wyoming, Mark Edwards, 
whose address is Medicine Bow, is a native of 
England, where he was born in Dorsetshire, in 
1855, the son of Job and Ann (Shirley) Ed- 
wards, both natives of that country. His father 
was a merchant tailor in England, where he re- 
mained engaged in that pursuit up to the time of 
his death, which occurred in 1901. His mother 
was a woman of great strength of character, was 
the parent of thirteen children, and passed away 
from earth in 1883 in England. Mark Edwards 
grew to manhood in his native country, received 
his early education in the public schools in the 
vicinity of his early home, and, after he had com- 
pleted his education, he engaged in farming, and 
continued in that occupation until 1880. He then 
determined to seek his fortune in the New 
World, and, disposing of his property in Eng- 
land, he sailed away to America. Upon his ar- 
rival in this country he proceeded to the state of 
Illinois, where he established his home and en- 
gaged in farming for two years, then disposing 
of his farm in that state to advantage, he re- 
moved to the state of Kansas. He continued 
in the same business in the latter state for a num- 
ber Of years, and, in 1890, came to Wyoming, 
where he engaged in the sheep and woolgrowing 
industry, in which he has since remained, meet- 
ing with conspicuous success. He is one of the 
progressive and prosperous stockmen of that sec- 
tion of the state, counted as one of the solid busi- 
ness men and substantial property owners of 
Carbon county. The first wife of Mr. Edwards 
was before her marriage Miss Emma Duffet, and 
she died in 1890, leaving one son, George Ed- 



wards, who is still living. In 1899 Mr. Edwards 
again married, this wife's maiden name being 
Jessie Sabin, a daughter of William and Addie 
(Walter) Sabin, both natives of Ohio. Her fa- 
ther died in 1898, at the age of fifty years, being 
the son of William Sabin, a native of the state of 
New York, who removed from his native state 
to the state of Ohio in early life. Her mother 
was a daughter of John and Mary (Cooper) 
Walter, both natives of Ohio. The former was 
a native of the state of New Jersey, who in early 
life removed to Ohio. The latter was born in 
1823, a daughter of John Cooper, a native of 
New Jersey. He was also the son of John Coop- 
er, who was a soldier of Colonial times, an act- 
ive participant in the War of the Revolution. 
Mr. Edwards is one of the representative stock- 
men of Wyoming, held in high esteem by all 
classes of his fellow citizens. His success in 
business has been due to his own persistent and 
unaided efforts, his industry, energy and fru- 
gality and his careful attention to all the details 
of his enterprise. He has done much to develop 
the resources of Carbon county, and to promote 
the best interests of the community where he re- 
sides. He is one of the most valued citizens of 
that section of Wyoming. 

ANDREW DOWNS. 

Andrew Downs, of Sheridan county, one of 
the most prosperous and successful farmers and 
stockgrowers of this section of the state, whose 
well improved ranch is not only a model in ap- 
pearance and productiveness, but is also a high 
tribute to his taste and enterprise, was born in 
Hancock county, Ohio, on February 20, 1841. 
His parents, John and Margaret (Foreman) 
Downs, passed almost the whole of their lives 
in that state, the father being there native and 
the mother coming in early life from Pennsyl- 
vania where she was born. Mr. Down's grand- 
father was one of the first settlers in his part 
of Ohio, and reared his family on its fertile soil, 
becoming, from the beginning of his Ohio resi- 
dence, identified with the history of his section 



1 



804 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in a leading way. His son, the father of An- 
drew Downs, who was engaged in farming from 
his youth, died in his native county in 1885, and, 
three years later, his widow followed him to the 
other world. Both now rest from their labors 
and await the resurrection in the county which 
was so essentially aided and improved by their 
useful lives. Andrew Downs received a com- 
mon-school education in his native county, and, 
after he grew to manhood, he worked for a time 
with his father on the farm. In the winter of 
1865, when the building of the Union Pacific 
Railroad made the name of Omaha famous all 
over the world as one of the termini of the great 
transcontinental highway, he came to that city, 
or rather village, and, after passing a year there 
in various pursuits, he organized and conducted 
a freighting outfit along the line of the new en- 
terprise through Nebraska, and also afterwards 
through Colorado, hauling material for the road 
and also supplies for those who were engaged in 
its construction. Later he freighted to and from 
the Black Hills, and, at intervals, did considerable 
mining there and elsewhere. From 1873 to 1882, 
he made his home and headquarters at Fort Col- 
lins, Colo., and there continued his mining and 
freighting industries with varying success. In 
1882 he came to what is now Sheridan coun- 
ty, Wyo., and, desiring a permanent location on 
good land with promising surroundings, and a 
safe anchorage in the cattle business, to which he 
had inclined for years, he took up his present 
ranch on Prairie Dog Creek, five and one-half 
miles south of Sheridan, being among the early 
arrivals in the neighborhood, where for some 
years he suffered something of the hardship and 
privation that is an almost inevitable concomitant 
of frontier life. But he worked away, steadily 
improving his ranch and building up his stock- 
interests, making the best of a situation, which, 
while it pinched at first, gave those promises of 
abundant results of value, which he has largely 
realized. His property is one of the best im- 
proved and most highly cultivated along the 
creek, and stands to his credit as the work of 
his own enterprise and courageous perseverance. 



On April 2, 1893, at Sheridan, Wyo., Mr. Downs 
was married to Miss Amanda (Wren) Gardner, 
a native of Iowa and a daughter of Jacob and 
Amanda (Snook) Wren, the former born in 
Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio.- They were 
early emigrants to Iowa, and in Louisa county, 
that state, the father took up a homestead and 
farmed it until his death, while his widow yet 
is living on the homestead. Mr. Downs is an 
active Republican' in politics and gives his party 
faithful and valuable service, but he has always 
declined office for himself. Both himself and 
wife are zealous members of the First Baptist 
church of Sheridan, prominent in all its works 
of charity and benevolence. 

FRANCIS M. ESTES. 

Born and reared on the frontier, hastening 
from its rugged, but inspiring, life to the deluge 
of death and horror in the Civil War, confronting 
on its ensanguined fields a valiant and stubborn 
foe and meeting his responsibilities with man- 
hood and endurance, after the long war following 
a useful craft for years in various places, finally 
settling down in a highly favored region to the 
peaceful occupation of the old patriarchs, Fran- 
cis M. Estes, of South Park, in the Jackson 
Hole country of Wyoming, has seen many phases 
of human life, met and conquered many difficul- 
ties in his career, drunk of prosperity's sweet 
waters, tasted, at least, many of adversity's bitter 
draughts, and honestly earned the rest and gen- 
eral esteem he now enjoys. He was born in 
Hancock county, Ind., on May 26, 1833, a son 
of John and Matilda (Newland) Estes, the form- 
er being a native of Kentucky and the latter of 
Indiana. His father was a man of public spirit 
and progressive ideas, and whose usefulness was 
generally recognized by the people among whom 
he lived, whom he served well and faithfully for 
years as a justice of the peace. In the Hoosier 
state, of which he was a pioneer, he died at the 
age of ninety, having well sustained the tradi- 
tions of his South Carolina ancestry, who had 
been conspicuous in the military and civil his- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



805 



tory of the proudest of all the states, by giving 
trend and force to public sentiment in Colonial 
times, bearing a lofty manhood into the. service 
of their country through the dark days of the 
Revolution, helping also to shape the infant com- 
monwealth after the close of that war and to 
start and conduct it along the line of glorious 
achievement it was destined to follow. Francis 
M. Estes was one of the ten children of his par- 
ents, five boys and five girls, of whom four are 
now living. He was educated in a log school- 
house in Indiana, in acordance with the primi- 
tive but vigorous methods of his time and loca- 
tion, and, after leaving school, he learned his 
trade as a plasterer, at which he worked until 
he enlisted in the Federal army in the defense of 
the Union on July 8, 1862, in Co. D, Seventy- 
ninth Indiana Infantry. In this command he 
saw active and arduous service, participating in 
the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Nash- 
ville, Atlanta, and the other battles, engagements 
and skirmishes incident to the campaigns in 
which they occurred, and being mustered out at 
Nashville, Tenn., as a sergeant on June 7, 1865, 
having risen from the position of a private 
through meritorious conduct in camp and on the 
field. After the war he again worked as a plas- 
terer and brickmason in Illinois until 1871, then 
lived in Indiana until 1880, when he went to 
Kansas and spent ten years, from there remov- 
ing to Colorado and there remaining two years. 
The next two years were passed in Salt Lake 
City, and, in the autumn of 1894, he came to 
Wyoming, where he settled on the place he now 
owns and occupies. It consists of 320 acres of 
superior land, which is devoted to farming and 
cattleraising, and makes a pleasant home for 
his family and a favorite resort for his many 
friends. Mr. Estes holds memberships in the Ma- 
sonic order, the order of Odd Fellows, and in 
the Grand Army of the Republic. He was mar- 
ried in Indiana, on April 11, 1858, to Miss Mar- 
tha E. McCloney, a native of that state and 
daughter of Aquilla and Elizabeth (Golep) Mc- 
Cloney, Kentuckians by nativity. The children 
of this fortunate union are, Thomas B., married 



and living one mile south of the parental estate; 
John, who died in infancy; Charles L., who died 
in Uinta county at the age of thirty; Jennie N.,- 
married to R. E. Dodson of Diamondville, this 
state ; James M., living at home. Mr. Estes is 
an excellent citizen, who finds his highest civil 
duty in a close and serviceable attention to public 
local affairs, seeking in all things the good of 
the community and its proper advancement. 

JAMES M. ENOCH. 

All climes, all countries, and, especially, all 
states of our Union, have furnished men of force 
and enterprise for the development of our great 
Northwest. From the Lone Star state came to 
Wyoming James M. Enoch, now a prominent 
stockgrower, farmer and citizen, living ten miles 
north of Sheridan, a pioneer in Wyoming, of 
1880, who, since that early time has been devot- 
ing his energies and influence to the growth and 
improvement of the state and to the advancement 
of her people and their interests. He was born 
in Texas on December 10, 1854, the son of Jason 
and Harriet E. (Wood) Enoch, the former a 
native of Texas and the latter of Alabama. On 
a farm and stock ranch in Texas he grew to 
manhood, being fully educated in the hard school 
of experience, which gives good store of world- 
ly wisdom without much learning from the books. 
It is not to be supposed, however, that Mr. Enoch 
was deprived wholly of this, for he attended the 
schools of his neighborhood, but his opportuni- 
ties for schooling of this sort were limited, for 
life had for him stern and exacting duties from 
his early youth, and his devotion to and his prop- 
er performance of them now tell in the skill and 
success with which he conducts the business he 
has built up. In 1880 he came to Wyoming with 
the Murphy Cattle Co., then located on Piney 
Creek, where an extensive cattle business was 
conducted. He remained with this company un- 
til 1886, then came to Sheridan county to begin 
an independent stock industry, and which he car- 
ried on for two years. In 1888 he was elected 
sheriff of the county, and, after serving a term 



8o6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of two years, he formed a partnership association 
with Capt. E. Cross in the stock business, which 
they carried on with profit and success until 1895. 
In that year he settled on the beautiful ranch on 
the Prairie Dog Creek, which has since been his 
home, and on which he has been conducting a 
prosperous and expanding industry, in the line 
he has followed through life, handling principally 
cattle, but having some horses and sheep. His 
ranch comprises 280 acres of the best land in the 
neighborhood and he has in addition a consid- 
erable acreage of leased land. It goes without 
saying, in connection with a man of his thrift and 
enterprise, that he has his place well improved, 
thoroughly equipped and tastefully adorned, and 
that it gives every evidence of his skill as a farm- 
er, his capacity as a stockman and of his progres- 
siveness as a citizen. In the consideration of im- 
provements for the section of country in which 
he lives Mr. Enoch is always in the front rank 
of the most active and energetic. He is president 
of the Prairie Dog Water Supply Co. and a mem- 
ber of the Kearney Lake Reservoir Co. His 
knowledge of the stock industry and his execu- 
tive ability were recognized by the leading stock- 
men of the state in a signal manner when he was 
sent in 1882 to St. Paul as the stock inspector 
for the Wyoming Stock Association, and his fidel- 
ity and great capacity in the discharge of these 
duties in this position won him general commen- 
dation. In 1889 Mr. Enoch was married in 
Sheridan to Miss Laura J. Buckley, a native of 
Wisconsin. She died in 1896, leaving three chil- 
dren, James H., Minnie B. and Laura J. Mr. 
Enoch is recognized as one of the leading citizens 
of the county, one of its bulwarks against the 
inroads of improper enterprise or narrowness of 
spirit, as well as one of its most capable and far- 
seeing developers and civic forces. 

JOHN W. FADDIES. 

It is quite remarkable to what an extent the 
Scotch nation has impressed itself upon the civ- 
ilization of the New World. Go where you will, 
in the older settled eastern states of the Union. 



the corn states of the Mississippi Valley, the 
grain belt lying west of the great Father of Wa- 
ters, into the large cities of the country or among 
the ranches and mines of the West and the piner- 
ies of Michigan, Minnesota and of the Pacific 
coast, everywhere you will find Scotchmen in 
the front rank of activity; leading men of their 
respective localities. We are led to these reflec- 
tions in considering the useful life and activities 
of John M. Faddies, the popular foreman of 
Mine No. 1 at Cumberland, Wyoming, who, born 
in Scotland on December 5, 1857, and yet in the 
early prime of life, has attained a position of 
marked responsibility as the logical sequence of 
his ability, honesty and great capability. Mr. 
Faddies is a native of Dunbartonshire, Scotland, 
and a son of David and Elizabeth (Train) Fad- 
dies. He was one of their ten children, of whom 
seven are now living. His father was a son of 
James Faddies and the family has been estab- 
lished in Scotland for many generations, pro- 
ducing in each, in due succession, citizens of the 
best character, quiet, unostentatious and God- 
fearing people. David Faddies, a miner in Scot- 
land, became interested in the teachings of Mor- 
mon missionaries and, in 1871. came with his 
family to Utah, to become a unit in the great ag- 
gregation of that industrious and faithful peo- 
ple, who, by their tireless industry, haA^e literally 
made the desert to blossom as the rose. In that 
new country the father and mother conscien- 
tiously labored, acquiring and holding the high 
esteem of the people of their community, until 
they were summoned from earth, the father in 
1879. a t the age of seventy- five, and the mother 
in 1887 at the age of seventy-eight years. They 
await the resurrection in the little city of Coal- 
ville, where they are buried. John M. Faddies 
received the solid education of the Scotch schools, 
early engaged in coal mining in his native land, 
and this vocation he has followed all of the years 
of his life from that early time. Quick to learn, 
cool, resourceful and energetic, it is not surpris- 
ing that, after coming to Utah with his parents in 
1 87 1, he did not have to labor long before his un- 
doubted qualifications secured his appointment 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF' WYOMING. 



807 



as an assistant mine foreman. He had scarcely 
passed his legal age of manhood when this office 
came to him, and, in this service he conducted 
himself with such wise prudence and ability, that, 
in 1 901, he was placed in the highly responsible 
position of foreman of the mine, which he is 
now holding and giving the best of satisfaction 
in the discharge of its onerous duties. Mr. Fad- 
dies was married on April 2, 1877, in Coalville, 
Utah, with Miss Isabelle Sim, a Scotch lassie 
and a daughter of Robert and Isabelle (Hendry) 
Sim. They have had ten children, of whom 
six survive, and the names of the children are : 
Elizabeth, wife of Benjamin Bagnell, of Cum- 
berland ; Isabelle, died at three years of age ; Da- 
vid T. ; Robert S.; James; Mary; Lewis, John 
and Samuel, all three dying in infancy ; Martha 
V. Mr. Faddies has ever taken an active and 
a prominent part in public, educational and po- 
litical affairs, and wielded an important influ- 
ence. He was a delegate to the first Democratic 
convention that met in the state and was a 
strong man in its proceedings. Circumstances 
have changed his political creed, for he is now 
an influential Republican. He is a very useful 
member of the school board of Cumberland and 
holds religious membership in the Church of Lat- 
ter Day Saints. He is a strong factor in all 
measures standing for the advancement of the 
community, county and state, and both himself 
and family rank in the highest estimation of the 
best people of his section, while in the pleasant 
home circle a generous hospitality ever exists, 
winning the stranger as well as their friends. 

ROBERT FADDIES. 

One of the popular and influential citizens of 
Almy, Wyoming, is Mr. Faddies, who is a native 
of Kilwinning, Scotland, where he was born on 
September 21, 1850, a son of Robert and Jean- 
nette (Wilson) Faddies. The family has long 
been renowned in Scottish history and has ever 
been conspicuous for those knightly character- 
istics, valor and courtesy. The father, born in 
1824, died in 1889, was a lifelong miner, a man 



of good parts and reputable life, and a son of 
Robert and Lida (Thompson) Faddies. This 
elder Robert died in 1863 at the age of seventy 
years, his wife passing from earth ten years later 
at the venerable age of ninety years, a veritable 
"Mother in Israel." The mother of our subject, 
who was a daughter of Alexander and Jeannette 
(Kennedy) Wilson, still resides at Kilwinning, at 
the age of seventy, honored and reverenced by all 
of her acquaintance. The subject of this review, 
Robert Faddies, was provided with that solid ed- 
ucation given in the excellent national schools of 
Scotland until he was nine years of age, he then 
engaging as a miner in the coal mines, where for 
twelve years he gave steady and honest labor, and 
acquired that practical knowledge of the business 
that has been of great service to him in the west- 
ern country of his adoption. In 1881 Mr. Fad- 
dies emigrated from Scotland, crossing the At- 
lantic and choosing Indiana as the state of his 
first residence, here continuing to be identified 
with mining, subsequently engaging in the same 
vocation in Utah. His persistent industry, his 
genial disposition and his fund of general infor- 
mation and technical knowledge of his profession, 
made him many friends, and he was ever held in 
high esteem, being prospered in his undertakings 
and labors. In 1886 Mr. Faddies came to Almy, 
Wyo., where he is now an esteemed citizen, and 
worked at mining until he turned his attention to 
that profitable industry, the raising of stock. Se- 
curing a homestead claim of 160 acres, lying on 
Bear River, not many miles from Almy, he has 
added to his estate until his holdings now consti- 
tute a fine estate, where he is developing a most 
convenient and pleasant home, and conducting 
a prosperous business in his special line of indus- 
try, giving especial attention to the raising of cat- 
tle. Mr. Faddies has been twice married; first, 
in 1870, with Miss Elizabeth McCutcheon, who 
was a daughter of John and Mary (Anderson) 
McCutcheon, old residents of Kilwinning, where 
she was born in 1850, and died in 1886, and where 
her body is now quietly reposing in the ancient 
cemetery. The children of this union were Rob- 
ert and Mary (twins), Jeannette and Lida. The 
second marriage was with Sarah Bartlett, on 



8o8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



April 25, 1892. She was born in Wales, the 
daughter of George and Jane (Lewis) Bartlett, 
the father being a native of England and coming 
to America and crossing the plains as a pioneer 
of pioneers of Wyoming. Mrs. Faddies had been 
previously married with Frank Murphy, by whom 
she had three children, Alice, Nettie and Thomas, 
and from whom she obtained a divorce. She has 
borne two children to Mr. Faddies, John and 
Sarah; This family stands high in the social cir- 
cles of the community and a pleasant hospitality 
radiates from the fireside. Mr. Faddies also 
takes great and active interest in local matters of 
public interest, being an ardent member of his 
political party and a very highly esteemed citizen 
of his section of the commonwealth. 

ISAAC FERGUSON. 

A self-made man, and essentially the archi- 
tect of his own fortunes, the subject of this re- 
view enjoys distinctive prestige as one of the 
leading citizens of the community in which he 
resides. Isaac Ferguson is a son of Jacob and 
Frances (Humble) Ferguson, both parents hav- 
ing birth in England. By occupation the father 
was a carpenter, and, for many years, he followed 
contracting and building upon quite an extensive 
scale. About 1850 he brought his family to the 
United States, settling at Salt Lake City, Utah, 
near which place he engaged in farming, also de- 
voting much of his time and attention to con- 
tracting and to merchandising. He continued 
these different lines of industry until within a 
comparatively recent date, when, by reason of 
infirmities incident to advancing age, as well as 
on account of the comfortable competence he had 
acquired by years of honorable toil, he retired 
from active life and is now living among his chil- 
dren. Jacob Ferguson is a man of excellent rep- 
ute, a devoted member of the Mormon, church, a 
great lover of his family and his home, and stands 
high in the confidence and esteem of his fellow 
citizens. He has long been one of the leaders of 
the church to which he belongs, and, by a life void 
of offence towards God and man. has loner dem- 



onstrated the genuineness and worth of applied 
Christianity. Mrs. Ferguson is also living, and, 
like her husband, she is active in religious and 
charitable work, cooperating with him in promot- 
ing the interests of the church with which they 
have been so long identified. Jacob and Frances 
Ferguson are the parents of twelve children, 
seven sons and five daughters, of whom five are 
living, Isaac being the eldest of the number. 
Isaac Ferguson grew to young manhood on his 
father's farm in Utah, meanwhile attending, as 
opportunities afforded, the public schools of his 
neighborhood. While still a youth, he began 
earning money for himself at different kinds of 
employment, and, later, he engaged to raise sheep 
for a share of the proceeds, continuing the latter 
business in his native state until 1890. In that 
year he came to Wyoming, and here took up a 
homestead of 160 acres, situated on Hams Fork, 
about twenty-one miles north of Kemmerer, sub- 
sequently obtaining possession of the same 
amount of desert land not far distant. Here he 
started in the stock business, beginning with only 
eight head of cattle and eighteen horses, and suf- 
fered a serious reverse in the following year on 
account of the hard winter that visited Star Val- 
ley. Nothing daunted, however, Mr. Ferguson, 
with commendable energy, rallied from his stroke 
of ill-fortune, and, restocking his place from time 
to time, was soon on the high road to prosperity. 
Considering his modest beginning, and the mis- 
fortune which overtook him at the very outset of 
his career, it is doubtful if any other man in this 
part of the country has met with the success that 
has attended Mr. Ferguson's efforts in the stock 
business. He made man}- valuable improvements' 
on his place, increased his stock largely, and in 
time became one of the most enterprising and 
prosperous men in the valley, a prestige which he 
still retains. In addition to his business affairs, 
Air. Ferguson has taken an. active interest in 
public matters, being largely instrumental in in- 
troducing schools, serving as a member of the 
local board of education ever since the district 
was organized. He is public spirited, in all thai 
the term implies, a promoter of enterprises calcu- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



809 



lated to advance the interests of the community, 
.both materially and otherwise, being in many 
respects a leader among his fellow citizens. He 
is held in high esteem by all who know him, and 
he shows himself worthy of every mark of con- 
fidence with which he has been honored. On 
May 13, 1882, was solemnized the ceremony 
which united Mr. Ferguson and Miss Mary Fenn 
in the bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Ferguson is the 
able daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Cox) 
Fenn, natives of England, and she has borne her 
husband these children : Isaac, died in infancy ; 
Frederick, died at the age of two years ; William 
George, Isaac, Ellen, Ida, Essie, Frances. 

TFIOMAS A. FRANCIS. 

Long connected with coal mining in his na- 
tive country of Wales, England, and, through his 
technical knowledge- thereof, identifying himself 
with noted coal operations in the United States 
for a long term of years in a prominent way, 
Thomas A. Francis has also laid broad and deep 
the foundations of a remunerative agricultural 
life, and is passing the evening of his days in his 
beautiful rural home, located fifty miles north 
of Rock Springs, Wyoming, his estate embracing 
340 acres of the richest agricultural land of the 
country, where he is conducting farming and 
stockraising operations with very satisfactory re- 
sults, being considered one of the leading men of 
a wide range of country, his family standing high 
in the regards of the better people of the county. 
Thomas A. Francis was born in Glamorganshire, 
South Wales, on September 12, 1838, a son of 
Thomas and Rachel (Williams) Francis, who 
descended from families that . had been resident 
in Wales from time immemorial. The father, 
a cokemaker, was the son of another Thomas, 
who was a farmer, and, in the family of this last 
named Thomas, were twenty-four sons and 
daughters, all born to one marriage. This re- 
markable fecundity, however, did not descend 
to his progeny, for in our subject's father's 
family were but nine children, and, of these, but 
two are now living • three of the number emi- 



grating to America. Accustomed to labor from 
early years, the little attendance Mr. Francis could 
give to the Welsh schools did little more than 
start him on the road to knowledge, but this lit- 
tle he increased in America by diligent study at 
night-schools, while working in the mines, by 
self-tuition and by carefully selected reading, un- 
til he now possesses a broad range of practical 
and technical knowledge, that surpasses in utility 
the knowledge obtained by many men in a uni- 
versity course. Emigrating from Wales in 1865, 
he made his first objective point a central location 
in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, continuing to 
be there employed for about three years, when, 
going to Mahaska county, Iowa, he there con- 
ducted mining operations until 187 1, at which 
time his broad understanding of the principles 
underlying the successful operations of the mines 
brought him the advanced position of mine boss, 
and, in 1875, he was placed in charge of a pros- 
pecting crew operating in Lucas county for the 
Whitebreast Coal and Mining Co., and here both 
his practical and scientific geological knowledge 
were of great advantage to his company, for at 
Lucas, where other coal men had diligently pros- 
pected and searched for ten years with utterly 
fruitless results, he was the first to discover the 
valuable coal deposits existing at that place. Here 
he very fully developed the new mines, placing 
them on a solid and paying basis, being in full 
charge of their operations, until 1882, when he 
came to Wyoming to recuperate, his health hav- 
ng become impaired. He here engaged as a 
mine foreman in the opening of the new mine, 
No. 6, at Rock Springs, continuing to be thus 
employed and also in the care of the mine until 
he closed it in 1886, on account of the great riot 
at that place. Remaining with the same employ- 
ers, he had full charge of the Jefferson mines 
thereafter until 1894, being a trusty, faithful and 
efficient employe. Changing to another and more 
independent station of life, Mr. Francis then pur- 
chased the place where he now resides, 340 acres 
of most fertile and productive bottom land, lying 
in the Pipesville district, along the Big Sandy 
River, and there engaged in the stock business, 



8io 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



which he lias continued and is continuing with 
very satisfactory results, having developed a 
place, attractive in appearance and well equipped 
for the successful carrying on of his extensive 
operations. Mr. Francis has long been a member 
of the Masonic fraternity, while, as a zealous Re- 
publican, he is quite prominently associated with 
public affairs, being a frequent delegate to coun- 
ty and state conventions of his party. On No- 
vember 15, 1859, at Powtypridd, Wales, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Eleanor Phillips, 
a daughter of William and Mary (Jenkins) Phil- 
lips, natives of Wales. Her father, a son of Ed- 
ward and Margaret (Williams) Phillips, was a 
farmer, and she was the eldest of his three chil- 
dren and is the only one now living. Mr. and 
Mrs. Francis have had ten children, William P., 
died in Wales, aged four years ; John, died in 
infancy ; William P., married Miss Margaret Z. 
Cox, and is residing about forty miles from the 
parental home; John C, died at seventeen years 
of age in Iowa : Mary R., died in infancy ; Harrv 
T., married Miss Ida V. Davis, and lives at 
Weiser, Idaho; Margaret A., married John T. 
Chambers, a sheepman of Uinta county ; Arthur 
J., married Miss Margaret J. Decker, and is liv- 
ing at Little Sandy ; Edward O., deceased ; Al- 
bert, deceased. Mrs. Francis is truly more than 
an ordinary woman, for, beside the care of the 
large family which has been placed in her keep- 
ing, she has been the faithful helpmeet and ad- 
viser .of her husband in many of his important 
operations, and it is not too much to say that, in 
many ways, his fortunate career has been the 
more prosperous by her practical ability and 
sound common sense. 

DAA/ID A. FAKLER. 

The city attorney of Newcastle, county at- 
torney of Weston county, chairman of the county 
central committee of his political party, and chan- 
cellor commander of the local lodge of the 
Knights of Pythias, official life has found in Dav- 
id A. Fakler, now of Newcastle, Wyoming, a 
readiness and capacity for the proper discharge 



of its duties, and has been free and generous in 
bestowing upon him its honors. He is a native 
of Winona, Minn., where he was born on June 16, 
1867, the son of William and Cecilia (Juixle) 
Fakler, German folk by nativity, who came to 
America when they were young and were mar- 
ried at Winona, where they engaged in farming, 
until 1878, when they removed to Sioux Falls, 
S. D., and, near that growing place, continued 
their agricultural pursuits. The mother died on 
August 6, 1897, and the father survives, making 
his home at Sioux Falls. David A. Fakler re- 
mained with his parents until he was twenty years 
of age, attending the public schools, as he had 
opportunity, and finishing his education with a 
special course of training at the Sioux Falls Busi- 
ness College. In 1887 he came to Wyoming, and, 
locating in Crook county, worked on the range 
and ranches, living frugally, saving his monev 
and preparing himself for a-more exalted station 
in life. He used his opportunities to gather cat- 
tle and horses, selling them at good profits, thus 
carrying on a small, but agreeable and advantage- 
ous, business for himself. In 1893 he removed 
to Newcastle and secured employment as a ste- 
nographer for M. B. Camplain, Esq.. a leading 
attorney of that place, he having acquired facil- 
ity in the art of shorthand after learning it at the 
business college. He studied law while working 
for Mr. Camplain. and Mas admitted to the bar 
on April 22, 1896. After practicing alone for 
eighteen months he formed a partnership with 
Mr. Camplain, and was associated with him in 
the practice of his profession until the spring of 
1898. when the partnership was dissolved, because 
of the appointment of Mr. Fakler to the office of 
county attorney, to fill the vacancy caused by 
the death of R. H. Yosburgh. He filled this of- 
fice under appointment until November. 1900. and 
was then elected for a full term without opposi- 
tion. His conduct in the discharge of its im- 
portant, and often trying, duties has won. him 
universal commendation, and has also given the 
community a high degree of satisfaction. He 
has. in addition to his official duties, a large and 
representative private practice, being well es- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



811 



teemed as a forceful and inspiring potency 
in political affairs. He is chairman of the 
Republican county central committee, and, in 
this connection, he has contributed essentially to 
perfect and make aggressive the organization of 
his party and to lead it to successive victories. As 
the city attorney of Newcastle he has given con- 
sistency and firmness to municipal authority, and 
has held its enactments up to a high standard of 
breadth and efficiency. While nothing in his pro- 
fessional or official duties is neglected, he does 
not allow them to absorb his whole time or at- 
tention. He has a profitable real-estate and in- 
surance business and is interested in oil lands of 
great promise and value. On May 8, 1896, he 
was married to Mrs. Liva H. Rounds, of New- 
castle, a native of New York. She has two chil- 
dren, Fay and Bertha. Mr. Fakler is the chan- 
cellor commander of the Knights of Pythias 
lodge at Newcastle, and holds memberships in 
lodges of the Red Men and the Woodmen of the 
World at that place. In religious affiliation he 
owes obedience to the Catholic church. 

FRED W. FREVERT. 

r 

The subject of this sketch is one of the rep- 
resentative farmers and worthy citizens of Lara- 
mie county, Wyoming, with the agricultural in- 
terests of which he has been very closely iden- 
tified since the spring of 1893. From that time 
he has done much by his activity and influence to 
develop the rich resources of this section of the 
state, besides taking no inconsiderable part in the 
public affairs of the county. Fred W. Frevert is 
of German descent and dates his birth from De- 
cember 23, i860, having first seen the light of day 
in Auglaize county, Ohio. His parents, A. F. 
and Mary Frevert, were natives of Germany. 
They came to the United States in the early fifties 
and settled in Auglaize county, Ohio, where the 
father carried on agricultural operations until his 
death at his Ohio home. The mother also lived 
there to the end of her days, departing this life 
in the spring of 1901. Fred W. Frevert was 
reared to maturity in his native county, and dur- 
ing the winter seasons of his minority attended 



the public schools. He grew up a continued help 
to his parents and remained with them, assisting 
to run the farm until he reached the age of twen- 
ty-four, taking upon himself the management of 
the place, and the major part of the work, during 
the last four or five years of the time thus spent. 
In 1882 he severed his home ties and went to 
Syracuse, Neb., near which place he worked as 
a farm laborer for about two years, at the expira- 
tion of that time going to Cheyenne county, now 
Scotts Bluff county, in the same state, where he 
entered a tract of government land, and at once 
began its improvement. Not liking the country, 
however, he sold his place at the end of one year, 
and, in the spring of 1887, came to Wyoming. 
Soon after his arrival, he entered the employ of 
the P F Cattle Co., and, for about three years, 
worked on the Platte River ranch, principally as 
driving granger. In the fall of 1890 he returned 
to Nebraska, and, renting land in Scotts Bluff 
county, farmed there until 1893, in the spring 
of which year he again came to Wyoming, and 
took up the ranch, on the Platte River, twelve 
miles east of Fort Laramie, which he has since 
made his home. Mr. Frevert was exceedingly 
fortunate in his choice of land, his place lying in 
one of the most fertile agricultural regions of 
Laramie county, easily accessible to good markets. 
His own land, and lands in the vicinity, are well 
watered, and are peculiarly adapted to the grow- 
ing of all grains, vegetables and the fruits raised 
in this latitude, and they also produce the finest 
and most nutritious herbage for grazing purposes. 
Mr. Frevert has put a number of substantial im- 
provements on his place, adding greatly to its 
value, and, in the prosecution of his labors as an 
agriculturist, he has met with success surpassing 
his fondest expectations. He is also interested 
in stockraising, and on his ranch may be seen 
many of the finest cattle in this part of the coun- 
try. He takes pride in his animals, especially 
those used for domestic purposes, and is an ex- 
cellent judge of cattle and horses. He came to 
Wyoming in comparatively limited circumstances, 
but, with characteristic energy, he addressed him- 
self to the task of improving his condition, and 
that he has succeeded in this highly laudable aim 



8l2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



is fully attested by the large and well-improved 
estate now in his possession, and by the respect- 
able positions to which, he has attained in the 
business world. By a well-directed industry, his 
place has been brought to a high state of tillage, 
and his home is now one of the most attractive 
and desirable places of residence in the part of 
the county in which it is situated. Energetic and 
progressive, he has made his presence felt in many 
ways, and his standing as one of the representa- 
tive citizens of the county is fully and permanent- 
ly established. On March 19, 1892, Mr. Frevert 
was joined in marriage with Miss Matilda Brod- 
erson, of Germany, a daughter of Christian and 
Matilda (Mathesen) Broderson, the ceremony 
being solemnized at Scotts Bluff, Neb. Mr. 
and Mrs. Frevert are members of the Lutheran 
church, active in the good work of the same. In 
politics Mr. Frevert is a Republican, but not a 
partisan. Since first coming to the West he has 
made two visits to his birthplace in Ohio, one in 
1888, before his marriage, the other with his wife, 
in 1901, which covered two years of time. 

L. B. FOSTER. 

L. D. Foster, of Lovell, Wyoming, is one of 
the prosperous and enterprising stockmen and 
farmers of Bighorn county, whose whole estate is 
the legitimate fruit of his individual energy, clear- 
ness of view and capacity. His early life was 
darkened by the death of his mother, when he 
was but an infant, and by the absence of his 
father, who left home for the gold fields of Cali- 
fornia when his child was but five years old. and 
never returned. Thus wholly lett to the care of 
strangers to his blood, and, necessarily, to his 
own resources for advancement in the world, his 
condition developed his native strength and flex- 
ibility of fiber, making him ready for any emer- 
gency which might confront him. Well and 
\\iscl\ has he used the opportunities, which Ins 
quickness of perception opened to him, and, with 
resolute self-reliance and diligent application un- 
der all circumstances, he has made his way to 
competence and general esteem in the new coun- 
try, to which he came as a soldier of fortune, in 



1886. Mr. Foster was born in 1844 in the state 
of Kentucky, of which his parents, Asa J., and 
Martha Foster, were also natives. Not long after 
his birth his mother died, and, in 1849, his father 
joined the Argonauts in the memorable Califor- 
nia stampede of that year. In his native state, 
the deserted orphan grew to manhood, gathering 
a little learning here and there, by irregular at- 
tendance at the public schools, working at any 
occupation that was found available, however 
hard the toil or poor the recompense. In 1872, 
his adventurous spirit impelled him to seek a bet- 
ter fortune and wider opportunities in the wake 
of the setting sun, and he went to Idaho, where 
he engaged in farming and he met his long-ab- 
sent father, whom he had not seen since he Avas 
five years old. For fourteen years he carried on 
his farming operations in Idaho, coupled with 
other work of various kinds from time to time, 
and, in 1886, after many reverses and changes of 
fortune, he arrived in Wyoming, and located in 
the Bighorn basin, ready for a new tussle with 
the fickle goddess, who had been so unkind in his 
former ventures. He had a partner with him, 
and their joint capital in money was twenty-five 
cents. But nothing daunted by this fact, he went 
vigorously to work on a homestead, which he lo- 
cated on the present site of Lovell, after wintering 
at the mouth of the Stinking Water, improving 
his property and reducing it to productiveness 
and fitness for the stock business he was prepar- 
ing to conduct on it. After a few years of moder- 
ate success in this enterprise, he sold this ranch 
and bought the one he now owns and occupies, 
and which has been greatly improved and fructi- 
fied by his careful and energetic management. 
For some years he was also engaged in mercan- 
tile life in a general store at Lovell. His enter- 
prise in the improvement and development of the 
new country in which he had settled was not 
overborne by difficulties or unpromising - condi- 
tions. Finding his land fertile, but also arid, he 
opened a ditch from the river near which he was 
located, by which to irrigate it. This was not 
only of great benefit to him, but inspired others 
to the same activity, his being the first ditch taken 
out of the Stinking Water. His ranch now com- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



8i3 



prises 480 acres of excellent, well-watered and 
highly improved land, being one of the choice 
tracts of the basin. His herds are large, of good 
breed and quality, and his numerous horses are 
of pure strains and high grades. With the great- 
er part of bis life already passed and the most of 
bis existence full of tips and downs, burdened 
with toil, darkened with care, menaced with dan- 
ger and embittered by privation, Mr. Foster can 
yet look back over it with the proud satisfaction 
that he ever confronted its severe and trying regi- 
men with courage and fidelity to duty, and 
through it came steadily forward to a stronger 
spirit and a higher development; that it prepared. 
him to enjoy more fully the prosperity he has 
since won, and broadened him for life's later du- 
ties and for substantial service to his community 
and kind ; that his present peace and comfort are 
all the better because of the discipline through 
which he reached them. 

JESSE M. FROST. 

Jesse M. Frost was reared on a farm near 
Albert Lea, Minnesota, where he was born on 
December 20, 1867, and was educated at the' pub- 
lic schools. His father, Mahlon Frost, was a na- 
tive of Ohio, and his mother, whose maiden name 
was Nancy E. Ward, came from Pennsylvania. 
They were well-to-do farmers in Minnesota, and 
in 1883 they sold their property in that state and 
removed to Bismarck, N. D., where they re- 
mained three years. In 1886 they came to Wyo- 
ming, locating in Bighorn county, took up their 
residence at first on the South Fork of the Sho- 
shone River, and there father and son engaged 
in hunting and in. trapping for two years, when, 
in 1888, they changed their residence to the 
place where the son now lives, at Frost Station, 
and settled on land which they there took up on 
homestead and desert claims, and on which they 
started the cattle business that J. M. Frost is 
still conducting. Since that time the parents have 
removed to California where they are now living. 
Mr. Frost has 400 acres of good land and runs 
about 250 high-grade cattle. He has been thrifty 



and frugal in his life, as well as industrious and 
enterprising in his business, and has accumulated 
a competency, owning valuable property in Mee- 
teetse and also in Cody. His ranch and stock 
industries, however, form his principal business, 
and to them he gives a close and careful atten- 
tion, bringing to bear on their operations, with a 
view to securing the best results, the intelligence 
acquired from judicious reading and discriminat- 
ing observation, omitting no effort on his part 
considered necessary to the full fruition of his 
hopes in every respect touching the business in 
■ which he is engaged. The well-improved condi- 
tion of his ranch proclaims his energy and skill 
as a farmer, while the appearance of his cattle 
showed the care he bestows upon them. He is 
well-known as one of the progressive and wide- 
awake stockmen of his neighborhood, whose bus- 
iness capacity and sagacity has impressed itself 
on everything of which he has taken hold, and his 
public spirit and breadth of view respecting local 
public affairs, have made him a factor in all mat- 
ters tending to the advancement and improve- 
ment of the community. He is a valued member 
of the lodge of Modern Woodmen of America 
at Cody, and gives to its affairs the same earnest 
attention and zealous service that he gives to 
every interest which he has in charge. On Sep- 
tember 27, 1899, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Elizabeth Brannon, a native of Illinois, but, 
at the time of her marriage, residing at Cody, 
where the marriage occurred. They have these 
children, Jesse and Lisle and Wilmet. 

JAMES FRANCIS. 

The subject of this sketch, James Francis, was 
born in the city of New York on March 5, 1840, 
a son of Michael and Jane (Rourke) Francis, 
both natives of Ireland, who came from their 
native land to the United States in 1839, and es- 
tablished their home in New York, where the 
father followed railroading. James was the old- 
est of their family of twelve children. He' re- 
ceived his early education in New York, and in 
the public schools of Illinois, to which common 



814 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



wealth his parents removed during his child- 
hood. Upon leaving school, he secured employ- 
ment from Judge White, who was at that time 
largely interested in the overland transportation, 
and drove an ox team overland to Omaha, in the 
territory of Nebraska. Subsequently, he joined 
an overland train, and came to the new placer 
mining discoveries in Last Chance Gulch, Mon- 
tana, where the city of Helena is now located. 
Here he engaged for a time in mining, and was 
interested in the construction of the first quartz 
mill erected in Montana. After disposing of his 
interests in Montana, he removed to Leesburg, 
Idaho, where he continued mining for about two 
years, wheiij locating at Montpelier, he followed 
the dual occupations of hunting and trapping for 
two seasons, and then accepted a position in the 
employ of the Union Pacific Railroad at Raw- 
lins, Wyo. He was soon promoted to foreman, 
and was actively interested in the great strike at 
Rock Springs, Wyo., in connection with which 
it became necessary to call out the United States 
troops at Fort Bridger. He then removed to 
Evanston, Wyo., where he continued as foreman 
for the railroad for a short time. Resigning this 
position for the purpose of engaging in business 
for himself, he came to the vicinity of Cokeville, 
where he embarked in the business of getting out 
and hauling ties for the railroad. After continu- 
ing in this vocation for some months, he sold out 
and removed his residence to Iowa, where he fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits during the next ten 
years. At the end of that time, he again came 
west, and located his present ranch property, sit- 
uated near Raymond, Idaho, about eleven miles 
north of Cokeville, where he has since been en- 
gaged in the business of ranching and in cattle- 
raising. Here he is now the owner of a finch- 
improved farm of some 320 acres, being one of 
the substantial ranchmen and stockgrowers of 
that section of the country, hi 1860. at Webster 
City, Iowa, Mr. Francis was married to Miss 
Catherine Bresswait, a native of Germany. To 
their union was born four children, namely, 
Michael W. ; Mollie, deceased; Anna, now mar- 
ried and residing in Dubuque, Iowa : Tessie. His 
first wife passed away in Iowa, and. on Novem- 



ber 19, 1887, Mr. Francis was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Rebekah Price, at Montpelier, 
Idaho. She is a native of Pennsylvania, being a 
daughter of Alfred and Jane (Williams) Price, 
the former a native of England, and the latter of 
Wales. Six children have been born to them, 
Nettie, Mary J., Sadie B., James Raymond. Wil- 
liam Richard and Cleon Sanford. The family- 
are highly respected in the community where 
they reside. Mr. Francis is one of the enterpris- 
ing and public-spirited stock and ranchmen of 
western Wyoming, active and foremost in all 
public improvements, and has done much to* ad- 
vance the interests of that section of the state. 

ARTHUR H. FYE. 

One of the promising young men engaged 
in the business of cattleraising in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, is the subject of this brief sketch, 
Arthur H. Fye, whose address is Hecla. He is 
a native of Jo Daviess county, 111., born on Au- 
gust 17, 1873. His parents were long respected 
residents of that county, and are now residing: in 
Laramie county, Wyo. The subject of this im- 
perfect review grew to manhood in his native state 
of Illinois, and received his early school train- 
ing in the public educational institutions of the 
state, and, in 1890, he accompanied his parents 
on their long journey when they removed their 
residence from Illinois to the state of Wyoming. 
After his arrival in the latter state, he continued 
to remain at the parental home, assisting his fa- 
ther in the work and the management of the 
home ranch, and of the cattle business, in which 
the latter was engaged about five years. He then 
secured employment as a range-rider for vari- 
ous companies, handling cattle in Laramie countv 
and continued in that occupation for about three 
years, earning the reputation of being one of 
the most efficient and capable cattlemen in that 
section of the state. In the year 1898 he ac- 
cepted a -position in Montana, and there he had 
charge of a band of cattle for a short time. He 
then resigned this position and removed his resi- 
dence to Butte, Mont., where he accepted a posi- 
tion in the employ of his brother. Edward Fye, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



8i5 



who was then engaged in the coal business at that 
place. He remained here, busily engaged in 
Butte, occupied in this employment until 1900, 
when he again returned to the state of Wyo- 
ming, and, associating himself in business with 
his brother, Boyd M. Fye, took a lease on the 
well-known Gilchrist ranch, situated on the 
Middle Crow Creek, about seventeen miles west 
of the city of Cheyenne, and since that time they 
have been successfully engaged in the business 
of raising cattle at this place. The energy, perse- 
verance and industry of these brothers in the 
prosecution of their business is well known, and 
they are pushing their enterprise with commend- 
able vigor and ability. Arthur M. Fye is one of 
the most respected citizens of the community 
where his home is located, and is a young man 
who is certain, if dire misfortune does not at- 
tack him, to make a name and fortune. 

JAMES GADBY. 



This well-known stockman and farmer, whose 
ranch is on Hilliard Flat, Uinta county, Wyo- 
ming, was born in Derbyshire, England, on May 
11, 1843, a son of William and Sarah (Wells) 
Gadby, the former of whom was also a native 
of England, but the latter was a native of Wales. 
William Gadby, the father of James, was a dis- 
tinguished engineer in England, and his father, 
who was also named William, was in his day 
an astronomer of celebrity. James Gadby is the 
next to the eldest of eleven children born to his 
parents, of the other ten, James, the eldest, is de- 
ceased and William, who follows James in order 
of birth, is a resident of Illinois. The parents 
of this family both died in England. James 
Gadby, in whose interest this sketch is princi- 
pally prepared, came to the United States in 
1 88 1 where he was employed in coal mining three 
years, when he returned to England and re- 
mained until 1886, then came back to America, 
located in Colorado and mined for some time, 
thence coming to Wyoming and for about eigh- 
teen months he mined at Rock Springs, Sweet- 



water county, and he then entered rural life 011 
his present farm of 160 acres on Hilliard Flat, 
where he has since been engaged in both stock- 
raising and farming. Mr. Gadby has been three 
times married. His first venture on the matri- 
monial sea was made in England in 1868, when 
he chose for his companion on life's voyage, Miss 
Alice Haynes, a daughter of William Haynes, 
but she was called from life when she was but 
thirty-nine years old, although she had then 
borne him eleven children, of whom but one is 
now living, Alice M., the wife of Herbert Brown 
of Evanston, Wyo. The second marriage took 
place in 1883 also in England, when Miss Kate 
Thomson became his wife. She died in Not- 
tinghamshire, England, leaving no children. His 
third marriage to Ann Bates, a daughter of Wil- 
liam and Sarah Bates, also took place in Eng- 
land. The present Mr. and Mrs. Gadby are de- 
voted members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, to the support of which they liberally 
contribute and its pious teachings are daily man- 
ifested in their upright walk among. their neigh- 
bors and their fellow citizens, by whom thev 
are highly respected. Mr. Gadby possesses all 
the public spirit and independence of principle 
and sense of justice inherent in his race, and 
these have never been contaminated nor pervert- 
ed by the mutations of time nor by the influence 
of the many classes of people it ' has been his 
fortune to have met. His integrity is inflexible 
and he is a good type of the industrious, sober 
yeomanry of England, improved and broadened 
by his wide connection with the affairs of both 
the old' and the New World. 

DR. CYRUS T. GAMBLE. 

The life of a rural doctor on the frontier is 
full of toil and calls for stern endurance. The 
day's work, and often that of the night, covers 
many miles of hard riding, frequently in storm 
of wind or rain or snow, over bad roads through 
a wild and often dangerous country. His hard- 
ships and adventures, though often thrilling in 
the recital, seem, however, to him in the experi- 



8i6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ence only the regular and natural features of 
his daily vocation. He is inured to toil and ex- 
posure and knows no other life. Moreover, Na- 
ture, distributing her favors with a system of 
constant balances and compensations, gives him, 
through his very hardships, a toughness of fiber 
and a flexibility of function, which keep him in 
condition for his work, and enable him to con- 
tinue it long and do it well. Dr. Cyrus T. Gam- 
ble, of Diamondville, Uinta county, belongs to 
this class of public servants, for in his career he 
has exhibited much of the heroism of the class. 
He was born at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on 
September 25, 1856. one of the ten children of 
Moses and Margaret (Smith) Gamble, the fa- 
ther a native of Canada and the mother of Coun- 
ty Cavan, Ireland. The paternal ancestors were 
the oldtime Campbells of the renowned Scottish 
clan- of that name whose history is glorious in 
peace and war and voluminous in all the chron- 
icles of Scotland. One branch of the family emi- 
grated in early Colonial times to America and 
settled in Pennsylvania, from which branch the 
Doctor is derived. His father was a prosperous 
carriagemaker, a man of domestic tastes, devoted 
to his home and family. In mature life he left 
his native heath and settled at Westport, S. D., 
where in 1897 his wife died, and where two 
years later he also passed away. Both were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of 
their ten children seven are living. The Doctor 
received a thorough public school education in 
his native land, and got his professional instruc- 
tion at the Fort Wayne College of Medicine, from 
which he was graduated in 1886. He entered on 
the practice of his profession in Michigan, after 
two years of close attention to it in that state, 
removing to South Dakota where he practiced for 
three years. He then came to Almy, Wyo., and 
there served as physician and surgeon for the 
Rock) - Mountain Coal and Iron Co. for nine 
years. From there he removed to Diamondville, 
on his arrival taking the position of physician 
and surgeon to the Diamond Coal & Coke Co., 
which he is still filling, with great credit to him- 
self and with benefit to the company and its em- 



ployes. He is, like his father, a man of strong 
domestic tastes, warmly attached to his home and 
its pleasures. He is also fervently devoted to his 
profession, making it his chief concern, being a 
diligent and discriminating reader of its litera- 
ture and an intelligent practitioner in all of its 
branches. He is a member of the International 
Railroad Surgeons' Society, the Intermountain 
Medical Association and also belongs to the 
American Medical Association. In fraternal re- 
lations he affiliates with the Odd Fellows, the 
United Workmen and the Woodmen of the 
World, holding memberships in these orders at 
Diamondville, where he is the medical exam- 
iner for all of them. He was married at Leola, 
S. D., on October 25, 1888, to Miss Elizabeth 
A. King, a daughter of William and Alice (Oli- 
ver) King, natives of England, but for years res- 
idents of Ontario, Canada. Three children have 
been born to the Doctor, Blaine, LeRoy and 
Irene. To the duties of her attractive home and 
the judicious rearing of her children, Mrs. Gam- 
ble gives attention, but finds also time to give 
a generous inspiration to the social circles of 
which she is a valued member. 

VAN L. GILFORD. 

This active, energetic and prosperous resi- 
dent of Goldsmith, Wyoming, is a native of Rich- 
mond, Virginia, where he was born on August 
16, 1862, being the son of Edward and Mary 
(Connor) Gilford, the former a native of the 
state of Iowa, and the latter of Massachusetts. 
The father was a physician by profession, and up 
to 1861 was a resident of the state of Iowa. In 
that year his sympathies being strongly on the 
side of the South in the great Civil War which 
was then raging, he removed from Iowa to the 
city of Richmond, Va., and offered his service^ 
to the Confederate states, and at once received 
a commission as captain in a Virginia regiment 
of the Southern army, serving in an official capac- 
ity during the entire war. He had been a sol- 
dier in the Mexican War, entering the army at 
the early age of sixteen years. At the conclus- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



.817 



ion of the Civil War Captain Gilford removed 
his residence from Richmond to Montgomery, 
the capital of the state of Alabama, where he 
was the postmaster of that city for a term of four 
years. In 1870, he removed his residence to Bel- 
ton, Texas, and subsequently to Oletha, in the 
same state, where he resided until his death in 
1874. After his active and varied career he lies 
buried in Grimes county, Texas. The mother is 
still living - at Thornton, Texas. Van L. Gilford 
grew to manhood and received his early acad- 
emic training in the schools of Oletha, Texas. 
After completing his education he learned the 
pottery trade, in which he was engaged until 
1883. In that year, having an ambition to en- 
gage in the stock business, he went to the city 
of Denver, Colo., where he secured employment 
on a stock farm, for the purpose of acquiring 
a practical knowledge of the business, to which 
he had determined to devote his energies. Here 
he remained for three years, and in 1886 came 
to Wyoming, and secured a position with the 
Swan Land & Cattle Co., then one of the largest 
concerns operating in the stock business in the 
western country. He remained with this com- 
pany for four years, riding the range as a cow- 
boy, from time to time acting as foreman of 
various outfits. In 1890 he engaged in the horse 
business on his own account, buying stock on the 
ranges and driving them to the cities for sale 
in the markets. He followed this occupation 
with some success for two years, then disposing 
of his interests to advantage, he accepted a re- 
sponsible position with the Iron Mountain Ranch 
Co., where he continued to be employed for two 
years. In the spring of 1894 he took up his pres- 
ent ranch on Bear Creek, about eleven miles south 
of Chugwater, Wyo., and has remained here 
since that time, engaged in cattle and horserais- 
ing. He has met with success in his business and 
has made extensive improvements on his ranch 
property, having now a fine and comfortable resi- 
dence, and a large tract of meadow and hay land, 
equal to any in that section of country. On Janu- 
ary 4, 1893, Mr. Gilford was united in marriage 
at Loveland, Colo., to Mrs. Ollie E. McCarty, 



a native of Minnesota, and a daughter of Hiram 
and Jennie (Brown) Swain, the former a native 
of the state of New York, and the latter of Illin- 
ois. The father of Mrs. Gilford, early removing 
from his native state to Ohio, there engaged in 
farming, later transferred his residence to Illin- 
ois, where he located near the city of Elgin, and 
followed the same occupation. Subsequently he 
moved to Faribault, Minn., and was one of the 
earliest of the pioneers of that state. In 1883 
he moved to Loveland, Colo., where he engaged 
in the manufacture of brick. Of recent years 
he has been living retired from active business, 
during the greater portion of the time himself 
and wife have been making their home with their 
daughter in Wyoming. To Mr. and Mrs. Gil- 
ford two children have been born, namely, Mil- 
dred M. M. and Lee W. Two children of Mrs. 
Gilford by her former marriage, namely Freder- 
ick C. McCarty and Edward T., are also members 
of the household. The postoffice of Goldsmith 
is at the home of the Gilfords and Mrs. Swain, 
the mother of Mrs. Gilford, is at the present writ- 
ing (1902) the efficient postmistress. Frater- 
nally, Mr. Gilford is a member of the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, a member of the Chey- 
enne Lodge, and also a member of the order of 
the Woodmen of the World, of the same place. 
His church relations are with the Methodist 
Episcopal church, of which he is a valued mem- 
ber. Politically, he is identified with the Repub- 
lican party and takes an active interest in all pub- 
lic affairs interesting the community. 

LAWRENCE L. GIESSLER. 

Descending from a long line of creditable an- 
cestors in his German Fatherland, and bringing 
to successful use in this new land of his adop- 
tion those qualities of his race that tend to thrift 
and accumulation, the subject of this review has 
passed through various experiences in life, and is 
now a prosperous trader at Atlantic City, main- 
taining and retaining the patronage and the good 
will of a large and ever increasing number of 
customers by his fairness of dealing, the quality 



8i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and character of his reliable goods, and their 
adaptation to the needs of the people. Mr. Giess- 
ler was born at Baden, Germany, on August 31, 
1855, a grandson of Jacob Giessler and a son of 
Lawrence and Carolina (Himmelsbach) Giess- 
ler, both natives of Baden, where the father was 
a miller and where he died in 1895 at the age of 
seventy years, the mother surviving him until 
1898, when she, too, was called from earth, at 
nearly the same age. Of their nine children, four 
survive, three residing in the United States and 
one in Germany. Emigrating from Germany af- 
ter a careful education in the gymnasium of 
Baden, in 1873, Mr. Giessler crossed the Atlantic 
westward, continuing his course across the' con- 
tinent until he reached South Pass, Wyo., where 
he engaged in various occupations until 1877, 
when he became identified with the stock busi- 
ness, continuing this successfully until 1889, 
when he closed out his- interests, and, in 1890, 
purchased an interest in the mercantile estab- 
lishment of James Baldwin, now of Lander, at 
Atlantic City, and, after successfully conducting 
this business for a year, he purchased the entire 
business and has since carried on trade individ- 
ually and with an annually increasing stock and 
custom, being recognized as a capable and pro- 
gressive business man, fertile in resources, quick 
in perception, vigorous and prompt in action, 
with a keen eye for the wants and necessities of 
the community and the power of readily trans- 
muting merchandise into money. In all of his 
operations, his sterling honesty and justice to his 
patrons win and retain for him the cordial es- 
teem and regard of his numerous friends. He 
is the owner of the large and modern building 
in which his immense stock of general merchan- 
dise, groceries, etc., is displayed, while he is 
also interested in the Garfield mine, a promising 
revenue producer of the neighborhood. Mr. 
Giessler is a man of strong domestic tastes and 
does not care for office, but, as a convenience to 
the people, he has held that of notary public for 
the last two years. He is greatly interested in 
public matters, and he is affiliated with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, holding membership in Wyo- 



ming Lodge, No. 2, the second lodge instituted 
in the state. Mr. Giessler married with Miss 
Emma J. Stegmiller, a native of Illinois, at Lan- 
der, Wyo., on June 25, 1889. She is a daughter 
of John and Ella S. (Steinert) Stegmiller, who 
were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Giess- 
ler have one daughter, Emma J. Giessler. 

NERI D. WOOD. 

Among the invading footsteps of advancing 
civilization which broke into the primeval soli- 
tude and wild luxuriance of Northern Wyoming 
were those of Neri D. Wood, one of the well-es- 
tablished and enterprising stockgrowers of the 
Tensleep region of Bighorn county, whose con- 
tributions to the development of the region have 
been substantial and considerable, and who has, 
while helping materially in the progress of his 
count}', found a welcome guerdon for his labors 
in the accumulation of a satisfactory competence 
for himself. Mr. Wood was born in June, 1862, 
in the state of Missouri, where his parents, Levi 
and. Margaret (Estes) Wood, were successfully 
engaged in farming. When he was thirteen 
years old the family removed to Wyoming, lo- 
cating about fifty miles north of Cheyenne on 
Horse Creek. There they carried on a flourish- 
ing stock business, and in its service the son Neri 
rode the range. He continued this until 1885 
when they all removed to Johnson county, and 
there he followed the same occupation for five 
years longer. In 1890 he engaged in the stock 
business on his own account near Sheridan, re- 
maining there until 1898. He then came to the 
Bighorn basin and, securing an eligible location on 
No Wood River, pushed with vigor on a large 
scale the cattle business which he had been con- 
ducting in a smaller way at his former place. 
He has 1,120 acres of well-selected land, with a 
desirable diversity of altitude to furnish the ne- 
cessary ranges for his stock and on this tract, 
which is one of the choice ones of this river bot- 
tom, be lias a herd of 900 excellent cattle and a 
nice band of well-bred horses and also carries 
on extensive farming operations, which are 
among the most advanced and successful in this 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



819 



portion of the county. Mr. Wood may almost 
be said to have been born to the cattle business, 
for he began operations in it with his youth and 
has followed it in its various developments and 
phases in different places continuously since 
then. His experience in it has been long and 
fruitful, and he has applied it in the manage- 
ment of his own estate with great success and dis- 
crimination. There is no part of the industry 
with which he is not familiar from actual expe- 
rience, there is no emergency connected with it 
to which he has not proven equal when confront- 
ed by it and the evidences of these conditions are 
everywhere present around him. He was mar- 
ried at Sheridan, Wyo., in 1893 to Miss Sarah 
Jennings, a native of Texas, but an early resi- 
dent of Wyoming. 

MOSES V. GILTNER. 

With his early life darkened by the overwhel- 
ming shadow of the great Civil War, and dur- 
ing almost the whole of it more or less dependent 
on his own resources for advancement, Moses 
V. Giltner of Spring Creek, in the Jackson Hole 
country of Wyoming, has well learned that self- 
reliance, ready resourcefulness and adaptability 
to circumstances, which have been such poten- 
tial factors in his useful and successful career. 
He is a native of Nodaway county, Missouri, 
where he first saw the light of day on March 3, 
1857. His parents were Elias and Mary A. 
(Huttsell) Giltner, Indiana people who emigrat- 
ed to Missouri early in their married life. The 
father was a prosperous farmer when the War 
between the Sections broke out, and, hearkening 
to the call of his country in her great emergency, 
he enlisted in the Union army, leaving his young 
family to the care of their devoted mother. After 
the years of arduous service, to which he was 
destined in the field and on the march, where 
danger and death ever lurked eager for a mani- 
fold prey, he gladly returned to the industries 
of peace and again engaged in his farming. His 
able wife died in Henry county. Mo., in 1900, 
where he is yet living. Moses V. Giltner was 



the third of seven children. He was educated 
to a limited extent in the public schools of Mis- 
souri, and when he was large enough for the pur- 
pose he began farming for himself in that state, 
and, having assisted his parents in developing the 
homestead until it was no longer necessary, in 
1885 he came to the Northwest, locating in 
Washington, then a territory, and passed four 
years in traveling. In 1889 he determined to 
make his home in Wyoming, and, taking up a 
portion of the ranch of 320 acres on which he 
now lives, on Spring Creek, in Uinta county, at 
once began to improve and develop it, and with 
such enterprise and success that it is now one 
of the desirable ranches of a section renowned 
for its agricultural wealth and its high state of 
cultivation. He also owns 160 acres on Flat 
Creek, not far above Jackson, and, on these two 
tracts, he has conducted a prosperous and suc- 
cessful cattle industry, carrying it forward on a 
scale of magnitude commensurate with the size 
and superior quality of his landed estate. His 
ranches make an expanse of meadow land, re- 
lieved by sufficient elevation in parts to give am- 
ple range for his breeds of high-grade cattle, 
yielding fine annual crops of timothy, alfalfa and 
wild hay, with some grain. The raising of stock 
is, however, his principal industry, and his ship- 
ments are noted for their size and quality. As 
a leading farmer and stockman of this section of 
country, a citizen of influence and progressive 
ideas, a gentleman of engaging social qualities 
and a working and productive factor in the de- 
velopment of Wyoming, Mr. Giltner is worthy 
of the high esteem in which he is held and of the 
commanding position in the community which he 
so acceptably fills. 

JOHN B. GLEAVER. 

John B. Gleaver was a native of Germany, 
and was born in that country on February 25, 
1853, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Gleaver, 
also natives of Germany. When he was eight 
years of age his father died, and when ten he 
began to earn his own living. Bv the time he 






820 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



reached the age of thirteen he had saved enough 
out of his slender earnings to pay his passage 
to the United States, and he made haste to come, 
arriving at Berlin, Wis., in the spring of 1866. 
His new home opened to him at once with hospi- 
tality, and he found profitable employment on 
a farm, although he could scarcely speak Eng-. 
lish. For nine years he worked and prospered in 
that state, and in 1875 came to Colorado where 
he passed a year. In 1876 he made his advent 
into Wyoming, locating in Laramie' county, and 
there, falling in readily with the genius and lead- 
ing industry of the locality, became a range-rider. 
He followed this occupation in that neighborhood 
for a year or two, then removed to Saratoga, in 
Carbon county, where he continued it until 1880, 
when he came to the Bighorn basin, after having 
been married on May 1 of that year, at Rawlins, 
to Miss Ida V. Wilson, a native of Kansas. For 
nine years after settling in the basin he and his 
wife worked for Otto Franc, he being for the 
greater part of the time foreman in the business. 
In 1889 they took up their residence on land of 
their own and started in the stock business. In 
1893 his wife died leaving one child, their son, 
Otto F., who was born on May 1, 1884, and who 
was the first white child born in the Bighorn 
basin. Since his son's death, which occurred 
suddenly at Grand Island, Neb., but a short time 
ago, Mr. Gleaver has been despondent and never 
recovered from the effects of this serious loss. 
His life was wrapt up in his boy and many times 
during his illness Mr. Gleaver was heard to say 
he had little desire to live. It was this • feeling 
which undoubtedly hastened his death, which sad 
bereavement took place on June 1, 1903. In 1898 
Mr. Gleaver's second marriage occurred at Mill- 
bank, S. D., he being united on this occasion to 
Mrs. Harriet (Faribault) Campbell, a native of 
Minnesota. Mr. Gleaver was an enterprising and 
progressive man and won the esteem of the peo- 
ple of his (.-0111111111111) by his untiring energy and 
activity in behalf of the advancement and im- 
provement of the neighborhood and county and 
his high character and strict integrity. All that 
In- had and was he made himself, unassisted by 



favorable circumstances or the smiles of fortune. 
His own indomitable industry, persistency and 
business capacity were the factors from which his 
estate was built up, and these would have made 
him a success in any line of activity to which he 
was adapted and under any circumstances. One 
of the early settlers in his valley, with a large 
circle of friends, and a wide acquaintance, he will 
be sadly missed. Death has indeed removed an 
old landmark, a sturdy citizen, whose history is 
interwoven with the. progress and development 
of the Grey Bull Valley. 

H. M. GODFREY. 

. H. M. Godfrey, one of the leading commercial 
factors of his section of the state, who is con- 
ducting a popular and well-stocked emporium at 
Lovell, has passed almost the whole of his mature 
life in the farther West, and has thoroughly im- 
bibed the spirit and genius of its people, entered 
with zest and zeal into its methods of thought 
and action, been closely and intelligently identi- 
fied with its progress and development, and aided 
materially in giving trend and force to its insti- 
tutions. He was born in the state of Xew York, 
on August 25, 1834, the son of Xew England 
parents, Daniel F. and Mehephzibah (Taylor) 
Godfrey, who were born and reared in Vermont. 
In his native state Mr. Godfrey grew to man's 
estate and received a common-school education, 
and, in 1856, when he was twenty-two years of 
age, he sought opportunity to win the favors of 
fortune in what was then a part of the western 
frontier, locating in Wisconsin, where he re- 
mained three years. In 1859, at the time of the 
Pike's Peak excitement, he crossed the plains to 
Colorado, but halted. on the way at a good point 
on the South Platte River, where he established 
a road ranch, and had charge of the postoffice for 
a number of years, giving his name to the God- 
trey bluffs, which were so called in his honor. 
lie came to Wyoming in 1885 and located at 
Douglas, and from there as headquarters was 
engaged in freighting for two years. The next 
I wo years he passed at Glenrock, then came to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



821 



the Bighorn basin and took up a homestead on 
the Stinking- Water, one mile below the site on 
which the present town of Lowell has since risen. 
Here he was occupied in farming and raising 
stock until 1900, when he sold out and opened 
the merchandising establishment at Lovell, which 
he has since then been successfully conducting. 
His enterprise has grown from a rather small be- 
ginning to its present splendid proportions, and 
been transformed from a child of hope and prom- 
ise into one of the leading commercial institutions 
of this part of the state, having a large body of 
well-satisfied patrons, and a high rank in the 
mercantile world for sound business methods, 
down-to-date management and a comprehensive 
scope, embracing in its well-selected stock every- 
thing suited to the trade of a well-informed and 
critical community, which it enjoys in a large 
measure. Mr. Godfrey is an active, working 
member of the Masonic fraternity, and has long 
been a devotee before its sacred altars. He was 
married at Denver, Colo., to Miss Annie God- 
frey, a native of Wisconsin, who died at Lovell 
in 1900, leaving six children, Frank, Pearl, Ru- 
bert, Piatt, Annie and Bliss, all of whom are yet 
living and at the parental home. 

M. D. GREGG. 

M. D. Gregg, of Thermopolis, a pioneer of 
1875 in Wyoming, and one of the leading citizens 
of the place, is a native of West Virginia. His 
parents, Edward and Nancy (Doty) Gregg, were 
also native in West Virginia, and, when he was 
two years old, they removed to Iowa, and, four 
years later, to Adair county, Missouri, where he 
was educated and assisted on the farm until 1872, 
when he migrated to Colorado and engaged in 
mining. In 1875 he came to Wyoming, located at 
Lander, and, as he expected to make that vicin- 
ity his permanent home, he improved a ranch, 
to which he had acquired title, and brought it to 
a high state of cultivation, making it in all re- 
spects a very desirable home. On this ranch he 
carried on a flourishing stock business and farm- 
ing industry until 1897, when he took up his 



residence at Thermopolis, and built the first bath- 
house and hotel at the hot springs in the neigh- 
borhood. He discovered, while conducting this 
improvement, that of the people who sought the 
curative powers of the springs for rheumatism or 
other blood diseases, ninety-seven per cent were 
fully cured. This circumstance, combined with 
many others, convinced him that these springs 
are equal in medicinal value to any of the noted 
and highly advertised springs of any section of 
the country, of which there is a sufficient record 
to make a basis of comparison. Pie continued in 
charge of the hotel and bathhouse until 1902, 
when he sold out, having also discovered a pro- 
cess for reproducing engravings from the forma- 
tion, which he has had patented, and is preparing 
to fully devote himself and to place it on the mar- 
ket on a scale of magnitude. The portrait is 
formed in stone, this being the only process of 
the kind, known, which, it is believed by com- 
petent experts, wjll revolutionize this department 
of art and result in great profit to those who 
handle it. In politics Mr. Gregg is an ardent 
Republican and has taken great interest in the 
affairs of his party. Its principles and its candi- 
dates always have his earnest support, while his in- 
fluence in party councils is felt and heeded. He 
is a leader of thought in local affairs outside of 
party lines, being also regarded as one of the 
most enterprising, public spirited and progressive 
men in the community. Fraternally, he is con- 
nected with the order of Freemasons and with 
the order of Odd Fellows, and occupies a place 
of prominence in the regard of the members of 
these fraternities, being' active and zealous in 
their behalf and aiding in advancing their inter- 
ests in every legitimate way and manner. 

WILLIAM D. GOODRICH. 

The story of Alexander weeping" for new 
worlds to conquer is the story of human life in 
brief. Whether one goes forth to battle in the 
armor of actual war or in that of peaceful con- 
quest over nature, -it is the same. His foot is 
ever restless, his ambition ever unsatisfied, his 



822 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



work ever incomplete. As soon as one domain 
yields to his control and becomes his serviceable 
slave, he looks forth for another to subdue. And 
so, the pioneers of Colorado, which was once the 
very frontier of American progress and civiliza- 
tion, or their descendants, as soon as it was re- 
duced to subjection and began to blossom with 
the flowers and bring forth in abundance the 
fruits of systematic cultivation, began to find its 
condition insipid, and to long for the strenuous 
life of a new war against primeval Nature and 
the satisfaction of a new triumph over her slowly 
yielding resistance. Accordingly, numbers of 
these pioneers pushed out into the unbroken ways 
of Wyoming and again gave battle to the wil- 
derness. Among them were the parents of Wil- 
liam D. Goodrich, who is now a prosperous and 
progressive stockman, located near Redbank in 
Bighorn county, Wyoming, who was born in 
Colorado in 1875, the son of Jacob and Martha 
(Sartain) Goodrich, native, respectively, in In- 
diana and Missouri, and early settlers in the Cen- 
tennial state. When he was nine years old they 
removed to Wyoming, locating at Lander, and 
Mr. Goodrich's whole life from that time has 
been passed within this state. In her schools he 
received his education, on her soil he began the 
battle of life for himself, at the fountain of her 
civil institutions he got his first draughts of po- 
litical wisdom and inspiration. Before he reached 
man's estate he entered the cattle indusry as a 
producer, and he has been connected with it in 
that capacity ever since. In 1890 he settled in the 
Bighorn basin, near Redbank, where he has a 
very desirable ranch of 160 acres on No Wood 
River, and runs seventy-five to 100 head of well- 
bred cattle and a small band of horses. He is 
one of the wide-awake, progressive young men of 
the count}', filled with patriotic zeal for the wel- 
fare of his county and state, looking always to 
the securing of that welfare by the best means 
available in commercial enterprise, educational fa- 
cilities of the most elevated standard and social 
and moral institutions based on broad views and 
enlightened public spirit. His farm. is a model 
of thrift and enterprise, his" cattle exhibit in their 



condition the intelligent care that is bestowed upon 
them and also the excellent judgment that is ex- 
ercised in their selection, while his daily walk 
and conversation among his fellows show him to 
be impelled by lofty ideals of citizenship. He is 
at the same time progressive and conservative in 
business, and in reference to the local affairs of 
the community, he is much more concerned for 
the general weal than for the triumph of any par- 
ty, faction or personal interest. 

t JAMES V. GOULD. 

Deeply, actively and intelligently interested in 
all that concerns the welfare of his county and 
neighborhood, zealous in the support of every en- 
terprise and potency which promises good for 
their advancement and improvement, James V. 
Gould has been of great service in the develop- 
ment of his portion of Wyoming, although a res- 
ident of the state for less than fifteen years, hav- 
ing come hither in the latter part of 1888. for he 
was born on February 28, 1858, in Indiana, where 
his parents, Steven and Almeda (House) Gould, 
were early settlers, the former being a native of 
Ohio and the latter of Kentucky. Mr. Gould lived 
in his native state until 1881, being reared on 
his father's farm and educated at the public 
schools in the vicinity of his home. In 1881, at 
the age of twenty-three, he left the paternal roof 
and took up his residence in Colorado, where, for 
three years, he was actively engaged in farming. 
At the end of that period he went to southwest- 
ern Missouri, there continued his farming opera- 
tions and also carried on an extensive industry in 
raising stock, and here he remained until 1888, 
when he was United in marriage with Miss Lizzie 
C. Carr, a native of Iowa, but. at the time of the 
marriage, a resident of Missouri. Soon after 
their marriage they came to Wyoming with the 
intention of making it their permanent home, and 
they have resided in the state from that time. 
They immediately located on the land they now 
own on the Grey Bull River, and at once began 
to improve it and to develop a stockraising busi- 
ness and general farming industry, which they 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



823 



have expanded in volume and value in both de- 
partments as time passed, until their operations 
have grown to proportions of cumulative magni- 
tude and reached a high standard of excellence, 
both in the quality of the products and the man- 
ner in which the business is carried on. The 
ranch now comprises 480 acres of as good land as 
can be found in the state, and the herds number 
200 fine cattle and many horses, all of good 
breeds and high grades. Upon his arrival in this 
neighborhood, finding it as yet almost wholly un- 
developed, in want of nearly all the conveniences 
and the civilizing forces of modern life, Mr. 
' Gould went to work assiduously to aid in sup- 
plying the deficiencies. He built the first school- 
house erected on Grey Bull River, and the first 
church within the territory of what is now Big- 
horn county. He also took much interest and 
displayed great zeal and enterprise in building, up 
the industrial and commercial activities of the 
region, giving especial attention to the develop- 
ment and proper regulation of the stock indus- 
try. He is now serving his third term as brand 
commissioner, in occupying that office he has 
been diligent and faithful in conserving and pro- 
moting the best interests of the stock and the 
stockmen throughout the territory included in 
his official district. His family consists of six 
children, Claude, Vera G., Grace, Myrtle, Dottie 
and Ora. A sketch of Mr. Gould's brother, Wil- 
liam B. Gould, appears on another page. 

CHARLES J. GRUNDY. 

The subject of this sketch, amid the chances 
and changes of fickle fortune, has carved for him- 
self an honorable place among the manly men and 
worthy settlers of Wyoming, and can look back 
with honest pride upon the hard labor, which was 
transmuted, by his perseverance, into material 
prosperity, and the esteem of his fellow men. 
Born in England on July 8, 1856, to the marriage 
of Charles and Busana (Gravley), Grundy, na- 
tives of that country, he early met the woes of 
life in the death of his father during his infancy. 
His mother married again, while he was yet 



young, a Mr. Thomas Bretton, and they came 
to this country in 1865. In 1867 they returned 
to England, and his mother, marrying the third 
time, they again emigrated to the United States 
and settled in Bryan City, Wyoming, near which 
town he has ever since resided. When school 
days were over, he worked with the railroad 
company as a lineman and machinist, but, in 1881, 
took up a claim of 160 acres in Uinta county, to 
which he has added, and on which he raises both 
horses and cattle. His mother is still living in 
Cheyenne and his sister, Elizabeth, is married to 
James Clark, and resides in Kemmerer. Political 
ly, he strongly advocates all theories of his party, 
believing that by so doing he is tending to the 
support of his state, and, indirectly, to that of 
the U. S. government, of which he is a loyal nat- 
uralized citizen. Honest industry, wherever ex- 
ercised, brings its due reward, and to-day Mr. 
Grundy ranks with the strong and stable men, 
who make the rank and file that are forging 
ahead to place Wyoming among the advanced 
states of the Union. 

JAMES H. GUILD. 

One of the forceful and productive factors in 
the mercantile and industrial world of Wyoming 
is James H. Guild, of Uinta county, who was 
born at Lehi, Utah, on January 19, 1861, the 
son of Charles and Mary M. (Cardon) Guild, a 
memoir of whom appears on other pages of this 
work. When he was seven years old the family 
moved to Wyoming, and settled at Piedmont, in 
Uinta .county. There he was reared and edu- 
cated, gathering what he could of the sparkling 
and invigorating waters of knowledge from an 
irregular and insufficient attendance at the public 
schools of the neighborhood, for, in those days, 
life was strenuous to everybody in these parts, 
and its graces and its accomplishments were com- 
pelled to wait until its sterner demands were sat- 
isfied. After leaving school, he engaged in ranch- 
ing with his father, and later became a member 
of the firm of Charles Guild & Sons, formed for 
the purpose of carrying on an extensive merchan- 



824 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



dising and livestock enterprise. In 1881 he settled 
on the ranch he now occupies, which had been 
previously located by his father, and from that 
year it has been his home. It lies four miles 
southwest of Piedmont and contains 4,000 acres 
of land, much of which is fit for cultivation, and 
has been brought to a high state of fruitfulness. 
In 1898 the Guild interests were incorporated in 
two companies, one known as the Guild Land & 
Live Stock Co., and the other as the Guild Mer- 
cantile Co., and James H. Guild became a stock- 
holder in each and the manager of the former. 
To this industrial manifestation he has given his 
undivided attention and has made it one of the 
most important and successful industries of its 
kind in this part of the state. In politics he is 
a Republican, and takes a definite and active in- 
terest in the welfare of his party, although not de- 
siring any place of honor or profit in its gift for 
himself. He is especially interested in the cause 
of public education, and, in its behalf, has freely 
given six years of excellent service to the cause 
as trustee at various times. Of the fraternal so- 
cieties so numerous among men he has favored 
only one with his membership, the Knights of 
the Maccabees. His ranch is furnished with 
good buildings and is well equipped for the stock 
industry. In addition to what it contains as 
deeded land, there is a very extensive acreage un- 
der lease. The entire business in all departments 
is conducted with a vigor and enterprise, and on 
a scale of magnitude and success only possible to 
the best business capacity and the most skillful 
management, qualifications for which Mr. Guild 
is well known throughout the cattle industry. 

JOHN C. GUNNING. 

One of the most popular places of public re-, 
sort conducted in Rawlins, Wyoming, is that of 
which John C. Gunning is the proprietor. This 
genial and sociable gentleman, who was born in 
Millsboro, 111., on January t, 1854, is a son of 
John C. and Rachel (Galliday) Gunning, and 
scrnis to be blessed with the happy disposition 
that universally pervades mankind on each anni- 



versary of the day on which he was born. John 
C. Gunning, St., father of the subject proper of 
this biographical notice, was born in Ohio, in 
1820, being later a blacksmith by trade, who, in 
1847, removed to Hillsboro, 111., where he passed 
the remainder of his life and died in 1877, strong- 
ly imbued with the principles of the Republican 
party. John C. Gunning, the gentleman whose 
name opens this article, was but four years of age 
when he was bereft of his mother, but he con- 
tinued to reside with his father until he reached 
the age of seventeen, when he left his native state 
of Illinois and came, in 1871, as far west as Den- 
ver, Colo., where he secured employment with 
the Denver Transfer Co., at freighting. As a 
teamster for this company he drew in the first 
machinery taken to the Little Annie mine, at Del 
Norte, in the spring of 1875-, and in the summer 
of the same year, he went to Silver Creek, al- 
though there were but few houses at that place 
at the time. In the summer of 1876, Mr. Gun- 
ning came to Cheyenne, Wyo., whence he made 
a trip to the Black Hills, again engaged in 
freighting, and hauled the lumber used in build- 
ing Fort McKinney ; in 1879 ne went to work for 
the Union Pacific Railroad as brakeman, later he 
was made a fireman, and, in 1883. was promoted 
to engineer, in which capacity he acted until 1888, 
when he withdrew from railroading and engaged 
in the saloon business in Rawlins, where he still 
conducts one of the most orderly and popular 
places of public resort in the town. Mr. Gun- 
ning was joined in marriage, in 1883. with Miss 
Mary J. Quinlan, a daughter of John and Mar- 
garet (Hays) Quinlan, natives of Ireland, and a 
niece of Lays, the oldest settler of Wyoming ter- 
ritory. This marriage has been graced with nine 
children, born in the following order: Mav 
Helen. Dan, Franklin, John, Clinton, James. 
Blaine (who died in October. 1899). Josephine, 
Marguerite, Charles Lawrence, Cornelius Thomas 
(who died in December. 1900), and Raphael Cel- 
sns. En politics Mr. Gunning is an active Demo- 
crat, being prominent as a local leader. He has 
served his party two years as president of the 
school board, foiir vears as treasurer of the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



825 



school, board, and three years as president of the 
city council, of which he is at present a member. 
He has been a very active member of this body 
and has well guarded the interests of his con- 
stituents, as well as those of the people at large, 
and he has met universal approbation. 

KEON F. HART. 

A varied and interesting career has been that 
of Keon F. Hart, the subject of this brief sketch, 
now a prominent ranchman and stockman of 
Converse county, Wyoming. A native of Long- 
ford county, Ireland, he was born on October 30, 
in 1848, the son of Keon and Bridget (O'Farrel) 
Hart, both natives of that county. The father 
was a physician and surgeon, who stood high in 
the ranks of his profession in his native country, 
and followed that occupation there up to the time 
of his decease, which occurred in 1859. After 
the death of Doctor Hart, the widow left her old 
home in Ireland, and came with her family to 
America, where they arrived in 1863 and first 
established their home in the city of New York. 
The subject of this sketch soon entered himself 
as an apprentice to learn the trade of piano manu- 
facturing", and followed that occupation in New- 
York city for about ten years. In 1872, he enlisted 
in the U. S. regular army as a member of the 
Fourth Cavalry, and was first stationed at Fort 
Griffin, Tex. With his regiment he remained at this 
military post and at other places in Texas until 
1876, when subsequently to the Custer massacre in 
southern Montana, the regiment was ordered to 
Fort Robinson, Nebraska, to be nearer the scene 
of activity in the Indian wars. They remained 
at Fort Robinson about three months, and were 
ordered to the field for a winter campaign in the 
northern portion o'f Wyoming. During this time, 
Fort McKinney was established and named after 
Lieutenant McKinney, of this regiment, who was 
killed in action during this campaign. Upon the 
return of the regiment to Fort Robinson, in the 
following spring, the subject of this sketch re- 
ceived his discharge, he having served the full 
term of his enlistment, and, after leaving the serv- 



ice, he went to the city of Omaha, Neb., where 
he remained for about one year. In May, 1878, 
the fascination of army service was such that he 
again enlisted, this time joining the Fourth In- 
fantry. He was ordered to Fort Laramie, Wyo., 
where he remained four years and six months. 
In the spring of 1883, the regiment returned to 
Fort Omaha, Neb., where, this term of enlistment 
having expired, he again received an honorable 
discharge, leaving the service with the rank of 
sergent. In the summer of 1883 he returned to 
Wyoming, and obtained a position on a large cat- 
tle ranch on Lone Tree Creek, where he remained 
a short time, and then resigned his position for 
the purpose of entering the employ of the T. & B. 
Cattle Co., which was then one of the largest 
concerns operating in the western country. With 
this company he continued in the city of Chey- 
enne, until 1888, when he resigned to engage in 
business for himself. Coming to the vicinity of 
his present ranch, on the Platte River, he there 
located, about one-fourth of a mile from Orin 
Junction, near the line of the old California over- 
land trail. Here he has since been engaged in the 
cattle business and is now the owner of a fine 
ranch, consisting of 320 acres of land, well fenced 
and improved, with suitable buildings and appli- 
ances for the carrying on of ranching and cattle- 
raising. He was one of the pioneer settlers of that 
section of Wyoming, and his ranch is one of the 
historic places of the West, being the place where 
the overland emigration crossed the Platte River 
on its way to California during the days of 1849, 
the old ferry being on his present ranch. On 
February 22, 1881, at the city of Cheyenne, Mr. 
Hart was united in marriage to Miss Bridget 
Gaffaney, a native of the state of Ohio, and the 
daughter of James Gaffaney, a respected citizen 
of the city of Toledo. The father of Mrs. Hart 
followed the occupation of railroading, and con- 
tinued in that business up to the time of his de- 
cease, which occurred in 1882. The family are 
devout members of the Roman Catholic church, 
and are actively interested in all works of re- 
ligion and charity in the community where their 
home is located. No srood cause ever °oes from 



/ 



826 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



them empty-handed, and they are highly respect- 
ed. Fraternally, Mr. Hart is affiliated with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a mem- 
ber of the lodge at Douglas, Wyo. Politically, 
he is a stanch member of the Democratic party, 
a conscientious believer in the principles of that 
political organization. During his experience in 
the U. S. army, he was for the greater portion 
Of the time under the command of General Mc- 
Kenzie, and saw some very hard and dangerous 
service. He is a loyal and patriotic citizen of 
the United States, and, having clone his full share 
in bringing out peace and civilization, from the 
wilderness and savagery of the western fron- 
tier, he is honored by all who know his career. 

JOHN E. HIGGINS. 

Numbered among the pushing, energetic and 
successful business operators of his section of 
Wyoming, where, in affairs that are far-reaching 
and of importance, he is the acknowledged leader, 
and, being distinctively honored with the office 
of president of the Glenrock Woolgrowers' Asso- 
ciation, and also being a definite and powerful 
force in the development of the state, John E. 
Higgins, of this review, should have more .than 
a mere recognition in any volume treating of the 
state's progressive citizens. He was born in 
Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, in October, 1857, 
a son of John and Ann (Lanagan) Higgins, the 
father being a native of County Connaught, Ire- 
land, while the mother was reared in the north 
part of the Emerald Isle. The father emigrated 
when a young man, and, after his marriage, ul- 
timately settled permanently in Wisconsin, when 
that was the border-land and frontier of civiliza- 
tion and wild beasts and Indians were both plen- 
tiful and troublesome. As early pioneers, the 
family struggled and labored, developing, through 
hardships, privations and the toil of years, a 
productive estate from a former wilderness tract, 
and here the father died in the same year that 
saw the birth of his youngest son, the subject of 
this review. After his father's death the family 
removed to another part of the state, and upon 



attaining his fifteenth year, Mr. Higgins began 
life for himself, going to Minnesota, where he 
was employed for several years in the great lum- 
bering operations of the pineries of that state. 
In 1 88 1 he came to the present location of Liv- 
ingston, Mont., and was connected for four years 
with railroad construction, in 1885 coming to 
Glenrock, Wyo., one year in advance of the rail- 
road. In this prospective city Mr. Higgins estab- 
lished a mercantile establishment, with which he 
has been identified to the present, and seen ad- 
vance from very small size and proportions to a 
magnitude commensurate with the rapid advance 
of the country and the skill and business ability 
of the proprietors. It is now housed and dis- 
played in a creditable store building of 50x100 
feet in size, and consists of a fidl stock of gen- 
eral merchandise, adapted to the needs and desires 
of the dwellers in the extensive region tributary 
to the town. In 1897 Mr. Higgins plotted and 
founded the progressive town of Thermopolis, 
where he also engaged in merchandising, his first 
store and entire contents being utterly destroyed 
by fire on July 31, 1898, involving a loss of $40,- 
000. Such was the energy of its owner that with- 
in thirty days a new store was in operation, the 
business proceeding as if nothing had happened. 
The mercantile operations at Thermopolis are 
now conducted by the firm of Higgins & Mc- 
Grath, our subject being the senior partner. Un- 
der his sagacious plans and management, the 
young, inchoate Thermopolis is rapidly develop- 
ing into a place of importance, showing great 
prosperity. Mr. Higgins has extended his busi- 
ness relations successfully into the stock depart- 
ment of Wyoming's great natural resources, hay- 
ing a finely improved ranch between Box Elder 
and Deer Creeks, where he is running from 400 
to 500 head of Hereford cattle with 15,000 to 
20,000 sheep. Mr. Higgins was appointed county 
commissioner in 1894, and was elected to the 
same office in 1900, while, in 1895. he received a 
highly flattering vote and election to the State 
Legislature, where he showed the elements of an 
able, popular and successful legislator and states- 
man. His interest in educational matters has 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



827 



been shown by his conscientious discharge of the 
duties of school trustee for several years, being 
alive to and active in all plans and propositions 
tending to the welfare of the community and the 
state. Fraternally, he is associated with the Ma- 
sonic order as a Knight Templar. He is also the 
owner of a fine landed estate in Nebraska, where 
he is now running 500 head of fine cattle. Mr. 
Higgins has been most fortunate in his marriage 
relations, having wedded, in June, 1885, Miss 
Josephine Amoretti, the daughter of the promi- 
nent banker of that name connected with the 
banks of Lander and Thermopolis, and who 
stands as a leader in the financial circles of the 
state, a sketch of whose interesting career ap- 
pears elsewhere in this volume. His daughter, 
who received the best educational advantages of 
the leading countries of Europe, inherits much 
of her father's financial and business ability, and 
is a most capable assistant and coadjutor of Mr. 
Higgins in his numerous branches of commercial 
activity, and they are prominent in social and 
society circles of the state, while in their at- 
tractive home they are unequalled as entertainers. 

JOHN HELLER AND PER OLSEN. 

Among the valuable representatives of her in- 
dustry, intelligence and practical ability, that the 
far-off land of Sweden has contributed to the 
wealth of America, must be considered the two 
half-brothers whose names head this review, and, 
as important factors in the development of the 
mining and stockraising departments of Wyo- 
ming's prosperity, they deserve a notice in any 
work treating of the progressive men of the state. 
John Heller was born in Boden, Sweden, in Oc- 
tober, 1863, the son of Johann Vosburg, who de- 
scended from ancestors who had for generations 
resided in that ancient town, and for centuries 
in Sweden, engaged in lumber operations. Of 
the three sons and one daughter of his parents, 
Mr. Heller was the third child. He remained in 
Boden, receiving a solid education in his native 
city until 1880, when he emigrated to take ad- 
vantage of the wonderful opportunities his half- 



brother, Per Olsen, who had preceded him to 
America by one year, wrote Him about. He came 
direct to Laramie, Wyo., there meeting his broth- 
er. During the twenty-two years Mr. Heller has 
lived in the state he has, made good use of the 
opportunities that have presented themselves, 
demonstrated that he was a law-abiding citizen 
of his adopted country, a genial companion and 
a most loyal friend. He has been prominently 
connected with various enterprises of scope and 
importance and is one of the truly progressive 
men of the state. He has touched every link 
in the fraternal chain of Freemasonry to the 
Thirty-second degree, holding membership in 
Wyoming Consistory, No. 1, and is a Knight 
Templar. The Benevolent Protective Order of 
Elks have also "taken charge concerning him." 
Per Olsen. This , gentleman is the half- 
brother of Mr. Heller, who came to this country 
in advance of him by a year. He was born in 
Boden, of his mother's first marriage, on April 
7, 1858. In 1879, after his school days were 
ended, he came to America, stopping at St. Paul 
for a time, thence coming to Laramie, where he 
was joined by Mr. Heller. For one year thereaft- 
er they were employed in the rolling mills, then 
they removed to Carbon, and during their resi- 
dence at that place Mr. Olsen was for a time at 
Buffalo until the fall of 1885, being for the most 
of the time engaged in mining operations. From 
there they migrated to Deer Creek, now Glenrock, 
where they discovered the Glenrock coal mine 
and filed on the location containing it. They then 
run a stope down for some 300 feet, at this depth 
displaying a six-foot seam of lignite coal, of a 
superior quality. After working this mine, and 
selling the coal to the neighboring ranchers, there 
being then no railroad here, in 1887, the}' sold 
the property to Baker & Johnston, merchants of 
Cheyenne, and took up their present property on 
Deer Creek, one mile south of Glenrock and 
turned their attention to ranching for several 
years, prospecting and mining during the win- 
ters. They have about 400 acres in their ranch, 
practically all of it being under sufficient irriga- 
tion and raise quantities of alfalfa, besides other 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



crops. They are profitably employed in stock- 
raising, running horses, cattle and sheep, and 
have fine bands of each. Their ranch is an 
especially fine property, they have greatly im- 
proved it and it now has a new residence of mod- 
ern style and equipment, good barns, corrals, etc. 
Mr. Olsen has shown an energetic industry, and 
is a good example of what a representative citi- 
zen should be. He is a Mason and an Elk, while 
both of the brothers give their intelligent sup- 
port to all valuable matters of public improve- 
ment. They have discovered another coal field, 
showing a seam of five feet, on which they have 
filed, the land lying adjacent to their ranch and 
between it and the coal company's property. On 
this they have done considerable labor and have 
sold coal from, it being only 600 feet from the 
end of the mine switch of the railroad to their 
shaft. In 1892 they discovered a quartz lead of 
copper, etc., an assay showing sixty per cent, in 
copper and four per cent, in gold, while, under 
the copper, they have a lead vein, showing sixty- 
one per cent, of lead, eleven per cent, in gold and 
thirty-one per cent, in silver. 

GEORGE Y. HAYS. 

One of the leading business men of Fremont 
county, Wyoming, is the subject of this sketch, 
George Y. Hays, whose postoffice address is Du- 
bois. A native of Lexington, Missouri, he was 
born in November 14, 1865, the son of G. C. and 
Emma C. (Fletcher) Hays, both natives of the 
state of Missouri. His father was a prominent 
business man, who was long engaged in the busi- 
ness of stockraising. He was son of John Hays, 
both the father and mother, whose maiden name 
was Robinson, being natives of Virginia. The 
subject of this sketch was the oldest of a family 
of eight children and came with his parents to the 
then territory* of Colorado in 1870, where they es- 
tablished their residence after removing from 
the state of Missouri. He grew to manhood in 
Colorado, and there received his early education 
in the public schools. After completing his edu- 
cation he engaged in the meat business at Logan, 



Colo., in which he continued with considerable 
success for about eight years. He then disposed 
of his business interests at Logan, removed his 
residence to the state of Wyoming, where he lo- 
cated on the Riviere DuNoir,near where the town 
of Dubois now stands, and there engaged in 
ranching and in stockraising. He continued in 
this dual pursuit from 1893 to the spring of 1902, 
when he disposed of his stock and ranch property 
to the West Lovering Land & Live Stock Co. At 
the time of this sale he was the owner of a fine 
improved ranch, consisting of 240 acres of land, 
having a large herd of cattle and other property 
and interests. He then formed a copartnership 
with Hewitt M. Youmans for the purpose of 
engaging in merchandising at Dubois, Wyo. 
This place is located on the military road to the 
Yellowstone National Park, being the natural 
supply point for a large area of country. In all 
measures calculated to build up this section of 
Wyoming, develop its great natural resources 
and invite settlement and the investment of cap- 
ital, Mr. Hays has taken a leading part for many 
years and is looked upon as one of the leading 
and foremost citizens of Fremont county. Fra- 
ternally, he is affiliated with the order of Wood- 
men of the World, and takes an active interest 
in the social and fraternal life of the community 
where he maintains his home. Western Wyo- 
ming has no more loyal citizen, nor a more en- 
terprising man of affairs and business than Mr 
Hays, and he is held in the highest esteem by 
all classes of his fellow citizens. 

FRED D. HAMMOND. 

The Hammonds of Xew York trace their an- 
cestry back to the Hammonds' of Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire, where the name is written 
on many an antique roll of Colonial days, show- 
ing the active participation of the family in every 
department of human endeavor and patriotic ac- 
complishment, from the earliest days of New 
England life. Fred D. Hammond, the popular 
and successful attorney of Casper, Wyoming, 
springs from this stock, his granrtiather. Ransom 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



•829 



Hammond, removing with his family from New 
York to Wisconsin in its territorial days, and 
there attaining local fame as a millwright and 
miller. The parents of F. D. Hammond were Al- 
bert R. and Mary (Dwyer) Hammond, the father 
i icing a native of New York and the mother of 
Ohio, his own birth occurring at Depere, Wis., 
on July 1, 1869. The father has followed suc- 
cessful milling operations in Wisconsin for many 
years and is now residing at his pleasant home 
in Depere. Fred D. Hammond was the youngest 
in a family of five children, and, while pursuing 
his elementary studies in the public schools, he 
manifested such a spirit of study and rapid prog- 
ress that he was early advised and inclined to 
prepare himself for a professional career, so,' after 
receiving the advantages of a course at Elgin 
Academy, he matriculated at the Michigan State 
University, at Ann Arbor, and there passed two 
most diligent years of study in the literary de- 
partment, thereafter entering the law department 
and enjoying the technical instruction in the mys- 
teries appertaining to the study of the law there- 
in imparted, keeping even step with the best 
scholarship of his class in the preparations of 
theses, the results of examinations and in the 
class debates, receiving the coveted degree of 
B. L. in 1892. Immediately after his graduation, 
Mr. Hammond began to look up a satisfactory lo- . 
cation, passing in this domestic travel about two 
years of time, in 1894 he located in Casper, Wyo., 
and, settling down to the active practice of his 
chosen profession of law, here he is now located, 
having attained all that is necessary to constitute 
him one of the able young lawyers of the state, 
an extensive and a steadily increasing patronage 
of the best citizens, a successful record as a 
counsellor and lawyer, a reputation of being a 
clean, honest person of acknowledged ability and 
integrity, a popular and useful citizen, whose 
services in matters of public and private interests 
have been numerous and ever advancing the 
welfare of the community. He has capably and 
creditably filled the office of city attorney of Cas- 
per, and is the present efficient chairman of the 
Democratic countv committee. He takes ereat 



interest in the fraternal societies of the Benevo- 
lent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the 
World, holding various positions and offices in 
their respective organizations. Mr. Hammond 
married with Miss Willa B. Brewer, a daughter 
of Charles Brewer, of Rising City, Neb., on June 
16, 1896, and their centrally located and finely 
equipped home is cheered by a winsome son, Fred 
D., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond are decidedly 
component factors of the best society life of the 
city, having a large range of valuable friends. 

AMOS HILL. 

Descending from families identified promin- 
ently with the history of the Eastern states, and 
possessing a distinct and a positive individuality 
that early threw him into a strenuous life in the 
wild West, Amos Hill stands as one of the ster- 
ling pioneer characters that, alas, are fast passing 
away. In detail his life story would read like 
a romance, and, to rehearse it fully, would occu- 
py far more space than the limitations of a work 
like this would allow, for his life has been a 
busy and a useful one, an example of honorable 
dealing, steadfast purpose, fidelity to principle 
and invincible physical and moral courage. He 
is a typical old-timer, and, as such, he is honored 
and reverenced by all who know him. His life 
began on December 16, 185 1, as a son of Elihu 
and Elmira (McLallin) Hill, natives of New 
York, his father being a son of William and Ruth 
(Padin) Hill, who were born in Pennsylvania, 
while his mother was the daughter of an eloquent 
Methodist divine, Rev. Isaac McLallin, who was 
born in Massachusetts of Scotch ancestry, and his 
wife, Lucinda, a native of Virginia. Amos Hill 
was one of thirteen children and attained his la- 
ter 'teens on the paternal homesteads in Illinois 
and Kansas, learning more from actual experi- 
ence and hard labor than from the teaching and 
text-books of schools. He was vigorous and 
healthy, and yearned for a life of freer action, 
which he acquired, in 1889, by going to the then 
primitive Colorado and starting in business for 



8 3 o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



himself with a freighting outfit, traversing the 
wild country from Canyon City through Lead-, 
ville to Pueblo and Alamoosa, continuing in this 
strenuous vocation until 1878, often having thrill- 
ing adventures with wild beasts and with wilder 
men. His outfit, on leaving Colorado, consisted 
of four six-horse and mule teams. This he sold 
to a Colorado man coming to Wyoming, and, to 
secure his pay, he came with him and worked in 
his employ. While so working he had an alter- 
cation with the buyer about the deferred pay- 
ments, and the quarrel developing into a fight, 
during the progress of it another employe of the 
man shot Mr. Hill in the head, the bullet, how- 
ever, glancing off from the skull, only making a 
wound that left a good-sized scar. The next day 
the rest of his money was paid to Mr. Hill and 
the trouble was over. In 1882 he came to the 
Fort Bridger section of Wyoming, and here con- 
ducted freighting for two years with ox teams, 
from 1882 to 1884, however, being engaged in 
profitable trapping for beaver. When these oc- 
cupations closed he started an enterprise in cat- 
tleraising, increasing his herds annually. When 
the reservation became public land, he located on 
a homestead on Smith's Fork, and developed a 
prosperous and attractive cattle ranch, the busi- 
ness of which was cumulative and of marked 
value. In the course of time his acquisitions 
were such that he felt able to retire from the life 
of unremitting labor he had so long pursued, 
and, disposing of his land and cattle, with his 
aged and cherished mother he makes his home 
at Mountain View. 

PHILIP HARSCH 

This useful and prominent citizen of Atlantic 
City. Wyoming, where he is conducting an exten- 
sive ;i!id profitable blacksmithing business, Philip 
Harsch, deserves especial mention in this volume, 
as he is one who did valiant service in the ranks 
of the Union army of the Great War of 1861-5, 
and is a citizen of good repute, by his endeav- 
ors steadily adding to the development of his 
home section and the land of his adoption/ Mr. 



Harsch was born in Luxemburg, Germany, on 
July 2, 1832, a son of Adam and Angelica (Han- 
sen) Harsch, his father being a blacksmith and 
dying in 1848 at the age of fifty-seven years, 
while the mother attained the venerable age of 
ninety years, dying in 1866. Philip was the 
youngest of their nine children, and was in care- 
ful attendance at the excellent government schools 
of his native place up to the age of manhood, 
also learning, in a faithful manner, the dual trades 
of blacksmithing and ironworking. Being desir- 
ous of a larger field for his energies than was ob- 
tainable in Germany, in 1855 he emigrated, pro- 
ceeding across the ocean to the LJnited States, 
where he made his home in St. Louis, Mo., and 
was employed at his trade until 1861, when he en- 
listed in Co. C, Fifth Missouri Infantry, for serv- 
ice in the Union army for three months, there- 
after enlisting in the First Missouri Light Artil- 
lery for three years, in this connection participat- 
ing in several of the momentous battles of the war 
and in numerous engagements of lesser character, 
being twice wounded, but never captured or sent 
to the hospital. His first experiences of battle 
were in the bloody affrays at Carthage and Wil- 
son's Creek, Mo., where the lamented General 
Lyon met his death. From the artillery he was 
mustered out at Chattanooga, Tenn., but. deeming 
that his adopted country had further need of 
him, he for the third time enlisted, becoming- a 
member of Co. A, Sixth Veteran Volunteers, 
serving for one year in garrison duty in Wash- 
ington, D. C, Alexandria. Va., and at Harris- 
burg, Pa., being mustered out with his regiment 
at Alexandria in 1866. Returning to St. Louis. 
Mr. Harsch went on to Leavenworth, Kan., and 
for four months was the blacksmith at the gov- 
ernment post at that city, thereafter crossing the 
plains to Fort McPherson, where he held the 
same position, being in the civilian service of the 
United States for twenty-seven months. He then 
became identified with railroading, following the 
Union Pacific in its construction from Omaha to 
Wyoming, in 1869 reaching South Pass, there 
establishing a blacksmith shop and remaining un- 
til 1873, when for two years he was the gov- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



83 r 



eminent blacksmith at Fort Stanbaugh, in 1876 
making his permanent home and business head- 
quarters at Atlantic City. Here prosperity has 
attended his industrious efforts, not only in his 
trade, but also in the mining interests in which 
he has invested, having several promising pros- 
pects. Mr. Harsch is liberal in his support and 
contributions to matters of public and local im- 
provement, and is a loyal member and supporter 
of the Republican party, while fraternally he has 
been a valued member of the Odd Fellow and 
Masonic organizations, holding brotherly rela- 
tions now with Wyoming Lodge, No. 2, A. F. & 
A. M. On June 21, 1873, at South Pass, Wyo., 
Mr. Harsch married with Miss Elizabeth Scheeka, 
a native of Cassel, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, 
and a daughter of Jacob and Martha Scheeka. 
Their children are Philip, who is married and 
resides at Atlantic City ; Henry W. ; Lenora, wife 
of R. C. Hunt, the popular postmaster of Atlantic 
City ; Martha E., and Regina. The death of 
Mrs. Harsch occurred on August 25, 1898, the 
whole community feeling her loss as a personal 
calamity and a sad bereavement. 

JOHN M. HORNECKER. 

One of the valuable contributions of the Ger- 
man Fatherland to the development of the great 
resources of the western portion of the United 
States, John M. Hornecker brought from his 
native land the sturdy, self-reliant and productive 
characteristics of his race, and has borne in no 
unstinted measure his share in the toils and 
vicissitudes that are necessary and integral por- 
tions of the advance of civilization, and he has 
reaped a rich harvest as the result of his exertions, 
occupying today an enviable position as one of 
the representative citizens of the county, and as 
one whose word is as good as his bond. He was 
born at Baden, Germany, in 1850, a son of John 
M. and Anna M. (Nusbaumer) Hornecker, the 
father, whose father's name was Jacob, being a 
weaver in Germany, but, after the emigration of 
the family to America, in 1855, becoming a farm- 
er and stockraiser in Holt countv, Missouri, 



serving as a militiaman in the Civil War. His 
efforts have brought successful results, and there 
he still resides, the faithful wife and mother hav- 
ing passed to her reward in 1876, at the age of 
fifty-one years. They had four sons, Ernest F., 
a stockman of Fremont county, Wyo. ; John M. ; 
Albert, now living in Oregon; George, of Lan- 
der, Wyo. Our subject received such education 
as a limited attendance at Missouri schools could 
provide, and early engaged in practical labor, 
working for wages on various Missouri farms 
until 1869, then becoming a driver of ox teams 
in construction work on the Union Pacific Rail- 
road near Cheyenne, so that his connection with 
Wyoming dates back thirty-three years. In Au- 
gust, 1869, he came to Miner's Delight, in Fre- 
mont county, there became identified with the 
mining industry, working for others for one )'ear 
and continuing his labors thereafter for himself 
until 1872, when, in association with a brother, 
he built a cabin near his present home, thereafter 
continuing mining at intervals until 1874, when 
occurred one of the most eventful periods of his 
life. Taking a contract to put up hay in the Wind 
River Valley for the U. S. government, in the 
prosecution of this enterprise he had man)' ex- 
citing episodes in the way of encounters with 
and surprises from the Indians, who were upon 
the warpath, duly accomplishing his purpose, 
however, and filling his contract. He had met 
hostile Indians before. He was at the mines in 
the spring of 1870 when the Arapahoes killed 
nine men, and was one of the avenging company 
that drove the savages from that vicinity. In 
1877 and 1878 Mr. Hornecker was both clerk and 
carpenter at the Arapahoe agency, in the latter 
year making his home upon the nucleus of his 
present estate of 400 acres of valuable land, lying 
six miles southwest of Lander, and having plenty 
of water and being largely meadow land. This 
property he has highly improved with suitable 
buildings and accessories for the successful prose- 
cution of his principal enterprise, the successful 
raising of a fine character of graded Polled-An- 
gus and Jersey cattle, while his industry and care 
have also here developed a small and thrifty orch- 



8 3 2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ard of apple, plum and other varieties of fruit 
trees, having also small fruits in profusion, mak- 
ing a truly ideal Wyoming home. An active and 
generous citizen, Mr. Hornecker is public spirit- 
ed in an eminent degree, is an earnest supporter 
.of the political doctrines he deems best adapted 
to the welfare of the state and country, and he 
has been placed in official positions of trust and 
consequence, having been for six years one of 
the county commissioners of Fremont county, 
and, at the present writing, he is occupying a 
place on the state poor-farm commission. In all 
that concerns the public weal Mr. Hornecker 
takes great interest and is generous to a high de- 
gree. At Lander, Wyo.,.on April 25, 1883, oc- 
curred the wedding ceremony of Mr. Hornecker 
and Miss Sarah Jolliff, she being a native of 
Illinois and a daughter of Abner and Maria 
(Scott) Joliff, natives of the same state. Mrs. 
Hornecker is an active and valued member of 
the First Methodist Episcopal church of Lander, 
and, as well as her husband, enjoys the esteem of 
the entire community. Their children are Roy, 
Ora. Amy and Ada. 

OLIVER P. HARDEE. 

Oliver P. Hardee, a prosperous and enterpris- 
ing farmer and stockgrower of Bighorn county, 
living not far from Basin on Shell Creek, has 
the incentive to patriotism engendered by his own 
love of his country in all its parts, by his loyal 
devotion to its institutions and interests and also 
that which was born of the traditions and history 
of his family, whose members from earlv Colo- 
nial times have been active and prominent, in all 
phases of the national defense and in the general 
productive forces of their country. His grand- 
father and his seven brothers fought under the 
great commander in the Revolution, from its 
opening contest at Hunker Hill, until glory 
crowned its triumphant banners at Yorktown. 
And. in the subsequent marvelous growth and 
developmenl of the land, their descendants have 
upheld in every relation of life the lofty ideal 
which they established. Mr. Hardee was born 



in Iowa, on August 26, 1842, a son of William 
and Elizabeth (Farley) Hardee, both natives of 
Kentucky and early settlers in Iowa. He re- 
mained in his native state until he was forty 
years of age, getting his education in her excel- 
lent public schools, marrying, when he was twen- 
ty-two, among her people, then settling down 
to an active farmer's life on her soil. There he 
prospered, and found the circumstances around 
him favorable and agreeable, until 1882, when he 
awakened to a desire for the larger range and the 
freer life of the western plains, came to Wyoming, 
locating on Goose Creek in Sheridan county. 
There he took up a homestead and started an en- 
terprise in raising stock and general farming, 
on a totally different basis from that in which 
he had formerly been engaged, and found it of 
sufficient magnitude to occupy all of his faculties 
and with variety enough in feature to satisfy the 
longing which had brought him thither. He re- 
mained on that ranch until 1891, then sold his 
interests and made his home in the town of Sher- 
idan for two years. In 1893 he purchased the 
home he now occupies on Shell Creek, which 
comprises 160 acres of excellent and highly cul- 
tivated land, well furnished with good improve- 
ments. On this he has since resided and he 
has here built up a prosperous and expanding 
business in the cattle industry, handling now 
about 150 well-bred Hereford cattle and also a 
large number of thoroughbred horses. By con- 
tinual and judicious culling he keeps his stock 
up to a high standard and by intelligent and care- 
ful attention he keeps it in good condition. But, 
exacting as is his business, he still takes time to 
give due attention to the affairs of the community, 
showing' active support to every enterprise of 
value in its advancement or improvement. He is 
an active member of the Masonic order and, for 
many years, he has been zealous in attendance on 
the meetings and deeply interested in the vital- 
itv and progress of his lodge. His first marriage 
occurred in Iowa, on January 14, 1864, and 
united him with Miss Eliza Bridgewater, a resi- 
dent of that state, hut a native of Missouri, where 
she was horn in 1844. She died in Sheridan conn- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



833 



ty, Wyo., in 1886, leaving six children, Albinus 
W., Francis O., Amanda E., William E., Maola 
E.. and Lottie B. On August 12, 1896, Mr. 
Hardee married a second time, his choice being 
Mrs. Margaret Payne, a native of New York, but- 
living at the time at Sheridan, Wyo., where the 
marriage ceremonies were celebrated. 

WILLIAM HARTER. 

Holding worthy prestige among the success- 
ful livestock men of Laramie county, where he is 
also maintaining a representative position as a 
citizen, it is befitting in this connection to give 
a brief resume of the leading facts in the career 
of the gentleman whose name introduces this ar- 
ticle. William Harter was born in Erie county, 
New York, on September 11, 1862, a son of Mi- 
chael and Kate (Blake) Harter, both of whom 
were natives of the Empire state. Paternally, 
Mr. Harter's ancestors were Germans, the fam- 
ily being represented in America as early as the 
Colonial period. By occupation, Michael Harter 
was a contractor and builder. He followed his 
trade for a number of years in Erie county, N. Y., 
and still lives there, his home at the present time 
being in the town of Lancaster. William Harter 
spent the first sixteen years of his life in his na- 
tive county, and, at intervals, during that time 
attended the public schools, in which he acquired 
a knowledge of needed fundamental English 
branches. About 1876 he left home to make his 
own way in the world, and, ten years later, went 
to Montana, where he secured employment on a 
ranch near Miles City. After passing about 
eight months there, he engaged with a bridge 
crew on the Northern Pacific Railroad, and con- 
tinued in the latter line of work until 1883,. when 
he gave up his place and went to Canada, where 
he spent ten years about equally divided between 
bridgebuilding and driving a pack train. Subse- 
quently Mr. Harter traveled quite extensively 
over the Dakotas, Wyoming, the Indian Territory, 
Texas and other western states and territories, 
devoting his time to ranching. In the. summer of 
1885 he accepted employment on a ranch near 



Cheyenne, and, during the next six years, drove 
cattle in that locality, in the meantime acquiring 
a thorough experience in every detail of the busi- 
ness. In 1890 he came to Laramie county, where he 
took up a ranch, twenty miles east of Fort Lara- 
mie, and, since that time, he has here been actively 
engaged in the livestock trade upon his own re- 
sponsibility, building, up a large and prosperous 
business. The place he owns consists of 540 acres 
of fine grazing land, while, in addition, he leases 
a tract of 640 acres, all being now fenced and 
admirably adapted for pasturage. On these lands 
he keeps a large number of cattle and his success 
has been such' as to win him recognition as one 
of the leading stockmen of the region in which 
he operates. Mr. Harter has a pleasant and 
highly attractive home upon his ranch, and, with 
his estimable companion, to whom he was united 
in marriage on July 27, 1893, is well suited to. 
enjoy the many comforts with which his place 
of abode is supplied. The maiden name of Mrs. 
Harter was Emma Davis, and the ceremony by 
which it was changed took place in the town of 
Chadroii, Nebraska. 

FRANK D. HELMER. 

From an old German ancestry on his father's 
side, an ancestry which had been for many gener- 
ations prosperous and substantial in the Father- 
land, and which had ever borne a manly and 
serviceable part in all the elements of progress 
and greatness in that country, came Frank D. 
Helmer, now of Bighorn county, Wyoming, liv- 
ing near Bigtrails postoffice, where he is con- 
ducting a prosperous and growing stock indus- 
try, exemplifying in his daily life the best factors 
of American citizenship. He was born in 1856, 
in Iowa, whither his father emigrated when he 
was a young man. His name was George Hel- 
mer, and he married Miss Eunice Polley, a na- 
tive of New York. They were farmers, and were 
well-to-do in Iowa, leading lives of industry and 
thrift, performing every duty of their calling 
with fidelity. In the esteem of their neighbors 
and friends they stood well and passed through' 



834 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



life without reproach, with a steadily increasing 
regard on the part of all who knew them. Frank 
D. Helnier remained at home until he reached the 
age of sixteen, assisting his father on the farm 
and attending the schools in his vicinity during 
the winter months. In 1872 he came west to the 
Black Hills in South Dakota, and was engaged in 
the stock business there and in Nebraska until 
1888, when he came to Wyoming and bought the 
ranch on which he now lives and there continued 
the enterprise he had started in the other states. 
He owns 310 acres of good range and meadow 
land, and handles on it 300 well-bred cattle and 
seventy-five to 100 good horses. He has ap- 
plied to his business, and to the improvement and 
equipment of his ranch, all the advanced thought 
of modern times in his line, and has one of the 
most desirable places in his section of the county. 
His stock has a high rank in the markets, and, 
being bred and kept with care, protected, as far 
as may be, from every form of disease and hard- 
ship, this is a natural result. He omits no effort 
to secure the best product, and quality is as cer- 
tain of asserting itself and bring proper returns 
in the stock market as elsewhere. Mr. Helmer 
was married in Nebraska to Miss Ada E. Ar- 
ledge, a native of Iowa, a daughter of Alexander 
and Julia (Peters) Arledge, the former a native 
of Kentucky and the latter of Wyoming. Three 
children have blessed their union, Charles, Ben- 
jamin and Joseph. Their home is a pleasant re- 
sort for their many friends, who always receive 
a cordial welcome and a generous hospitality, and 
the influence of the family on the local affairs of 
the community is forceful, all of its strength be- 
ing used on the side of substantial progress and 
improvement, there being no enterprise whatever, 
for the advancement of his country, in which Mr 
Helmer does not take an active interest. 

CHARLES J. GROSS. 

One of the most prominent citizens and the 
leading merchant of the city of Pine Bluffs, 
Laramie count)-, Wyoming, was the esteemed 
Charles J. Gross, whose untimely death, caused 



by a railroad accident in 1899, robbed the state 
of one of its most progressive and promising 
young business men. A native of Beaver county, 
Pa., he was born on September 11, 1862, the son 
of Henry and Louise Gross, natives of Ger- 
many. The father was born at Wetzler, Prus- 
sia, on November 15, 1825, and emigrated in 
1848, establishing his home in Beaver county, in 
the Keystone state, where he engaged for a 
number of years in farming, then disposed of his 
farm and entered upon the merchandising busi- 
ness at Wall Rose in the same county, in which 
he continued with success for the long period of 
over thirty years, dying on February 17, 1900, 
and his widow is still at Wall Rose. He was an 
active member of the Democratic party and al- 
ways took a leading part in the campaigns of 
Beaver county. Charles J. Gross attained to 
man's estate in his native county, receiving his 
education in the public schools of Wall Rose. 
In 1882, when he had arrived at the age of 
twenty years, he went to East Liverpool, Ohio, 
where he remained about one year, then leaving 
his position there he removed to the city of 
Omaha, Neb., where he accepted a position in 
the employ of the Armour Packing Co., and re- 
mained until 1887, in the fall of that year he re- 
signed his position, removed to Pine Bluffs, Wyo- 
ming, purchased a small store building, and en- 
gaged in general merchandising. He met with 
immediate success and by hard work and care- 
ful attention to business enterprise grew to such 
an extent that in 1890 it became necessary for 
him to have larger store room for the convenient 
accommodation of his increasing patronage. He, 
therefore, purchased the store and stock of mer- 
chandise of another merchant of the place and 
continued to transact a large and constantly in- 
creasing business until 1898, by which time his 
business had again outgrown his room, and he 
erected a large two-story block, at that time the 
largest building of the place. Here he carried on 
merchandising until his death, on December 30, 
1899. While engaged in shipping cattle in Neb- 
raska he met with an accident on the railroad 
which resulted fatally. He left a large estate 
to his widow, who still carries on the business 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



835 



along the lines followed by her husband, 
who was buried in the city of Cheyenne. On 
February 28, 1892, Mr. Gross wedded at Chey- 
enne, Miss Mary E. Dolan, a native of Wyo- 
ming and a daughter of William and Margaret 
(Kerwin) Dolan, natives of Ireland, who are 
well-known residents of Wyoming. To the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Gross were born three 
children, William A., C. Crawford and Henry 
L., all of whom are living. The home life was 
a notably happy one and Mrs. Gross was a true 
helpmeet to her husband and a valuable adviser 
and a safe counselor to him in all his business 
enterprises. Much of his success was due to her 
assistance and good judgment, and since his un- 
fortunate death she has demonstrated her finan- 
cial ability. In addition to her property interests 
in Pine Bluffs she is the owner of a ranch 'iri 
Nebraska and of one stocked with cattle about 
ten miles west of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., her cattle 
interests being managed by her brothers. She 
is highly esteemed as a woman of great force of 
character, as well as of business acumen, and en- 
joys universal esteem, and the family are devout 
members of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. 
Gross was a stanch adherent of the Democratic 
party, always active and prominent in that po- 
litical organization, and for five years prior to 
his death he was the postmaster at Pine Bluffs. 
In his untimely death, the business community 
sustained a serious loss and the commonwealth 
was deprived of a most valuable citizen. 

W. E. HATFIELD. 

Coming to the Bighorn basin in the last dec- 
ade of the nineteenth century, after seeing much 
of life in many states of the farther West, and 
employing his' energies in many crafts in various 
places, W. E. Hatfield brought to the home he 
has made among this people, and to the work he 
has done here, a wide experience and a knowl- 
edge of men and methods, which can seldom be 
gathered from any other source. This experi- 
ence has been of great service to him here and 
it has given him success and standing as one of 
the leading citizens and progressive men of the 



portion of the state, which he has helped to de- 
velop and adorn. He is a native of Missouri, 
where he was born on April 28, 1867, the son of 
C. M. and Sarah (Pyle) Hatfield, who had lived 
in that state for many years. When he had 
reached the age of nine his parents removed to 
Kansas, and, in this new home, he completed his 
education, in that source of great power and 
safety to the American people, the public schools, 
and, when he became of age, he started in life 
for himself in the occupation his ancestors had 
been connected with for generations, the cultiva- 
tion of the soil. In 1890 he came to Colorado, 
after having passed two or three years in his 
native state. Colorado interested and employed 
him for a time, and he then came to Wyoming 
for a year. From this state he went to South 
Dakota, and there he lived for four years, at 
Pierre. At the end of that period he once more 
sought a home and its pleasures in Wyoming, 
and, locating in the neighborhood wherein he now 
resides, engaged in the stock business. He owns 
a fine ranch of 200 acres, where he has a herd 
of 400 cattle and a band of horses. While the 
stock industry has been his principal business 
here, he has not neglected the improvement of his 
farm, nor ignored the great possibilities of gen- 
eral agriculture in the basin. He has erected 
good buildings, a comfortable and attractive resi- 
dence and other structures in keeping with this, 
and has added to the equipment of his place, for 
both his principal industry and the subsidiary 
work of farming, all of the necessary appliances, 
which are of good quality and the most approved 
patterns. He has also given to the general in- 
terests of the community due attention and the. 
intelligence in practical application which he has 
acquired from his extensive experience and close 
observation, while nothing tending to the prog- 
ress and elevation of the neighborhood has lacked 
his earnest and active support. He was married 
in South Dakota, in 1892, to Miss Blanche Car- 
penter, a native of Indiana, whose parents re- 
moved from that state to the place of her mar- 
riage when she was young, and she has con- 
ducted the domestic interests of the establishment 
with the same vigor, success and easy grace that 



8 3 6 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



have characterized the work belonging to the 
other activities on the ranch^ the home being a 
model of thrift, enterprise and neatness, of skill- 
ful husbandry and good taste. 

HEMAN HYDE. 

Comfortably, even elegantly, located in the 
midst of his 320-acre ranch of fine meadow land, 
on which he raises graded cattle in goodly num- 
bers, and carries on a farming and dairy industry 
of large proportions, Bishop Heman Hyde can 
defy the shafts of misfortune and laugh a long 
siege of them to scorn, for, so far as this world's 
goods are concerned, he is not only apparently 
secure against the winds of adverse fate, but may 
have in addition to the feeling of security he pos- 
sesses, the enjoyment born of knowing that his 
estate is the legitimate fruit of his own industry, 
enterprise and thrift. He is a native of Utah, 
where he was born on February 3, 1855, his par- 
ents, Hon. Rosel and Mary A. (Cowles) Hyde, 
being natives of New York, who came to Utah in 
1848. The father was, while in active life, a 
farmer, and a man of great public spirit, both 
in political and in church circles. For a number 
of years he was an esteemed member of the Ter- 
ritorial Legislature, and also a counsellor of the 
bishop of his ward. At the age of eighty-nine he 
is passing a calm and beautiful evening of life 
in Davis county, in the state he helped to build, 
and to adorn with all the strength, productiveness 
and graces of civilized society. His most dutiful 
and worthy wife died in 1902, at the age of 
eighty-four. His ancestry came to this countrv 
in Colonial days and aided materially in winning 
the independence and in establishing the infant 
government of their adopted land, and afterwards 
dignified and adorned every walk of civil life, 
their home being in New York state. Heman 
Hyde was one of nine children, eight of whom 
arc living. Tie was educated in the public schools 
of Utah and began life for himself as a farmer 
in his native stale, going thence in a short time 
to Idaho, where he remained engaged in farm- 
ing- until 1888. Tie then settled on the ranch 



he now owns and occupies near Auburn, which 
was, when he took it up, a sage brush desert, and 
which he has converted into a veritable garden 
of fertility and beauty. It comprises, as has been 
noted, 320 acres of meadow land, is highly im- 
proved, in an agricultural sense, ha's good barns 
and other necessary buildings, corrals, etc., for 
its proper uses, and is made unusually attractive 
by a fine residence which he has erected. This 
is a modern two-story, eight-room house, of archi- 
tectural beauty, convenient arrangement, tasteful 
adornment and complete equipment, "sir. Hyde 
is a man of progress and breadth of view. He 
sees clearly what is good for the community in 
which he lives and lends himself with energy 
and ardor to securing it. He was one of the pub- 
lic spirited committee that secured the telephone 
line for Auburn, helping to give the required 
guarantee. In church work he has ever been ear- 
nest, diligent and zealous, being a bishop in 
Idaho for a number of years, and, after that, a 
counsellor to the bishop. He" was set apart as 
bishop in Wyoming in 1894 and has held the of- 
fice continuously since that time, the work of the 
church prospering greatly in his hands, its har- 
mony being well preserved, all its interests flour- 
ishing, its good influences throughout the com- 
munity deepening and broadening with com- 
mendable steadiness and certainty. On May 9, 
1878, he married at Salt Lake City, Utah, with 
Miss Ermina T. Griffith, of Utah, a daughter of 
Patterson D. and Elizabeth (Carson) Griffith, na- 
tives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. 
Three children have blessed the union, Heman, 
Jr., married and living at Auburn; William A., 
and Dora E., still at the paternal home. 

W. S. HUGHES. . 

One of the leading stockmen of his section, 
who has made a success in life entirely by his 
own exertions, skill and industry, and is now 
the proprietor of a productive estate of 1,120 
acres in the Bigpiney district of Wyoming. Wil- 
liam S. Hughes well deserves a representation in 
this volume, which is devoted to the progressive 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



837 



men of the state. He was born in Indiana on 
August 19, i860, a son of Stephen F. and Char- 
lotte (Simpson) Hughes, his parents being na- 
tives respectively of Kentucky and Indiana. His 
father, a wagonmaker by trade, was a man of 
great public spirit and patriotism, demonstrating 
this most clearly by his protracted service in the 
Union army of the Civil War, where, at the bat- 
tle of Chapin's Farm, he sacrificed an arm to his 
country's cause. He now resides in Leavenworth, 
Kan., the mother having died in 1876, at thirty- 
seven years of age. The scanty school advantages 
offered to Mr. Hughes were presented in a sod 
schoolhouse in Kansas, and, at an early age, he 
took up the task of earning his own livelihood, en- 
gaging in the stock business, which he followed 
in Kansas for six years, as an employe of Jerry 
McGaw, better known as "Wild-horse Jerry." 
Then, coming west to Nevada, he rode the range 
for two years, thence coming to Wyoming, where 
he was employed in the same capacity for The 
Middle Six and the P. F. outfit until 1885, in 
which year he worked on the trail for the Hash- 
Knife proposition, continuing to be so occupied 
until he came to Bigpiney in 1887. Desiring the 
greater independence afforded in business opera- 
tions of his own, and, by his unremitting efforts, 
having acquired sufficient financial reinforcement 
to accomplish this, he then made claim to a tract 
of government land of 320 acres, which was the 
nucleus of his present extensive realty of 1,120 
acres. Here he at once engaged in cattlerais- 
ing, which, under his discriminating care and 
successful methods, has attained wide scope and 
importance, large herds of fine grades of cattle 
being now marked with his brand. Here also he 
has developed a fine estate, with a commodious 
residence of modern architecture and all of the 
necessaries and auxiliaries required for a suc- 
cessful prosecution of his special branch of agri- 
culture. He is considered one of the leading cat- 
tlemen of this section of Wyoming, his judg- 
ment and opinion in the line of his business car- 
rying marked weight with his brother ranchmen. 
In public matters Mr. Hughes is broad-gauged, 
and liberal, generously aiding all worthy ob- 



jects, while in politics he actively supports the 
principles of the Republican party, giving its 
campaigns appreciative assistance. Mr. Hughes 
was married on September 10, 1892, with Mrs. 
Hibbard, a native of Virginia and the widow of 
T. F. Hibbard. Her parents were natives of 
Virginia, where her father, John, now resides, 
her mother being deceased. By her first mar- 
riage, she has a gifted daughter, Clarissa A. Hib- 
bard, now a student of the Academy of the Sa- 
cred Heart, at Ogden, Utah. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hibbard have a son, John S. Hughes. 

JAMES HUNTER. 

One of the distinctively representative young 
men of Uinta county, Wyoming, one, who, by 
his own abilities, has attained to a responsible 
position, and stands well in the circles of his ac- 
quaintance as a popular and capable individual, 
is the person of whom we now make record, 
James Hunter, the efficient foreman of Mine No. 
4, of the Diamond Coal & Coke Co., at Glen- 
coe. He was born at Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 
April 17, 1867, a son of James and Ellen (Steven- 
son) Hunter, natives of Scotland, the father be- 
ing a son of George and Margaret Hunter, who 
both descended from families established in Scot- 
land for many generations. James Hunter, Sr., 
was a lifelong miner in the coal mines of his na- 
tive land, and both himself and wife are still re- 
siding in their pleasant Scottish home. Their 
son, James, was the sixth in order of birth of 
their sixteen children, of whom eight are now 
living. James Hunter received a good practical 
education in the excellent national schools of 
Scotland, also acquiring skill in the mining craft 
under the superior training of his father. When 
eighteen he crossed the Atlantic to Canada, deem- 
ing the opportunities for better remuneration and 
advancement in life far superior on this side of 
the ocean. For about two years he gave faith- 
ful and unremitting service in the Canadian 
mines and returned to Scotland in 1888 to visit 
his parents. The experience he had acquired in 
America gave him great hopes of ultimate sue- 



8 3 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



cess and prosperity in the United States, and he 
soon left Scotland, making his destination, Rock 
Springs, Wyoming, to which place his parents 
and family not long after followed him. The 
home ties of auld Scotia were too attractive, how- 
ever, to hold them long here, and, after five years' 
residence in Wyoming, they returned to Scot- 
land. Mr. Hunter continued to be engaged in 
the mines at Rock Springs until 1899, when his 
intelligent service received a due reward in his 
promotion to fire-boss at Diamondville, from 
thence being sent as foreman to develop the mines 
at Glencoe, and he has the distinction of taking 
out the first shovelful of ore from the mine. 
Energetic, progressive and enterprising, he has 
neither spared money nor personal exertions in 
developing the resources of the state, and holds 
a high position in the community, while, fraternal- 
ly, he is affiliated with the Odd Fellows' lodge 
at Diamondville. He was married, on December 
31, 1890, at Almy, Wyo., to Miss Millicent A. 
Burton, a daughter of Joseph and Emma (All- 
cock) Burton, natives of Nottinghamshire, Eng- 
land, but was now residents of Spring Valley, 
Wyo. A winsome daughter, Emma, graces the 
family circle of the Hunter fireside. 

ROB R. HAMILTON. 

Among the citizens of Uinta county, Wyo- 
ming, who occupy a high place in the estimation 
of its people and who is known as a representa- 
tive stockman, doing much by his painstaking 
culture of fine strains to improve the cattle of 
this section, Rob R. Hamilton, of Smiths Fork, 
three and one-half miles south of Robertson post- 
office, is a native son of Wyoming, his birth oc- 
curring at Smiths Fork, on August 23, 1869, a 
son of Richard H. Hamilton and his wife, who 
came to this country in very early days in the 
same year in which his sister and her husband, 
Hon. W. A. Carter, made their settlement here, 
and engaged in farming and stockraising. Mr. 
! [amilton is the oldest of the four children of his 
parents, and after an education at the public 
schools, he took up the quarter-section of gov- 



ernment land on which is now his home, and be- 
came a raiser of stock, a vocation for which he 
had been amply tutored under the experienced 
care of his father. He has added 160 acres to his 
original acreage and raises a fine quality of 
graded Hereford cattle, usually running about 
125 animals in his herd. Mr. Hamilton married 
in Evanston, Wyo., on September 17, 1890, with 
Miss Ethel Hewitt, a daughter of Avery and Ag- 
nes (McCulloch) Hewitt, the mother descending 
from an old, time-honored Scotch family. Their 
children are Harriet E., Ruth Agnes, Clara M., 
Ethel M. and Helen W. For an extensive record 
of Mr. Hamilton's ancestry, we refer the reader tc 
the history of Hon. W. A. Carter, on another 
page of this volume. In the pleasant home of 
Mr. Hamilton a generous hospitality is dispensed 
to their appreciative friends. 

JOHN T. HAWKINS. 

A good type of the industrious, adventurous 
men who by their energy, thrift, economy and 
good judgment have attained success in the West 
and demonstrated the possibilities awaiting the 
earnest worker in the wild lands of this wonder- 
ful western section of the American Union, John 
T. Hawkins, now a progressive and successful 
rancher and stockman on Smiths Fork, near Rob- 
ertson, Uinta county, Wyoming, may be consid- 
ered an old-timer, as he has been identified with 
the new land for many years, industriously occu- 
pying his time and energies in such vocations as 
have tended to the material development of the 
territory and state. He was born in New Lon- 
don, Iowa, on November 28, 1863, a son of 
Michael and Elizabeth (McNulty) Hawkins, his 
father being a native of Scotland, a son of Dan- 
iel and Mary Hawkins, and his mother having 
her birth in Ireland. Michael Hawkins was for 
many years a farmer in Iowa, uniting for years 
with that vocation the buying of cattle, in which 
he was an acknowledged expert. He is now liv- 
ing at Dendale, Iowa, his cherished wife having 
closed her eyes in death in October, 1898, at the 
age of sixty years, her remains being tenderly 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



839 



deposited in the Dendale cemetery. The third of 
the ten children of his parents, J. T. Hawkins was 
early taught the practical lesson that honest la- 
bor was the first duty of man, being an assistant 
to his father in the care of his stock even at an 
early age. He attended the district schools and 
made such progress that he continued his educa- 
tion in the excellent academy at New London, 
and was duly graduated therefrom. Thereafter 
he was connected with railroad work in Iowa 
until 1885, when, continuing the same employ- 
ment, he came to Colorado, and was identified 
with the Union Pacific Railroad for two years, 
thence going to Utah and entering the employ of 
the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, but not long 
thereafter, he closed his connection with rail- 
road operations, coming to Fort Bridger and 
engaging with Mrs. W. A. Carter as an employe 
until the reservation was thrown open to settle- 
ment, when he filed on the 160 acres where he 
now makes his home, securing the second choice 
on the reservation and becoming the possessor of a 
valuable tract of land. Here he has since given his 
energies to the development of a superior cattle 
ranch, and has been prospered in his undertak- 
ings, using wise discrimination in the selection of 
his stock and confining his attention to the finest 
strains of thoroughbred and graded Hereford 
cattle, being held in high esteem as a stockman 
of merit and progressive ways, while his long 
residence in the West has given unto him a large 
circle of personal friends. His herd on an aver- 
age consists of from fifteen to twenty thorough- 
breds and from seventy-five to eighty head of 
finely graded stock. Pleasant, accommodating 
and unassuming, it is no wonder that he should 
make friends all along his pathway, for his ear- 
nest efforts are always given to all causes of pub- 
lic benefit or worthy private benefactions. 

GUSTAVUS HEDER. 

One of the sturdy sons of far-distant Sweden, 
who has personally demonstrated the possibilities 
of the West in providing a competence and an 
enjoyable home, Gustavus Heder, a ranchman on 



Smiths Fork, Uinta county, Wyoming, not far 
from Robertson postoffice, can surely bless the 
day when his enlightened courage caused his emi- 
gration from Sweden, the land of his forefathers 
for long generations, for it has resulted in his 
acquiring here an independence and fortune that 
he could never have aspired to reach in his na- 
tive land. He was born near Wennersborg, Swe- 
den, on January 5, 1845, a son of John and Chris- 
tina (Erickson) Heder. His father, who died 
before Gustavus was born, was for many years 
a soldier, and the son was the youngest of three 
children. Mr. Heder came to the United States 
when he was a young man of- seventeen years, 
having before this availed himself most studious- 
ly of the advantages of the Swedish schools, and, 
coming directly to Utah, he at once commenced 
the life of untiring industry through which he 
has attained his present prosperity, by engaging 
in agricultural pursuits, which he steadily con- 
tinued in Utah until 1873, when he came to Hil- 
liard, Wyo., here following his earnest labors of 
farming, by engaging in various occupations, 
such as hauling timber, burning charcoal, etc.", 
pursuing these employments with satisfactory 
financial results for fourteen years, thence remov- 
ing to Fort Bridger and to the employ of J. Van 
A. Carter, with whom he remained until the 
opening of the reservation to settlement, when 
he soon located the 160 acres of land, where is 
now his home, engaging at once in its active de- 
velopment, and here, with his son, Albert, he is 
now conducting a profitable business in the rais- 
ing of cattle and horses. He has recently taken 
up 160 acres on the bench near his home ranch, 
so that his landed property now embraces 320 
acres, a large proportion of which is in a fine 
state of improvement, having substantial build- 
ings and other accessories of ranch life. In Utah, 
on June 10, 1866, Mr. Heder was married with 
Miss Charlotte Bockman, a daughter of Oliver 
and Helena Bockman, natives of Sweden, who 
emigrated from the old world to Utah in 1866. 
Their seven children are Albert G, who is mar- 
ried and located near his father; Helena C, wifq 
of John Ovary ; Alma H., wife of James G. Me- 



840 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



geath; Joseph; Anna. John N. and George 0< 
died in Utah in very early life. Mr. Heder is a 
progressive citizen and takes an active part in 
public matters of a local character; 

ALBERT G. HEDER. 

Inheriting the vigorous constitution and habits 
of centuries of Scandinavian ancestors, and yet 
himself a child of the West, the popular and ener- 
getic ranchman, Albert G. Heder, is doublv 
equipped for a successful career. He was born 
in Utah on May I, 1869, a son of Gustavus and 
Charlotte (Bockman) Heder, natives of Swe- 
den, and of whom and their parents extended no- 
tice is given previously in this volume. He was 
barely four years old when he accompanied his 
parents to Wyoming, and here he attained a vig- 
orous manhood, applying himself to the practical 
life of a rancher, acquiring in the public schools 
a solid foundation for the education that has 
come to him through experience and from min- 
gling with the affairs of the world. As soon as 
he was large enough to do a creditable day's 
work, he became an employe of Hon. W. A. Car- 
ter in the stock business, continuing to be thus 
engaged for four years and until the fertile land 
of the Fort Bridger reservation was given up to 
settlement, when he located the farm where his 
father now resides, and permanently identified 
himself with the stock industry on his own ac- 
count, being favored in his enterprise and win- 
ning success by his proper application of the prin- 
ciples and methods that make for success in his 
chosen field of endeavor. In association with his 
father he has here developed one of the beautiful 
ranches of the countryside, and their success has 
been deserved. Albert G. Heder, is one of the 
alert movers in all matters of public importance, 
and to him is due the distinction of being one of 
the originators of Robertson postoffice and of 
circulating the petition in this portion of the state 
asking for the passage of a bill allowing the peo- 
ple here to secure a second quarter-section of gov- 
ernment land. This petition was placed in the 
hands of U. S. Senator Clark, and, through his 



activity and efforts, the bill was drafted and made 
a law. Mr. Heder is a forceful factor in all mat- 
ters of public interest. Miss Metta Marshall, the 
winsome daughter of Ephraim and Ida (Dotson) 
Marshall, became his wife on June 22, 1899. 
They have one child, Myrtle Lucille. For ances- 
tral and other data of the Marshall family, the 
reader is referred to the sketch of Mr. and Mrs. 
Marshall, on other pages of this work. 

MARK HOPKINS. 

Among the founders of civilization in the 
New World, the emigrant ancestor of the Hop- 
kins family of America dates back to Mayflower 
days, being identified prominently with the prog- 
ress of the Massachusetts and Connecticut colo- 
nies, both in their professional and industrial life 
and also in the military contingent furnished by 
those colonies in the Revolution. We can here 
trace this branch of the family no farther than 
to John Hopkins, who was a prominent farmer 
of Hartford, Conn., in the eighteenth century. 
His son, John, was a lifelong farmer and resi- 
dent of Connecticut, dying at a hale old age 
in the commencing days of the Great War of 
1861. He was the grandfather of Mark Hop- 
kins, now of Cumberland, AVyo., and his son, 
John Hopkins, born in 1836, in Connecticut, 
received an excellent literary and scientific edu- 
cation, becoming an expert civil engineer, follow- 
ing that profession in New York city for over 
thirty years with marked ability. His death oc- 
curred in New York in 1896. His wife, Susan 
(Shinley) Hopkins, was born in 1837, in Penn- 
sylvania, a daughter of Peter Shinley. Mark 
Hopkins, the son of this worthy couple, was 
born in Connecticut in i860, and he had su- 
perior advantages of education in the New- 
York schools, supplementing them by a thorough 
course of instruction in a Brooklyn college, from 
which he was graduated in 1878. He had paid 
especial attention to the technical and scientific 
branches of mining, and immediately after his 
graduation began to be occupied with mining en- 
gineering in Pennsylvania, conducting this pro- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



841 



fession with pronounced skill in that state for 
eight years, thereafter coming" to Rock Springs, 
Wyo., where he accepted the highly responsible 
position of assistant general superintendent of 
the coal mines of the Union Pacific at that place, 
performing faithful service for four years. Later 
he held a similar position for a term of years 
in Colorado and Utah, returning to Wyoming 
and, in February, 1891, assuming his present po- 
sition in charge of the mines at Cumberland. Mr. 
Hopkins has long been a faithful adherent of the 
Republican party, its principles and its policies 
receiving his hearty support, having been a mem- 
ber of the constitutional convention that estab- 
lished the state of Wyoming, holding the chair- 
manship of the committee on mines and mining. 
His marriage to Mis"s Ella Bright, a native of 
Pennsylvania, born of English ancestry, occurred 
in 1886, her parents also being natives of that 
state. The family occupies a distinctive rank in 
the social circles of the community and is recog- 
nized as a prominent factor in all things tending 
to the uplifting and advancement of the section. 

GEORGE HARTLEY. 

Scottish ancestors in the old land and Revo- 
lutionary forefathers in the new, have made a 
family history of which one might well be proud, 
provided one has lived up to his inheritance, and 
that he has done so, this short sketch of George 
Hartley will fully show. He was born near 
Hartley, Jefferson county, Ohio, on December 31, 
1851, the son of Daniel and Samantha (Love) 
Hartley, native Pennsylvanians and early pio- 
neers of Ohio. Daniel's mother and father, Wm. 
J. Hartley, were from Scotland, the father farm- 
ing in this country until he joined the Federal 
forces fighting for the independence of the colo- 
nies, a worthy scion of loyal forefathers. The 
mother of George, Samantha Love, was a daugh- 
ter of Thomas Love, also of Revolutionary stock 
and Scottish ancestry, which brought to the fam- 
ily heritage additional records of patriotism and 
true nobility, which were to shine forth in the 
lives of noble sons of the soil in our western 



states. These two died in Nebraska in 1894 and 
1895, respectively. George Hartley engaged in 
farming for others, both in Illinois and Nebraska, 
until 1870, when he started for himself in Jeffer- 
son county, Iowa, where he remained until 1880, 
when he journeyed farther west, then engaging 
in farming for two years in Nebraska. The fol- 
lowing six years he spent in the cattle business, 
near Kemmerer, Wyo., and here he took up 640 
acres of land on Horse Creek, where he now 
lives, owning 800 acres, which he devotes to cat- 
tleraising, ranging here several hundred head of 
stock annually. On February 16, 1880, he was 
married, near New Helena, Custer county, Neb,, 
with Miss Almeta J. Snider, a daughter of James 
and Mahalia (Sleeth) Snider, natives of Virginia, 
and of old Colonial stock that was of German de- 
scent. They have had four children, three of 
whom are living, Charlotte, Ethel and Grover. In 
Mr. Hartley we find one whose name has stood 
prominently forth in the annals of several West- 
ern states in their early struggles for existence, 
and one who has ever shown the sturdy pluck, 
the kind consideration for others and the true 
courtesy of blue-blooded ancestry, so one is not 
surprised to find that once, amid the varied for- 
tunes of pioneer life, he spent his last fifteen cents 
to buy postage stamps for his wife; to which 
ever ready forgetfulness of self arose his present 
position among the esteemed pioneers of Wyo- 
ming and his place in public favor. 

VAUGH HUFFORD. 

Vaugh Hufford, a prominent young business 
man of Evanston, Wyoming, was born in 1873 at 
Jenningsville, Pa., being the son of Jeffery and 
Adeline E. (Dull) Hufford. His father, a re- 
tired farmer, still living at Strasburg, Pa., was 
born there in 1832. He was proud of his calling 
as a farmer and made it his devotion as well as 
his business. No doubt it was thereby that he 
is now able to live in comfortable retirement. He 
served four years in the Civil War, enlisting at 
its outbreak in Co. M, One Hundred and Fifty- 
second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. He was 



842 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the son of Peter and Katie (Trydeley) Hufford, 
the former, born in Germany, settled in Pennsyl- 
vania as a farmer and lumberman, and died aged 
seventy-seven years, the latter a native of Con- 
necticut, married in Pennsylvania, where she died 
in 1836. Vaugh Hufford's mother was born in 
Burlington, Pa., in 1836. She is a woman of the 
home-loving order. She was married in her native 
state, and still lives there. She is a member of 
the Methodist church. Her parents are Joseph 
and Mary Dull. Vaugh Hufford was reared and 
educated in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1891 
from the Pennsylvania State College, a master 
of the science and art of draughting, in which he 
has found steady and remunerative employment 
from the first. He went from college to the Beth- 
lehem iron works in his native state, thence to 
the Brooklyn navy yard; later to Rhode Island, 
thence to the Dixon Manufacturing Co., at Scran- 
ton, Pa., to Clark Bros., Belmont,_ N. Y.. to the 
Atlas iron works, Wilkesbarre, Pa., to Cramp's 
shipyard, Philadelphia, to the Lehigh Valley Rail- 
road, to the Walker iron works, of Cleveland, 
Ohio., and back to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. 
Next he went with the Union Pacific, and with 
this road he remained until the May preceding 
this writing. Since then he has been. in the oil 
and map business, and located at Evanston, Wyo. 
He has extensive oil claims in Wyoming, and is 
connected with the American Consolidated Co. 
and other corporations and industries. Mr. Huf- 
ford is a clean-cut young man of affairs, unmar- 
ried, in all matters being a quick, prompt, resolute 
and successful man of affairs, who holds a con- 
spicuous place in business and society circles. 

CHARLES HEIDRICK. 

A successful ranch and stockman, who is also 
largely interested in mining, is the subject of this 
brief review, Charles Heidrick, now residing in 
the vicinity of Jelm, Albany county, in the state 
of Wyoming. A native of the state of Penn- 
sylvania, he is of German descent and was born 
in 1861, the son of Jacob and Catherine Heidrick, 
both natives of Germany. His father emigrated 



from the Fatherland in early life, and in the 
Keystone state he established his home and there 
engaged in the occupation of farming. He re- 
mained here for a short time and then disposing 
of his property in Pennsylvania he removed his 
residence, in 1852, to California. Here he en- 
gaged in the business of fruitgrowing, in which 
he continued, with varying success, for a short 
time and then returned to Pennsylvania. Not 
being satisfied with business conditions, as he 
then found them on his return, he again went to 
the Pacific coast, where he followed fruitgrowing, 
ranching and mining up to 1871, when he re- 
moved his residence to the state of Missouri, 
here settling in the southwestern portion of that 
state, where he engaged in the pursuit of farm- 
ing up to the time of his death, which occurred 
in 1878. Fraternally, he was affiliated with the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and, in polit- 
ical life he was a stanch and enthusiastic adher- 
ent of the Republican party and he took an active 
and useful part in public affairs during his life- 
time. The mother, who was a daughter of one 
of the leading German families who settled early 
in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, passed 
away in 1863 in Eldorado county, Calif., and 
was buried in that state. The subject of this 
sketch, Charles Heidrick, grew to manhood in 
the states of California and Missouri, and was at 
home with his parents up to the time of the death 
of his father in 1878. He received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of California and 
Missouri, but after the death of his father he 
was compelled to leave school and assist by his 
labor in the support of his mother and the fam- 
ily. Securing employment at first as a farm hand 
in the vicinity of his home, he remained there in 
that labor for about one year, and later came to 
the state of Nebraska, following this occupation. 
Believing that the opportunities for making a for- 
tune were greater in mining than in farming, 
he removed to the state of Colorado, and there 
engaged in silver mining for a number of years 
and up to the spring of 1885. He then disposed 
of his interests in Colorado and came to the ter- 
ritory of Wyoming. Here he located in the vi- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



843 



cinity of his present home, and first entered upon 
the business .of mining, in which he is still inter- 
ested. His mining properties are known as the 
American No. 1 and the American No. 2, and 
are considered very valuable claims. Upon his 
first coming to Wyoming, he also located a pre- 
emption claim and engaged in a small way in 
the business of cattleraising. He has continued 
in this pursuit down to the present time and has 
been very successful, gradually extending his 
business operations from year to year. In 1888 
he was united in marriage to Miss Idessa Baker, 
a native of Kansas and the daughter of M. H. and 
Anna J. Baker, respected citizens of that state. 
Mr. and Mrs. Heidrick have five children, James 
E., Grade Pearl, William Earl, Charles Edward 
and Minnie May, all of whom are residing with 
their parents. Fraternally, Mr. Heidrick is af- 
filiated with the order of Woodmen of the World 
and he is also a member of the American Protec- 
tive Association. Politically, he is an ardent 
member of the Republican party, for years been 
active and prominent in the affairs of that party. 
He has held the office of justice of the peace in 
the community where he resides, discharging the 
responsible duties of that position with ability, 
and with a sense of justice that won for him the 
commendation of all classes of people. 

ALBERT HOGE. 

To the development and substantial gain of 
the United States' no land has contributed more 
than the German Fatherland, whether the compar- 
ison be made in mere physical force or in refer- 
ence to force of character, both elements of good 
citizenship. Among her esteemed contributions, 
who have planted and cultivated in the New 
World the manliness and persistent application, 
the thrift and industry, the sturdy independence 
and the mental energy for which her people are 
noted at home, is Albert Hoge, of Crook county, 
Wyoming, practically the founder of Sundance 
and now one of its most esteemed citizens. He 
was the first settler in what is now Crook county, 
and, on the land on which he first "stuck his 



stake," a new and promising municipality has 
grown into being, which has at his behest taken 
its name from the majestic mountain at whose 
base it lies, and which was called Sundance 
Mountain from the fact that in the early days 
the Indians gathered on its shaggy side to carry 
on their wardance from sunrise to sunset, in its 
performance to show their bravery and endur- 
ance to their pale-face enemies. Mr. Hoge was 
born on January 28, 1835, in Prussia, the son of 
Frederick and Louisa Hoge, also natives of Ger- 
many, where the father was a miller to the end 
of his life. There their son, Albert, grew to be 
sixteen years old, receiving his education in the 
state schools and yearning for opportunity to 
see and mingle with the great world far from 
his hamlet home. Accordingly he went to sea 
when he was yet a youth and sailed on merchant- 
men for fifteen years, touching every part .of the 
Mediterranean and most of the navigable At- 
lantic in his numerous voyages. In 1866 he en- 
listed in the German navy and served for a term 
of years, returning to the merchant marine in 
1870, on his first trip reaching New York. He 
then determined to abandon the sea, and, going 
to Chicago, began a term of service on the great 
lakes. Quitting this in 1875, he came westward 
to the Black Hills in search of gold, and there 
followed prospecting and mining for four years. 
In 1879 he came to Wyoming, and yielding him- 
self as boldly unto the pathless wilderness, as he 
had done to the pathless sea, he preempted a 
claim on the land where the townsite of Sundance 
is now plotted and settled upon it as a permanent 
home.' But the quickening march of civilization 
into this region made it necessary to prepare for 
a town, and he laid out and named the new town 
of Sundance, built a hotel and a store, and gave 
to the new enterprise a healthy impulse towards 
its present commercial and political importance. 
His were the first buildings erected in the place, 
and, after three years successful use, he sold them 
and took up his present ranch situated three and 
one-half miles south of the town, and here he 
has since remained engaged in farming and rais- 
ing stock. He has 480 acres of well-improved 



844 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



land, forming one of the attractive and desirable 
agricultural properties in the county, and he car- 
ries on an extensive stock business. He also 
owns considerable property of value in the town 
of Sundance, and his stepson, George Durkee, 
owns the two ranches adjoining his. When he 
came into Wyoming Mr. Hoge was one of a 
party of six who were attacked by Indians at the 
old stockade, now the residence of Mr. Burns, 
where one of the party was killed. For some 
years the savages were hostile and gave their 
white settlers much trouble and annoyance. But 
the hardy pioneers persevered in their determin- 
ation to remain and conquer the country, and, in 
course of time, they were able to enjoy the fruits 
of their valor in a permanent and prosperous 
peace. In the spring of 1883, at Sundance, the 
town he had founded and named, Mr. Hoge 
was united in marriage with Mrs. Sophia 
(Brown) Durkee, a widow, having three chil- 
dren, George, Charles and Carrie, who had come 
with her children to make her home at Sundance 
in the home of a brother the year before. She 
died on June 17, 1901, and two of her children 
are living elsewhere. George, however, makes his 
home with his stepfather. In his politics Mr. 
Hoge is an active Republican. The country in 
which he settled in the land of his adoption has 
prospered and developed into a populous and en- 
terprising section under his inspiration and guid- 
ance ; the people among whom he has lived hold 
him in high esteem ; the mercantile, agricultural 
and educational forces he has set in motion are 
flourishing; he can look upon the work of his 
hands and the products of his energies, and see 
that they are good. And, thus blessed with the 
realization that he has not lived in vain, he can 
find enjoyment in both prospect and retrospect 
during the remainder of his well-spent life. 

• 

ALEXANDER C. HENDERSON. 

Nature has no choice spots for the birth of 
her great men. According to her needs and occa- 
sions the earth is all Athens, all Stratford-on- 
Avon. When a man is required for any definite 



purpose, she produces him, apparently without 
regard to circumstances, flinging him into the 
crisis fearlessly. She knows her brood, and those 
whom she singles out for great events never dis- 
appoint. Sometimes, in her gladsome bounty, she 
produces at once a whole family of capables, then 
shoves them into the environments which develop 
them into what she intended. An impressive il- 
lustration of this truth is given in the life and 
record of the Henderson family, of which Alex- 
ander C. Henderson, one of the prominent and 
successful farmers and stockmen of Crook coun- 
ty, Wyoming, is an honored member. This fam- 
ily record contains the recital of distinguished 
services to our country in peace and war. It is 
silvered with the white light of patriotic daring 
on many a bloody field of the Civil War, but 
darkened with the tragic touch of death at Shi- 
loh, where one son sealed his devotion with his 
life, and in a hospital ward, where another son 
died from the effects of privations and exposure 
in the service. The record is enriched with faith- 
ful and unyielding devotion to duty along the 
beaten paths of life, when naught of public clam- 
or or danger called our hosts to arms ; and has 
been rendered glorious by conspicuous service 
along the line of great events in the person of one 
of its distinguished members, Hon. David B. 
Henderson, a brother of the subject of this writ- 
ing, who, during the past three National Con- 
gresses has wielded the Speaker's gavel in the 
House of Representatives with eminent success, 
guiding the activities, concentrating the wisdom, 
stimulating the industry and smoothing away the 
acerbities of that great legislative body. He has 
a life story, which, of itself, is sufficient to give 
the name a lofty and lasting place in history ; and 
his brothers have been no less faithful to duty 
in their several stations. Speaker Henderson is 
a product of our rural life in the Middle West, 
and passed his childhood, youth and early man- 
hood on the paternal farm in Iowa. He enlisted 
in the Union army in September, 1861, as a pri- 
vate, was elected and commissioned first lieuten- 
ant of his company, and he served with it until 
he lost a leg in battle. He afterward reentered 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



845 



the army as a colonel and finished his term of ser- 
vice. He rose to distinction both as a lawyer 
and publicist, was many times elected to Con- 
gress, was three times Speaker of the House of 
Representatives; and, finally, when his blushing 
honors were thick upon him, disagreeing with the 
policy of his party on vital issues, rather than 
surrender his convictions he surrendered the 
scepter of power, voluntarily retiring to the sweet 
repose that comes only to the couch of private 
life. Alexander C. Henderson was born on No- 
vember 15, 1834, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the 
son of Thomas and Barbara L. (Legg) Hender- 
son, also Scotch by nativity. The father was a 
brewer in Aberdeenshire, but brought his fam- 
ily to America in 1845, and, settling in Fayette 
county, Iowa, engaged in farming until his death 
in 1882. Three vears later his widow died, and 
both are buried in the soil hallowed by their use- 
ful labors. Their family consisted of eight chil- 
dren, seven sons and one daughter. Three of 
the sons were members of the Twelfth Iowa In- 
fantry in the Civil War, in which two lost their 
lives and the third a limb. Alexander was one 
of the family party which came to the United 
States in 1845, an d hi the schools of Iowa he 
completed the education begun in those of Scot- 
land. After leaving school, in company with his 
brother, David B. Henderson, he conducted ag- 
ricultural operations on the homestead for a num- 
ber of years, and, after his brother went into 
other business, he had the entire charge of the 
farm and the care of his parents until death 
came for them. In 1892 he again sought the 
frontier life, coming to Wyoming and homestead- 
ing on the ranch he now occupies in Crook coun- 
ty, seven miles south of Sundance. Here he cast 
anchor and has since remained, fully engaged in 
cattleraising and farming, expanding his business 
from year to year, growing in the good will and 
esteem of his neighbors as his usefulness in their 
local affairs became more and more apparent. 
In politics he has been a lifelong Republican, be- 
ginning his allegiance to the party by voting for 
Lincoln for President the first time he was a can- 
didate, and since adhering to the faith then 



adopted with unvarying steadfastness. In Janu- 
ary, 1867, Mr. Henderson was united in marriage 
with Miss Minerva Teeter, a native of Clayton 
county, Iowa, the ceremony taking place in Fay- 
ette county, that state. Her parents were Moses 
and Anna (Cook) Teeter, natives of Canada who 
moved into Iowa soon after their marriage and 
there conducted a prosperous farming industry 
until the death of the father in 1890, and the 
mother is still living in Clayton county. Mr. 
and Mrs. Henderson have six children, Winifred, 
Mortimer, Anna, David, Barbara and Allie. 

THE HAWKEN BROTHERS. 

From time immemorial there lived in Corn- 
wall, England, a numerous family of thrift and 
enterprise, always alive to their opportunities 
and ready to make the most of them, bearing their 
part bravely and cheerfully in the affairs of the 
state, whether that part involved the weight of 
arms and the hazard of battle, the chance with ca- 
pricious wind and wave on the high seas, or the 
peaceful pursuits of husbandry or mining at 
home, making their distinct mark in every line 
of activity, typifying in every phase of being the 
admirable qualities of their race and section. This 
was the family of Hawken, a scion of which, 
named William, lived and flourished on the na- 
tive soil about the middle of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. He married with Elizabeth Rundel, also 
descended from an old and well-established Corn- 
ish family, and they had seven brawny, brainy 
sons, all of whom have contributed essentially to 
the development and improvement of Wyoming, 
building up profitable industries in her midst, giv- 
ing character and trend to her local institutions, 
guarding jealously her good name in business 
and statecraft, ever raising the standard of her 
citizenship. 

Charles R. Hawken, the eldest of these sons, 
was born in Cornwall, at the hereditary fireside, 
on January 1, 1853, and there he grew to man- 
hood, was educated and worked for years on the 
farm with his father. In 1888 he came to Wyo- 
ming, there joining three of his brothers, who 



846 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



had preceded him to the New World by several 
years, and, from his arrival, he has been a respect- 
ed and prosperous citizen of the state, carrying 
on an extensive cattle industry in Crook county, 
and taking an active and serviceable interest in 
the government and public sentiment of his sec- 
tion of the country. Soon after his arrival he 
began to acquire land by taking up a quarter-sec- 
tion of land adjoining the tracts held by his 
brothers, and he has added to his possessions 
from time to time, until he now owns one body 
of 640 acres in that neighborhood and another of 
160 acres, lying not far from the town of Sun- 
dance. His stock industry has grown to good 
proportions and high standing, being carried on 
with intelligence and judgment, and his position 
in the community is enviable and well-secured, 
having been won by force of character and grace 
of manner. His is a high type of manhood, well 
worthy of esteem in every relation of life. In 
politics he is an ardent Republican, in business 
a careful and successful manager, in social life 
a helpful and genial factor, in citizenship entitled 
to a high regard. 

Harry O. Hawken. — The second in order of 
birth, but, by common consent of the five brothers, 
whose life-story is here recorded briefly, being 
the American head of the family, Harry C. Haw- 
ken, was the pioneer of the name in this part of 
the country, having left his home and friends in 
merrie England in 1878, and, in company with 
his brothers, William and Thomas, joined the 
great army of industrial conquest that was mov- 
ing westward over the untamed wilderness of 
the United States. He was born on October 
I 7< x ^57- an d remained at home until he was 
twenty-one years of age. In America he first, 
for one year, halted in Ohio, then came to Lara- 
mie City, Wyo., near which rich settlement, with 
his two brothers he engaged in the sheep business 
until 1884, when, after wintering two seasons in 
California, they all came to Crook county, the 
brothers coming first with a large band of sheep, 
and Harry soon after joining them. He took 
n]i tin.' ranch he now occupies on Black's Flat, 
eight miles south of Sundance. In 1887 the part- 



nership with his brothers was dissolved, and he 
sold his sheep and bought cattle, and since then 
he has given his attention to this branch of the 
stock industry with gratifying success. He was 
one of the first settlers on the Flat and has 
contributed most essentially to the improvement 
of the region, giving to the work the benefit of 
a stimulating spirit of enterprise and the inspira- 
tion of an excellent example. He is a representa- 
' tive citizen, well-known, highly esteemed, pros- 
perous, progressive and broad-minded. He holds 
allegiance to the Republican party and takes, an 
active interest in politics, serving his people as a 
worker in the ranks of citizenship and also in 
responsible official stations. He is now a mem- 
ber of the board of county commissioners, and, in 
this important office, he has won the commenda- 
tion of his fellow citizens. On October 28, 1889, 
he married with Miss Julia Thompson, a native 
of Pennsylvania, a daughter of Clinton and Re- 
becca (Grisley) Thompson. Her father was a 
leading lumberman in the Keystone state and 
there died in April, 1901, in Clearfield county, 
where her mother is yet living. 

Thomas R. Hawken, of near Sundance, Wyo- 
ming, has been a resident of the commonwealth 
since 1888, having come hither with his brother, 
Charles, in that year. He was born in Cornwall, 
England, on September 8, 1867, and reached his 
majority on his father's homestead in that coun- 
try, being educated at the country schools of his 
neighborhood and working between times on the 
farm. On their arrival in Wyoming the two 
brothers formed a partnership in the cattle busi- 
ness, and- continued it until 1902 on the ranch 
now owned and occupied by Charles. In that 
year the partnership was dissolved, and Thomas 
Hawken secured a lease of his brother, John's, 
ranch for a period of ten years, moved thither 
and began an enterprising cattle business on his 
own account. In this he is prospering and the 
industry is rapidly expanding, as he is utilizing 
judgment and prudence in its management, 
bringing to bear on its development and suc- 
cessful operation the results of reflective reading 
and careful observation, being fully convinced 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



847 



that in his line of activity, mind controls matter 
as effectively as in any other, and using a goodly 
portion of the fruits of his labor in improving 
and building up a ranch of his own on which he 
homesteaded in 1901. He was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Carrie G. Durkee, of Sundance, 
on October 30, 1895. She was a native of Buf- 
falo, N. Y., a daughter of Silas and Sophia 
(Brown) Durkee, also natives of the Empire 
state. Her father was a popular and efficient 
teacher in Buffalo, and he died there in 1882. 
After his death the family came to Wyoming, 
and, since their arrival here in 1882, Mrs. Haw- 
ken has never been out of the state. Her mother 
died in a hospital in Omaha on June 20, 1901, 
and was buried at Sundance. Mr. and Mrs. Haw- 
ken have two children, C. Floyd and Ruth E. 
Mr. Hawkens is an ardent Republican. 

Albert G. Hawken. — From the peaceful, pic- 
turesque, highly cultivated vales and hillsides of 
old England, where every foot of ground receives 
individual attention, to the wild llanos of the 
great Northwest of the United States, where 
even broad acres attract no special notice, and 
nature yet revels in luxuriant freedom, is a long 
step in distance and conditions, but it is one which 
many men have joyfully taken to their permanent 
advantage. Among this number is Albert G. 
Hawken, one of the prosperous and respected 
ranch and stockmen of Black's Flat, in Crook 
county,' eight miles south of Sundance, Wyo. 
His life began in Cornwall in 1868, and there, 
under the paternal rooftree, he grew to manhood, 
without incident worthy of special note, attend- 
ing the schools of the vicinity and working on 
the farm as he had opportunity. In 1892, in 
company with his parents and his younger broth- 
er, Alfred, he came to America, proceeding at 
once to Wyoming, where he joined his elder 
brothers, who had become well-established in the 
country, and from its wild luxuriance had gath- 
ered substantial fortunes and secured good stand- 
ing in their community. For five years after his 
arrival, he worked on ranches, riding the range 
with the most daring, thereby acquiring knowl- 
edge of the country, health of body and breadth 



of mind. In 1897 he purchased a ranch on Black's 
Flats, eight miles south of Sundance, where he 
started a stockraising enterprise of his own. He 
has since taken up a ranch near the first, and 
both have been improved with a spirit and taste 
that are highly commendable. Mr. Hawken was 
married at Sundance, on October 22, 1896, to 
Miss, Lillian W. Lyons, ^native of Canada and 
a daughter of James and Charity (Harris) Ly- 
ons, English people, who settled years ago in the 
Dominion, and are still living and farming in 
the province of Ontario. Mr. Hawken is an 
active Republican in political affiliation and he 
and his wife stand high in desirable social circles. 
Their two children are Irene G. and Romona M. 
Alfred E. Hawken. — Like his brothers, a suc- 
cessful and enterprising ranchman and cattle- 
grower, and, like them, also deeply and intelli- 
gently interested in all that concerns or involves 
the welfare of the community in which he lives, 
Alfred E. Hawken is a worthy scion of a family 
of worthy sons, and has established himself in 
the respect and confidence of his fellow men by 
his consistent course of manhood, diligence, pub- 
lic spirit and integrity. He was born in Corn- 
wall, England, on May 16, 1874, and when he 
was eighteen years of age he came to the United 
States, with his parents and his brother, Albert, 
being the last of the family to leave the land of 
their fathers and seek a new home, far from 
its traditions and pleasing associations. In due 
time he reached Wyoming, where, for six years, 
he rode the range and worked on ranches, enjoy- 
ing the rugged pleasures and bearing the heavy 
burdens of this trying life with spirit and firm- 
ness. In September, 1898, he took up a ranch 
on Black's Flat near those of- his brothers, and 
this estate is still his home and the seat of his 
profitable and interesting cattle business, which, 
under his skillful and judicious stimulus, has 
widened and increased from a small beginning 
until it is now one of the leading cattle Industries 
of his section of the county. He is a young gen- 
tleman of broad and liberal views, who not 
only watches his business with sleepless vigilance 
and pushes it with tireless energy, but keeps al- 






848 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ways within the sweep of his vision the helpful 
and productive elements of the public life of the 
community, giving due consideration, reflective 
and active, to their proper concentration and 
guidance. He is a Republican in political belief 
and adherence, but not an active partisan, seek- 
ing rather the general weal in local affairs than 
any party or factional^success. 

The parents of these gentlemen, William and 
Elizabeth (Rundel) Hawken, lived long and la- 
bored faithfully in their native Cornwall, ex- 
pecting, no doubt, at the end of life to rest be- 
neath its hallowed soil, where the ashes of so 
many of their forefathers repose. But, as their 
fireside was bereft of one after another of their 
sons, and the hopes of the wanderers bloomed 
and fructified in the distant land to which they 
had taken them, the voice of the New World 
became louder and more urgent in its appeals to 
the parents, until at length they, too, yielded to 
its persuasions and joined their offspring on its 
fertile expanse, arriving in Wyoming in 1892. 
But seemingly the impulse that moved them was 
spent in the design to have them sleep among 
-their children when life was over; for, within a 
few months after his arrival, the father was laid 
to rest and the mother retired from the active la- 
bors she had been so long connected with, since 
making her home with her son, Charles, on his 
attractive ranch. 

JOHN P. ISHERWOOD. 

Tracing his ancestry back through centuries 
in America and England along a prominent line 
of representatives, who have ever made the name 
a synonym of honor, integrity and unwavering 
loyalty to established institutions, also furnishing 
in his own career corresponding elements of 
character, John P. Isherwood, of Fort Bridger, 
Wyoming, through his intelligence, industry, 
marked energy and honesty of purpose, has at- 
tained a prosperous station in life and the friend- 
ship and esteem of the large circle of friends he 
has acquired in his busy life. He was born on 
December 10, 1869, near Mason, Ingham county, 



Mich., a son of John L. and Polly A. (Waban) 
Isherwood, natives of Pennsylvania, where his 
paternal grandparents, Pilgrim and Rebecca (Al- 
ford) Isherwood, long conducted one of the old- 
fashioned inns for which that commonwealth was 
so noted. His father was for many years a pros- 
perous merchant in Michigan and both himself 
and his excellent wife are living in that state. 
John P. Isherwood was the sixth of their seven 
children, and, after a diligent attendance at the 
public schools, from the proficiency he there dis- 
played, it was decided to supplement his educa- 
tion by further advantages in that line and he 
thereafter continued his studies in the college at 
Franklin, Inch, for two years, then, engaging 
in pedagogic labors, he became a successful in- 
structor, soon, however, relinquishing this pro- 
fession for the more congenial one of merchandis- 
ing, in which he continued to be employed in a 
clerical capacity in Indiana until 1895, when he 
came to Wyoming and assumed a similar position 
in the post store at Fort Bridger until after the 
abandonment of the fort by the government sol- 
diers, when his services were retained by the 
Guild Mercantile Co. until 1901. In that year 
he engaged in farming and stockraising on the 
eligible ranch of 160 acres which he had previous- 
ly claimed from the government, and here he has 
developed a prosperous stock business, raising 
fine herds of excellent strains of cattle and ar- 
ranging for a further expansion of his herds as 
advantageous circumstances may furnish oppor- 
tunity. His activities have not been confined to 
the store and ranch, for, taking great interest in 
public matters, he has had much to do in civil 
and political relations, while, in 1900, he was in 
service as a most capable deputy sheriff of the 
county, and for one year at Fort Bridger he was 
in office as a justice of the peace. Mr. Isherwood 
married with Miss Georgianna Pearce, a daugh- 
ter of William A. and Mary M. (Clucas) Pearce, 
at Randolph, Utah, on December 29, 1898. Her 
father was a native of New Jersey and her mother 
of Missouri, both being adherents of the Church 
of the Latter Day Saints, and now residing on 
the bench near Fort Bridger, Wyo. Mrs. Isher- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



849 



wood retains her membership in the church of 
her parents, while her husband is a Baptist in re- 
ligion. They have one son, John L. Isherwood, 
who bids fair to maintain the family record. 

LARS E. JOHNSON. 

One of the representative and successful 
ranchmen of Uinta county, whose home ranch 
is most eligibly located only one mile from the 
postoffice of Fort Bridger, is a citizen of foreign 
birth, who has surely no reason to complain of the 
treatment his adopted country has accorded him, 
and who has acquitted himself so ably in various 
spheres that his adopted country should surely 
be proud of his citizenship and grateful to the 
land that has furnished such valuable material 
toward the building up of a mighty nation. We 
refer to Lars E. Johnson, whose life history is 
eminently worthy to be recorded in this volume 
of the progressive men of the state. Mr. Johnson 
was born in Sweden on June 16, 185 1, a son of 
John and Christina (Larson) Anderson, and 
was the fourth in a family of nine children, three 
of whom came to the United States. His parents 
were farmers in Sweden, but, becoming converts 
to the Mormon doctrine, they came to this coun- 
try in 1873, settling in San Pete county, Utah, 
where the father died in July of the same year, 
the mother still living at Gunnison. Receiving his 
educational training in the excellent schools of 
Sweden and there also receiving a technical and 
practical knowledge of the trade of carpentry, he 
came to Utah in 1877 and in San Pete county 
followed that trade with diligence and acknowl- 
edged skill until he removed to Wyoming, in- 
1893, and took up the land where he now resides 
and has developed a fine property. From that 
time he has carried on farming and stockraising, 
being prospered in his efforts and counted among 
the leading progressive citizens of the county. 
He takes much interest in all matters of public 
character, being elected a justice of the peace 
in the fall of 1900 by a very complimentary vote 
and by virtue of the office he is popularly entitled 
"judge." Mr. Johnson is actively connected 



with the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day 
Saints, being one of the teachers in the Sabbath- 
school, one of the priesthood and one of the 
Seventy. In 1894 he was called to be president 
of his church in this locality, and held this high 
office until 1898. He married Miss Matilda An- 
derson, a daughter of Andrew and Clara (Hag- 
lund) Anderson, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on No- 
vember 5,- 1877. Of their six children, four sur- 
vive, Rhoda M., wife of Charles Hamilton, of 
Mountain View, Wyo. ; Hannah C. ; Ernest J. ; 
Lilly E., all useful members of society. 

WILLIAM WALLACE JOHNSON. 

Descended from long lines of Irish and Welch 
ancestry, who were among the pioneer settlers 
in Alabama, bearing their part well in the affairs 
of their adopted country, as their progenitors 
had done in the land of their nativity, William 
Wallace Johnson, now of Robertson, Wyoming, 
came into life and its duties with family traditions 
and records that were an inspiration to lofty en- 
deavor, attaining man's estate under domestic 
training well adapted to the development of the 
manly and self-reliant traits for which his race 
has ever been distinguished. He was born at St. 
Charles, Idaho, on February 5, 1867, the son of 
Snellen M. (popularly known as Cub) and of Re- 
becca (Baker) Johnson. The father was a native 
of Alabama, where his parents, Willis and Nancy 
(Greer) Johnson, of Irish and Welch origin re- 
spectively, were pioneers, and where they resided 
on a large plantation until he was seven years 
old, when they emigrated to Texas, rearing their 
family on a cotton plantation in that then young 
and undeveloped country. Later, while they were 
crossing the plains to Utah to join their religious 
associates in the Mormon church, Willis Johnson 
died of cholera ; and his widow was accidentally 
drowned in Twin Creek, Wyo., in 1879. Their 
active son, Snellen M. Johnson, was reared and 
educated in Texas, and there he married. After 
his arrival in Utah, in 1853, he became a mem- 
ber of the Mormon faith and married Miss Re- 
becca Baker, a native of Iowa, but then a resi- 



8 5 o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



dent in Utah. Her father was one of the per- 
sonal followers of Joseph Smith, and was at 
Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846 when his sect was ex- 
pelled from that state, himself crossing the Mis- 
sississipi on horseback to save his life. In the 
autumn of 1879 Snellen Johnson started with his 
father's family to Arizona, but, on account of 
the hostility of the Indians they settled in Wyo- 
ming, taking up a homestead on Henry's Fork, 
in what is now Uinta county. Here they lived 
for several years, the father directing an enter- 
prise in farming and stockraising, but not being 
able to do much physical labor, owing to 
disability incurred in his military service in the 
Mexican War, throughout the whole of which he 
participated as a Texan ranger. And, while on 
account of this disability he received a pension 
from his grateful government, that was no recom- 
pense for his inability to take his place among the 
workers of the community to perform his part 
in actual labor towards advancing its interests. 
He, however, three, times bought cattle and drove 
them across the plains to Utah in the early and 
dangerous days, and thus gratified his ambition 
for productive effort. He died at the home of 
his son, Snelling, on Smith's Fork, Uinta county, 
Wyo., on June 10, 1890, leaving a widow, who 
still survives, living at Robertson. William Wal- 
lace Johnson was thirteen years old when his 
parents settled in Wyoming, where he received 
a limited public-school education, when he was 
eighteen taking up a squatter's claim on the 
Henry's Fork, filing on and completing his title 
to it when he was twenty-one. He has since 
greatly improved the place and made it comfort- 
able as a home for his mother. In 1895 he went 
to Idaho, spent six years working in the mines, 
returning to Wyoming in 1901 and purchasing 
160 acres of superior land on Smith's Fork, to 
which he has since added eighty acres. On these 
tracts he has a pleasant home and conducts a 
profitable stock industry. Orl November 25, 
1901, he married with Miss Alice May Town- 
scud, a native of Silver City, Idaho, and a daugh- 
ter (if William H. and Nellie (Scales) Townsencl, 
the former born in the state of Maine and the lat- 



ter in Ireland, from whence she came to America 
with her parents when she was eight years old. 
They are Methodists in religious affiliation, and 
in politics he is an ardent Democrat, giving his 
party good service in all its campaigns. 

JOHN M. RFID. 

One of the most prominent ranch and stock- 
men of Fremont county, Wyoming, is the sub- 
ject of this sketch, who is a native of the state of 
Indiana, where he was born on March 29, 1843, 
being the son of Daniel and Charity (Miller Reid, 
the former a native of Virginia, and the latter 
of Pennsylvania. His father followed the occu- 
pation of farming and was the son of William 
and Sarah Reid, both natives of Virginia, who 
removed from that state to Indiana during the 
pioneer days of that commonwealth. John M. 
Reid was the eldest of a family of five children, 
of whom three are still living. He received a 
common-school education in the public schools 
of Indiana and, while he was still a student, he 
responded to the call of his country for troops to 
defend the integrity of the Union, and enlisted as 
a member of Co. F, Eighty-seventh Indiana In- 
fantry. Entering the service of the United States 
on the nth day of August, 1862, he served act- 
ively for one year, when he was discharged on 
account of disability. During his term of ser- 
vice, he was engaged in several skirmishes and 
battles and saw much of the hard side of active 
army life. After leaving the army he remained 
at home for a short time, until he had recuper- 
ated his health, when on February 20. 1864, he 
set out to seek his fortune in the far West. Se- 
curing employment with an overland train as 
the driver of an ox team, he crossed the plains 
to the city of Denver, and from there proceeded 
to the newly discovered placer mines in Alder 
Gulch, Mont. He arrived at Virginia City, in 
that territory, on July 14, 1864. and there en- 
gaged in placer mining for about two years 
with greatly varying success. At the end of that 
time he gave up mining, and began to work at 
blacksmithing, which he continued until 1868. 
He then left Virginia City and came to South 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



851 



Pass, Wyo., and continued in the same occupation 
for four more years. He then embarked in a 
freighting- and transporting business, which he 
followed until 1873. He then located the ranch 
where he now resides and in 1876 moved there 
and engaged in ranching and stockraising. This 
business has engaged his energies continuously 
since that time and he has met with marked suc- 
cess in the growing of both cattle and horses. 
He is the owner of a fine herd of graded Dur- 
ham cattle, and is one of the most prosperous 
and substantial stockmen in his section of the 
state. In addition to his stock interests, he is 
the proprietor of a roadranch and hotel, and con- 
ducts successful operations in that line. His 
ranch, comprising about 600 acres of land, is one 
of the finest and best improved in western Wyo- 
ming. On December 27, 1888, Mr. Reid was 
united in marriage with Mrs. Lucy A. Barker, a 
daughter of James and Susan (Palmer) Daw- 
son, natives of Virginia and prominent citizens 
of that state. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Reid 
is one widely known for the genial and gener- 
ous hospitality which is there dispensed, and they 
are highly esteemed by a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. He is a public spirited and 
progressive man, whose thrift, industry and en- 
terprise have been important factors in develop- 
ing the resources of Fremont county. 

JAMES T. JONES. 

Born arid reared in the new and progressive 
West, being the son of one of the earliest pio- 
neer families, James T. Jones, now a prominent 
stockraise/r, whose home and herds are located 
twenty miles north of Kemmerer, Wyoming, has 
all of his/ life been in touch with the primeval 
condition.'s connected with the advance of civili- 
zation arid the development of that great indus- 
trial source of this country's wealth, and may 
fittingly jbe called a truly progressive man. He 
was born in 1872, in Sanpete county, Utah, the 
son of Jacob and Emma (Cox) Jones. The 
Jones family is of Welch extraction, but many 
years hiave now passed since the first American 

ancestors of this branch crossed the Atlantic to 
53 



become an integral portion of the western life. 
James N. Jones, who was born in Indiana, was 
a man of mature years in 1847, engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits in the rich state of Iowa; but, 
being also a man of an investigating turn of 
mind and possessed of great ability, he became 
a convert to the Mormon faith and was in the 
advance guard of one of the greatest migrations 
of a people ever known to history, coming, with 
his wife, Edith (Piles) Jones, on the wearisome 
and dangerous journey across the plains in 1847, 
arriving, however, safely in. Utah, where they be- 
came prominent farmers, Mr. Jones filling the 
exalted station of bishop in his church for over 
thirty years. His death occurred in 1868, at the 
age of sixty-eight years, being survived by. his 
wife for only four years, when she passed from 
earth, having attained an advanced age. Jacob 
Jones was born in Iowa in 1839 an( ^ so was Du * 
a "lad of nine years when the family crossed the 
plains. He was early in touch with the life of 
the wild West, became familiar with various of 
the Indian tribes, and, on attaining his manhood 
he was of great service to the U. S. government 
as a most capable and trusted Indian scout and 
interpreter, meeting with many strange and thrill- 
ing experiences. He was a stanch Democrat in 
political creed, prominent in his party, and he is 
now a robust man at the age of seventy years, 
passing the evening of his life in his pleasant 
home in Utah, cheered and comforted by his 
faithful wife, Emma (Cox) Jones, who has at- 
tained her sixty-third year. She was born in 
Iowa, the daughter of Jay and Martha (Cook) 
(Cox), her paternal grandfather being also Jay 
Cox, a native of Shoreham, Vermont. The Cox 
family was also among the early Mormon set- 
tlers of Utah, arriving there in 1848, where thev 
engaged in farming, and the father became of 
great influence in the church as a member of the 
Council for nearly a quarter of a century, his 
death occurring at the patriarchal age of ninety- 
five years in 1893. His wife had preceded him to 
the Silent Land, dying at the age of eighty-eight 
in 1 89 1. James T. Jones early began the labors 
of life for himself, and, from being a herder of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



sheep in his boyhood, he steadily became familiar 
with all the varying phases of industrial activity 
conducted in the Wes + , sheepraising, mining and 
range-riding, ranching and the care of cattle, 
gaining an important and practical knowledge 
of the details of each branch of industry with 
which he was connected, showing great adapta- 
bility and capability in his successful operations. 
With the opening year of the twentieth century, 
he purchased his commodious and eligibly located 
ranch, twenty miles north of Kemmerer, where 
he now resides, conducting his cattleraising op- 
erations with discrimination and care, being 
greatly prospered in his undertakings. In May 
1900, occurred his marriage with Miss Daisy 
Robinson, a daughter of Arthur Robinson, and 
for her family history we refer the reader to the 
sketch of her father elsewhere in this volume. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a daughter, Mildred. 

RILEY KANE. 

Beginning when he was but twelve years old, 
a career of trial and triumph, which embraces all 
phases of human experience in the remoter West, • 
and every known feature of pioneer life, and, 
since that time, depending wholly on his own re- 
sources and endeavors for advancement, in ev- 
ery condition and under all circumstances, Riley 
Kane, a prominent farmer and stockgrower on 
Shell Creek, in Bighorn county, Wyoming, pre- 
sents in the story of his life an interesting theme 
to which neither tragedy nor poetry is wanting. 
His native state is Pennsylvania, where he was 
born in July, 1827. His parents were Israel and 
Ruth (Carter) Kane, who were native to and 
reared in Massachusetts. Both the circumstances 
of the family and his own resolute and unyielding 
self-reliance made him eager at an early age to 
make his own living and to do this in a new coun- 
try among people unknown to him. Accordingly, 
in 1839, soon after he had passed the twelfth an- 
niversary of his birth, he made his way to Illinois, 
where he lived for fifteen years, a portion of the 
time in Chicago. During his residence in this 
great western metropolis, which rose almost like 



an exhalation from the ground and whose growth 
and progress surpass in actual facts almost the 
wildest dream of an Arabian tale, he was offered 
eighty acres of the land, now covered by the 
Union stockyards of the city, for the sum of $200. 
His dreams of dominion were, however, to be 
realized much farther along in the wake of the 
setting sun, and, soon after fortune thus knocked 
at his humble door, he moved to Wisconsin, and, 
a little later, to California, where he engaged 
in mining. He followed this pursuit at Yreka for 
seven years and then spent some time at the mines 
of Florence, Idaho. From there he proceeded to 
Canyon, in that state, and, not long after, in com- 
pany with nine other men, he discovered the rich 
deposits at Silver City. For four years he lived 
and worked in that region, then, tiring of mining 
and its uncertainties, he took up land near Cald- 
well, Idaho, and, during the next ten years, there 
followed the peaceful vocation of a farmer and 
stockgrower. At the end of the time named, he 
sold his ranch and moved to the Black Hills of 
South Dakota, where he remained until 1880, 
when he led a party of settlers into the Bighorn 
basin of Wyoming, these peopje being the first 
to locate in that prolific and highly favored sec- 
tion of the state. They pitched their tents near 
where Mr. Kane now lives, camping' there during 
the winter. In 1881, they formed a better settle- 
ment on Shell Creek, and, for a number of years, 
they were there engaged in hunting and trapping. 
Four years Mr. Kane passed in the employ of 
H. C. Lovell, in his extensive cattle business, and, 
four years subsequent to these in Montana in 
a similar enterprise. He then returnee} to Wyo- 
ming, bought the ranch of 160 acres of 1 fine land, 
which he now owns and occupies on Shell Creek, 
and, since that time, he has devoted hinnself sed- 
ulously to the production and handling! of high- 
grade cattle in large numbers. He has prospered 
in his business, has grown strong in the esteem 
and confidence of his fellow men, giving freely 
of time and energy to all that conduces to : the ad- 
vancement of the community, and leading its 
thought always along the line of healthy develop- 
ment. He is a loyal and devoted Free'mason, 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



853 



and, for many years, he has taken great interest 
in the affairs of the order. In the early days of 
his life in the West he saw much of Indian treach- 
ery and cruelty, being often engaged in deadly 
conflict with the savages, braving every peril of 
their cruel warfare without hesitation, by his 
skill and courage escaping unharmed from a mul- 
titude of dangers. 

JOHN KASTNER. 

Among the many American citizens of foreign 
birth, whose industry and energy have contrib- 
uted so much to the development and the up- 
building of the great West along material and in- 
dustrial lines, the subject of this review is worthy 
of a becoming notice. John Kastner is a native 
of Austria, one of two children born to Samuel 
and Josephine (Bluemel) Kastner, both parents 
being of Austrian birth. Samuel Kastner was an 
honest, industrious tiller of the soil who followed 
that honorable calling all of his life near the city 
of Koncigraty. Among his more striking char- 
acteristics were a loyalty to his native land, a 
warm and abiding love for his family and home, 
and a quiet, but genial disposition, which won 
the profound respect and the confidence of his 
neighbors and friends. He was a good man, 
who always did as he would have been done by, 
and, his death, which occurred in 1861, was great- 
ly deplored and sincerely mourned by the people 
of his community. Mrs. Kastner was a fit com- 
panion for her husband; she possessed a beau- 
tiful character, performed many kindly acts of 
charity and benevolence among the deserving 
poor, and the record of a well-spent life closed 
when she was called to the other world, in 1878, 
at the age of fifty-six years. John Kastner was 
born in 1854 and received his educational train- 
ing in the public schools of his native land. As 
soon as old enough, he entered upon an appren- 
ticeship to learn shoemaking and, after becoming 
an efficient workman, found ample opportunity 
for the exercise of his skill in various establish- 
ments. He worked at his trade in Austria un- 
til he was about twenty-seven years of age, when 



he desired to try his fortune in the United States, 
a country to which a number of his friends and 
acquaintances had previously emigrated. Ar- 
ranging his affairs with this end in view, he fin- 
ally found himself in a situation to carry his in- 
tention into effect, in 1881, and in due time he 
reached the New World where a new career and 
a new destiny awaited him. Immediately after 
landing in America Mr. Kastner proceeded to 
Cedar Rock, Iowa, where he worked for a limited 
period, going thence to the city of Creston, in 
the same state, where he followed his trade with 
satisfactory success during the ensuing four 
years. Longing to look again upon the familiar 
scenes of home and childhood, he then closed his 
shop and returned to his native country, there 
spending six months in renewing acquaintances 
and revisiting the places endeared to him by early 
association. Returning to the United States Mr. 
Kastner resumed his trade at Creston, but, after 
spending a short time there, he decided to turn 
his attention to agricultural pursuits. With this 
object in view, he went to Kansas, but, farming 
not being to his taste, he soon returned to the 
bench and last, finding, as he supposed, a favor- 
able opening in Trinidad, Colo., to which place 
he went from the above state. After spending 
seven years in Trinidad, he changed his residence 
to Rock Springs, Wyo., where he has since been 
actively engaged in the prosecution of his chosen 
calling. Like his father before him, Mr. Kast- 
ner's life has been marked by great industry and 
wisely directed energy. As a result of his close 
and steady application, he is now financially sit- 
uated so as to take things more easily than here- 
tofore, and get from the world the greatest 
amount of pleasure obtainable. He is a fine 
workman and the product of his shop has always 
commanded the highest price and given the high- 
est degree of satisfaction. He does a large and 
lucrative business, employs several assistants, ac- 
cording to the demands of the trade, and his cus- 
tom is continually increasing in magnitude. Per- 
sonally, Mr. Kastner is an amiable gentleman, 
having fine social qualities, and he possesses 
many sterling characteristics. By an upright and 



854 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



gentlemanly course of conduct, he has shown 
himself worthy the high measure of esteem in 
which he is held by his fellow citizens. He takes 
an active interest in all that pertains to the good 
of the community, has unbounded faith in the 
future growth and prosperity of Rock Springs, 
and, in all probability, will make the place his 
permanent place of residence. He belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and endeav- 
ors to make his life measure up to that high 
standard of excellence which the fraternity ex- 
pects of its members. He is a striking example 
of the successful self-made man, deserving also 
great credit for the position he has attained. 

FREDERICK KENAST. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of Ger- 
many, who, while entertaining fond recollections 
and tender remembrances of the Fatherland, is 
none the less a true and loyal citizen of his adopt- 
ed country, and an admirer and observer of its 
laws and customs. He was born on March 12, 
1841, the son of Godfrey and Christina 'Kenast, 
both parents having spent their entire lives in 
their native land. Frederick was reared on a 
farm, his father having been a tiller of the soil, 
and, until the age of fourteen, he remained at 
home, attending, in the meantime, the public 
schools near the place of his birth. He grew up 
imbued with a strong spirit of self-reliance, which 
was strikingly exemplified in his fourteenth year, 
when he left the parental roof to make his own 
way in the world. For some years thereafter 
he worked in various parts of Germany as a 
farm hand, and, by industry and thrift, succeeded 
in laying aside a respectable sum of money, hav- 
ing the object in view of ultimately going to 
America. Convinced that he could better his 
conditions in the United States, Mr. Kenast la- 
bored for a number of years to arrange for his 
emigration, but it was not until 1891 that he was 
enabled to carry out his long standing desire. 
In that year he brought his family to the New 
World, and, proceeding direct to Wyoming, took 
up his present place on the Platte River, west of 



Fort Laramie and engaged in stockraising. Ani- 
mated by a determination to succeed, he ad- 
dressed himself energetically to his undertaking, 
and, in due time, his industry was crowned with 
a large measure of success. He remained where 
he originally settled until 1895, when he moved 
to the ranch on the Rawhide, where he now lives, 
although he is still owning his former place, us- 
ing them both in his business. At the present 
time he is running on the latter a large herd of 
cattle in prime condition, also a number of horses, 
although he does not raise these animals on an 
extensive scale. Mr. Kenast has displayed com- 
mendable zeal in the prosecution of his business, 
as is attested by the prosperous condition of the 
two ranches in his possession, and also by the 
large number of cattle he raises and markets. 
He has done well since coming to this country, 
providing liberally for his family and here mak- 
ing a home, which it would have been impossible 
to secure under such conditions as obtain in the 
land of his birth. He attends strictly to his own 
affairs, belonging to that large and eminently 
respectable class of people, who make their 
presence felt by actions rather than by words. 
He is a man of domestic tastes, a great lover of 
home and family, devoted in his attachments 
and friendships. The people of his community 
hold him in esteem and he has shown himself 
worthy of this mark of confidence and regard. 
Mr. Kenast was married in his native country on 
November 11, 1866, to Miss Wilhelmina Bor- 
man, daughter of Christian and Christina Bor- 
man, the union having these children : Minnie, 
Annie, Emma, Gussie, Rena, Mary and Otto. 

ANDREW A. KERSHNER. 

For more than sixteen years a resident of 
Wyoming, having passed all of his mature life 
among her people, during the whole of the time 
actively engaged in promoting her industries and 
developing her resources, Andrew A. Kersh- 
ner is justly entitled to honorable mention in any 
recital of the undertakings and achievements of 
the progressive men of this young, enterprising 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



85; 



and rapidly growing commonwealth. He was 
born in Illinois in 1867, the son of George W. 
and Cynthelia Kershner, the former a native 
of Illinois and the latter of Ohio. In 1882 they 
removed to Kansas, five years later to Wyoming, 
settling in the Bighorn basin. For seven years . 
after his arrival in the state, Mr. Kershner 
worked for H. C. Lovell in his large cattle busi- 
ness, and then located. on his present ranch and 
actively engaged in the stock business on his own 
account. His ranch comprises t6o acres of ex- 
cellent land, well located on Shell Creek, and 
he has a herd of 100 superior cattle which are 
handled with intelligent care and attention, no 
effort being omitted to improve the breed and 
keep the standard high. Mr. Kershner is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and renders the order continued and valuable 
service. He was married in 1894 to Miss Wini- 
fred Fenton, a native of Illinois. They have 
four children, Fannie, Fletcher, Fred and an in- 
fant. Since settling on the creek Mr. Kershner 
has given close and careful attention to the de- 
velopment and improvement of the section, and 
has been recognized as a potent element in all 
enterprises inaugurated for the general good. 
He is public spirited and far-seeing, and sup- 
ports any public interest with the same zeal he 
exhibits in his private business. 

WILLIAM H. KENNINGTON. 

The life story of this prominent citizen and 
progressive farmer and stockgrower of Uinta 
county is full of the tragic element, and, if nar- 
rated in detail, it would make a thrilling recital. 
It embodies the hazard of the deep for more than 
five weeks on a sailing vessel when he was but 
a youth, a long and tiresome journey on foot 
across the great American plains, with its at- 
tendant horrors of threatened Indian cruelty, the 
dangers of attack by wild beasts, hunger, thirst 
and inclement weather, war to the knife, and 
the knife to the hilt, against ferocious and relent- 
less savages, the continual struggle against ad- 
verse circumstances and conditions of difficulty 



and the peril experienced in reducing a wild 
country to subjection, the supreme joy of final 
triumph over every obstacle and a serene and 
stable peace after arduous and long continued 
trial. Unhappily the limits of this article per- 
mit only the bare narration of the salient facts 
sufficient to make up a consecutive account. Mr. 
Kennington was born on August 7, 1842, in 
England, where his forefathers lived for two or 
three generations, having emigrated to that coun- 
try from Prussia. His parents were Richard 
and Mary (Davidson) Kennington, who came 
with their young family to the United States in 
1856 and settled in Utah. The father was a 
professional gardener in England, and in this 
country became a farmer on a larger scale, fol- 
lowing that industry until his death in 1879. The 
family consisted of thirteen children, seven of 
whom died in infancy. William had but limited 
opportunities to attend school, and gained his 
education mostly in the world of work and effort. 
When he was fourteen years old the family left 
their native land, and, after a tempestuous and 
uncertain voyage of five weeks and three days, 
landed on the shore of America, only to find be- 
fore them a journey as hazardous, far more try- 
ing, and of almost equal length, across the coun- 
try to their final destination near the new metrop- 
olis of the Latter Day Saints in Utah. A por- 
tion, less than half, of the distance could be trav- 
eled in railroad coaches, but from Iowa City, 
Iowa, the young lad walked every foot of the 
way, in company with an older sister drawing a 
handcart containing supplies. When they ar- 
rived , in Utah he went to .work on a farm and 
was there engaged in that line of industry until 
1870, when he removed to the Bear Lake coun- 
try of Idaho. There he passed sixteen years in 
successful farming and stockgrowing, and, in 
1886, came to Wyoming, locating in what is 
now Uinta county, on the farm since his home 
and which he has made a cultivated domain of 
value and attractiveness. It is mainly devoted 
to the raising of cattle and yields abundant sup- 
plies for their maintenance in addition to the 
usual crops of bread stuffs and vegetables for the 



856 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



support of the family. Being among the earlier 
arrivals in this valley and equipped by nature 
and experience for direction in public affairs, 
he has filled various offices of trust and responsi- 
bility. He has been town clerk, recorder in the 
church councils for the last ten years or more, 
and for the past four years he has been a U. S. 
commissioner for the district. He served in 
the Utah militia for a period of time and saw 
active and trying service in many Indian out- 
breaks. On April i, 1865, at Salt Lake City, he 
married with Miss Annie R. Seward, a native 
of England and a daughter of George and Esther 
(Frewin) Seward, also natives of that country. 
Her father died there when she was fifteen 
months old, and her mother brought the family 
to Utah in 1863. Seven children have brightened 
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kennington, all but 
two of whom are living. They are : Annie E., 
who died in Idaho, aged thirty-one, then being 
the wife of Samuel Matthews, and leaving five 
children, one of whom, Esther S., has been 
reared by her grandparents; Mary C, who died 
in Utah in infancy; William H, Jr., married and 
living in the lower Star Valley; Mary A., mar- 
ried to Osborne Low of Star Valley; Alonzo, 
married and living at Fairview ; George ; Ida E., 
now wife of Adolph Jensen of Afton; Albert, 
living at home. All are prosperous and respect- 
ed, worthy followers of the example of thrift 
and integrity they have had presented to them by 
their industrious parents. 

EMERSON H. KIMBALL. 

Emerson H. Kimball is a representative of our 
best type of American manhood, descending from 
New England families of strong character and 
patriotism, his paternal ancestors being numbered 
among the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts 
colony, the same progress and patriotism charac- 
teristic of them being the fundamental principles 
of his character, as, throughout his life, he has 
labored for the improvement of all of the mani- 
fold public and private interests with which he 
has been connected, as a loyal son of his country, 



following her flag on many a Southern battlefield 
of the Civil War, everywhere, and at all times 
being actuated by fidelity to his country and his 
state. As a forceful factor in the development of 
Wyoming, in public office, in journalism and in 
her industrial activities, due recognition must be 
made of his services in this memorial volume. 
On April 10, 1634, embarked for America at 
Ipswich, County Suffolk, England, two brothers, 
Richard and Henry Kimball, the former of them 
bringing his family. These brothers were the an- 
cestors of nearly all persons bearing the name of 
Kimball in the United States, and duly arrived in 
Boston, later making a permanent home in Water- 
town, being men of property and standing. Rich- 
ard was the progenitor of E. H. Kimball, and, for 
200 years the family resided in New England, 
furnishing gallant soldiers in every war afflicting 
the country, from the affray at Bloody Brook, 
where Caleb Kimball was killed, down through 
the Revolution and other wars to the Great Civil 
War, in which E. H. Kimball, of this review, was 
by no means the only son of the family to give 
his service. Mr. Kimball was born in Sandwich, 
Carroll county, N. H., on October 21, 1842, the 
son of James J. and Mary A. (Caverly) Kimball,' 
who were born at Dover, N. H„ the father's line- 
age running back through Jesse, Ephraim, Eph- 
raim, Nehemiah, Ephraim and Richard, to Rich- 
ard, the emigrant. The parental grandfather re- 
moved to Hiram, Maine, about 1820, and his 
son, James J., going to Sandwich, N. H., soon 
made that intellectual town his residence, becom- 
ing a member of the family of his uncle, Samuel, 
who was a stonemason, and, as a contractor, built 
many of the immense mills of Manchester, N. H., 
notably the Atlantic and the Pacific, thereafter 
being largely interested in the construction of the 
Fitchburg Railroad, the first railroad of Massa- 
chusetts, later passing a retired life on his Sand- 
wich farm. After an academic education at the 
Sandwich Academy. Mr. E. H. Kimball engaged 
in pedagogic labors at Hiram, Maine, until after 
the opening of the Civil War. when, on January 
13, 1862. he enlisted in Co. G. Thirteenth Maine 
Infantry, under the distinguished Xeal Dow as 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



857 



colonel, and thereafter accompanied his regiment 
in its arduous services under Generals Butler and 
Banks in the lower Mississippi region, in the 
Texas and Red River campaigns, being also at 
Forts Jackson and Phillips on garrison duty, on 
provost duty at New Orleans, thence proceeding 
to Fortress Monroe and Washington, and joining 
Sheridan in the West Virginia campaigns, ex- 
periencing to the full the dangers of a soldier', 
life "through field and flood," and being mustered 
out as a corporal on January 25, 1865. Marrying 
on April 18, 1865, in Sandwich, his old school- 
mate, Miss Lizzie M. Smith, Mr. Kimball en- 
gaged in farming for four years, thence remov- 
ing to Audubon county, Iowa, there continuing 
his agricultural operations, deflecting therefrom, 
however, long enough to serve as principal of 
the schools at Glidden,in Carroll county, for three 
terms, during which time he read law and was 
admitted to the bar at Carroll, Iowa, thereafter 
being elected recorder, and removing his resi- 
dence to Exira, the county seat of Audubon coun- 
tv, and, after his two years' service in that office, 
becoming the principal of the Exira schools, then 
the proprietor of the Audubon County Defender, 
a weekly newspaper, conducting it for three years, 
thereafter being the postmaster at Guthrie for 
one year, then resigning the office and removing 
to the new town of Audubon and establishing, 
first, the Audubon Advocate, and, later, the Au- 
dubon Times, publishing the Times for four years 
and also being commissioned postmaster of the 
town. Leaving Mrs. Kimball to act as postmis- 
tress, he went to the National capital and was lo- 
cated there for two years, being the correspondent 
for a syndicate of many leading newspapers, in 
1886, coming to Wyoming, where he established 
the Rowdy West newspaper at Fort Fetterman, 
which he conducted there until the creation of the 
towm of Douglas, when he removed the office to 
that city, after one year leaving its management 
to his son, and devoting himself to his present 
occupation of stockraising, his base of operations 
being at Box Elder Park. In association with his 
son, James E., Mr. Kimball owns 1,600 acres of 
land, partially irrigated from a large ditch, run- 



ning a band of sheep and usually herds of cattle 
and horses, the bands and herds being impressive 
in size and character, and having at this writing, 
as fine a band of young Shorthorn cattle as can 
be shown in the state, their sires being thorough- 
breds. The ranch ' is finely improved and well 
arranged for stockraising purposes, Mr. Kimball 
leaving the entire management of the place to 
his son, who is thoroughly competent. The Wyo- 
ming State Fair Association, recently organized, 
was, in a great measure, created by the active and 
intelligent labors of Mr. Kimball, appreciation 
of this fact being shown by its members in their 
election of him to hold the presidency, of which 
office he is the present incumbent, while he is 
also secretary of the Glenrock Woolgrowers' As- 
sociation. During the invasion times, commenc- 
ing with 1892, Mr. Kimball served as an efficient 
under sheriff for three years, while, for two 
years of this time, he was publishing The Graph- 
ic at Douglas, being also interested in The Der- 
rick for a time. He has always maintained great 
interest in Grand Army of the Republic matters, 
and has attended several of its National encamp- 
ments. He was ''made a Mason" in Iowa in 
1872, has filled all of the offices of his lodge, and 
attained to the Knights Templar degree. He is 
also an Odd Fellow. During his residence at 
Casper, Wyo., he was for two years a District 
Court commissioner, and the offices of justice of 
the peace and notary public have been long in 
his keeping. Mr. Kimball now maintains his 
home in Glenrock, where, under the supervision 
of his most capable wife, his commodious resi- 
dence is utilized as a private hotel, a store being 
also kept in connection therewith. Here he is 
passing the time, ever active in some plan for 
the benefit of the public, with great interest in the 
political conditions of the country as an unswerv- 
ing Democrat, frequently, however, refusing nom- 
inations for positions of trust and responsibility. 
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Kimball are Wil- 
son S. (see sketch elsewhere in this volume), 
Edna J., wife of Charles H. Rollins, manager of 
the American Tobacco Co. for Iowa, having his 
headquarters at Des Moines ; Lizzie H, now 



8 5 8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



' Mrs. Jasper D. Sumner, of Glenrock ; James E., 
associated with his father in the stock industry 
and manager of their ranch ; Emma L., Mrs. J. 
L. Slaughter ; Mary E. ; Allen R. 

SAMUEL KISE. 

Prominent and highly esteemed in the section 
of country which his labors and his influence have 
blessed and helped to beautify, into which he 
came while it was yet largely in the dominion of 
the savage, Samuel Kise, of Horton, Wyoming, 
furnishes a theme of unusual interest to the biog- 
rapher. His life began on December 13, 1838, at 
Marion, Ohio, where his parents, Fred and Eliza- 
beth (Boyer) Kise, were prosperous farmers, 
having come there from their native Pennsyl- 
vania. There they grew to maturity and were 
married. There also the father learned his trade 
of stonemason, at which he labored before their 
removal to what was then the far West, Ohio, 
where he also worked at his trade in connection 
with his farming. Their son, Samuel, remained 
at home, attending school and working on the 
farm, until the beginning of the Civil War. In 
April, 1861, he enlisted as a volunteer in Co. K, 
Fourth Ohio Infantry, and confronted a gallant 
and determined foe on many a hard-fought field, 
until, in 1863, when, having become disabled for 
active service, through sickness, he was honora- 
bly discharged. He returned to his Ohio home 
and promptly exchanged the bayonet for the 
plowshare, and the field of carnage for one glint- 
ing with the sheen of a harvest of golden grain. 
In the spring of 1872 he went to California, in 
the autumn of that year to Nevada, locating a 
mile and a half from Carson City, on a ranch, 
which he purchased, and devoted to the produc- 
tion of garden truck, which was then a very 
profitable commodity in the neighborhood. His 
success in this business was rapid and substan- 
tial, but after six years of great prosperity in it, 
lie sold his ranch and removed to Omaha. There, 
purchasing the Germania Hotel property, he em- 
harked in business as a boniface, with excellent 
prospects of success, only to find, after he had 



invested all his savings in the venture, that the 
title to the property was defective, and that he 
had lost his whole estate. In the spring of 1879 
he went to work at anything that offered in the 
Black Hills, so continued to labor for a year, then 
took up a ranch north of Deadwood, where for 
a few years he was very prosperous in the re- 
sults of his farming operations. Then came a 
succession of dry seasons and crop failures, and, 
in 1887, he sold the farm and all appurtenances, 
in 1888 coming to Wyoming, where his son, 
Frank E. Kise, took up the land which Mr. Kise 
now owns, on Canyon Springs prairie. The fam- 
ily settled on this ranch, which Mr. Kise pur- 
chased from his son, and began improving it and 
reducing it to systematic fruitfulness, and, later, 
Mr. Kise bought a quarter-section adjoining it, 
which gives him now an estate of 320 acres. A 
considerable portion of this is under irrigation 
with water from its own springs, while his skill 
and intelligent application of the best principles 
of husbandry have made it an ideal farm, one 
of the best, as it was one of the first farms placed 
under cultivation in this section of the state. It 
is well improved, with a comfortable cottage resi- 
dence, g'ood barns, corrals and sheds, a large 
amount of fencing and other desirable accessories. 
The home is a veritable caravansary for an ap- 
preciative circle of friends, and has, as well, at 
all times a hospitable welcome for the passing 
stranger. In Marion county, Ohio, on April 24, 
1 861, was consummated for life a union, which 
had begun by an appreciative acquaintance in 
childhood, the marriage of Mr. Kise with Miss 
Sarah Hoover, who was reared on the farm ad- 
joining his father's, she being a playmate almost ■ 
from infancy, they attending the same school 
through their childhood and youth, brightening 
the same social circles in the roseate period of 
youth. On the day after his marriage he en- 
listed as a soldier for the Civil War, and was thus 
separated for the first time from the lady whose 
devoted loyalty has blessed his home through all 
the trying times of adversity, and mellowed the 
radiance of its brightest prosperity. Her parents 
were Christopher and Christiana (Boyer) Hoover. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF. WYOMING. 



859 



well-to-do farmers in Marion county, Ohio. The 
only child of the Kise household is a son, Frank 
E. Kise, now a substantial farmer and stockman. 
who is following the lines of his father's indus- 
tries, being well esteemed throughout the section 
where he is known. Mr. Kise in politics is an 
ardent and uncompromising Republican. He be- 
gan his citizenship with the first success of his 
party, casting his maiden vote for Lincoln for 
president, and has never wavered in his loyalty 
to its principles and policies. His influence on 
the public life of his locality has been healthful 
and serviceable, through its intelligent and con- 
scientious exercise for the welfare and advance- 
ment of the community, he has gained a high 
and secure place in the regard of his fellow men. 

JAMES R. KINNEY. 

James R. Kinney, an enterprising and suc- 
cessful stockgrower and farmer in the Sage Creek 
basin, his headquarters being not far from Mee- 
teetse, has been something of a wanderer in his 
time, and he has seen many parts of our land of 
extended latitude, multitudinous productions and 
wide climatic variety, his birth occurring in Wis- 
consin, on January 4, 1850. Reared and edu- 
cated in his native state, in 1875 he went to Los 
Angeles, California, where he remained three 
years, engaged in farming. From there he made 
a mining tour through Arizona and Mexico, stop- 
ping at various places and working in the mines 
with differing degrees of success. Six years were 
passed in this expedition, and, in 1884, he re- 
turned to California, soon thereafter going on 
a visit to his old home in Wisconsin. In 1887 he 
came to Wyoming, and for some time was en- 
gaged in lumbering in the employ of D. Weller, 
after which he followed range-riding until 1891, 
when he took up his residence on the ranch which 
he now owns and occupies, and which has been 
his home continuously since that time. It is eli- 
gibly located in the Sage Creek basin, comprising 
160 acres, being also well improved and carefully 
cultivated. Here he runs at least 100 head of 
cattle of good blood, and carries on a general 



farming industry of considerable magnitude. In 
1900 he was elected as justice of the peace, and, 
when the town of Meeteetse was incorporated, he 
was made police justice, in which position he ren- 
dered acceptable and appreciated service until 
1892, when he resigned. An enterprising and 
public spirited citizen, he takes great interest in 
the Masonic lodge, of which he has long been a 
member, and in other organizations of a social 
nature, giving the community the benefit of his 
best energies in all its efforts for advancement. 

ALFRED KNOBS. 

In a work designed to present to the public 
an account of the lives, achievements and aspira- 
tions of the progressive men of Wyoming, all, 
whose energy, public spirit and usefulness have 
stamped them as being among the forceful and 
productive factors in the development and civil- 
ization of the state, are entitled to due consider- 
ation and a mention. Among this number. Alfred 
Knobs, of Crook county, one of the prominent 
and enterprising ranchmen and stockraisers on 
Houston Creek, Wyoming, and also a successful 
prospector and miner, has an honored place. It 
was Switzerland, the land of William Tell and 
Arnold Winkleried, which gave him birth, on 
July 29, i860, and in that land of liberty his an- 
cestors had dwelt and flourished for centuries. 
His parents were Frederick and Mary (Heuber- 
ger) Knobs, the father being a skillful tanner, 
passing an uneventful life in faithful devotion 
to his craft and to the welfare of his country. 
Alfred Knobs was educated in his native land, 
and, when he reached the age of twenty years, in 
company with an older brother, he came to 
America. Reaching St. Paul without incident 
worthy of special mention, he there remained, 
working at various occupations for a year, then 
went to Montana, and, entering into the spirit 
of the wild country around him, engaged in hunt- 
ing and trapping, seeking bears and buffalo, 
beavers and mink, big game and small, for nine 
months in different parts of the territory. In 
the fall of 1882 he went to the Black Hills, locat- 



86o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ing at Deadwood, and passed a year working at 
the trade of tanning, which he had learned . in 
Switzerland. In the summer of 1883 he came 
to Wyoming, and, finding congenial employment 
in what is now Crook county, he rode the range 
and worked on ranches for a year in that section, 
and then took up land on Houston Creek, six 
miles west of Sundance, being the first settler in 
that region, finding for companionship there but 
one lone man. During the first five years, after 
proving up on his claim, he spent considerable 
time in prospecting in the Black Hills, then set- 
tled permanently on his land and engaged in cat- 
tleraising, stocking his broad acres with superior 
herds, improving them with good buildings, mak- 
ing them fertile by careful cultivation, proving 
himself in every way a progressive and enterpris- 
ing man, with ambition for the best results in 
his work and looking ever to the permanent good 
of the community in all the elements of his pub- 
lic life. During the winter months of every year 
he still engages in prospecting, and he now has 
a number of valuable mining claims in the Bear 
Lodge Mountains, a section rich in the promise 
of copper and gold. In politics he is an unwaver- 
ing Democrat, in no sense, however, an office- 
seeker or active partisan, finding plenty in his 
business to occupy his time, looking- to the gen- 
eral good in civil affairs, rather than to the suc- 
cess of any particular party or class of men. 

H. L. KUYKENDALL. 

( )ne of the energetic young men of Wyoming, 
who are building up the industries of the state, 
and are successful in the handling of large enter- 
prises, is H. L. Kuykendall. He is a native of 
Mississippi, born in Platte City, in that state, on 
July 20, 1863, son of W. L. and Eliza (Mont- 
gomery ) Kuykendall, the former a native of Ken- 
tucky, and the latter of Virginia. The father 
had removed his residence from his native state 
to Mississippi in the early fifties of the nineteenth 
century, and continued to reside there up to the 
time of the opening of the great Civil War. His 
sympathies were with the Southern cause and 



with the people among whom he had been reared, 
so he answered to the call of his state, and en- 
listed as a member of the Confederate army. He 
received a commission as a captain in a Mis- 
sissippi regiment, and served during the entire 
war. At the termination of the protracted strug- 
gle, he engaged in contracting, being employed 
in the construction of several of the frontier mili- 
tary posts of the West. He was a pioneer at Cus- 
ter City and also at the city of Deadwood, Dakota. 
Shortly afterward, he located in the city of Chey- 
enne, Wyo., as one of the earliest settlers, remov- 
ing his family to that place as early as 1866. 
Here he purchased a large ranch in the vicinity 
of Cheyenne, engaged in ranching and livestock 
raising, and resided there until 1891. For many 
years he was active in the business and public life 
of that section, and was elected as the first pro- 
bate judge of the county of Laramie while resid- 
ing at the city of Cheyenne. He occupied that 
responsible position for eight years, discharging 
the duties of the office with ability and with 
fidelity to the trust reposed in him by the people. 
He was also active in the fraternal life of that 
city and of the territory, and was grand secretary 
of the Masonic order for the territory and the 
territorial organizer of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows. In 1881, he purchased the Chap- 
man ranch, on Spring Creek, Wyo., south of 
Saratoga, and, in 1884, organized a joint stock 
company, and engaged extensively in the live 
stock business at that place. The company is 
now the owner of several thousand acres of land, 
and has very large cattle and other interests in 
that vicinity and elsewhere in the state. For 
many years the father has been one of the lead- 
ing and representative business men of first, the 
territory, and, later, the state, and he was one 
of the pioneers of this portion of the western 
country. He has contributed his full share in 
the building up -of the state and in bringing set- 
tlement and civilization to the wilderness and to 
the barren plains of Wyoming. The subject of 
this sketch grew to man's estate in the territory 
of Wyoming, and acquired his elementary educa- 
tion i-n the public schools of the citv of Chevenne. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



861 



After completing his preparatory course, he ma- 
triculated at Racine College, at Racine, Wis., one 
of the leading educational institutions of the 
West, and there pursued a course of collegiate 
study. He was graduated as a member of the 
class of '83, returned to Wyoming, accepted a 
position as manager of the Wisconsin & Wyo- 
ming Land & Cattle Co., succeeding his brother, 
J. M. Kuykendall, in that position. The latter 
had removed to Denver, and purchased the prop- 
erty of the Denver Omnibus & Cab Co., and be- 
came the manager' of that extensive business. 
Shortly afterward, H. L. Kuykendall resigned his 
position with the Wisconsin & Wyoming Land 
& Cattle Co., and, going to Denver, became asso- 
ciated with his brother in the ownership of the 
omnibus and cab company, and remained there, 
carrying on that business with great success for 
eight years. In 1892, he accepted the position 
of general manager of the interests of the Colum- 
bia Coach Co. at' the World's Industrial Exposi- 
tion at Chicago, and during the time of the 
World's Fair conducted the business of that com- 
pany with ability and success. After that season 
had closed he went to Cripple Creek, Colo., and 
purchased a number of stage lines making con- 
nections with various railroad points, and with 
the city of Colorado Springs. He continued in 
this transportation enterprise about three years, 
and was very successful, operating extensively, 
and having at one time 500 horses employed on 
his several lines. In the fall of 1896, he dis- 
posed of this business and removed to Hartville, 
Wyo.. where he opened the extensive iron mines, 
which he and his associates have since operated. 
In the spring of' 1897, he located at Saratoga, 
AVyo., and there engaged in freighting. He also 
purchased a ranch, and engaged in the pursuit of 
cattleraising. In 1901, he organized an irriga- 
tion company, for the purpose of constructing a 
large canal fifty miles in length, which would ir- 
rigate not less than one hundred thousand acres 
of land. For this great enterprise he purchased 
26,000 acres, and is sure to carry it through to 
success. It will be of the greatest benefit to 
that section of the state. The canal starts at the 



junction of Brush Creek with the Platte River, 
and will water some of the most productive land 
ill Wyoming. In 1902, he purchased the Haines 
ranch, adjoining the townsite of Saratoga, con- 
sisting of about 7,000 acres of land, on which to 
enter more extensively into the cattle business. 
He is also largely interested in mining, having 
between thirty and thirty-five promising claims, 
in the Battle Lake and Encampment districts, 
which give promise of becoming very valuable 
properties. Mr. Kuykendall is a man of abil- 
ity and indomitable energy, progressive and en- 
terprising, invariably successful in his business 
undertakings. He is one of the rising business 
men' of Wyoming, and is doing much to develop 
the resources of his section of the state, and it is 
such men whose energy is building up the west- 
ern country in grandeur and in strength. 

LEOPOLD KRAUSS. 

Leopold Krauss, a well-known and highly 
trusted engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, 
running between Evanstdn, Wyoming, and Og- 
den, Utah, in the latter of which places is his 
residence, is a native of Avon, Ohio, where he 
was born in 1858, the son of Peter and Anna 
Marie (Myers) Krauss. The father was born at 
Navel, France, in 1820. He came to the United 
State at fourteen, settling in Ohio. He engaged 
in farming, about six miles west of Dover, Ohio, 
where he continued until 1861, when he enlisted 
in the Twenty-eighth Ohio Cavalry and died of 
pneumonia while his regiment was in camp at 
Cleveland. He is buried at Avon, Ohio. His 
father', another Peter, paternal grandfather of 
Leopold, followed the young Peter to America,, 
and engaged in farming near Cleveland. He died 
in 1873, an< l i s a ^ so buried at Avon. His wife 
was Kate Backer. She died in 1864, aged sixty- 
two years. His father, the great-grandfather of 
Leopold, was mayor of Navel, France, and his 
wife was Madeline Cuffler. Their remains rest in 
the province of Lorraine. Annie Marie Myers, 
mother of Leopold Krauss, was born in Bavaria, 
Germany, on November 9, 1824. She came to 



862 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Rockport, Ohio, with her parents, Nicholas and 
Maria (Baker) Myers, in 1842. Miss Myers be- 
came Mrs. Krauss in Cleveland, Ohio. She died 
on October 16, 1891, and lies buried at Sheffield, 
Ohio. She was a devout Catholic, who devoted 
her life to her home and family. Her father, 
Nicholas Myers, passed the most of his life in 
France, where, at one time, he was a trusted lieu- 
tenant under Napoleon. His trade was that of a 
cabinetmaker, and his later years were spent in 
labor at it in Ohio. He passed away from life at 
Rockport in that state, where his wife died in 
1865, being buried at Avon. Leopold Krauss re- 
ceived his education in the public schools of Ohio. 
At the early age of fourteen he entered the serv- 
ice of the Union Pacific Railroad as a locomo- 
tive fireman, and he has remained in the service 
of the company ever since. For seven years he 
was a fireman, and then, on attaining his major- 
ity, he was promoted to be an engineer. He 
has never been in a wreck, and is regarded as a 
model of trustworthiness in his responsible and 
nerve-testing occupation. Mr. Krauss is a Re- 
publican in politics, a member of the Order of 
United Workmen, and of the Brotherhood of Lo- 
comotive Engineers. He is a frank, open-spoken 
man of our best type. In 1879 Mr. Krauss mar- 
ried Mary Gifford, a native of Lansing, Minn., 
born on December 23, 1862, a daughter of David 
and Jennie (Hughes) Gifford. Four children 
have blessed this union, George L., Jessie P.. 
Florence and Lillie. The last-named one died in 
1888, and was buried in Evanston, Wyo. 

HERMAN LIPPOLDT. 

As the name suggests, the subject of this 
sketch is of German lineage, although born and 
reared in the United States. His father, August 
Lippoldt, was a native of Germany, a farmer by 
ocpupation, who left the Fatherland in 1847 anc '- 
shortly after reaching America, made his way to 
Jersey county, Illinois, where he purchased a 
farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits, fol- 
lowing that useful vocation until his death, which 
occurred in 1863. The mother came to the United 



States two years after the arrival of her husband, 
and is still living in Illinois. Herman Lippoldt 
was born on September 22, 1861, in Jersey coun- 
ty, 111., and grew to manhood on the home farm. 
Losing his father when less than two years old, 
he was reared by his mother, who spared no 
pains in instilling into his young mind correct 
principles, and inspiring in him a proper appre- 
ciation of the true dignity of honest toil. When 
old enough to be of practical service, he was put 
to work in the labors of the farm, and, from 
that time until his nineteenth year, labored dili- 
gently for his mother and otherwise looked af- 
ter her interests. Meanwhile during the seasons, 
he attended the public schools and acquired an 
education, which, though by no means as complete 
as he could desire, has been sufficient to enable 
him to transact intelligently the duties of a very 
active business life. In his twentieth year, Mr. 
Lippoldt severed the ties that bound him to his 
home and became a tiller of the soil upon his own 
responsibility, leasing for the purpose land in 
his native county. Subsequently he went to 
northern Illinois, where he remained until 1883, 
then yielded to a desire of long standing by go- 
ing further west. Impressed with the idea that 
the Great West abounded in more favorable op- 
portunities for a young man than did. his own 
state, he went to Colorado, where he engaged in 
freighting with an outfit of his own. After re- 
maining there until the following year, meeting 
with fair returns for his labor, Mr. Lippoldt came 
to Wyoming and for about six months worked 
for a railroad company, with headquarters at 
Cheyenne. At the expiration of that time, he 
went back to Colorado, where he was variously 
employed until 1886, when he returned to Wyo- 
ming to again engage in railroad work. The 
road which, at that time, was in process of con- 
struction, runs through the section of country 
where Mr. Lippoldt now lives, and it was while 
thus employed by the company that he became 
• favorably impressed with the natural advantages 
of the region, and determined that, at some fu- 
ture time, he would, if possible, secure a location 
therein. After some months passed in the employ 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



863 



of the road, he engaged with the Pratt & Ferris 
Cattle Co., with which he remained until 1897, 
then severing his connection and moving to a 
ranch on the Platte River, about nine miles east 
of Fort Laramie. Mr. Lippoldt took up this 
ranch in 1893, but was not in a situation to take 
possession and properly stock it until four years 
after riling on the land. Through his careful 
husbanding of his earnings,, he found to his cred- 
it quite a respectable capital, which was judicious- 
ly invested in cattle and horses, thus enabling him 
to get a very respectable start in the stock busi- 
ness. He made a number of valuable improve- 
ments on the ranch, increased his stock from 
time to time, and succeeded well until the fall 
of 1 90 1, when he disposed of his cattle and horses 
and with his family went on an extended visit to 
his old home in Illinois. Later, Mr. Lippoldt sold 
his original ranch, but he now owns a fine place 
of 400 acres on Rawhide Creek, which he has 
greatly improved and stocked with a number of 
high-grade horses. It is his intention eventually 
to resume cattleraising, plans having already been 
perfected to that end. On March 13, 1899, Mr. 
Lippoldt was married, in Alton, 111. to Miss Clara 
Ebbler, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of 
Herman and Frances Ebbler, both parents having 
their birth in Germany. Mr. Ebbler was a pros- 
perous farmer of Jersey county, and died there 
in 1892 ; his widow is still living on the old farm, 
where she has made her home since leaving the 
Fatherland. Mr. and Mrs. Lippoldt are the par- 
ents of two bright children, a son and a daugh- 
ter, Amelia and Otto, in whom are centered many 
fond hopes and expectations. The life of Mr. 
Lippoldt has been one of great activity, not un- 
mixed with pleasurable and interesting experi- 
ences. His career illustrates what a young man 
can accomplish in the face of many adverse cir- 
cumstances, if he is industrious and actuated by 
proper motives. He has always been energetic, 
and, though at times the future may have looked 
discouraging, he never lost heart, but took ad- 
vantage of every opportunity calculated in any 
way to advance his interests. With good business 
abilities and a discriminating judgment, he has 



prospered in his various undertakings and bids 
fair to achieve still greater success in years to 
come. Personally, he is an affable gentleman, 
quiet in demeanor and belongs to that large and 
eminently respectable class whose actions speak 
louder than words. In religion he is an earnest 
and devout member of the Lutheran church, as 
is also his wife. 

ALBERT W. LONG. 

With his childhood and youth darkened by 
the terrible shadow of our Civil War, which 
robbed him of one parent, and enfeebled the other 
to such an extent that she did not long survive 
its conclusion, being thus orphaned and thrown 
on his own resources for advancement in the 
world, Albert W. Long, now living not far from 
Kearney, in Sheridan county, Wyoming, and 
there conducting a successful and increasing stock 
and farming business, literally came up through 
tribulation to his present estate of comfort and 
consequence, being ■ fully indebted to his own 
courage, perseverance and enterprise for his suc- 
cess and prosperity. He was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, on February 22, 1858, the son of Joseph 
and Caroline (Snare) Long, also natives of that 
state. Soon after the Civil War was well in 
progress, the father enlisted in the Union army, 
as a member of the One Hundred and Forty- 
eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, and saw arduous 
service in the field, and on the march, until the 
terrible deluge of death in the Wilderness, where 
he received a wound, from which soon after he 
died in a hospital at Washington, D. C. As has 
been noted, the mother did not long survive him, 
dying at her Pennsylvania home, leaving four 
children practically to the care of strangers. Al- 
bert remained in his native state until he was 
nineteen, then came westward to Iowa, and en- 
gaged in farming. For eleven years he followed 
the plow in that state, in 1888 came to Wyoming, 
locating in Sheridan county, where he again en- 
gaged in farming and stockraising, being pros- 
pered in his business, and he now owns 440 acres 
of fine land, a large herd of cattle and horses, 



864 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



with other property of value. He has exhibited 
a warm and serviceable interest in the welfare of 
the county, having shown himself to be a wise, 
progressive and useful citizen, as well as a thrifty 
and energetic business man and an excellent 
farmer. On March 23, 1890, Mr. Long was 
united in marriage with Miss Ella Smith, who 
was born and reared in Missouri, the daughter of 
George W. and Jennie (Fowler) Smith, with 
whom she came to Wyoming some years before 
her marriage, her father being a native of Vir- 
ginia and her mother of Illinois. They were 
early emigrants to /Missouri, where they lived and 
prospered for years. But the frontier always 
had a charm' for them, and, in time, it proved 
sufficient to bring them to . Wyoming, and here 
they have built a new home, in which their hopes 
have expanded and flourished in a symmetrical 
ratio with their endeavors. 

JOSEPH H. LEWIS. 

Joseph H. Lewis, of Sheridan county, Wyo- 
ming, whose ranch, located five miles south of 
Sheridan, is a model of thrift and careful cultiva- 
tion, whose stock business conducted thereon is 
one of the leading industries of that portion of 
the county, was born in Indiana, on August 25, 
1845. His parents, William and Mary J. (Van 
Meter) Lewis, belonged to old Southern fami- 
lies that had been long resident in that section 
and were prominently identified with its history. 
The paternal grandfather, a Welchman, settled 
in Virginia in his early manhood and became a 
large planter and slaveholder. The father was a 
native of Virginia and the mother of Kentucky. 
He died in 1877 in Iowa, where his widow is 
now living, aged ninety-one. In 1853 tne family 
moved from Indiana to Iowa, in that state their 
son Joseph was reared on their farm and edu- 
cated at the public school in the vicinity. When 
he was twenty-five he started in life for himself, 
leaving the parental home to conduct a farm on 
his own account. This he continued to do. with 
varying success, until 1895, when he came to 
Wyoming and purchased the farm on which he 



now lives and carries on his prosperous and ex- 
tensive stock industry. His farm comprises 320 
acres of well-improved land, nicely located and 
well-adapted to stockraising. He has a fine herd 
of graded cattle and a band of superior horses. 
These, with his general farming interests, engage 
his attention to the exclusion of other business 
and politics, although he is always earnest in his 
zeal for any enterprise that promises well for the 
advancement or improvement of the county or 
his immediate section of it. In 1874 Mr. Lewis 
was married, in Iowa, with Miss Sopnia AVallace, 
a native of Indiana, and a daughter of David and 
Sophia AVallace, who were among the pioneers of 
their part of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis 
have seven children : Jessie, married with Robert 
R. Sellmay, of Sheridan ; Charles B. ; Daisy, mar- 
ried with W. H. Spear, of Bighorn ; Harry W. ; 
Ralph J. ; Georgia G. ; Raymond P. Both in 
Iowa and in AVyoming the contributions of Mr. 
Lewis to the progress and development of the 
country have been both valuable and extensive, 
for he has given aid to every good enterprise by 
encouragement, by counsel, by example and by 
more substantial means. His influence has ever 
been felt for good in commercial, educational and 
social circles, not only in what he himself has 
done, but also in what he has impelled others 
to do by his example and activity. He is highly 
esteemed by his fellows as a man of sterling 
worth and broad-minded enterprise. 

FRANK LUNDIE. 

Starting out to make his own way in the 
world at the age of fourteen, since then pursuing 
dame fortune's winning smile with assiduous at- 
tention and becoming diligence, Frank Lundie, 
now a prosperous stockman and farmer, residing 
near Fenton, in Bighorn county, AA r yoming, has, 
nevertheless, been much of a wanderer. He has 
seen human life under many conditions in vari- 
ous latitudes and amid a great variety of pur- 
suits. He is a Canadian by nativity, born in the 
Dominion in 1862. His parents were AA r illiam 
and Edith Lundie. the former a native of Scot- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



land and the latter of Maine. Their son, Frank, 
remained at home until he was fourteen years old, 
receiving a limited education in the schools of 
his neighborhood, and, when he left home to do 
for himself, he made his way to Fort Bridger, 
Wyo., where he found employment in railroad 
construction work, which employed him until 

1878, when he went to Green River, and there 
engaged for a year in farming. From there, in 

1879, he went to Fort Washakie, dividing the 
next four years of his time between that place 
and Lander. In 1883 he made a trip to Arizona, 
going from there through California and Nevada, 
returning to Lander in 1886, and, starting out 
soon after on his further travel, he spent two 
years in Idaho, in 1888 he came again to Wyo- 
ming, and, being then determined to make the 
state his permanent home, he located near Fen- 
ton, and started an enterprise in raising stock, 
which he conducted for ten years on the ranch 
he took up. He sold this ranch in 1898, but kept 

mis cattle, purchasing for their use a smaller 
ranch, which he still owns, his herd consisting 
of 150 well-bred Herefords, which are kept in 
prime condition. In his travels about the country, 
going through many wild and unsettled sections, 
it was a matter of course that Mr. Lundie should 
meet with many surprising adventures and see 
hardship and danger. He has apparently looked 
death by violence in the face on more than one 
occasion, and, sometimes, for days together, every 
hour has been full of peril. But the adventurous 
spirit that started him on his wanderings sustained 
him through all their hazards and hardships, and 
made him equal to every emergency that confront- 
ed him. Hostile Indians and wild beasts have 
opposed his progress, and hung upon his trail, 
road agents and other renegades from law and 
order have held him up, flood, famine and the 
seasons' extremities have tried his courage and 
his endurance. He was at Meeker at the time 
of the terrible massacre, and there, as in manv 
another place, saw death in many horrible forms. 
But over all his dauntless spirit triumphed, from 
all his ready resourcefulness saved him, and he 
came forth from every trial practically unharmed. 



He is an enterprising and progressive citizen, 
whose interest in the welfare of his community is 
manifested in good works and in an active sup- 
port of every project, of public improvement or 
private support, which commands his approval, 
being much esteemed as one of the leading and 
representative men of his part of the country. 

CLEMENT LACFIAPELLE. 

Thoughtful historians, who have paid careful 
attention to the sources of strength that have 
been elements in the building up of this won- 
derful American republic, have taken note of 
the fact that prominent among them are the 
wealth, industry and valuable qualities brought 
to its shores and utilized by the best people of 
foreign lands. In the development of the Great 
Northwest, has the French nation contributed 
more than an ordinary share. In writing of the. 
progressive men of Wyoming, it will be seen that 
many men of French extraction are among them 
and whose reviews appear on the pages of this 
work. Among this- number Clement Lachapelle 
has a very highly improved and productive 
ranch of 1,280 acres situated at Willow Creek, 
three and one-half miles south of the town of 
Hilliard, in Uinta county, Wyoming. Genera- 
tions ago his French ancestors left their native 
land and made their home in the province of 
Quebec, Canada, then a portion of the great 
French empire, and, here, amid all of the various 
political changes and proprietorship, the familv 
has since been domiciled. His grandfather, 
Raphael Lachapelle, was an industrious farmer, 
and his son, Joseph, also followed the tilling of 
the soil for a livelihood. Joseph Lachapelle mar- 
ried Mary Richarde, and Clement was one of 
their family of children. He was born near Mon- 
treal, Canada, on April 6, 1822, and, on the farm 
of his father, was early inured to hard work 
and steady application. In connection therewith 
he received a common-school education in the 
government schools, and early developed into a 
quick, resolute, strong and ambitious youth. Pos- 
sessing these qualifications, it will be seen that 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the cramped and cribbed conditions of the land 
of his birth did not appear to him as a profitable 
or satisfactory field wherein to pass his life, while 
the great mountain and valley section of the 
Northwest was beckoning to him with its at- 
tractive and alluring features to come and take 
possession of mines yet undeveloped, of fields 
never yet cultivated, of forests in which no ax 
had ever sounded, so, in i860, crossing the in- 
ternational boundary line, he traversed the thou- 
sands of miles of distance leading across the 
United States to California. Here he engaged in 
mining with a miner's luck, and from that state 
proceeded to Fraser River, in British Columbia, 
where he also sought for the yellow metal. He 
at a later period followed mining in the Treas- 
ure state, Montana, but in 1869 ' ie located in 
Wyoming for a year and was engaged in team- 
ing, with his headquarters at Piedmont, later he 
.established himself in business at Ogden, Utah, 
continuing there for a time, but returning to 
Piedmont, Wyoming, in 1872. Mr. Lachapelle, 
after working in the woods for a time, became 
a burner of charcoal at Aspen, returning to Og- 
den, however, to pass the winter of 1872 and 
1873. In the spring of 1873, he again came to 
Piedmont, where he passed the season in manu- 
facturing charcoal. The next year he erected a 
hotel in Hilliard, which became quite a place of 
resort, and which he conducted successfully for 
about five years, then took up a portion of the 
land, where is now located his home on Willow 
Creek, and here he has, by his diligent labor and 
wise calculation, placed most of his acreage under 
cultivation. His land is especially adapted to 
the raising of hay, of which he produces large 
annual yields, and by its sale receives a satisfac- 
tory income. Mr. Lachapelle was married, on 
April 2, 1872, in Ogden, Utah, with Miss Mary 
Molly, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Molly. 
Her parents were natives of England, early emi- 
grating to the United States. Mrs. Lachapelle's 
birth occurred also in England, and to Mr. La- 
chapelle and his estimable wife have come eight 
children, Mary Louisa; Clement, who is now in 
Alaska; Mabel, who married Thomas Blight. Jr.. 



of Evanston, Wyo., where they now maintain 
their home ; Beatrice ; Florence ; Valan ; Roger ; 
Frank. Mr. Lachapelle believes that the ultimate 
good and permanent prosperity of a country can 
best be brought out through the medium of the 
Republican party, and his support is strongly 
given to its campaigns. In religious faith, he 
was conscientiously reared in the Roman Catholic 
church. He is a good representative of the old- 
timer of the Rocky Mountain section, showing 
the characteristics transmitted to him from his 
French and Canadian ancestors. From a poor 
boy, through his good habits and good manage- 
ment, he has acquired a position of financial in- 
dependence and is yearly adding to the value of 
his property. He sagaciously calculates his busi- 
ness changes, and arranges his affairs to take 
advantage of business conditions, and richly reap 
the benefits of good judgment. The family is 
highly esteemed and Mr. Lachapelle and his wife 
have a large host of friends, for they have won 
the friendship of the community. 

HON. DANIEL C. NOWLIN. 

A "pioneer of pioneers" in two states and one 
territory of this Union, the sheriff of an im- 
mense county in the most troublous times, a 
county surveyor when the lines of new counties 
were to be established, and a legislator when the 
formative period of a new commonwealth had 
not yet passed, Hon. Daniel C. Nowlin, one of 
the leading stockmen of Wyoming, in the Big- 
piney district, and the game warden of the state, 
has had all the hazard of frontier life and con- 
tributed his full share to the organizing and de- 
velopment of many portions of our country in 
the West. He was born in Texas on September 1, 
1857, the son of Dr. James S. and Elizabeth A. 
(Gathing) Nowlin, natives of Kentucky and Mis- 
sissippi respectively. His father was a physician 
and surgeon in the famous Texas Rangers be- 
tween 1870 and 1877, and died in that state in 
1899 at tnc a S' e °^ eighty-one years. His ances- 
tors were Virginians of old Colonial stock who 
came from Ireland in the early days. Daniel C. 
Nowlin was educated in the primary and high 




DANIEL C. NOWLIN. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



867 



.schools of his native state and after leaving school 
followed land surveying, holding for a short time 
there the office of county surveyor, then removed 
to New Mexico, where he served as deputy min- 
eral surveyor for seven years. After his experi- 
ence in New Mexico he returned to San Antonio, 
Tex., for a short time and from there came to 
Wyoming in 1891, having his desire to live -in 
this state quickened by a previous residence here 
for a few months in 1880, when he came hither 
with a band of cattle, during his stay aiding in 
organizing Johnson county. He then went back 
to New Mexico and worked in' that territory and 
Texas on a surveying corps of the Southern Pa- 
ck Railroad. He also served as county super- 
intendent of schools in Lincoln county, N. M., 
and was its last sheriff before it was divided, it 
being then the largest county in the United States 
and held under a reign of terror by the lawless 
element led by the renowned "Billy, the Kid." 
In 1891 Mr. Nowlin sold out his interests in 
Texas and, as has been noted, came to Wyoming, 
settling in Uinta county, where he has since re- 
sided and conducted a ranching and cattlegrow- 
ing industry of constantly expanding magnitude. 
His close and systematic attention to business 
and his general usefulness in every public enter- 
prise in the community commended him to fa- 
vorable notice and in 1901 he was appointed state 
game warden, a position he is now filling with 
eminent success and general satisfaction to the 
people. He was well-known throughout the 
state as deeply interested in the preservation and 
protection of game in the state, having, when a 
member of the Fifth Legislature, fathered and 
championed the present game law. For a num- 
ber of years, while residing in the Jackson Hole 
country in the northern part of the county, he 
served as a justice of the peace and in that ca- 
pacity was of material assistance in establishing 
the supremacy of law and order in the neighbor- 
hood, giving stability and form to its civil forces. 
This was in keeping with his former experience, 
when, as a member of the frontier battalion of 
the Texas Rangers, he aided in ridding Texas 
and New Mexico of a number of very bad char- 
acters. In fraternal relations Mr. Nowlin is a 



Freemason, holding membership in Rising Star 
Lodge, No. 421, of Texas, and also a Knight of 
Pythias, belonging to Lincoln Lodge, New Mex- 
ico, of which he has been chancellor commander. 
On November 19, 1887, Mr. Nowlin was married 
with Miss Laura Leonard, a native of Missouri 
and daughter of Levi and Jane (McDaniel) 
Leonard, whose father was born and reared in 
Pennsylvania and her mother in Missouri. They 
have five children, Bryan, Percy, Bruce, Bernice 
and Pera. 

ISAAC LOVEDAY. 

One of the most skillful and prosperous farm- 
ers in Uinta county, Wyoming, is Isaac Loveday, 
who resides five miles west of Evanston. He 
was born in Wiltshire, England, September 14, 
1821, and is a son of Solomon and Mary (Godin) 
Loveday, the former of whom was a son of Jona- 
than and Sarah Loveday and was a farmer by 
vocation. Isaac Loveday, naturally enough, was 
reared to agricultural pursuits, and his youthful 
days were so closely occupied by his duties on 
the home farm that little opportunity was af- 
forded him to acquire an education ; nevertheless, 
he attended the common school for a season or 
two and learned what little was absolutely neces- 
sary for him to know in carrying on the calling 
which was to be his life work. For some years 
he worked as a farm hand for his neighbors in 
England, and also passed a few years in Wales, 
engaged in the same capacity. In 1880, Mr. 
Loveday came to the United States, with the hope 
of improving his circumstances in life, and in 
this hope he has not been disappointed, as from 
the start he has met with encouraging success. 
For the first year after his arrival in America, he 
worked on a farm near Honesdale, Pa., and then 
went to Illinois, where he was employed in the 
same occupation about a year and a half, when he 
came to Wyoming and entered the ranch on 
which he still lives, west of Evanston. The mar- 
riage of Mr. Loveday took place in Wales on 
August 5, 1849, with Miss Mary Danks, a daugh- 
ter of Peter and Anna (Powell) Danks, natives 
of Wales, and to this union there were born seven 



868 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



children, namely, 'Hiram, who is married and who 
is farming in Idaho; Marintha Althera, married 
to Edward Blacker, a farmer in Star Valley ; 
Kemuel, living in Diamondville ; Fannie E., 
wife of Thomas Lewis, of Canonsburg, Pa. ; 
Thomas, who was born in Wales, February 25, 
1859, also died in that country when nineteen 
years of age ; Isaac, who is a farmer, is married, 
and is living in Cache Valley, Utah ; Sarah A., 
who was born in Wales, October 25, 1865, and 
there died July 1, 1866. Mrs. Mary (Danks) 
Loveday was born in Wales in 1832, and passed 
away in Uinta county, Wyo., April 14, 1902, a 
member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, 
her remains being interred in the cemetery at 
Almy, Uinta county, Wyo. Of the Church of the 
Latter Day Saints Mr. Loveday and his surviv- 
ing children are also faithful adherents, wherever 
they may live. Too much credit cannot be given 
to Mr. Loveday for the energy and perseverance 
he has exercised since becoming a resident of 
Wyoming, and his fortune is of his own making. 
He is a good citizen and is greatly esteemed by 
his neighbors, and from such men as he, it may 
he said, the greatness of a state is derived. 

JOHN J. LINDSEY. 

One who makes a specialty of the raising of 
fine stock, who is meeting with great success in 
that line of business, is John J. Lindsey, one of 
the leading citizens of the county of Albany, Wyo- 
ming. He is a native of the state of Georgia, 
having been born there in 185 1, in the county of 
Cobb, the son of D. W. and Elizabeth (Morgan) 
Lindsey, both natives of that state. The father 
removed his residence from his native state of 
Georgia to the state of Mississippi, previous to 
the time of the Civil War. ■ Upon the breaking 
out of that great struggle, being a sympathizer 
with the Northern cause, he again removed his 
residence, and located in Illinois. Here he con- 
tinued, following the occupation of farming until 
1865, when he, with his family, removed to the 
southeastern portion of Missouri, where he es- 
tablished his home in Madrid county. Here he 



remained for three years, and then moved to the 
southwestern part of the same state, and settled 
in the county of St: Clair. This was his place 
of residence for twenty-eight years, when he 
again moved his place of abode, this time estab- 
lishing himself in the territory of Oklahoma, 
where he resided up to the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1896. The mother passed 
away when her son, John, was a small child, and 
was buried in Mississippi. Mr. Lindsey spent 
the years of his childhood and early manhood in 
the various states of Mississippi, Illinois and Mis- 
souri, and received his early education in the 
public schools of those states. Compelled to 
leave school at the age of seventeen years, he 
secured employmenton a farm in the state of Mis- 
souri, and continued in that pursuit up to 1871, 
when he left his former home in Missouri and 
removed to Kansas. Here he engaged in the 
dairy business for about three years, then dis- 
posed of his business and removed his residence 
to the then territory of Wyoming, where, in the 
vicinity of Tie Siding, he secured the manage- 
ment of a sawmill and engaged in manufacturing 
railroad ties, timbers and lumber. This business 
he conducted with success for about three years, 
when he purchased the ranch property which he 
now occupies, and engaged in ranching and cat- 
tleraising, in which he has continued from that 
time. He makes a specialty of the Aberdeen- 
Angus breed of cattle, of which he is the owner 
of a fine herd, and he is also largely interested 
in range horses. He has been successful in his 
business operations, and is gradually extending 
his operations from year to year. In 1883, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Marion Simp- 
son, a native of the state of New Hampshire, and 
being the daughter of William and Marion Laura 
Simpson, also natives of that state. The father 
of Mrs. Lindsey followed the occupation of tele- 
graphing up to the time of his demise, which 
occurred in 1876, and the mother is living in the 
city of Laramie. To Mr. and Mrs. Lindsey have 
been born two children. Ruth and Alonzo, both 
of whom are living. Fraternally, Mr. Lindsey is 
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



869 



Fellows, as a member of Laramie Lodge. His 
many admirable traits of character have won for 
him the highest respect of all with whom he has 
been associated during his residence in Wyoming. 

JOHN LOST LEWIS. 

The Lewis family is of very ancient Welch 
and English descent, on the maternal side, extend- 
ing- back even to the time of Queen Adelaide, of 
England. John Lost Lewis, now residing on 
Bear River, Uinta county, Wyoming, was born 
in Carmenthenshire, Wales, in October, 1846, a 
son of William and Adelaide M. (Bushell) Lew- 
is, the former of whom was a farmer by voca- 
tion, and a son of Lewis Lewis and his good wife. 
The latter was a daughter of James Parton, her 
mother being a descendant of the noble Queen 
Adelaide, of England, who was born in 1792, 
died in 1849, an d was the consort of William IV. 
James Parton, however, was born in Ireland, 
but died in Wales, at the age of sixty-seven years, 
and his widow, who was of English parentage, 
also died in Wales, when seventy-four years old. 
John L. Lewis received a sound education in his 
native land, where he was reared to' farming and 
followed the vocation until 1897, when, allured 
by the prospect of an earlier attainment of a for- 
tune in the New World than the conditions in 
the Old World gave promise of, he came to the 
United States, and at once took up his present 
farm on Bear River, and engaged in stockraising, 
in which he has met with the success that ever 
attends those who' exercise the proper amount of 
intelligence and diligence that ought, as a matter 
of course, to be devoted to the calling. John L. 
Lewis had married, in Wales, on October 23, 
1879, with Miss Catheryn M. Lewis, a daughter 
of William M. and Anna (Lewis) Lewis. Wil- 
liam 'Mortimer Lewis was a son of William M. 
and Louisa (Edwards) Lewis, the.latter a daugh- 
ter of Col. John Edwards, who was a son of John 
Edwards and a brother of Lord Kensington, who 
married a daughter of the Earl of Warwick, the 
"king-maker." Her mother is a daughter of 
Dr. Evan Prethroe and Elizabeth (Lewis) Lewis, 



and is also of royal descent, one of her ancestors 
having been Caractacus, the first Prince of Wales. 
The father of Mrs. Catheryn M. Lewis died in 
Wales at the age of sixty-five years, but the 
mother is still living in Cardiff, Wales, at the 
age of seventy-four. The children born to Mr. 
and Mrs. John L. Lewis are seven in number, 
and are named William L., Frederick B., Morti- 
mer L., Adelaide A., Florence M., Catheryn M., 
and Rose Veletta. John L. Lewis and family are 
held in very high esteem throughout the Bear 
River region, being leaders in its social circles. 
Mr. Lewis is broad-minded and public spirited 
and has done much to advance the material pros- 
perity of his community. He has, as has been 
noted, made a success of the calling in which he 
is engaged, and has no complaint to make of his 
choice of location. He is enterprising, attentive 
to his business, setting a good example to his 
neighbors and the rising generation well deserv- 
ing its emulation. 

LEWIS . McCREARY. 

Lewis McCreary, of near Tensleep, in Big- 
horn county, Wyoming, one of the stockgrowers 
and farmers whose enterprise and progressive- 
ness have largely impressed themselves on the 
business in which he is engaged, and also upon 
the community in which he lives, is a native of 
Michigan, where he was born in i860, the son 
of Culner and Sarah McCreary. His parents 
were natives of New York, who early in their 
life removed to Michigan, where their son, Lewis, 
reached his majority, was educated at the public 
schools, and began life for himself in farming 
and the lumber business, in which he was en- 
gaged until 1891. He then came to Wyoming 
and took up the homestead on the Tensleep River, 
on which he has since been conducting an ac- 
tive industry in stockraising and farming. His 
farm comprises 160 acres of good land, which 
was virgin soil when he took hold of it, and, with 
characteristic industry and systematic applica- 
tion of the most approved methods of develop- 
ment and cultivation, he has brought the land to 



8;o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



an excellent condition of fertility and improve- 
ment. He handles cattle and horses in large 
numbers, being very successful in his business. 
The reasons for his success are neither far off nor 
difficult to find, for his land was selected with 
judgment and his energies have been put to work 
on it with intelligence and discrimination, while 
he has used the same qualities in selecting his 
cattle and horses and in caring for and keeping 
them. The results are legitimate fruits of skill 
and wisdom in vigorous and judicious action. In 
reference to his duties as a citizen, and with re- 
gard to the general welfare of his community, 
Mr. McCreary has been as careful, as conscien- 
tious and as energetic, as with reference to his 
own affairs, and he is, accordingly, highly es- 
teemed as one of the representative men of his 
portion of the county. He was married in Mich- 
igan, on February 12, 1883, to Miss Margaret 
Conner, a native of Canada, but an early resident 
of this country. They have six children, Zinah, 
Milo, Vernie, Kate, Alta and Myrtle, and their 
home is one of the attractive and pleasant resorts 
of the neighborhood for their many friends, be- 
ing a fine type of the rural dwelling and domestic 
comfort which distinguish this country as so es- 
sentially a land of homes, and our people also a 
turning ever to their household gods with affec- 
tionate and tenacious regard. 

JOHN A. McGRAW. 

When, after a life filled with useful activity 
in labors that have permanently benefited the 
communities where they make their home, and, 
after years of devoted sacrifice and valor in pa- 
triotic support of their country's flag and honor, 
the ripened years of life of such individuals show 
them to be in the possession of wealth and a 
competency; in landed estate or personal property, 
we must express our thankfulness that they have 
received so just a reward for their invaluable 
services. These reflections come to mind while 
considering the career of John A. McGraw, of 
Evanston, Wyoming, who is a fitting representa- 
tive of both tin- above-named classes, being 1 uni- 



versally esteemed by an unusually large circle as 
a man of substantial possessions in a materia) 
way, and also as a citizen of the highest type, 
standing for all that indicates the uplift and 
progress of the best elements of society. The 
history of such a person furnishes both stimulus 
and incentive, and we make here a brief record 
for the benefit of aspiring youth in coming gener- 
ations. Mr. McGraw was born in Pennsylvania, 
in 1845, a son of James and Elizabeth (Bowser) 
McGraw. His paternal grandfather, John Mc- 
Graw, was the American emigrant from Scotland 
of the family, and for the remainder of his life 
he exemplified the manly, if rugged, virtues of 
his native land in Pennsylvania. James McGraw, 
his son, became a successful millwright, follow- 
ing that vocation for long years in his native 
state of Pennsylvania, acquiring not only a world- 
ly competency, but the esteem of his contem- 
poraries. His death, at the hale old age of eighty- 
two, occurred. in 1897. His wife bore him three 
children, of whom our subject was the eldest, and. 
in a short time thereafter, she closed her eyes to 
earthly scenes. She was born in the same state, 
a daughter of Samuel Bowser. Possessing a nat- 
ural disposition to handle tools, Mr. McGraw, 
of this review, early was attracted to the machin- 
ist's trade, which he thoroughly acquired in one 
of the great plants of Pittsburg, Pa. That he 
was an acknowledged master of his trade is evi- 
denced by the fact that he was in constant em- 
ployment in that great industrial center until he 
came to Evanston, Wyo., in 1878. There was 
ample place and opportunity for such a work- 
man as he in the Evanston shops, and, from that 
time to the present, his labors have been given in 
the same industrial field, bringing to him satis- 
factory returns, while his personality has been 
such as to cause the best elements of the citizen- 
ship of the city to accord him a place in their 
companionship and personal esteem. He has in- 
vested some of his earnings in the development of 
his valuable ranch of 1,600 acres, which is located 
on Green River, twenty miles from Evanston. In 
1870 Mr. McGraw became the husband of a win- 
some Canadian lassie, of Scottish extraction. Miss 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



871 



Mary McKenzie, the daughter of Archie and 
Mary McKenzie. Their children are Frank, Wil- 
liam, John, Archie, Emma, Mabel, Mary and 
James, deceased. During the great Civil War, 
Mr. McGraw loyally maintained the integrity of 
the Union on Southern battlefields for two years 
as a member of Co. C, Fourteenth Pennsylvania 
Cavalry, receiving an honorable discharge at his 
muster-out. He is a Republican in politics and 
a citizen who is held in high esteem for his many 
excellent traits of character. 

THOMAS L. McGEE. 

This experienced range-rider of Laramie 
county, Wyoming, was born near New Orleans, 
La., on December 24, 1859, a son of Thomas L. 
and Madora (Lyons) McGee, natives of Ten- 
nessee. Before his marriage Thomas L. McGee, 
Sr., was employed in a bank in Memphis, Tenn., 
but, after his marriage, he removed to Louisiana 
and settled on a plantation at Algiers, on 
the Mississippi River, opposite the city of New 
Orleans, where he resided until after the termina- 
tion of the Civil War, when he sold his planting 
interests and bought a sailing vessel and engaged 
in the carrying trade of the South American 
ports for about two years. In 1868 he sold his 
vessel and purchased a plantation on the Ama- 
zon River, in Brazil, S. A., and engaged in rais- 
ing cattle, cotton and sugar-cane. In 1874 he 
sold this place and went to New York, thence 
to Washington, D. C, where he was appointed to 
a clerkship in the U. S. postoffice department, 
and, two years later, he was transferred to the 
railway postal service in Louisiana, in which po- 
sition he was employed at the time of his death, 
which occurred in May, 1883, his remains be- 
ing conveyed to Bijou, La., for interment. His 
widow survived until February 1, 1901, when 
she died and was buried in New York city, where 
she had been living with her son, John C, a 
member of the municipal mounted police. 
Thomas L. McGee passed seven months of his 
early boyhood in a physician's office in New York 
city, and was then appointed a page in the Sen- 



ate chamber of the United States, at Washing- 
ton, D. C, which appointment was secured for 
him by Senator Hancock, of Texas. In 1879, 
Mr. McGee went from Washington to Montana, 
where he worked on a cattle ranch near Sidney 
for one season. In the fall of the same year he 
came to Wyoming and rode the range in Lara- 
mie county. In 1883 he went into the employ of 
one of the large companies, and was with it con- 
tinuously until the fall of 1889, when he took up 
a place on the Laramie River, on his own ac- 
count. His ranch is three miles south of Uva, 
and Mr. McGee is there making a success of the 
cattle business, for which he seems to be particu- 
larly well fitted. He keeps up his connection, 
however, with the company for which he rode 
so long, for which he does considerable work. 
Mr. McGee is a good citizen, always ready to 
aid financially all measures' designed to advance 
the prosperity of the section in which he lives. 
He is very highly esteemed by his fellow-ranch- 
men for his genial disposition and many manly 
qualities, and the only surprise expressed by his 
neighbors concerning him is, that he has never 
submitted himself to wedlock. 

WILLIAM F. MANNING. 

Having learned the art of war by an exigent 
personal experience in the contest between the 
states from 1861 to 1865, and in a subsequent 
career of valor and usefulness in service against 
the Indians on the plains with General Miles, 
thus exemplifying in a conspicuous way the les- 
sons and traditions of his family history, which 
is full of military service in all the wars that have 
engaged our people, William F. Manning, now 
of South Park, in the Jackson Hole country of 
Wyoming, is well prepared to' enjoy by contrast 
the beauties and blessings of the peace in which 
he i-s now basking. He is a native of Allen coun- 
ty, Ohio, born on March 7, 1836, the son of 
Charles and Hannah (Patten) Manning, who 
were also natives of Ohio. The father was a 
farmer, who had inherited from a long line of 
gallant ancestors the spirit of patriotism and mili- 



8/2 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



tary ardor which had carried his father through 
the bloody scenes of the war of 1812 in defense 
of his country and had given him food for in- 
spiriting narratives of the times, until his death, 
at the age of 104,. and had consecrated the altars 
of contending freemen on many an ensanguined 
field in the Revolution, whereon his forbears met, 
and helped to vanquish, the scarlet uniform and 
glittering steel of Great Britain. Accordingly, 
when the call to arms in defense of the Union 
was sounded in 1861, he was among the first to 
volunteer for the service, and, in the four years 
of arduous and dangerous struggle which fol- 
lowed, he rose to the rank of captain, being mus- 
tered out with a record of intrepid bravery and 
skillful leadership. By the death of his mother, 
William F. Manning was left an orphan when he 
was two years old, and, at an early age there- 
after, he was thrown on his own resources, get- 
ting his education in the hard, but effective, 
school of experience, gathering therein a hoard 
of that worldly wisdom that can only be acquired 
from that exacting and inexorable taskmaster. 
He was apprenticed to the trade of a machinist, 
and, having mastered the craft, was working at it 
diligently when the Civil War broke out, and he, 
too, like his father, at once enlisted and followed 
the flag of the Union to its final triumph at Ap- 
pomattox, fighting at the front of the contending 
columns in such awful and decisive engagements 
as Shiloh, Gettysburg and the sanguinary bat- 
tles around Richmond, as a member of Co. I, 
Fifty-seventh Ohio Infantry, and, in addition to 
his field service, he was much engaged in de- 
tached service in the artillery. He enlisted in 
June, 1 861, and was honorably discharged just 
four years later to the very day. In 1866 he set- 
tled in Iowa, and, after a time, removed to Kan- 
sas, working at farming and blacksmithing in 
both states and also in Colorado and Texas, alter- 
nating tbese pursuits with hunting buffalo and 
fighting Indians until 1872, when he again en- 
listed, this time in Co. I, Fifth U. S. Infantry. 
He served five years in this command, part of the 
time being at Fort Leavenworth and passing 
some time in the field with General Miles in his 



campaigns against the Indians. He then accept- 
ed an engagement to hunt and mine for the U. S. 
officials, doing this work in Montana until 1879, 
from then until 1881 in Colorado, following that 
in the Yellowstone National Park and in the 
Teton country of Idaho until 1891. In that year 
he settled where he now lives and started an en- 
terprise in ranching and stockraising, which has 
grown to good proportions and risen to a high 
standard. He owns 160 acres of superior land, 
well improved and skillfully cultivated. He is a 
gentleman, moreover, of fine public spirit, admira- 
ble breadth of view and earnest and intelligent 
interest in the welfare of the community. Since 
1894 he has served as game warden and con- 
stable, having been elected to the position for the 
purpose of breaking up the predatory habits of 
the Indians and to prevent them from roaming- 
over the public domain at will and hunting where 
they chose. He deputized parties of men to aid 
in keeping the Indians on their reservations and 
succeeded in his efforts, his action being finally 
sustained by the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Mr. Manning was united in a happy 
and prosperous marriage with Mrs. Mary Chris- 
amer, a native of Missouri, whose maiden name 
was Allred. Her two children, by her former 
marriage are Maud, married to George Willcox,. 
of Uinta county, Wyo., and Ora, living at home. 
Mr. Manning is a thorough frontiersman, skilled 
in all the exigencies and ways of the wilderness, 
having learned them by practice through years 
of danger, privation and arduous toil. 

EPHRAIM MARSHALL. 

Even in this land of Democracy, the Ameri- 
can republic, the universal law holds good that 
"blood will tell," and inherited ancestral traits 
will appear in descendants of the strong and 
gifted, giving to them an added advantage in 
the strenuous struggle for existence. We are 
led to these reflections in considering the popu- 
lar ranchman of Black's Fork, near Lyman, Wy- 
oming, whose name heads this review, for in the 
veins of his children commingle the blood of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



873 



two of America's grandest orators and statesmen, 
the distinguished Patrick Henry and the no less 
famous John C. Calhoun. Mr. Marshall was 
born in Tooele county, Utah, on June 5, 1857, 
being the son of George and Elizabeth (Wams- 
ley) Marshall, the father a native of Scotland 
and a brother of the Marshall who first discov- 
ered gold in California, and the mother of Eng- 
land, but of Scotch descent. The father carried 
on stockraising in Utah, but this was subsidiary 
to his connection with the Church of the Latter 
Day Saints, in which he was very active and held 
in high esteem. He died, however, at the early 
age of forty-five years, when his son, Ephraim, 
was a small' lad, the mother, who could trace 
her lineage through her mother to John C. Cal- 
houn, surviving him and later marrying William 
Corbridge, and living until 1896, attaining the 
venerable age of eighty-one years, and her re- 
mains now rest in the cemetery at Minersville, 
Beaver county, Utah. Ephraim Marshall, one of 
the six children of his mother, was carefully ed- 
ucated in the Utah schools and thereafter en- 
gaged in farming, continuing this vocation and 
stockraising quite successfully in Utah until 
1897, when commenced his connection with Wy- 
oming. In that year he homesteaded a tract 
of 160 acres of government land on Black Fork 
River, about two miles north of the town of 
Lyman, and here he has since made his home, 
developing a model stock ranch, giving especial 
attention to the raising of a fine strain of graded 
Shorthorn cattle, showing marked success in his 
results and maintaining a high standing among 
the stockmen of the country. He is a prominent 
and active worker in the ranks of his political 
party, while, in the domain of his church, his 
abilities have caused his selection for important 
trusts, which have been faithfuly and capably 
held. He was sent to England as a Mormon 
missionary and his service? were there given 
for a period of twenty-eight months with great 
acceptability. He also filled the position of as- 
sistant superintendent of the Sunday-school of 
the church at his Utah home for a long term of 
years, and he has now the distinction of being 



the first counsellor to Bishop Brough of the 
Lyman ward. Mr. Marshall married at St. 
George, Washington county, Utah, Miss Ida 
Dotson, a lady of culture and attainments, a 
daughter of W. L. H. and Henrietta (Landrum) 
Dotson, natives of Alabama, who emigrated from 
Mississippi to Utah in 1864. She was born in 
New Orleans, La., on July 22, 1861. Her father 
was a strong man, conspicuous in the active work 
of the Mormon church, who also exercised great 
weight as a leader in politics, serving two terms 
in the legislative assembly of Utah, for several 
years holding the important office of county com- 
missioner, being also a delegate from Utah to 
the convention of the National Stock Commis- 
sion held in Texas, and also to the Irrigation Con- 
gress, held in Salt Lake City. He was a son of 
Reuben and Nancy (Henry) Dotson, his mother 
being a lineal descendant of Patrick Henry. He 
lived happily on his fine plantation in Mississippi, 
where the labor was performed by his numer- 
ous slaves, until the Civil War ruined him and 
gave them freedom, and he then turned his face 
westward. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall have the 
following children, Metta J., wife of Albert G. 
Heder, of Smith's Fork, Wyo. ; Fayette ; William 
D. ; Mima ; Daniel G. ; Flossie ; Bernice ; John 
H. ; Leslie H. 

JOHN B. MATTHEWS. 

There is probably no department of industrial 
activity in the world that demands for natural 
mechanical talent, a steadier eye, a clearer brain 
and a* greater fertility of resource than mining, 
and, where an individual has attained high stand- 
ing in this perilous occupation, he needs no fur- 
ther guaranty of capability to succeed in any 
of the ordinary vocations of life. Among the 
residents of the state of Wyoming there is, per- 
haps, no one better entitled to be called a skilled 
and experienced miner than Mr. John B. Mat- 
thews, of Frontier, whose life from early days 
had been almost entirely given to this highly es- 
sential employment. He was born in Schuylkill 
county, Pa., on March 22, 1864, the son of Wil- 



8 74 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Ham and Mary (Barrett) Matthews. They were 
English people, and in his native county the fa- 
ther was for many years employed in mining, 
and there he married his wife, whose father, 
William Barrett, was also a lifelong miner, fol- 
lowing that occupation until, by an unexpected 
calamity, such as are frequently occurring in 
that dangerous business, he was killed in a mine. 
William Matthews came to the United States 
with his family in i860, and, of course, located 
in the coal fields of Pennsylvania, where the 
family was usefully and happily employed until 
after the birth of their youngest child, when, on 
account of the mother's failing health, the fam- 
ily returned to England where she died at the 
age of thirty-four years, when her son, John B. 
Matthews, who was the sixth of the seven chil- 
dren, was about two years old. She was a su- 
perior woman, a devoted wife and mother, a val- 
ued communicant of the Established Church of 
England. Until he was fourteen years old, Mr. 
Matthews attended the excellent schools of his 
English home and then was in active employ- 
ment for three years and until he was seventeen 
years of age, when he again crossed the Atlantic 
and thereafter pursued his trade as a miner at 
Rock Springs, Wyo., from 1881 to 1891, ten years 
of earnest application, when he went northwest to 
British Columbia, and, for two years, was en- 
gaged in the mines at Roslyn, following which 
service he went to Maryland, continuing mining 
there for four years, thence returning westward, 
he was at Joliet, 111., where he was employed 
in the large steel works for a year, coming then 
to his earlier western home. Rock Springs.- One 
year later he became identified with the mines at 
Kemmerer, with which he was connected as a 
miner until 1899, when occurred a serious acci- 
dent which resulted in Mr. Matthews losing his 
left leg, incapacitating him from pursuing his 
former employment. His interest in his work, 
the intelligence he displayed and the valuable ex- 
perience many years had brought to his service, 
now stood him in good stead, for, as soon as he 
was able to resume the activities of life, he was 
made the foreman of the mines of the Kemmerer 



Coal Co., a responsible position indeed, but one 
which he has since successfully filled with credit 
to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his 
employers. Being an enterprising, energetic and 
a progressive business man, he has engaged in 
other branches of industrial life and with very 
marked success. He has an interest in the large 
sheep and wool business of the coal company, 
and has quite an extensive shipping trade. Fur- 
ther than that he believes that it is the duty of 
every good citizen to actively aid in everything 
that tends to the improvement of the community, 
and his services, time and money are liberally 
expended irj this meritorious direction. He has 
the faculty of making friends and is an active 
member of Ottawa Tribe of the Improved Order 
of Red Men at Kemmerer. A good citizen, an 
active business man and an energetic member of 
society, Mr. Matthews has a far-reaching influ- 
ence for good, and is looked upon with respect 
as a decidedly representative member of society. 
Mr. Matthews was united in matrimony at Rock 
Springs, Wyo., on November 24, 1887, with Miss 
Sarah 'Kelley, a daughter of Charles and Anna 
Kelley, natives respectively of Scotland and 
England. Their seven children are Anna M., 
died in Rock Springs in infancy ; Elizabeth, died 
at Roslyn in infancy ; Ethel, died an infant at 
Kemmerer ; Emma M. ; John B., Jr. ; Anna May ; 
Charles Matthews. 

WILLIAM MAXWELL. 

The subject of this review is a prosperous 
and successful stockman of Albany county, Wyo- 
ming, and is now residing at Tie Siding, in that 
state. A native of the province of Nova Scotia, 
Canada, he was born in 1849, tne son °f J onn 
and Jessie (Monroe) Maxwell, the formera na- 
tive of Argyle Isle, Scotland, and the latter of 
Nova Scotia. The -father has ever followed the 
occupation of farming in Nova Scotia, where he 
now resides at an advanced age, having been 
born in 1814. For many years he was active in- 
the political life of the place of his residence, 
taking a prominent part in the liberal partv. He 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



875 



is a son of John Maxwell, who was a native of 
Dumfrees Island, where he was engaged in sheep 
husbandry. The mother of the William Max- 
Well of this sketch was born in 1828, and died in 
1878. She was. the daughter of Hugh and Jen- 
nie Monroe and the- mother of ten children. Her 
son, William, attained man's estate in his native 
country of Nova Scotia, and when he had reached 
the age of twenty-one years, he determined to 
seek his fortune in the western portion of the 
United States, and came, in 1870, to Sherman, 
in the then territory of Wyoming, which was, 
at that time, on the extreme western frontier, 
and he has seen it in all of the interesting stages 
of its growth and development from that time 
up to the present. Upon his arrival in Wyoming, 
he secured employment in a sawmill, in which 
occupation he continued without interruption for 
six years. He then left this employment to be- 
gin ranching and stockraising'in a small way on 
Fish Creek, in Larimer county, Colo. He also 
did some teaming and freighting during this 
time and continued in these employments for 
about three years. In 1879 ne came to Tie Sid- 
ing, in Wyoming, and purchased the merchan- 
dising establishment of John S. McCool at that 
place, and engaged in trade. In this business he 
remained for sixteen years, carrying it on with 
success, also profitably dealing in railroad ties, 
timber and lumber. He was interested during 
a good part of this time in the live stock business, 
gradually acquiring land, ranches and stock, 
both cattle and horses. Starting ranching and 
stockraising in a small way, he is now the owner 
of about 10,000 acres of land, well-fenced, im- 
proved and partly cultivated, with large barns, 
buildings and appliances for a successful and an 
extensive business. He is the owner of large 
numbers of fine horses and cattle, and makes a 
specialty of fine grades of white-faced cattle, be- 
ing the possessor of some of the most valuable 
animals in Wyoming, and he is counted one of 
the most substantial stockmen and property own- 
ers of his section of the state. In 1874 Mr. Max- 
well was united in marriage with Miss Agnes 
Williams, a native of Nova Scotia, and a daugh- 



ter of Patrick and Mary Williams, natives of the 
same country. To them six children have been 
born, Emily L., Frederick L., Ida D., Albert C, 
Eva B. and Luther, all of whom are living, ex- 
cept Luther, who died some years ago and was 
buried in Laramie, Wy'o. Fraternally, Mr. Max- 
well is affiliated with the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks, with the Masonic order, the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the An- 
cient Order of United Workmen, and he. takes a 
deep and sincere interest in the fraternal life 
of the community. Politically, he is identified 
with the Republican party, and for many years 
he has been prominent in the councils of that 
organization. Often solicited by his party friends 
and associates to become a candidate for political 
honors, he has steadfastly declined to do so, pre- 
ferring to devote his entire time and attention to 
the management of his business interests. In 
one instance only has he yielded to the wishes of 
his political friends, and then he accepted office 
as a county commissioner of Albany county, for 
a term of four years, during that time serving 
the public with ability and public spirit. He is 
one of the foremost men in his section of the 
state and is held in the highest esteem. 

MADISON MASON. 

Madison Mason, one of Bighorn county's 
prominent stockgrowers and farmers, a represent- 
ative citizen of his portion of the state, came to 
Wyoming in 1882 with a thorough knowledge 
of the business in which he was to engage, gath- 
ered, in a wide experience in its details, in other 
parts of the country, where it is one of the lead- 
ing industries. He was born in Ohio, on Octo- 
ber 12, 1848, a son of Michael and Almira (John- 
son) Mason, the former a native of Ohio and 
the latter of New York. In his childhood the 
family moved to Indiana, and from there to 
Kansas, where the parents died, and their son 
grew to man's estate and received a limited com- 
mon-school education. In the first blush of his 
young and vigorous manhood he went to the 
Indian Territory, where for six years he was act- 



876 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



ively engaged in the stock business, then for two 
years he followed the same occupation in New 
Mexico. From there he came north to South 
Dakota and, until 1897, he tempted fortune at 
Deadwood. In 1897 also he came to Wyoming, 
locating at once in the renowned Bighorn basin, 
taking up land for a stock industry on Shell 
Creek, where, for a time, he carried on a thriving 
business. He then sold his ranch and came to 
his present location, twelve miles below Lovell, 
where he has an attractive and valuable tract of 
240 acres of well-improved and highly cultivated 
land and a large number of fine cattle and other 
stock. Here he has applied with energy and skill 
the lessons of his previous experience to such 
good purpose that his property has become one 
of the choice homes of his section of the county, 
beautiful in appearance, rich in productiveness, 
well supplied with good and ample buildings 
and creature comforts, furnished with water, and 
having a high value in the market. Mr. Mason 
was married in 1877, in the Chickasaw nation, 
Indian Territory, to Miss Parale Story, a native 
of Texas. They have one child living, their 
daughter, Stella, now the wife of Andrew Black, 
a respected citizen of the Bighorn basin. In all 
the essentials of good and useful citizenship, Mr. 
Mason has been faithful to duty, seeing in the 
utmost and wisest exertion of individual enter- 
prise, the best guaranty and means of general 
improvement, and, at the same time, omitting no 
effort on his part to aid in the support of worthy 
projects for the common advancement and ele- 
vation of his neighborhood and county. He is 
well esteemed as a representative man, having 
breadth of view and judicious energy in public 
affairs, and a generous and considerate regard 
for the rights, interests and feelings of others, 
in every phase of life and action. 

CHARLES D. MEEKS. 

Born and reared in Adair county, Missouri, 
of parents who were among the first settlers in 
that region, living since he left there in what is 
now Crook county, Wyoming, far from the 



great centers of population and the blandishments 
of artificial social life, Charles D. Meeks, now 
of Carlile, has passed almost his entire life on 
the frontier, and he has been rewarded by the 
strength of fiber, self-reliance, resolute manhood 
and readiness in action, physical and mental, be- 
gotten in such an experience. He was born on 
February 27, 1863.; in Adair county, Mo., the 
son of Andrew and Mary (Nicholas) Meeks, na- 
tives of Ohio, who came to Missouri in 1842 and 
tilled the virgin soil in that state through all the 
border troubles and the long Civil War, suffering 
many hardships and privations, witnessing the 
contests of rival opinions, and ultimately enjoy- 
ing the fruits of peaceful progress. The father 
was a leading citizen of his section, prosperous 
as a farmer, influential in the councils of the com- 
munity, an example in character and conduct, 
being well known throughout the northern part 
of the state. In 1878 he removed to South Da- 
kota, and, after a short time, from there to Wy- 
oming, his location being then in Laramie county, 
in the portion since segregated to constitute 
Crook. He homesteaded there, living for a time 
with his sons, and there he also conducted a 
sheep and cattle industry. In 1901 he bought a 
drugstore in Sundance, and has since conducted 
that, still holding ownership, however, to his 
land and cattle interests. Charles D. Meeks 
grew to manhood and was educated in his na- 
tive county, and, after leaving school, he was 
engaged in farming with his father on the home 
place for a few years, and later on his own ac- 
count. In 1880 he joined his father in Wyoming, 
where, in Crook county, he was united with him 
and the other sons in a cattle business. In 1884 
C. D. Meeks took up land for himself on Kara 
Creek, twenty-five miles from Sundance, and 
there he planted his altar and located the hearth- 
stone around which his hopes have since grown 
and flourished, with unbroken success and pros- 
perity. He has thriven in business and risen to 
consequence in the good opinion of his fellow 
citizens, being one of the enterprising, wide- 
awake and far-seeing men of the county, intelli- 
gentlv contributing to its advancement, aiding to 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



877 



guide its progress in the right direction. He also 
has land on Houston Creek and still owns his 
farm in Adair county, Mo. On Christmas day, 
1893, he was united in marriage with Miss Lou- 
isa Richter, a native of Michigan and daughter 
of John Richter, a prominent farmer of that 
state. Her mother has been dead a number of 
years. The marriage occurred at Sundance, and 
was one of the social events of the holiday season 
of that year. Mr. and Mrs. Meeks have one 
child, their son, Andrew. In politics Mr. Meeks 
is a zealous and active working Democrat, al- 
ways deeply concerned for the welfare of his 
party and its candidates. 

JAMES G. MEGEATH. 

A public spirited young ranchman, possess- 
ing original and progressive ideas, whose suc- 
cess in mercantile and agricultural life has been 
the symmetrical result of his own sterling en- 
deavors, James G. Megeath, of the Smith's 
Fork district of Uinta county, Wyoming, where 
his fruitful ranch is located two miles north of 
the little village of Robertson, is well deserving 
of a place in this record of progressive men of 
the state. He was born at Crete, Neb., on Sep- 
tember 24, 1876, the centennial year of our his- 
tory, his parents being Thammi A. and Abby 
( Yoder) Mageath, the father a native of Virginia 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the mother of Penn- 
sylvania of Dutch descent. The father, after the 
migration of the family to Nebraska, accumulat- 
ed a competency in merchandising, and is now 
living retired from active business operations, 
having been a man of prominence in his commun- 
ity, who has filled various public offices with 
great acceptability, among- them that of register 
of deeds in his county, which he held for a num- 
ber of years. His family contained these chil- 
dren : William C, now a merchant at Rock 
Springs, Wyo. ; James G. ; Theresa, died in 
Omaha, Neb., aged seven years ; Ernest Y. ; 
Mary E., who died in Omaha when two years 
old. After completing his course at the public 
schools in Nebraska, James G. Megeath was 



for three years engaged in merchandising at 
Hanna, Wyo., and after that for three years at 
Rock Springs, immediately following this en- 
terprise by the purchasing of the ranch on which 
he now resides on Smith's Fork, which his care- 
ful nurture has made one of the model places 
of the community. Here he is conducting a 
large and ever "increasing business in raising a 
fine strain of blooded cattle of superior grades, 
managing his affairs with rare capacity and dis- 
crimination. He owns 480 acres of land, prop- 
erly equipped with a commodious residence and 
suitable sheds, corrals and other accessories ne- 
cessary to meet the requirements of his herds. 
In politics he is not an active partisan and seeks 
neither the honors nor the emoluments of official 
station. Fraternally, he belongs to the Order 
of Elks, holding membership in the lodge at 
Rock Springs. By his marriage with Miss Alma 
H. Heder, a daughter of Gustavus and Charlotte 
(Bachman) Heder, of Smith's Fork, he has one 
child, Teresa. The ancestral history of the He- 
der family appears in the sketch of Gustavus 
Heder on other pages of this volume. 

Ernest Y. Megeath was born at Omaha, Neb., 
on March 18, 1882, and his education was con- 
tinued beyond the public schools in the All Hal- 
lows College at Salt Lake City, from which ex- 
cellent institution he duly graduated. His time 
and attention, since leaving school, have been 
given to assisting his brothers in their stores 
and on the ranches. He, like his brother, James 
G., is a gentleman of superior business capacity 
and good judgment, which coupled with his dis- 
criminating industry, are winning a gratifying 
success for him in the commercial world, while 
his pleasing social qualities have endeared him 
to a large circle of admiring friends. 

T. A. MEGEATH. 

In every part of the great West and in every 
important commercial, industrial, political or 
social sphere of activity the sons of the Old Do- 
minion are found in the front ranks, reflecting- 
credit on the state from which they sprung, and 



878 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



adding to the wealth and dignity of the commun- 
ities where they have made their homes. T. A. 
Megeath, of Robertson, Wyoming, is one of 
this class since he was born in Loudoun county, 
Ya., on November 16, 1843, the son of Joseph 
P. and Elizabeth (Cockran) Megeath, also na- 
tives of Virginia, where the father was an act- 
ive and leading citizen, being a prosperous mer- 
chant and farmer, and for years the postmaster 
of Philomont. His parents, descendants of old 
Colonial families, were Gabriel and Martha (Ad- 
ams) Megeath. Mrs. Elizabeth (Cochran) Me- 
geath is of Scotch ancestry and was a daughter 
of the locally prominent Capt. James Cochran, 
of Yirgina, who was the commander of a com- 
pany of militia in the War of 1812, and gallantly 
led his forces to Washington to aid in the de- 
fense of the National capital when its safety was 
imperilled by a British squadron. Mr. T. A 
Megeath was the ninth of the ten children of his 
parents, seven of whom are now living. After 
his Virginia school days ended, in i860 he en- 
gaged in merchandising in Omaha, Neb., but, 
feeling the necessity of further education, he 
went to St. Louis in 1864 and for one year there 
gave diligent attention to studies at the college 
of the Christian Brothers. Then he commenced 
a life of intense business activity as a merchant, 
his operations in that field, and as a commercial 
traveler, extending over a period of many years, 
while in his itinerancy he was located in many 
places, notably Omaha, Fort Laramie, Fort Phil 
Kearney, North Platte, Crete and Friend, Neb.. 
Cheyenne, Wyo., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Chicago, 
111., Baltimore, Md., his operations being in dry- 
goods, groceries, general merchandising, lumber 
and real-estate, while, for a period of six years, 
he held with great acceptability the position of 
register of Douglas county. Neb., for a portion 
of the time also being in the employ of the (J. 
S. government. In 1895 Mr. Megeath made 
his permanent residence in Wyoming, locating at 
Hopkins, now Sweetwater, where, for two years, 
he was engaged in a clerical capacity, then be- 
coming the manager of the store until September, 
[900, when, practically retiring from business 



life, he was made the candidate of the Demo- 
cratic party for state senator, and, after a close 
and very exciting political contest, the normal 
Republican majority of the county being 400. 
he was defeated by only about eighty votes, his 
personal popularity being so great as to almost 
secure him the office. His genial and pleasant 
ways and manners, his correct and methodical 
conducting of business and his broad and com- 
prehensive knowledge of human nature render 
him fully competent to capably fill any position 
in the gift of the people of his state and with 
credit to both himself and constituents. Fra- 
ternally, Mr. Megeath is connected with the Be- 
nevolent Protective Order of Elks. In Harris- 
burgh, Pa., on February 14, 1893, Mr. Megeath 
was united in matrimony with Miss Abbie R. 
Yoder, a native of Pennsylvania. Of their five 
children, three survive, William C, married with 
Alma Ramsey, is the popular manager of the 
Wyoming Mercantile Co., at Rock Springs ; 
James G. ; Theresa J., died in childhood; Ernest 
Y. ; Mary, deceased. 

GEORGE MERRILL. 

George Merrill, now of Meeteetse. Wyoming, 
is descended from old New England families 
whose American progenitors braved all of the 
dangers of frontier life in a new country, on the 
wild bleak coasts of the Atlantic ocean, just 
as he has done in the wilds of Wyoming, under 
more favorable circumstances, but without any 
diminution of the hazards or hardships. He 
came to the state in 1883, when the section in 
which he settled was as yet almost wholly unde- 
veloped, and the conveniences of life were prac- 
tically unattainable. And he has lived and la- 
bored here until the region is as productive of 
the fruits of civilization and systematic cultiva- 
tion, and as generous in its bounty to man, as any 
older portion of the country. Mr. Merrill was 
born in 1859, in the state of Massachusetts, the 
son of Amos and Deziah (Ellis) Merrill, the 
former being a native of Vermont and the latter 
of Maine. At the aare of seventeen, their son. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



879 



George, left home and made his way to Califor- 
nia, where he spent four years in various occupa- 
tions, then, in 1883, came to Wyoming, locating 
in the northern part of the state. For five years 
after his arrival he worked for the Embar Cattle 
Co., and, for the eleven next succeeding those, 
for Otto Franc. In 1899 he bought a part of the 
beautiful ranch of 600 acres, which he now owns 
and where he now lives, about five miles below 
Meeteetse on the Grey Bull River, where he also 
has, in connection therewith, some 3,000 acres of 
leased land. On tin's immense expanse he has 
herds of well-bred and carefully kept cattle, num- 
bering fully 700 head, all in prime condition. 
He gives to his business the benefit of every 
practical idea which he can gather from industri- 
ous reading of its literature, and from discriminat- 
ing observation of its needs and suggestions, and 
thereby keeps' its products up to a high standard 
of excellence, maintaining the excellent reputa- 
tion they have enjoyed throughout wide circles 
in the stock industry. In connection with local 
public affairs he is as zealous and active, as ju- 
dicious and enterprising, as he is in his private 
matters, leaving no project for the benefit of 
his community or county in want of his energetic 
support if his judgment approves it. The fra- 
ternal societies, which enlist the attention and 
awaken the enthusiasm of so many men, have 
never been particularly attractive to him, never- 
theless he is a serviceable member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. On January 2, 1892, at 
Lander, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary Lannigan, a native of Wyoming. They 
have five children, Marguerite, Georgia, Mamie, 
Landis and Alberta. 

JOHN L. MERRILL. 

John L. Merrill, a prosperous and enterpris- 
ing stockgrower of Star Valley, and a popular 
hotel man of Afton, Wyoming, was born at 
Smithfield, Cache Valley, Utah, on November 
17, 1867, his parents being Virgil W. and Stacia 
Ann (Lemmon) Merrill, early settlers in Utah, 
and the father, a leading farmer of his section 



of country, still lives in Cache Valley, in that 
State. The family consisted of seven children, 
five of whom are living. John received a public 
school education in his native state, and after 
leaving school, he followed the family vocation 
of farming there until 1891, when he came to 
Wyoming, to begin the same pursuit and the 
raising of cattle in Star Valley. In this indus- 
try he still has an interest, but, in 1902, with 
his brother, Philetus, he bought the Afton Hotel 
and the livery and feed stables attached. These 
combined industries, having since bought out his 
brother's interests, he is now conducting and 
making a marked success. The hotel has been 
raised in its standard and improved in its equip- 
ment, winning also corresponding gains in the 
public approval and popularity ; while the stables 
have every facility for their proper business and 
are rendering good service to a continually ex- 
panding volume of trade. Mr. Merrill is an in- 
dustrious, energetic and painstaking man, pro- 
gressive and pushing, seeking the best of every- 
thing for his patrons, omitting no effort on his 
part to satisfy every reasonable demand. He 
has the true business instinct and keeps his place 
in the procession of advancement, by* down-to- 
date methods all along the line. Having been 
born and reared in this western country, he has 
imbibed its restless and conquering spirit, and 
makes the attainment of one triumph but the 
stepping stone to the next. On May 20, 1892, in 
Idaho, he was married to Miss Eliza Lindsey, 
a native of Cache Valley, Utah, and daughter 
of Noah and Josephine (Coeford) Lindsey, of 
that region. Her father was a native of Ala- 
bama and her mother of Denmark. They were 
among the early settlers in the Mormon state, 
and have aided materially in its development. 
Mr. and Mrs. Merrill have had six children, one 
of whom, a daughter named Hazel, died in in- 
fancy. Those living are Orlando, Sibyl, John 
Lever, Florence and an infant. Mr. Merrill's 
career forcibly illustrates the varying conditions 
and the possibilities of life in America, especially 
in the far West, where no man's destiny or occu- 
pation can be predicted with certainty. Oppor- 



88o 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



tunities are so numerous, and conditions change 
so rapidly, that the doctor, lawyer or farmer of 
today is likely to be something else tomorrow, 
and to succeed in any occupation to which he 
may turn his attention. 

HANS C. MILLER. 

A Danish-American citizen, who is doing a 
prosperous business as a cabinetmaker in the 
city of Laramie, Wyoming, Hans C. Miller was 
born in Denmark in 1852, the son of Andrew and 
Marie (Aghey) Miller, natives of that country. 
His father was born in 1810, and followed the 
occupation of carpentry and woodworking in his 
native land up to the time of his demise, which 
occurred in 1864. He was the son of Hans and 
Anna Miller, both natives of Denmark. The 
mother of the subject was born in 1820, and 
passed away in 1862, being the mother of five 
children. Hans C. Miller grew to manhood in 
his native country, and there received his early 
education in the public schools, and, upon the 
completion of his education, accepted employ- 
ment as an apprentice for the purpose of learning 
the trade* of cabinetmaking. He continued in 
this business in Denmark up to 1878, when he 
determined to seek his fortune in the New World 
beyond the sea, and, leaving the home of his 
childhood and early manhood, he set sail for 
America. Upon his arrival in this country, he 
proceeded to the state of Nebraska, where he 
purchased a farm, and engaged in both farming 
and stockgrowing for about eleven years with 
varying success. In 1889 he disposed of his 
farm and removed his residence to Wyoming, 
where he established his home at Laramie and 
engaged in his former occupation of cabinet- 
making. In this business he has met with con- 
siderable success and has gradually increased 
his enterprise from year to year, and is consid- 
ered as one of the progressive business men of 
that community. In 1878 he was united in mar- 
riage to Mi^s Annie Madson, a native of Den- 
mark, a daughter of Frank and Mary Madson, 
both natives of the same country, well known and 



respected. To their union were born nine chil- 
dren, Andrew, Christian, Frank, Egdius, Laven- 
ius, Mary, Tilly, John, Harry, Rosa and Anna, 
all of whom are living except Rosa and Anna, 
who passed away in early childhood. The moth- 
er passed away in 1898, at the age of thirty-eight 
years, and her body lies buried at Laramie City, 
Wyo. She was a good wife and mother, and her 
untimely death was a most serious affliction to 
Mr. Miller and his large family of children. They 
have, however, borne up bravely under the loss, 
and their noble conduct has won the respect of 
all who know them. Politically, Mr. Miller is 
a stanch member of the Democratic party, always 
deeply interested in the public welfare, believing 
it to be the duty of every good citizen, under our 
form of government, to interest himself in see- 
ing that the public business is conducted in a 
proper manner. He has never sought or desired 
political office, preferring to give his entire time 
and attention to the management of his private 
business interests. 

HENRY E. MILLER. 

Born not long before the opening of our 
Civil AVar, feeling yet the sting of its venom, 
which darkened his childhood and youth, and 
robbed him of his father, and, seeing since then, 
by actual residence and participation in local in- 
dustries in many portions of our country the 
gradual growth of harmony between the two for- 
merly contesting opponents, Henry E. Miller, of 
the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, realizes the value 
of a land united in feeling' and purpose and mov- 
ing with diversified utilities, but with a spirit of 
harmony, towards the full development and en- 
joyment of its greatness. He is a native of Xew 
York, where his life began on April 4, 1854. His 
parents were Joseph and Mary (Conner) Miller, 
also natives of New York. When he was two 
years old they removed to Pennsylvania, and, 
when he was ten. to Ohio. Soon after this re- 
moval his father was killed, in one of the later 
battles of the war. and his mother and her fam- 
ily returned to her native state. A few years 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



881 



later they came to Wisconsin, and, after a short 
residence there, proceeded to Minnesota, in 1872 
to Iowa, in 1874 to Valentine, Neb., where Henry 
was employed in railroad construction, and where 
he very prosperously lived until he came to 
Wyoming and located in the Bighorn basin, 
where he now resides. He had learned survey- 
ing, was soon busily engaged in helping to survey 
the county, and in 1901 located his present place, 
which comprises 160 acres, and has been highly 
improved, must of it reduced to systematic culti- 
vation. On this tract he has sixty horses, of 
good quality and breeds, and carries on an active 
stock and farming business. For four years he 
was profitably engaged in lumbering, in that line, 
as in other industries, doing much to develop and 
improve the country. His enterprise and pro- 
gressiveness are manifest by the improvement he 
has made of his own place, and by his close and 
serviceable interest 'in every project for. the ad- 
vancement and elevation of the community. He 
is modest and unostentatious with reference to 
both, leaving the results to speak for thdmselves. 
In fraternal relations he is allied with the Mod- 
ern Woodmen of America, and the order gets 
the benefit of his counsel and active service. 

ENOCH VENTER. 

The subject of this review was born at Ne- 
maha City, Nebraska, on September 13, 1845. 
His parents,. Gidney and Ann (Walton) Venter, 
were natives of England, who came to the United 
States in 1843, making their way at once to the 
far western frontier and there locating and pass- 
ing the residue of their lives. The mother died at 
Nebraska City, in 1859, and the father in 1900. 
having reached the advanced age of eighty-three 
years. Their family consisted of five children, 
four of whom are living. Enoch was educated 
in the public schools of Grand Rapids, Mich., 
and, on December 13, 1861, when he was but 
little over sixteen years of age, he enlisted in 
the Union army as a member of Co. H, Eighth 
Kansas Infantry. His term of service in this 
regiment expired on July 20, 1863, and he imme- 



diately reenlisted in Co. K, Tenth Tennessee In- 
fantry, the regiment which acted as a body- 
guard to Andrew Johnson, then the military gov- 
ernor of the state, and afterwards president of 
the United States. He participated in many hard- 
fought battles, among them those at Crab Orch- 
ard,. Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Nashville, 
and was mustered out on July 3, 1865, soon there- 
after beginning freighting and stage-driving be- 
tween Nebraska City and Fort Laramie. In 
1867 he came to Cheyenne and helped in the 
construction of the Union Pacific Railroad until 
winter, then drove stage for Frost & Hooker to 
the terminus of the road, and, the next spring, 
located at Coopers Lake, near Laramie, and 
hauled railroad ties for several months. The 
same year he began freighting to Salt Lake City, 
and, after wintering in Utah, traveled through 
that territory and into Idaho, where he leased 
a sawmill and conducted it during the summer. 
Following that employment, ,he teamed and 
farmed for three years in Utah, then returned to 
Idaho, and, locating in Marsh Valley, he there 
engaged in farming for four years. In 1876 he 
sold his Idaho possessions and removed to Mon- 
tana, where he was employed as the purchasing 
agent for Corey Bros., railroad contractors. Aft- 
er a time he returned to Idaho and was again a 
farmer for five years, and, in 1887, again came 
to Wyoming, settled in the valley near Afton, 
when but few residents were there, and began 
an industry in raising cattle and horses which he 
has followed to some extent ever since. The first 
shingles used on any building in this valley were 
put oh his own house by himself, and he also 
painted the first home in the valley that was dig- 
nified by this adornment, erecting also the first 
one built of patent rustic in the valley. His farm 
is located only one-half mile from the town of 
Afton, and is one of the mest and most attractive 
ranches in the neighborhood. It is improved with 
good buildings, well cultivated, showing on every 
hands the effects of judicious management and 
skillful husbandry. During the last seven years 
he has been engaged in a grocery and confection- 
ery trade at Afton, and, for the greater part of 



882 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



that time, his farm has been leased to a careful, 
progressive tenant. In the local affairs of his 
community, Mr. Venter is deeply interested, and 
his influence and efforts are freely given in behalf 
of every good enterprise for its advancement. He 
is an ardent Republican in politics, being for ten 
or twelve years a member of the county central 
committee of his party. He has also served his 
people as constable, justice of the peace, deputy 
assessor, sheep inspector and postmaster. On 
July 6, 1869, at Salt Lake City, Utah, he married 
with Miss Nancy L. Wakeley, a native of Utah, 
and a daughter of John W. and Polly (Wood- 
land) Wakeley, who came to Utah in 1847. Her 
father was born in Canada, and her mother in 
Illinois. Six children were born to them, Mary 
R., who died at Afton,- leaving a husband. Ru- 
ins M. Rogers, and two children; her death oc- 
curring on January 10, 1900, when she was twen- 
ty-one years of age ; Alice A., who died in Idaho, 
aged six; Celia J., now the wife of Otto Ander- 
son, of Afton, and John G.. Enoch H. and Clar- 
ence D., all living at the paternal home. On Jan- 
uary 20, 1900, aged about forty-nine, Mrs. Ven- 
ter passed over the death river to the activities 
that know no weariness, leaving an enviable rec- 
ord as a devoted wife and mother, an obliging 
and considerate neighbor, a faithful friend and 
a most estimable and useful citizen. 

FRANK NICOL. 

This prominent stockman and pioneer of 
small-fruit culture in Wyoming, well deserves 
especial notice in this volume, for he has done 
much in the development and improvement of the 
industries of the state and is an active and public 
spirited individual, standing high among the ag- 
riculturists and cattlemen of the commonwealth. 
his beautiful estate, comprising 600 acres, lying 
on the Big Popo Agie River, in Fremont county, 
seven miles southwest of the flourishing town of 
Lander. He was horn in 1849 of Scotch and 
English ancestry, in Indiana, a son of William 
and Harriet (Cady) Nicol, his paternal grand- 
parents, Matthew and Abigail (Ball) Nicol, be- 



ing natives of New Jersey, where the families had 
resided from the Colonial period. Harriet Cady 
was a daughter of Daniel and Mamre (Moore) 
Cady, natives of England and Scotland, while 
Seth Moore, the father of Mamre, was a veteran 
of the War of the Revolution, which he long sur- 
vived. William Cady and his wife were both 
born in Ohio, where he for a time worked at his 
trade of carpentry, thence removing to Indiana, 
then to Michigan, and thereafter to Iowa, where 
he died in 1891. Frank Nicol is one of the four 
surviving children of his parents' family of eight, 
and received the educational advantages obtain- 
abie in the public schools of Michigan. Early 
in life, however, engaging in practical farming, 
he continued this in Michigan, Iowa and Minne- 
sota through the years of his youth and early 
manhood, becoming thoroughly well-versed in 
both theory and practice, in general farming and 
in fruitraising, thus being well prepared and 
qualified for the excellent work in these lines 
which he has accomplished during- his residence 
in the West. In 1881 Mr. Nicol came to Fre- 
mont county, Wyo., and located on his present 
home ranch, to which he has since added 600 
acres of valuable land lying immediately along 
the bank of the Big Popo Agie River, the same 
showing remarkable results arising from the in- 
telligent development, systematic improvement 
and cultivation bestowed upon it by its wise 
owner. Probably no property in the whole state 
can show such an exhibit in fruit culture as Mr. 
Nicol has here produced. He has a fine and 
well-established young orchard, well coming into 
bearing, with a large number of small fruits, and 
fully an acre of berries, which produces a greater 
annual yield than is raised by any other three 
men of the state. He has proven himself to be a 
public benefactor, in thus demonstrating the won- 
derful capabilities of the soil and climate of Wyo- 
ming in the production of fruit, while, in many 
other ways and in different directions, he has 
shown his great public spirit and his interest in 
the welfare of the community and the common- 
wealth. He is a strong supporter of the princi- 
ples enunciated by his political party, and heart- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



883 



ily supports its candidates at the polls, being a 
man of intelligent thought, standing high in the 
estimation of the better portion of the people of 
his section. In his extensive cattle interests, Mr. 
Nicol is raising horses of an excellent strain and 
has a fine herd of graded Shorthorn and Jersey 
cattle, being prospered in his undertakings, year 
by year adding to his wealth and importance. At 
Casper Wyo., on June 15, 1892, Mr. Nicol and 
Miss Jane McBride were united in marriage. 
The bride was a native of Illinois and a daughter 
of William A. and Margaret (Fenton) McBride, 
the father, an intelligent farmer, being the son 
of George and Jane (Blaine) McBride, and born 
in Pennsylvania, Margaret (Fenton) McBride 
having her nativity in Scotland. Three children 
have come to crown their life's happiness, Gladys 
G, Mabel M., and William. 

SOLOMON V. MOODY. 

An enterprising and prosperous farmer, who 
owns 160 acres of arable land, three and one-half 
miles northeast of Wheatland, in Laramie county, 
Wyoming, Solomon V. Moody, was born in 
Wayne county, Mich., on September 16, 1854, 
a son of Hill and Catherine (Wightman) Moody, 
the former of whom, a native of Ireland, was 
a farmer by calling and came to America in 1813, 
and died in Wayne county, Mich., in February, 
1889; the mother was born in Michigan, there 
passed all of her life, and died in September, 
1897. The remains of both parents were interred 
in Genesee county, Mich., where they rest in 
peace, side by side, after having lived in the coun- 
ty since 1871, mutually sharing together the joys 
and sorrows, the toils and pleasures of their happy 
domestic life. Young Solomon V. Moody was 
educated in the public schools of his native town- 
ship, and, when not attending school, assisted in 
the cultivation of the home farm until he was 
twenty-one years old, when he went to Newton 
county, Ind., and for two years hired out as a 
farm hand. He then returned to Michigan and 
worked in the lumber district for three years, aft- 
er which he again engaged in farming in Genesee 



county, that state, until 1887, when he went to 
Colorado and located near Greeley, in Weld coun- 
ty, and was a farmer there for some time. He 
then farmed in Morgan county four years, and, 
in 1894, came to Wyoming, and bought his pres- 
ent place, near Wheatland, which estate he has 
now under a high state of cultivation and has im- 
proved with all modern appliances and conveni- 
ences. Mr. Moody has been twice married, first, 
in Genesee county, Mich., to Betta iMaghan, who 
died on August 21, 1883. The second marriage 
of Mr. Moody took place on March 18, 1885, in 
Genesee county, Lizzie Leader, a native of Mich- 
igan and a daughter of John and Julia (Duby) 
Leader, then being the bride. There have been 
born to this union five children, Clarida B., 
Hazel A., Esther, DeBella and Dee L. Fraternal- 
ly, Mr. Moody is a Modern Woodman of the 
World, a member of Camp No. 330, of Wheat- 
land. Formerly, Mr. Moody was engaged in the 
feed and coal business in Greeley, Colo., doing a 
profitable trade, but was obliged to relinquish it, 
on account of ill-heakh in his family, and to seek 
the more invigorating atmosphere of the farm. 
He is well pleased with the change, and, although 
the labor of the farm is arduous, the returns, 
financially, are satisfactory. Besides this, his life 
is more independent than it was when he was 
engaged in mercantile trade, for Mother Earth is 
ever bountiful and never fails to reward those 
of her children who diligently labor to win her 
favors by honest toil. Mr. Moody has won the 
esteem of his neighbors by his upright walk and 
his habits of industry. He is also, as an agricul- 
turist, progressive, being down-to-date in all 
of his methods and operations. 

LEE NANSELL. 

From the teeming millions of Ohio's resource- 
ful and energetic population have come out, to 
all parts of the unsettled West, great numbers 
of thrifty, enterprising citizens, who have given 
their resources, their brain, their brawn and dili- 
gent and skillful labor, to make it civilized and 
prosperous. Among the number must be placed 



884 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in a position of respectable prominence, Lee 
Nansell, one of the best-known and most highly 
esteemed stockmen and fanners of Bighorn coun- 
ty, Wyoming. He resides near Bonanza, on 
a fine farm of 160 acres, on which he has a herd 
of 250 cattle, of superior breeds and excellent 
quality. He is a pioneer of 1867 in Wyoming, 
and has been among the most zealous and indus- 
trious of the builders and makers of his portion 
of the state. He was born on January 28, 1850, 
the son of Jacob and Mary Nansell, Germans 
by nativity, emigrants to the United States soon 
after their marriage. They settled in Ohio, where 
their son, Lee, was reared and educated, remain- 
ing at home until he was eighteen years old, 
when, in 1867, he crossed the plains to Denver, 
Colo., and, after a short residence in that city, 
came -to Cheyenne, Wyo., and there, for two 
years engaged in furnishing ties for the railroad. 
For a number of the years thereafter following, 
he rode the range as a cowboy, and then was 
the stock inspector for the territory for two years. 
In 1885 he came to the Bighorn basin, locating 
where he now lives, on Paint Rock Creek. His 
farm is well-improved, with good buildings, and 
is in a high state of cultivation, as to such parts 
as are farmed. It is one of the valuable and de- 
sirable places of this section of the county, show- 
ing in every way the fruits of his skill and in- 
dustry. He also owns valuable property in Basin 
and elsewhere. Mr. Nansell was married in Big- 
horn county, in April, 1901, to Miss Mabel Daw- 
son, a native of California. He has been long in 
the county, and he has been prominently identi- 
fied with its affairs, in both a public and a private 
way, for he was a member of its first board of 
county commissioners, helped to place the new- 
political creation on its feet and start it forward 
on its career of progress and development. In 
all matters pertaining to the improvement and 
elevation of bis neighborhood, and the advance- 
ment of the county in general, he has been promi- 
nent and potential. In his early life here he saw 
many dangers and had many thrilling experiences 
in fighting with wild beasts and savage Indians. 
l]c also suffered the usual lot of pioneers, when 



people were few, and it was far between them, 
and the conveniences of life scanty and crude. 
Yet, like the rest, he was ready and resourceful, 
full of energy and determination, fitted for any 
toil or for any emergency; and, like the rest of 
the company of gallant heroes, he has given his 
full share of time and labor to establishing, de- 
veloping, civilizing and improving the state in 
which he lives and on which his patriotic affec- 
tions are firmly fixed. 

JOHN W. MILLER. 

A well-to-do stockman, of Laramie, Albany 
county, Wyoming, is the subject of this brief 
sketch, John W. Miller, a native of the state of 
Illinois, and born in Mercer county, in 1847, the 
son of Nicholas and Mary (Dennison) Miller. 
His father followed blacksmithing and wagon- 
making in Illinois, and also passed some time 
in the practice of medicine. In 1851, he removed 
his residence from Illinois to the territory of Ore- 
gon, where he settled' in Lynn county, and en- 
gaged in farming, in which he continued up to 
the time of his death. The mother passed away 
during the infancy of her son, John W. Miller, 
who grew to man's estate and received his early 
education in the public schools of Lynn county. 
Ore., although his opportunities for acquiring an 
education were limited. Leaving home at the 
early age of eighteen years, for the purpose of 
acquiring a practical knowledge of the live stock 
business, and, also, with a view to making his 
own way in the world, he followed the life of a 
frontiersman on the plains of Oregon, Washing- 
ton, Colorado and Wyoming, for many years, 
during this time, being engaged in riding the 
range, working on ranches, mining, fighting In- 
dians, and in other occupations. He had a varied 
and interesting career, with many exciting experi- 
ences, especially during those times when the 
Indians were hostile, and he had many skirmishes 
with them. He is a thorough plainsman, inured 
to the hardships of life on the frontier, and has 
learned by actual experience all the details of 
the ranch and live stock business, in which he is 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



885 



now successfully engaged. He was united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah Degraff, a native of 
Illinois, their marriage being celebrated in that 
state. To their union one child was born, 
Charles W., who is residing with his parents. 
After his varied experience in early life, Mr. Mil- 
ler has settled down as one of the steady, 
thorough-going, substantial ranch and stockmen 
of his section of the state. He is succeeding in 
business, and he finds that his early life on the 
plains, combined with his knowledge of the live- 
stock industry, acquired while a rider on the 
range, is now of the utmost value to him. He is 
a highly respected citizen of the community. 

HENRY NIETFELDT. 

Inheriting the sterling traits of honesty and 
industry, as well as many of the admirable quali- 
ties of head and heart, for which the German peo- 
ple have always been celebrated, the subject of 
this sketch has been a factor of much consequence 
in developing the material interests of the part of 
Laramie county in which he lives. Henry Niet- 
feldt was born in Hanover, Germany, on August 
2J, i860, the son of Frederick and Dora (Hurst- 
man) Nietfeldt. The father, a farmer by occupa- 
tion, spent all of his life in Germany, dying in 
Hanover in 1870. The mother subsequently came 
to the United States, and departed this life, near 
Fort Laramie, Wyoming, on July 17, 1901. 
Henry Nietfeldt remained at the home of his 
youth until his fourteenth year, and received a 
fair education in the common schools of his na- 
tive place. He was reared to an agricultural life, 
and, at the above age, left the parental roof, from 
which time until he was nearly twenty years old, 
he worked as a farm laborer near the home of 
his birth. In 1880 Mr. Nietfeldt, following his 
example of many of his countrymen, concluded 
to seek his fortune in America, and, accordingly, 
he set sail, and, in due season, reached the United 
States. Proceeding westward as far as Grand 
Island, Neb., he hired out to a farmer, and, dur- 
ing the ensuing two years, worked in the vicin- 
ity of that city, carefully husbanding his earnings, 



with the intention of going into some kind of 
business for himself. Actuated by this laudable 
ambition, he came to Wyoming', in 1882 and, 
taking' up land on the Laramie River, six miles 
west of Fort Laramie, he turned his attention to 
cattleraising. After remaining in that locality un- 
til the spring of 1890, Mr. Nietfeldt sold his 
ranch and returned to Nebraska, where he rented 
a farm, and, for five years thereafter, carried on 
agricultural pursuits with a large measure of suc- 
cess. Coming back to Wyoming in 1895, he lo- 
cated on a ranch one and one-half miles west 
of the Fort, which his mother had previously en- 
tered, but which, meantime, had come into his 
possession by purchase, and, at once, addressed 
himself to the task of its improvement. It was 
found impossible to cultivate the land without ir- 
rigation, or use it successfully for grazing pur- 
poses, but, with water, the place held out abun- 
dant inducements both for farming and stockrais- 
ing. To supply this need, Mr. Nietfeldt inau- 
gurated a system of irrigation, the largest indi- 
vidual enterprise ever undertaken in this section 
of the state. He projected a ditch, three and 
one-half miles long and of ample width, to the 
nearest water, and, by much hard and long, con- 
secutive labor, he finally completed the enterprise. 
His reward was an abundant supply of water, 
much more than sufficient to reclaim and make 
productive his own land, consequently a number 
of other parties have greatly profited by the en- 
terprise. Since the completion of this ditch, Mr. 
Nietfeldt has brought his place into a high state 
of tillage, now having one of the most valuable 
ranches of its size in the district in which it is 
situated. He has spared neither labor nor pains 
in its improvement, and, by well-directed indus- 
try, he has converted a comparatively barren 
waste into a beautiful and attractive home, where 
peace, prosperity and plenty abound. In addition 
to general farming and haying, both of which he 
carries on quite extensively, Mr. Nietfeldt has 
met with gratifying success as a raiser of live 
stock. On his 200 acres of land may be seen a 
number of cattle and horses, all of good grade 
and under prime condition, the rich herbage of 



886 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



the place being peculiarly adapted for fattening 
and imparting strength and endurance. Mr. Niet- 
feldt was married at North Platte, Neb., in July, 
1890, to Miss Dora Buchholtz, of Germany, who 
bore him one child, Fritz. Twice has the angel 
of death entered the home of the subject, the 
first time on December 31, 1901, when little Fritz, 
at the age of eight years, was taken away, again 
on May 18, 1903, at which time the devoted wife, 
and loving, but bereaved, mother, went to join her 
child in the land where partings are no more, and 
where tears are forever wiped away. Mr. Niet- 
feldt felt these losses keenly, but, with a courage 
which will not permit him to be cast down, he 
resolutely faces the future, determined so to live, 
that, when the time comes for him to exchange 
mortality for immortality, he may be cheered by 
the thought of a reunion with the loved, but not 
lost, under happier conditions than the earthly 
life affords. Mr. Nietfeldt is one of the enter- 
prising and progressive men of the community in 
which he lives, and for the improvement of which 
he deserves much credit, and he occupies a promi- 
nent place in the esteem of his neighbors. 

WILLIAM NILAND. 

This reliable and well-known division fore- 
man on the Union Pacific Railroad, who has his 
residence at Rawlins, Carbon county, Wyoming, 
was born in West Virginia, in 1858, and is a 
son of Patrick and Mary (McNernay) Niland. 
Both parents were born and they were married in 
Ireland, whence they emigrated to West Virginia, 
where the father followed railroad work until his 
death, which occurred in 1888, at the age of sixty- 
two years, that of his wife occurring also in the 
same year, and at the same age. William Niland 
passed his boyhood and early manhood in West 
Virginia, and there, also, he learned the machin- 
ist's trade. He worked in Grafton for five years 
and then in Piedmont seven years, then went to 
Little Rock, Ark., where he lived for two years, 
and then came to Wyoming, in 1882, and lived 
in Cheyenne for one year. He thereafter came 
to Rawlins, and here filled the position of shop 



foreman for seven years. He was then trans- 
ferred to Cheyenne to act as division foreman, 
and there did effectual duty for a year and a half, 
being then brought back to Rawlins to assume 
the duties of division foreman at this place. This 
position he still holds, but, in the meantime, he 
has given considerable attention to sheepraising, 
in which he has met with flattering success. Mr. 
Niland was united in marriage, in 1884, with 
Miss Lizzie Hurton, a native of Pennsylvania and 
a daughter of James and Mary Hurton. This 
lady, however, was called away about three years 
ago, leaving behind a sorrowing husband and 
four children, and all but Marguerite are still 
living, namely, William, Patrick J., and Lizzie. 
Mr. Niland is a Republican in his political faith, 
but, while he works earnestly for and with his 
party, he never seeks office nor any other public 
emolument. Fraternally, he is a charter member 
of the Rawlins Lodge, No. 609, Benevolent Pro- 
tective Order of Elks, and is a genial, whole- 
souled gentleman. He does his full duty as a 
citizen, but is never officious nor fault-finding 
about public affairs. His services as a foreman 
are full)- appreciated by his employers, and his 
standing before the public is an enviable one. 
Just in the prime of life, he has before him many 
years in which to exercise his usefulness and to 
rear his children in "the way they should go." 
As Mr. Niland was born and reared in a moun- 
tainous and rugged country, his constitution, 
physical, and mental, has been imbued with a 
vigor, which pure air alone can impart. He 
manifests this fact in every action, as his step 
is quick and springy, his limbs strong, muscular 
and sinewy, his perceptive faculties keen. 

JOHN O'BRIEN. 

One of the most active and energetic cattle- 
men in Laramie county, Wyoming, is John 
O'Brien, who was born on September 25. 1864. 
in Albany county, N. Y.. a son of John D. and 
Annie T. (Shay) O'Brien, natives of Ireland. 
John D. O'Brien came to America when a young 
man, and. for a number of years, was a traveling: 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



887 



salesman by occupation. In 1856 he enlisted in 
the regular army of the United States, and was 
a member of the Fourth Infantry the greater part 
of the twenty-four years he was in the service. 
He was stationed at different forts, all over the 
western states, and, consequently took part in 
many a bloody battle with the hostile Indians. 
In 1868 he came to Wyoming, and was first sta- 
tioned here at Fort Fetterman, and later at Fort 
Laramie, and, at the latter place, was drum-ma- 
jor for twenty-one years. In 1880 he quit the 
service and settled on his present ranch, near Fet- 
terman, where he has since been engaged in stock- 
raising, excepting the time he was in the Spanish- 
American War, in which he served as the cap- 
tain of Co. F, of the Wyoming Infantry. John 
O'Brien, the gentleman whose name stands at 
the head of this biographical notice, received his 
education while at home with his father, for 
whom he worked about six months each year on 
the ranch, riding the range the remaining six 
months, until he was thirty years of age. In 
1894, he took up a ranch of his own, on Deer 
Creek, and engaged in the cattle business for 
four years. In 1898, he sold his ranch and en- 
tered the employ of the purchasers, and for four 
years ran it for one of the largest cattle outfits in 
Wyoming. In the fall of 1901, Mr. O'Brien came 
to the section of the country in which he now ' 
lives, and took charge of the company's inter- 
ests here. He now has his home on its well- 
known ranch on the Laramie River, three miles 
east of Uva, which ranch is considered one of the 
most important in the valley. Mr. 'O'Brien was 
first married in November, 1892, at Douglas, 
Wyo., with Miss Maggie M. Devoe, a native of 
Kansas, and to this union was born one child, 
Elsie, * whose mother was called from earth on 
May 22, 1895, and was buried in Glenrock. Aft- 
er nearly six years of singleness, Mr. O'Brien 
married, on October 8, 1901, at Douglas, Lillian 
Lockett, a native of Wyoming. Her father, 
John, is an old-time stockman and lives in Con- 
verse county, near Glenrock. Fraternally, Mr. 
O'Brien is a member of Glenrock Lodge, No. 24, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the 



Rebecca Lodge, and also is a Modern Woodman 
of the World, belonging to Camp No. 6101, of 
Glenrock. As a citizen, he is wide-awake and 
progressive, favors all public improvements, the 
cost of which does not too seriously burden the 
taxpayers, and, as a business man, he has but 
few peers in the county. 

WILLIAM H. O'DONNELL. 

This typical western man and prince of good 
fellows is widely and favorably known through- 
out Wyoming, and, during his long residence in 
Sweetwater county, he has been very closely iden- 
tified with its political history and its material 
development. As the name indicates, our Mr. 
O'Donnell comes of Irish ancestry, although he 
was born and reared in the United States. His 
father, John O'Donnell, was a native of Ireland, 
born in 1830. When a lad of sixteen he came to 
America and, for some time thereafter, he 
worked at farm labor in the state of New Jersey, 
subsequently moving to Illinois, still later to Kan- 
sas, where at the breaking out of the great Civil 
War, he joined one of the regiments of that 
state, with which he bore the part of a brave and 
gallant soldier until the close of the struggle. 
After the war he resumed agricultural pursuits 
in Kansas, but in 1868 he came to Wyoming and 
engaged in railroad work at Laramie, operating 
between that place and Bear Town, now Green 
River. Later he disposed of his interests in 
Wyoming and moved to Nebraska, where he 
lives at the present writing. Ellen O'Conner, 
who became the wife of John O'Donnell, was 
also a native of the Emerald Isle. She departed 
this life when her son, William H., was about 
nine years old and lies buried in Kansas. William 
H. O'Donnell first saw the light of day in Mil- 
waukee, Wis., and dates his birth from 1851. 
Reared in the country, he early became accus- 
tomed to the varied duties of agriculture, and, 
from the age of twelve until seventeen, he worked 
at farm labor in different states. Owing to his 
mother's death he started for himself when 
quite young and, from his thirteenth year to the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



present time, he has practically made his own 
way in the world. The year of 1868 marked the 
beginning of Mr. O'Donnell's career as a western 
man, for then he came to Wyoming, stopping 
first at Salt Wells, thence, in succession, going 
to Point of Rocks and Piedmont, remaining but 
a brief time at each place. During the Sweet- 
water excitement of 1869 he drove stage from 
Point of Rocks to South Pass, and in the year 
following he engaged in railroad work, which 
he continued about eighteen months. Severing 
his connection with the road, he accepted a clerk- 
ship with the Wyoming Coal & Mining Co., and, 
after eighteen months of service in that capacity, 
he went to Nebraska to engage in agricultural 
pursuits. Mr. O'Donnell's experience as a farmer 
was of short duration, on account of the grass- 
hoppers, which effectually destroyed his first 
crop. Returning to Wyoming, he accepted a 
position in the coal department of the Union Pa- 
cific Railroad, and, after remaining with the com- 
pany until 1884, he resigned his place for the 
purpose of entering the employ of the Beckwith 
Commercial Co., at Rock Springs. He served as 
foreman of the latter house about one year and 
then engaged in business for himself, opening a 
meat market in the above town, which he ran, 
with satisfactory financial results, for about the 
same length of time, then selling out in 1886, he 
practically retired from active life, but since that 
date he has looked after his private interests, and 
attended to the duties of the various official sta- 
tions to which his fellow citizens have called him. 
For a number of years he has been an active poli- 
tician, a leader of the Republican party in the 
county of Sweetwater. He served one term as 
a county assessor, and, for seven years, was a 
member of the board of county commissioners, 
one of the most important offices within the gift 
of the people. As a public servant, he discharged 
his duties ably and faithfully, his record being 
untainted by the faintest suspicion of anything 
dishonorable. He has always manifested a lively 
interest in public affairs, and few, if any, enter- 
prises tending to the material improvement of 
the county, or the development of its resources, 



but have had his influence, and, if need be, his 
financial support. He is one of the leading spir- 
its of Rock Springs, a friend of the masses, an 
earnest advocate and a liberal patron of all meas- 
ures for the amelioration of distress among the 
poor and unfortunate. He is a fine specimen of 
the generous, energetic and progressive western 
men of today, being well read on many subjects, 
he keeps in close touch with the trend of current 
events, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of 
all classes of his fellow citizens. By reason of 
his >fine social qualities, his society is much 
sought after and in every company his sprightly 
conversation and rare fund of pleasing anecdotes 
make him the very embodiment of good fellow- 
ship. In 1870 Mr. O'Donnell was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Tobin, a daughter of 
James and Mary (Ryan) Tobin, of Ireland, a 
union blessed with eight children, Mary E., Ro- 
sanha, Lyda H., Ida M., John W., Hattie M., 
Nettie E. and Charles F. 

CHARLES O'NEALL. 

Charles O'Neall, now of Rome, Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, the senior member of the firm 
of O'Neall & Bull, leading merchants and stock- 
men, is one of those resolute and resourceful men, 
who neither find nor inherit, but hew out their 
opportunities, from whatever substance destiny 
flings before them. No danger daunts, no diffi- 
culty deters, no toil intimidates them; nothing 
turns them from their purpose of securing su- 
premacy among men in the line for which nature 
has qualified them. He was born in Wisconsin 
on December 27, 1856. His father, Robert E. 
O'Neall, died previous to his birth, and his moth- 
er two weeks after she had brought him into be- 
ing. He was reared by an older sister, who took 
him with her family to Iowa when he was but 
eighteen months old, and in that state he grew to 
the age of twenty years. No favors of fortune 
were bestowed on him during his childhood and 
youth, for although his sister did the best she 
could for him, her own circumstances were such 
as to preclude from her bounty more than the 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



889 



mere necessaries of life. He attended school at 
times, and as he grew toward manhood worked 
at whatever he could get to do, and when he 
was ready to start in life for himself, with his 
best endeavors, he found himself in a poverty 
so abject that he was without shoes. He worked 
hard, however, by his diligence obtained a start, 
and, in 1876, when he was twenty years old, he 
came to Reno, Nevada, and was there employed 
for some time in herding dairy cows. From there 
he went to Otoe county, Neb., and fed cattle for 
three years. He then made a trip to Florida, re- 
turning to Nebraska and settling in Wheeler 
county, where he engaged in farming until 1889, 
when he came to Wyoming and opened a com- 
bined hardware and furniture store at Casper, in 
what is now Natrona county. In 1899 he sold his 
plant at Casper and removed to the place where 
he now lives, and in partnership with Frank Bull 
started the business enterprises that now engage 
him, which are both a prosperous and expand- 
ing stock industry and a merchandising establish- 
ment of large proportions and active trade. The 
ranch, on which the stock business is conducted, 
comprises 380 acres of excellent land, beautifully 
located and well adapted to its purposes, im- 
proved with good buildings and furnished with 
a complete supply of every appliance of the most 
approved pattern, while the mercantile enter- 
prise is one of the most highly esteemed com- 
mercial features of this section of the county. 
Like their herd of 250 cattle, their stock in the 
store is well selected and carefully looked after, 
and, knowing by careful observation the wants of 
the community as they do, they are able to meet 
them fully and save the necessity of allowing 
any one to go elsewhere for the ordinary com- 
modities of every-day life. Mr. O'Neall is a 
member of the Masonic order and takes an active 
interest in the proceedings of his lodge. He was 
married, at Neely, Neb., on January 10, 1887, to 
Miss Edna M. True, a native of Iowa. Wher- 
ever he has lived Mr. O'Neall has impressed his 
fellows with his enterprise and resolute spirit. 
Adventitious circumstances have not made him 
a debtor for any part of his prosperity; on the 



contrary he has dominated circumstances, and 
made them yield obedience to his commands 
and give up to his mastery their hidden opportun- 
ities, no matter how obdurate they seemed or 
how unfruitful. He has been essentially the ar- 
chitect of his own fortune, and well and wisely 
has he built it. In every work of charity and 
benefaction, and in every social function of value, 
himself and wife are known and welcomed as 
potent and useful factors. 

W. H. PACKARD. 

Ten years ago, in June, 1893, W. H. Pack- 
and came to Wyoming from his native state of 
Utah, where he was born on August 12, 1851, 
the. son of Orrin and Matilda Stowell, natives of 
New York and emigrants to the Mormon state in 
1850, and since his arrival he has been busily en- 
gaged in helping to build up the state and es- 
pecially the portion in which he cast his lot. 
When he was nine days old his mother died, 
and, when he was two years old, he also lost 
his father by death. Thus doubly orphaned in 
infancy, life promised naught for him, except 
what he could win from its hard conditions by 
his own diligence and capacity, and his gains 
in the race for supremacy among men have been 
made through these channels. He was reared 
and educated by an uncle until he was able to 
go to a trade, being then apprenticed to a car- 
penter. After completing his apprenticeship, he 
worked at his trade until 1893 m n ^ s na -tive state, 
then came to Wyoming and took up a homestead 
in the Bighorn ba^in, where he still resides, and 
on which he carries on a vigorous and well-man- 
aged stock and farming business, having also 
a large and busy apiary, which is one of the 
industrial institutions of his neighborhood. He ■ 
came to his homestead when it was without wa- 
ter, and was obliged to undergo all the inconven- 
ience and expense of irrigating his land, as did 
many others, by his own private enterprise. 
Though the work was slow and the expense 
great, he resolutely persevered, and now has the 
results of his faith and persistency, in a well- 



890 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



improved and highly fertile tract of 160 acres 
of excellent land. He has also taken as great 
an interest in public improvements, as in the de- 
velopment of his own property, and was of great 
service as a contractor in building the Taluco 
branch of the incoming railroad. From 1899 to 
1902 he was engaged in merchandising at Bur- 
lington, and in the year last named sold out his 
store and returned to his farm. In the church 
to which he has been loyal and devoted from 
childhood, he has been conspicuous for leader- 
ship, and for valued services in almost every ca- 
pacity. He was the first bishop of the Woodbury 
stake, and is now a high priest and a member 
of the high council. The affairs of the organiza- 
tion have prospered under his management, and 
the impulse given to their activities by his zeal and 
force of character has ever been potential for 
good to their every interest. In 1873, in Utah, 
he was married to Miss Cynthia Perry, a native 
of that state. They have had thirteen children, 
Orrin, Ramanza, Nettie and Perry, deceased, 
and Amasa, Dudley, Matilda, Alice, Louis, Clara, 
Forrest, Martha, Owen living. One living son, 
Forrest, is the oldest Mormon boy living who 
was born in the Bighorn stake of Wyoming. As 
an evidence of his enterprise and public spirit, 
it should be narrated that Mr. Packard was the 
secretary of the first irrigating company that 
built a canal in this part of the state, and, by his 
energy and force in conducting the affairs of 
that office, he was serviceable in the stimulation 
of activity in the construction of several similar 
works of utility to the county. 

WILLIAM H. PADGETT. 

A very active, and in many respects success- 
ful, business career characterizes the history of 
the gentleman whose brief biography is herewith 
presented. Born in a western state, reared un- 
der conditions favorable to sturdy physical and 
mental development, he has profited by his var- 
ied experiences, and is, today, a notable repre- 
sentative of that class to whom, more than to any 
other, the great West is indebted for the meas- 



ure of prosperity it enjoys. William H. Padgett 
is a native of Iowa, born on September 22, 1851, 
in the county of Mahaska. Newton and Cather- 
ine Liter Padgett, his parents, were born, reared 
and married in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and 
there lived until 1847, when they migrated to 
Mahaska county, Iowa, where the father engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. He remained in the 
latter state the remainder of his life, dying in 
the month of May, 1874. His widow survived 
him until May, 1900, when she, too, entered into 
rest, departing this life on the old farm in Ma- 
haska county. William H. Padgett was reared 
as are the majority of lads who grow and develop 
in the country, and, while still young, became 
accustomed to the various implements used iff 
agricultural labor. During the winter seasons, 
he attended the public schools and acquired an 
education, which although by no' means as com- 
plete as that obtained by students under more 
favorable conditions, has served well as a basis 
for a very active business life. For a number 
of years previous to his death, his father had 
been a great sufferer, and, consequently, the man- 
agement, and much of the work of the farm fell 
to young William, who assumed the responsibilty 
with a manly spirit, discharging his duties as 
became a true and loyal sun. He continued to 
cultivate the place after the death of his father 
until 1876, at which time he turned it over to oth- 
er hands and came to Wyoming, locating at 
Cheyenne, where he remained, variously em- 
ployed for about three months. At the expiration 
of that period, he went to Denver, Colo., where 
he stayed about the same length of time, thence 
returning to Cheyenne in the spring of 1877 an d 
entering the employ of Charles McEwen as a 
freighter. During the three years following, Mr. 
Padgett ran a freighting outfit to Western Ne- 
braska, the Black Hills and to other points. At the 
expiration of that time he purchased his employ- 
ers' interests, continuing the business upon his 
own responsibility until 1882, when he sold out 
at Buffalo, Wyo.. and engaged in merchandising 
at Rock Creek. After spending three years at 
that place he disposed of his stock and embarked 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



891 



in the live stock business, which he carried on 
until about the year 1888, running cattle on 
the Laramie River, meeting with encouraging 
financial rewards. Then, disposing of his live 
stock, Mr. Padgett was out of business for sever- 
al years, spending the greater part of the interim 
between 1889 and 1899 in traveling over Wyo- 
ming, the Black Hills and various other parts 
of the West. In the latter year he took up his 
present ranch, located about thirty miles from 
Wheatland, on Halleck Creek, between the Blue 
Grass and Sybylle, and again engaged in stock- 
raising, which he has since continued with high- 
ly gratifying results, devoting his attention to 
cattle and horses. He has gradually enlarged 
the volume of his business and has also made 
many substantial improvements on his ranch, 
until today he stands in the front rank of the 
state's successful stockmen. His ranch is large, 
well-located, admirably adapted to the purpose 
for which it is used, increasing in value with 
each recurring year. Mr. Padgett was called to 
his old home in Iowa in 1900 by the serious ill- 
ness of his mother, and reached the place in 
time to close .the eyes of his best earthly friend 
in the last long sleep, from which there is no 
waking on this side of Death's mystical river. 
After the obsequies he returned to Wyoming, 
and, from that time to the present, has remained 
on his ranch, giving close and careful attention 
to his large and continually increasing inter- 
ests. In 1875 Mr. Padgett and Miss Josephine 
Ruple, of New Jersey, a daughter of Jonathan 
and Erne (Hardy) Ruple, were united in mar- 
riage, the ceremony being solemnized in the city 
of Oskaloosa, Iowa. The parents of Mrs. Pad- 
gett were natives of New York, the father being 
a millwright by trade. He was a very skillful 
workman and worked for a number of years in 
Iowa, making and adjusting the machinery for 
many of the largest flouring mills in that state. 
His death took place at Oskaloosa, in which city 
the widow still lives, having reached the ripe old 
age of eighty-three years. Mr. and Mrs. Padgett 
have one child, a daughter, Georgine. In addi- 
tion to the cattle industry, Mr. Padgett has var- 



ious mining interests in different parts of Albany 
county, some of which promise rich results when 
properly developed. He expects ere long to give 
especial attention to this property, and doubtless 
will realize large returns for the time and labor 
there employed. He is a man of energy and de- 
termination, calculates well the end from the 
beginning, and seldom addresses himself to a 
project of any kind without carrying it to a suc- 
cessful issue. Public spirited and interested in 
the welfare of his county and his state, he gives 
his support to enterprises tending to their mater- 
ial and industrial development. He is an excel- 
lent neighbor, a loyal friend and discharges the 
duties of citizenship with the best interests of the 
public in view. 

ROBERT PAHLOW. 

A thrifty and prosperous German-American 
citizen of Albany county, Wyoming, is the sub- 
ject of this sketch, Robert Pahlow, a resident of 
the city of Laramie, in that county. A native 
of Germany, he was born in the year of 185 1, 
and is the son of Christ and Caroline Pahlow, 
both natives of that country. His father follpwed 
the occupation of farming in his native country, 
and remained there engaged in that pursuit, up 
to the time of his decease, in 1900, at the age 
of seventy years. The subject of this brief sketch 
grew to man's estate in the Fatherland, and re- 
ceived his" early education in the public schools 
of that country. In the year of 1880, he determ- 
ined to seek his fortune in the New World be- 
yond the sea, and leaving the home of his child- 
hood, he set forth with his family for America. 
Coming at once to the city of Laramie, in the 
then territory of Wyoming, he secured employ- 
ment in the rolling mill located at that place, and 
remained in that vocation busily engaged up to 
the year 1892. He then resigned this position 
and located on a ranch, situated about ten miles 
southwest of Laramie City, Wyo., where he has 
since that time been successfully engaged in the 
business of general ranching and stockraising. 
By his industry,. perseverance and his good man- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



agement he has gradually built up a valuable 
property from small beginnings, and he is con- 
stantly increasing his property holdings, both 
of land and live stock, from year to year. 
Bringing from his native Fatherland all of the 
habits of thrift and frugality so characteristic of 
the German race, he has steadily made his way 
in the business world, and is now ranked as one 
of the substantial and prosperous citizens of 
Albany county. In the year of 1876, while still 
a resident of Germany, he was united in the 
bonds of wedlock with Wilhelmina Mayher, a 
native of that country, and the daughter of Fred- 
erick and Sophia Mayher, both natives of the 
Fatherland. To the union of this worthy couple 
five children have been born, Paul, Otto, Alice, 
Mamie and Ollie, all of whom are still living. 
The family home is one noted for its comforts, 
and, in a high measure for the homely and gen- 
erous hospitality, which is there dispensed to a 
large circle of friends. The family are highlv 
respected residents of the community where they 
maintain their home, and Mr. Pahlow is one of 
the most valued citizens of his section. 

JACOB W. PAYTON. 

Among the more prominent and progressive 
of the younger class of stockmen of Wyoming, 
is Jacob W. Payton, a resident of Hecla, in that 
state. He is a native of the town of Knoxville, 
county of Marion, in the state of Iowa, where 
he was born on October 24, 1865, the son of 
Joseph and Margaret (Burns) Payton, the for- 
mer being a native of the state of Ohio and the 
latter of Michigan. His parents early in 1853, 
emigrated from the state of Ohio to Marion 
county, Iowa, where they engaged in the business 
of farming, in which they continued up to the 
time of the father's death, which occurred in 
J 887 and where his burial occurred at Wright's 
Center, in Marion county. The mother passed 
away in the month of May, 1900, her remains 
now reposing in North Dakota. Jacob W. Pay- 
ton, the subject of this review, grew to manhood 
and received his early education in Marion coun- 



ty, Iowa, where he remained at home with his 
parents until she had arrived at the age of nine- 
teen years. Desiring to begin life for himself, 
and to make his own way in the world, he left 
home in the spring of 1885 and came to York 
county, Neb. Here he engaged in farming and 
continued in that business there until the month 
of December of the following year. He then 
disposed of his interests in Nebraska, returned 
to his old home in Marion county, and there en- 
tered into a partnership with his father in the 
farming and stockraising business. Here he 
continued until 1891, when he rented the Marion 
county farm and went again to York county, 
Neb. Remaining here only a few months he 
came in August, 1891, to the city of Cheyenne, 
Wyo., where he secured a large hauling contract 
on the Union Pacific Railroad, which continued 
until July of the following year. In October, 
1892, he accepted a position as foreman of a 
large sheep ranch on Bear Creek, Wyo., owned 
by Albert Bristol, and remained there for a per- 
iod of two years. In 1894 he resigned this posi- 
tion and accepted an offer from R. P. Allen, a 
prominent stockman of that section, with whom 
he remained until 1896, in the fall of that year 
entering the employ of Van L. Gilford, at his 
ranch on Bear Creek, where he remained until 
the following year. He then accepted a position 
as general foreman of the P O ranch on Pole 
Creek, Wyo., and remained there until the month 
of July, 1900, when he resigned his position for 
the purpose of disposing of a large band of 
horses, in which he had become interested. Go- 
ing then to the city of Cheyenne, he remained 
there a short time, when he purchased his present 
ranch on Middle Crow Creek, situated about 
twenty-one miles west of Cheyenne, formerly 
known as the Gilchrist ranch. It is a well-known 
place in that section of country, and is beautifully 
located amid the hills of Crow Creek, surrounded 
by trees and mountains. Mr. Payton has ex- 
tensive plans for the improvement of this place, 
and fully intends to make it one of the best and 
sightliest places in the state. He is now the 
owner of over 4,200 acres of land, a large portion 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



893 



of which is well fenced and improved, and he 
controls several thousand acres of lands leased 
from the state. He is engaged exclusively in the 
business of cattleraising, and is making a marked 
success of his enterprise. On December 6, 1898, 
Mr. Payton was. united in marriage, at the city 
of Cheyenne, to Miss Onie Perry, a native of 
the state of Wyoming, the daughter of Alexander 
and Mary (Moss) Perry, the former a native 
of Missouri, and the latter of Ohio. The father 
of Mrs. Payton first came to the then territory 
of Wyoming in 1870, settling on Horse Creek, 
and there engaging in cattleraising. His fam- 
ily subsequently joined him in his new home, 
from which he afterwards removed to Lagrange, 
where he continued to follow the same business 
with great success until 1897, when he disposed 
of his ranches and stock interests, moved to the 
city of Cheyenne, and there purchased the hotel 
property which has since become well known 
as Perry's Inn. Here he has since conducted 
a popular and successful hotel business. Two 
children have come to the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Payton, Edward and Edwena, twins, who 
are the joy and pride of the Payton household. 
Fraternally, Mr. Payton is affiliated with the 
Modern Woodmen of America ; both he and his 
wife are active members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, earnest in all work of charity in 
the community where they reside. Politically, 
Mr. Payton is identified with the Republican 
party, taking a prominent part in public affairs. 
He is a progressive, enterprising and successful 
young business man, sure to become a prominent 
factor in the business life o'f the state. 

GEORGE H. PETERSON. 

This just and fearless officer of the law, and 
long time citizen of the West, was born at Ran- 
cocas, Burlington county, New Jersey, on May 
28, 1838, his parents being Charles S. and Ann 
B. (Dennis) Peterson and both natives of New 
Jersey, the father tracing his ancestry to an old 
Prussian family that emigrated to England, suc- 
ceeding generations coming to America in Colon- 



ial days, being prominent participators in the 
events leading up to the Revolution and also 
serving in the Colonial army. The mother's 
family is often mentioned in New England his- 
tory, family tradition connecting them with the 
landing of the Mayflower. Pier great-grandfa- 
ther, Thomas Dennis, was a soldier of the Revo- 
lution, and representatives of both families saw 
service in the War of 181 2, and the great Civil 
War. Charles S. Peterson was both a farmer 
and a blacksmith and was three times married, 
he early becoming a convert to the doctrines of 
the Mormon church and accompanying its ad- 
herents to Nauvoo, 111., where the mother of 
George died the year after the prophet Joseph 
Smith was killed. Mr. Peterson was the eldest 
of the three children of his parents and he had 
twenty half-brothers and sisters. He accompan- 
ied his father to Utah in the Mormon hegira of 
1850 and received his education in the schools 
of Salt Lake City. On the westward journey he 
drove four yokes of oxen all of the long and haz- 
ardous way. He early became a notable factor 
in the propagation of the doctrines of the 
Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as an em- 
issary of that faith visited England, Scotland, 
France and Germany, remaining there through 
1869, 1870 and 1871, and making many con- 
verts by his zeal and industrious ministrations. 
As he is a great investigator, he visited on this 
tour many of the places of historic fame in the 
European countries, taking many notes for fu- 
ture use, particularly examining the English 
House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, West- 
minster' Abbey and other old edifices, hoary with 
age and venerable in history. On his return to 
Utah, he engaged in blacksmithing in Summit 
county, and later became the efficient sheriff of 
Morgan county, where he was also called to 
other responsible positions, among them that of 
county commissioner and justice of the peace. 
He was afterwards a policeman at Coalville, 
Utah, and a member of the county board of trade 
of Summit county. In 1881 he became a resi- 
dent of Almy, Wyo., and here conducted black- 
smithing for the company until the close of its 



8 9 4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mining operations in 1891, acting during this 
period as a school trustee and treasurer. Remov- 
ing to Evanston he there conducted the Riepen 
Hotel, now Hotel Marx, for two years and con- 
tinued blacksmithing operations until 1900, when 
he made his home in Diamondville and became 
the blacksmith for the Diamond Coal and Coke 
Co., removing the next year, however, to .Cum- 
berland, to hold the same relation with the U. 
P. Co. He was soon thereafter appointed jus- 
tice of the peace, winning in this office the approv- 
al of the public by his correct and wise admin- 
istration of the law. An earnest and ' conscien- 
tious member of the Mormon church, he carried 
into practice their doctrine of plurality of wives, 
and was the first man arrested in Wyoming un- 
der the law against "unlawful cohabitation.'' 
Abiding, like a dutiful citizen, by the action of 
the courts, he put away two of his three wives, 
retaining the one pronounced his lawful wife, 
yet continuing to support the others. He has 
been the father of twenty-seven children, and 
eighteen are now living. His first marriage was 
to Miss Eliza Wild, a daughter of William and 
Eliza Wild, natives of England, to whom he was 
united at Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 17, 
i860. His children are, George W., died in in- 
fancy ; E. Sophronia, married Hiram Pringle of 
Summit county, Utah ; Mary E., married Robert 
Sneddon, of Diamondville, Wyo. ; Charles H., 
a stockman of Star Valley, Wyo. ; Annie B., wife 
of Willard Keyes, station agent at Spring Val- 
ley, Wyo. ; Thomas D., who died in Utah ; Thom- 
as D., who is working with his father; J. Albert; 
Maud, died in Almy, Wyoming, aged nineteen 
years; Joseph E., deceased; William, who was 
killed when fourteen years old at No. 4 U. P. 
mine at Almy, Wyo.; Jessie" Y., of Diamond- 
ville; James E.. clerk of the U. P. at No. 2, Cum- 
berland; Elizabeth, wife of C. A. Beaver, of Salt 
Lake City; Dorothy, residing with her father; 
Violet, wife of Fritz Olsen, a stockman of Ev- 
anston; Martha, Julia, George and Sarah, all at 
home.; another Elizabeth dying in infancy and 
John F. in Coalville. Mr. Peterson has ever been 
actuated by a high sense of duty, never failing 



to properly respond to the calls of public neces- 
sity or of private benefaction, and he has a large 
circle of friends who hold him in high regard, 
his record being that of a useful and productive 
citizen, who has steadily pursued the right as it 
was given him to see the right. The following 
incident will indicate, not only what Mr. Peter- 
son had to experience in the early days, but what 
was liable to occur to any of the brave pioneers. 
In the spring of 1864, while he was riding from 
Ogden, Utah, through the Weber Canyon, going 
. to his home in Morgan county, near the Devil's 
Gate he was surrounded by a band of about 
twenty-five Indian warriors. Having a pretty 
good understanding of the Indian language Mr. 
Peterson asked them what they were going to do 
and their answer was that they were going to 
kill him. As quick as a flash he drew a 44-caliber 
Colt's navy revolver from under his coat and 
"dropped it" on the Indian he took to be the 
chief. This movement surprised the Indians so 
much that they left an opening in the circle they 
had formed around him, of which the mule he 
was riding took advantage, and started through 
it on a gallop up the canyon, in the midst of a 
shower of bullets that went whizzing after him, 
none, however, hitting him or his gallant rider, 
although one bullet went through the rim of Mr. 
Peterson's hat. He says that the idea of drawing 
the gun on the chief came to him from reading 
of a similar occurrence in the adventures of Kit 
Carson in Old and New Mexico. In 1865 Mr. 
Peterson had a hand-to-hand fight with a grizzly 
bear, coming out best through the aid of a little 
"possuming." 

WILLIAM H. PEARCE. 

One of the first settlers in Bighorn county, 
and closely identified with its history from the 
beginning, William H. Pearce, of near Cody, 
supervisor of Yellowstone Forest Reserve, is well 
entitled to specific mention in a record showing 
the deeds and achievements of the progressive 
men of Wyoming. He is a native of New York, 
where he was born in October, 1850, the son of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



895 



Thomas and Maria (Kellow) Pearce, English 
by nativity and emigrants to the United States 
early in their married life. He was reared and 
educated in his native state, and, in 1870, when 
he was twenty years old, he came to Colorado, 
and, locating at what is now Rosita, in Custer 
count}', aided in the development of the mines 
there and worked in them for a time, then went 
to California Gulch and diligently prospected and 
mined, also conducting a meat business of quite 
an importance at that place with commendable 
enterprise and gratifying profits. In 1886 he 
came to Wyoming, stopping in the Bighorn basin, 
and for two years carried the mails between Lan- 
der and South Pass City. At the end of that pe- 
riod of time he located on a ranch on the Grey 
Bull River, and thereupon began farming oper- 
ations and the raising of stock, which combined 
enterprises he continued until July 12, 1902, when 
he sold his entire plant to the Phelps Land & 
Cattle Co. On the following October 1, he was 
appointed supervisor of the Yellowstone Forest 
Reserve, and is actively and efficiently perform- 
ing . the duties of this important position. In 
fraternal relations, Mr. Pearce holds memberships 
with the Freemasons, the Elks and the Odd Fel- 
lows. He was married in Fremont county, Wyo.. 
in March, 1889, to Miss Man- A. Beer, a native 
of Virginia. She shared his frontier life of priva- 
tion, danger and excitement, and is able to elo- 
quently recount, as he is, many thrilling adven- 
tures and interesting experiences, and to rejoice 
that the}' are forever past. 

ALMA PORTER. 

The mention of Mr. Porter's name and the 
thought of his career recalls Holmes's touching 
poem, The Last Leaf, for he is about the only 
one of the real old-timers of this county left to 
tell the tale of the early struggles and labors, 
amusements and pleasures, dangers and daring, 
trials and triumphs of a people, who have writ- 
ten the record of their manliness and heroic de- 
votion on the pages of their country's history 
in letters of imperishable luster. They dared 



everything, they endured everything, they accom- 
plished everything, in their day and generation, 
and their successors have only to go forward in 
the pathway which they blazed, inspired by their 
high example and made comfortable by the fruits 
of their great achievements. Mr. Porter was 
born on March 15, 1859, at Salt Lake City, the 
son of Robert H. and Mary A. (Williams) Por- 
ter, the father being a native of Canada, of Irish 
ancestry, the mother born in England. His fa- 
ther was brought to "the states" by his parents 
when he was young, and he grew to manhood 
under the benign influences of his adopted land, 
imbibing the spirit of her people, entering with 
zest into the aspirations and enterprises which 
engaged them. He fought gallantly under her 
flag in the Mexican War, after its triumphant 
close settling in California. About 1850 he came 
to Utah, and, in due time thereafter he removed 
to the Bear River country of Idaho, settling at 
the old emigrant crossing of that historic stream, 
where he engaged in ranching. Two years la- 
ter hostile Indians burned him out, destroying 
everything, and compelling him to move. He laid 
the foundation of a new home on Yellow Creek, 
about five miles above where Evanston now 
stands, on the line of the Wells-Fargo Express 
route, and there operated a toll-bridge for six 
years. From that point he removed to Coalville, 
Utah, and for five years conducted a gristmill 
which he there built. The next four years he 
passed at' Almy, in running the express between 
that town and Evanston, and the next two fol- 
lowing years at Rawlins in charge of a stage 
line having headquarters at Rawlins. He finally 
settled at Ogden, Utah, where he died in 1881, 
aged fifty-five years. His family consisted of 
eight children, six of whom are living, and his 
widow still survives, making her home at Coke- 
ville, Wyo. Their son, Alma, was educated in 
Wyoming, in both public and private schools, 
and he began life for himself as a teamster in 
this state. After a time he went into business at 
Fossil, but continued the venture only for a year. 
In 1877 he located at Evanston, and, during the 
next fifteen years, made that place his home or 



896 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



headquarters. For about eight years he rode the 
range, the rest of the time he was variously en- 
gaged in the cattle industry. In 1892 he re- 
moved to Cokeville, where for two years he con- 
ducted ranching and raised stock. In 1897 he 
took charge of a timber outfit for Quealey & 
Kemmerer, and conducted this, with headquar- 
ters at Kemmerer for a year. In 1899 he re- 
turned to Cokeville, started the livery business, 
which he now controls, and a little later, opened 
the store which he now conducts in the town. 
He is also extensively interested in oil lands, 
both at Fossil and in various other parts of the 
state. As has been noted, he is almost the only 
real old-timer left in this section, and, as such 
he has the lasting esteem and high regard of his 
fellows wherever he is known. On February 18, 
1880, he married with Miss Emma Nelson, a na- 
tive of St. Louis, Mo., a daughter of James and 
Eliza Nelson, the mother being a native of Eng- 
land. The Porter home is a resort for a host of 
admiring friends and one of the social institutions 
of the community.' 

HARVEY L. PERKINS. 

The pioneers of the Northwest in the United 
States were men of heroic mold, fitted by nature 
for the arduous work of conquering a new do- 
main and reducing it to subjection to the wants 
of man. The country was full of wild beasts 
and savage men ; its climatic conditions were 
unknown and uncontrollable ; the soil, though 
fruitful, was given up to the wild luxuriance of 
largely desert vegetation, and had never felt 
the persuasive hand of systematic husbandry ; 
the vast region was wholly unpeopled, save by 
enemies of its daring invaders, and trackless, 
except where the Indian or untamed • animals 
had made paths through its boundless expanse: 
ease, security, all that civilization reckons among 
the goods of life, were utterly wanting. Yet the 
hardy pioneers boldly went forward into the 
deepest recesses and challenged all its hostile 
elements. The)- blazed the way for the oncom- 
ing hosts of conquerors and builders, while they 



wrote on the pages of enduring history new 
chapters to the honor and glory of American 
manhood. Among the number of these courage- 
ous adventurers were Harvey L. Perkins, now 
an esteemed citizen of Bighorn county in this 
state, and his parents, Andrew and Jemima 
(Whitsar) Perkins, natives of Tennessee and 
Kentucky, who were, among the first settlers in 
Utah, coming to its borders in 1847. Their son, 
Harvey, although at the time but twelve years 
old, had the spirit and courage of a man, and 
imbibed by instinct, as it were, the genius and 
essence of the region in which they settled. They 
came from Illinois, where they had been early 
emigrants, and where, in 1835, their son, Har- 
vey, was born. In his new home the facilities for 
education in school were meager and primitive, 
and he was obliged to call upon nature and ex- 
perience for his teachings and preparations for 
the battle of life which was before him. They 
always have voices of wisdom and instruction 
for those who are attuned to their utterance, and 
from them he learned self-reliance, quickness of 
perception, readiness in action and resolute en- 
durance. Ten years after their arrival in Utah, 
the family removed to California, and there the 
young man engaged in mining until 1881, then 
changed his base of operations to Cassia county, 
Idaho, where he located land and turned his at- 
tention to raising stock and to farming. In 1888 
he sold his Idaho interests and moved to Butte, 
Montana, where for three years thereafter he 
was busily occupied in contracting and freight- 
ing, with that great mining camp as his head- 
quarters. In 1891 he concluded to become again 
a tiller of the soil and a stockgrower, and he 
came to Wyoming and located land and bought 
other tracts on the Grey Bull River, at the loca- 
tion where he now lives. Since then he has main- 
tained his residence in this part of the state, being 
one of the most forceful and energetic factors in 
its development. He owns 1,200 acres of excel- 
lent land, having a pleasing diversity of alti- 
tude and character, and runs a herd of 300 well- 
bred cattle, a large nnumber of horses and about 
6.000 sheep. For a man occupying so large and 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



897 



influential a place in a community, all of the ave- 
nues of public life are open, therefore Mr. Per- 
kins has had many opportunities to serve his peo- 
ple in official stations of responsibility and im- 
portance, but he has steadily resisted all impor- 
tunities to enter politics, preferring to be of use 
only as a private citizen and to give his support 
to all commendable movements for the advance- 
men or improvement of the community without 
other impulse or consideration than that involved 
in promoting the general weal. He was married 
in Utah in 1854 to Miss Elizabeth Parke, a native 
of Missouri. They have six children now living : 
Harvey L., Jr., Alice, John J., Huldah, George 
W. L. and Ivie, wife of William C. .Faust of 
Cody, who is mentioned at length on other pages 
of this volume. Mr. Perkins is rapidly approach- 
ing the evening of his life, and he can enjoy its 
tranquillity and peace with an increased satisfac- 
tion in the recollections of the trials he has en- 
dured and of the triumphs he has won; with an 
abiding comfort in the sight of the civilization 
he has helped to build in this country, and in con- 
templating the active vigor and productive use- 
fulness of the valued public institutions he has 
aided in creating, fostering and developing in its 
midst; and with a constant enjoyment in know- 
ing that he possesses a high place in the esteem 
and confidence of his fellow men, which has been 
so richly bestowed and so faithfully earned. 

HENRY PETERSEN. 

Comfortably settled on his fine ranch of 360 
acres of meadow land one and one-half miles 
northwest of Lander, occupied with the stock 
business, to which he has devoted his mature 
life, surrounded by the people among whom his 
public services have been efficiently rend#red, 
his financial triumphs won and by whom his 
character and achievements are well appreciated, 
Henry Petersen is seemingly secure against ad- 
versity and can see, with growing satisfaction, 
the fruits of his labors thriving and blooming 
all around him. It was in Bear Lake county, 
Idaho, on August 21, 1869, that he first looked 



out on this world of toil, a son of Henry and 
Mary (Roughnoct) Petersen, the former a na- 
tive of Norway and the latter of Switzerland, 
who early left the associations of their nativity 
in 1863, braving the heaving ocean in anticipa- 
tion of larger opportunities and ampler freedom 
in a new land, arriving on this side of the At- 
lantic after an uneventful voyage and at once 
crossing the plains to Utah, soon thereafter, 
however, removing to Idaho, where the father 
engaged in farming and stockraising, although 
he was a miller by trade. In 1878 the family re- 
moved with him to Lander, where he died in 
1 88 1, aged sixty-eight, and his widow met death 
in 1900, aged sixty-six. They left five children, 
one of their six having died before their own 
decease. Henry Petersen, the one of whom we 
are more particularly writing, attended the pub- 
lic schools of Wyoming, finishing his scholastic 
training at the Normal University at Lincoln, 
Neb. After leaving school he began farming 
in Fremont county, Wyo., and, as he prospered, 
acquired land of his own, in 1898 purchasing 
the nucleus of the place on which he now lives, 
and to which he has since added until it now em- 
braces 360 acres of the best bottom land in this 
portion of the state. He raises horses and cattle, 
endeavoring to produce nothing but the best 
of its kind, by this means to not only secure 
gratifying results for himself, but also to im- 
prove the grade of stock in his section, realizing 
forcibly that in the long run nothing cheap is 
profitable. He is a substantial, progressive citi- 
zen, and his influence on the thought and activ- 
ities of the community has been healthful and 
broadening. On August 3, 1898, he was mar- 
ried to Miss May R. Ranney, daughter of Luke 
Ranney, of Lander, all natives of ' New York. 
They have one child, Elsie. 

COL. W. D. PICKETT. 

As earth has no choice or selected spots for 
the birth of her great men, so she has no re- 
stricted repository or limited field of operation 
for the qualities of courage, scholarship, intellec- 



898 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



tual power, or for any form of natural endow- 
ment or acquired capacity among men. Nature 
is not careless of her brood, but she knows it 
well ; and, when a man is required for any given 
work, it will be found that he has been provided 
and prepared for it. Col. W. D. Pickett was 
born, and probably reared to manhood, without 
any idea on the part of his parents, or within 
himself, that he was to play a conspicuous and 
important part in events of moment in American 
history. And when a part of his career had 
been accomplished, as little did he think, perhaps, 
that his abilities and attainments were to be trans- 
ferred to a new field of action, again to command 
admiring attention amid the struggles and stren- 
uous exertions of the western frontier, which 
was then laboring over the birth of many mighty 
states. He had been a gallant soldier in two 
wars, bearing his part nobly in campaigns of 
destruction ; he had also been actively engaged 
in the domain of construction, bearing himself 
with equal gallantry and efficiency in that. And 
he had passed the meridian of life, living and 
working in that part of the country in which 
his childhood and youth were spent, no doubt 
without thinking seriously of wandering far be- 
yond its boundaries. Then from the great North- 
west he heard the voice of Nature calling on 
men everywhere to come and develop the stores 
of wealth she was ready to open up for the ben- 
efit of mankind, and he obeyed the call, coming 
to Wyoming in 1879, and, at once, taking his 
place among the forces at work in reducing the 
wilderness to subjection and bringing forth from 
the deeps of the earth the promised treasures. 
Colonel Pickett is a native of northern Alabama, 
born on October 2, 1827. His parents were 
George V. and Courtney (Heron) Pickett, na- 
tives of Virginia, and he was their youngest 
child. When he was ten years old, they removed 
the family to Kentucky, where the Colonel was 
reared and educated. When he was nineteen he 
enlisted as a volunteer for the Mexican War, 
serving twelve months in Capt. Fitzhugh Lee's 
regiment of Texas Rangers. He was then at- 
tached to Captain May's regiment for the resi- 



due of the war, at the close of which he returned 
to Kentucky and entered professional life as a 
civil engineer. From 1849 to i860 he was en- 
gaged in making surveys for the construction of 
railroads in Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, 
then, for a year or two, he was the chief engineer 
in the department of construction for the Mem- 
phis & Louisville Railroad. In 1861 he enlisted 
as an engineer in the Confederate army, but was 
soon after promoted to staff duty in the Western 
Department, under Generals Johnston and Beau- 
regard, being in active service throughout the 
war and participating in many of the most no- 
table battles of the awful contest, among them 
those at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge 
and all the engagements of the Atlanta cam- 
paign, and having risen to the rank of colonel, 
surrendering also with Johnston's army at the 
close of the memorable struggle, and returning 
to the practice of his profession. He immediate- 
ly devoted himself again to the construction of 
railroads, and from 1869 to 1873 was the chief 
engineer for a leading railroad company. In the 
year last named he resigned, determined to pass 
some time in traveling and hunting in the West. 
In the course of his trip he reached Montana in 
1876, and Wyoming in 1879. For years he spent 
his summers on the head waters of the Yellow- 
stone, hunting and exploring. He is a noted 
bear hunter, and has had many a thrilling en- 
counter with his most desired game. In 1883 he 
came to his present location, and there took up 
land, on which he engaged in raising high-grade 
cattle, thoroughbred Herefords being his spec- 
ialty. He has 500 of these choice animals, which 
are kept in prime condition, having an ample 
range on his ranch of 1,000 acres of deeded and 
5.000 acres of leased land. In 1900 he was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Fourbear, a postoffice es- 
tablished on his place for the convenience of 
the people in the neighborhood. Colonel Pickett 
has always taken a leading part in Democratic 
politics, in Wyoming, as well as in distant states. 
He has represented Fremont county twice in the 
State Legislature, and, during his second term. 
by prodigious effort and great tact upon his part 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



899 



he succeeded in getting a law passed providing 
for the creation of Bighorn county, and, upon 
its organization, he was chosen State Senator 
from that county, of which he was really the 
father and creator. His services in both bodies 
of the Legislature were conspicuous for value to 
his people and for general good to the state. He 
brought to the performance of his duties a wis- 
dom ripened by a long and a varied experience, 
also a knowledge of public affairs gained in 
many departments of important public and pri- 
vate duty. For years he has been a member of 
the state central committee of his party, a wheel- 
horse in all its campaigns. He is a member and 
one of the vice-presidents of the Boone-Crockett 
Hunting Club, of New York, of which President 
Roosevelt is an active member. He has also been 
since 1853 a member of the American Society 
of Civil Engineers, antedating in his membership 
every member of the body but one who joined 
when he did. In addition to these social rela- 
tions he holds a membership in the Society of 
Political and Social Science of Philadelphia, and 
also in the American Society for the Advance- 
ment of Science, and takes a prominent part in 
the proceedings of each. If lineage counts for 
aught, and it always counts for much, even in 
democratic America, Colonel Pickett is entitled 
to his supremacy among men by virtue of his 
birth and ancestry as well as by his own personal 
and acquired qualities of leadership. In the 
train of the courtly, the cultivated, the courag- 
eous, the high-souled Raleigh, his forefathers 
reached Virginia ; and through all of the subse- 
quent history of that state, the family name has 
been conspicuous in civil and military annals, ex- 
emplifying, in every period and under all cir- 
cumstances, whatever in American manhood is 
gallant in war and serviceable in peace ; giving a 
leader to every movement, a hero to every cause, 
an ornament to every state of society ; until, on 
July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa., one of its rep- 
resentatives, a near relative of the Wyoming 
Colonel, raised the Pickett name to imperishable 
glory by placing the banner of the Confederacy 
within the Union lines after one of the most dar- 

56 



ing, most desperate and brilliant, yet most unfor- 
tunate charges in the history of battles. And 
the name has not suffered in the person of the 
family representative in Wyoming, whether his 
record here be considered in business or in social 
lines, tried by professional or civil standards, or 
gauged by scholarship or by genuine manhood. 

GEORGE M. PORTER. 

Successful in business, prominent and influ- 
ential in the church, esteemed in social circles, 
and potential in public local affairs, Bishop 
George M. Porter of the Church of the Latter 
Day Saints, presiding over the Otto ward in 
Bighorn county, Wyoming, a prosperous farmer 
and stockraiser, commands the respect and confi- 
dence of the community in which he has lived 
and labored, having to his credit a good record- 
as one of the progressive men of Wyoming. 
He came to the state in 1893 from his native 
Utah, where he was born on March 17, 1871, 
whither his father, Alma Porter, came when he 
was nine years old, driving a four-yoke ox-team 
across the plains from Missouri, the state of his 
nativity. In his new home the father was reared 
and educated, and, from its hard conditions of 
life as a frontier country, by his unaided efforts 
he won a competence and a secure and elevated 
place in the regard of his fellow men, and is 
living among them now in the fullness of years 
and honors as a patriarch in the Mormon church, 
to whose faith he was an early convert. In due 
season after he grew to manhood, he met and 
married Miss Minerva Duel, the mother of the 
Bishop, and settled at Porterville in Morgan 
county, where their children were born. Bishop 
Porter became an orphan by the death of his 
mother when he was but two years old, so 
throughout his childhood and his youth he missed 
her care and molding influence. She was an es- 
timable lady, born and reared in Utah, where her 
father was an early pioneer. This it happened 
that her son was left much to himself in the for- 
mative period of life, and the manhood, for which 
he is now esteemed, is largely the product of his 



900 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



inherent qualities of excellence, developed and 
trained by the exigencies of a trying but service- 
able experience. He received a limited education 
in the public schools, and, in 1893, became a resi- 
dent of Wyoming, of which he has been a use- 
ful citizen from that time. He settled in the 
Star Valley, on a homestead which he took up 
in 'that region, there carried on a prosperous 
stock and farming business ■ until 1901, then 
sold out, and, coming to the vicinity of Otto, in 
Bighorn county, bought sixty acres of well-im- 
proved land and again engaged in farming and 
in the raising of stock. In partnership associa- 
tion with his brother, he owns 640 acres of land, 
in addition to his home farm, and with this tract 
they have ample range for their large herds of 
well-bred cattle. The Bishop was married, in 
Utah, in 1893, to Miss Loretta Chapin, a native 
of that state. They have four children, Wilmer 
Grace, Amy and Virgie. The affairs of the 
church have prospered tinder the careful and ju- 
dicious management of the Bishop, just as his 
private interests have flourished, by reason of his 
thrift, frugality and his skillful and well-directed 
industry. In church relations, in social circles, in 
business connections, he has established his right 
to the good will and confidence of his neighbors 
and fellow citizens, and to the rank of an enter- 
prising, progressive and representative man. 

THOMAS G. POWERS. 

Prominent among the enterprising and suc- 
cessful ranchers of Laramie county, Wyoming, 
is the well-known and widely popular gentleman, 
whose name furnishes the caption of this article. 
Thomas Powers, the father of the one who is 
the immediate topic of this review, was born in 
Ireland, but, in 1840, when a lad of fourteen 
years, came to the United States with an uncle 
and settled in Henry county, Iowa, where he is 
now living, being a large farmer and stockraiser, 
for many years actively identified with the agri- 
cultural and industrial history of his adopted 
state as one of the enterprising and representa- 
tive citizens of the co'unty in which he resides. 



In connection with agricultural pursuits, he was 
engaged for many years in railroad construction, 
but his principal business has been stockraising, 
in which he has acquired an independent fortune. 
He owns a large cattle ranch in the county of his 
residence, and, although in his seventy-seventh 
year, he is still hale and hearty, strong of body 
and keen of intellect, capable of giving personal 
attention to his business interests. Mary Mc- 
Namara, the wife of Thomas Powers and mother 
of the subject, was also a native of the Emerald 
Isle and came to the United States with her 
parents when about sixteen years old. She is a 
woman of beautiful moral character, possesses 
the winning vivacity characteristic of her race, 
and not a little of her husband's success is at- 
tributable to her wise counsel and helpful cooper- 
ation. Thomas G. Powers was born in Henry 
county, Iowa, on February 10, 1863, and there 
remained with his parents until the age of seven- 
teen. He grew up familiar with the varied duties 
of the farm, in the common schools acquiring a 
knowledge of the branches constituting the pre- 
scribed course. There comes a period in the 
life of every youth when he becomes restive, im- 
patient of home restraints, when he desires to 
break from his moorings and to see something 
of the world. This desire was developed in the 
mind of Mr. Powers at an early age, but he did 
nothing to gratify it until about the year 1880, 
at which time he left the parental roof to seek 
his fortune in the West. Reaching Wyoming, 
he engaged to work on the range, and, during 
the fourteen years following he devoted the 
summer seasons to herding and the winter seas- 
ons to freighting operations between Sidney and 
the Black Hills. Mr. Powers spent nearly ten 
years in the employ of the Pratt & Ferris Cattle 
Co., during the greater part of which time he was 
the superintendent of one of their large ranches. 
He managed the business in his charge with 
gratifying success, winning the unbounded confi- 
dence of his employers, at the same time adding 
to his knowledge and experience as a wide- 
awake, enterprising stockman. In 1898 he re- 
signed his position with Pratt & Ferris, and, pur- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



901 



chasing his present ranch of 420 acres, one mile 
from Vaughn, Wyo., he there engaged in stock- 
raising upon his own responsibility. At the time 
of this writing he has one of the finest and best 
improved places of its size in the section of coun- 
try where it is located, the land being admirably 
situated for grazing purposes, with an abundance 
of pure water for all stock which the ranch can 
possibly support, and an inexhaustible supply of 
the richest grasses for which this part of the 
West is noted. Mr. Powers has a large number 
of fine cattle, sheep and horses, and the success 
with which he has met since starting in business 
for himself, easily entitles him to rank with the 
leading stockmen of the Vaughn district. He 
is deeply interested in the development of the cat- 
tle industry in his part of the state, and is con- 
sidered as an authority on all matters relating 
to stockraising, being a frequent contributor to 
a number of the leading stock journals, both in 
Wyoming and other states. He is a clear and 
forcible writer, the master of an easy and grace- 
ful style, and his ideas and practical suggestions, 
through the medium of the press, have given him 
a wide publicity throughout the cattle districts 
of the great West. He is, above all, a practical 
man, and his articles have had the effect of very 
materially influencing the cattle business in var- 
ious ways, but invariably in the proper direc- 
tion. Mr. Powers possesses an affable address 
and a pleasing personality and impresses all with 
whom he comes in contact as a gentleman of 
great force of character, a natural leader of men. 
He has a cultivated mind, and his love of read- 
ing has caused him to place in his home much 
of the world's best literature, in addition to 
which, he peruses carefully the leading newspa- 
pers of the day, keeping himself thoroughly in- 
formed upon current events and upon political 
questions and issues engrossing the attention of 
the people. The people of his locality esteem him 
for his sterling qualities of head and heart and 
few men stand as high in the confidence and 
respect of the public. Mr. Powers was married 
in St. Joseph, Mo., on March 17, 1896, to Miss 
Abbie E. 'Chamberlin, of New Jersey, a daugh- 



ter of Jared and Laura (Chase) Chamberlin. 
Two children have resulted from the union, 
George Dewey and Laura M. Fraternally, Mr. 
Powers holds membership with Clarinda Lodge, 
No. 109, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
in which he has filled many important official 
positions. Mrs. Powers is the postmistress of 
Arthol and in that capacity has proven a most 
capable and obliging official. Although en- 
grossed in business affairs, Mr. and Mrs. Powers 
never carry them into the atmosphere of the 
domestic fireside. They have a home that is 
comfortable in its appointments and restful. 
There, environed by the tenderness of family 
ties, and, for the time, shut from the busy world 
# without, they welcome their friends to a gen- 
uine hospitality and an enjoyable entertainment. 

WILMONT I. PORTER. 

This popular ranchman comes of distin- 
guished American ancestry, the family name ap- 
pearing high on the roll of the eminent men of 
both the army and navy of the United States in 
all of its prominent wars, conspicuous examples 
being Rear- Admiral Porter and Gen. Fitzjohn 
Porter, while, in the immediate family of Wil- 
mont I. Porter, his father, Robert H. Porter, did 
most loyal service as a bugler in the Mexican 
War even as a youth, serving with great accept- 
ability during the full period of hostilities. Rob- 
ert H. Porter was born in the state of New York 
in 1820, and died in 1878, at the age of fifty- 
eight years. After the Mexican War he went 
to California, where he was for some years a 
popular landlord, serving also with eminent sat- 
isfaction as a tax collector for four years. Re- 
moving to Utah in 1854, he there carried on farm- 
ing operations until 1863, when he located as 
a pioneer settler on Bear Creek, eighteen miles 
above Evanston, Wyo. Here his entire outfit 
was destroyed and burned by hostile Indians, 
himself and family being driven out of the coun- 
try. He then made a home on Yellow Creek 
until 1869, when, migrating to Coalville, Utah, 
he was there employed until 1873, in that year 



902 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



returning to Evanston. His migrations contin- 
ued, as in 1877 he was at Rawlins as the propri- 
etor of a stage line, thereafter, in 1878, removing 
again to Utah, where his death occurred on the 
sixth of November of the same year. He was 
an active, energetic man of high ideals, a de- 
voted member of the Church of the Latter Day 
Saints, and won and retained the cordial friend- 
ship of his neighbors. In New York state he 
was married with Miss Mary A. Williams, an 
estimable lady of English birth, who is now 
residing on Hams Fork, Wyo., at the age of 
seventy-two. Wilmont I. Porter, son of Robert 
H. and Mary A. (Williams) Porter, was born 
in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 16, 1857, 
and had the educational advantages afforded by 
the primitive schools of the pioneer period. From 
the age of twenty-two years he was for two years 
located in one locality, then he became connect- 
ed with railroading on the Union Pacific, main- 
taining his headquarters at Evanston, Wyo., 
these duties employing him from 1884 to 1886, 
inclusive. He then engaged in freighting oper- 
ations for a short period of time, returning again 
to the railroad service, later, in 1887, locating on 
a homestead claim in townships 22 and 23, and 
there devoted his individual attention to the rais- 
ing of a superior strain of horses, in which profit- 
able employment he still continues, being a good 
citizen and retaining the high regards of an ex- 
tended acquaintanceship. He is a close observer 
and reasoner, giving much thought and attention 
to public affairs of a local nature as a member 
of his political party and is also very influential 
in his circle of friends. His paternal grandfa- 
ther, Robert H. Porter, was a native of Ireland, 
who, after a life of numerous changes and great 
industry, departed this life at East Saginaw, 
Mich., in 1898, at the age of seventy-six years. 

JACOB PRICE. 

Coming to Wyoming a pioneer of July 4, 
[866, and living within the state almost all of the 
time since that period of time, Jacob Price, of 
Fremont county, Wyoming, the superintendent 



and general manager of the Embar Cattle Co., 
has a history here, almost contemporaneous with 
that of the state itself. When he first set foot 
on this soil it was a part of the territory of Da- 
kota, and, since that time, four mighty common- 
wealths have been carved out of and segregated 
from that territory, and, so rapidly has history 
been made in this section of the world, that the 
name of a political division, in daily use by one 
generation, becomes that of another division to 
the next. Mr. Price is a native of Missouri, 
where he was born on August 17, 1843, hi s P ar ~ 
ents, Jaines and Elizabeth Price, being natives, 
respectively, of Maryland and Missouri. In his 
native state Mr. Price grew to manhood and 
was educated at the public schools. In 1865 ne 
journeyed westward to Fort Leavenworth, and, 
a year later, crossed the plains to Fort Bridger, 
Wyo., as a wagonmaster with troops of the U. 
S. government, the mission being to relieve the 
garrison at the fort. From there he went to 
Camp Douglas in 1867, and, in 1868, to the 
Sweetwater mines at South Pass, returning soon 
thereafter to Fort Bridger, where he again was 
in the employ of the government. In 1869 he 
went in charge of an ox train, crossing the wil- 
derness site of Lander, this being the first train 
of its kind ever driven over that land, and again 
went back to Fort Bridger. There he continued 
in the service of the U. S. government until 1872, 
when he was married to Miss Margaret Lanigan, 
a native of New York, and, locating on land near 
by, he began the raising of stock. He continued 
his enterprise there until 1879, when he came to 
Fremont county and settled at Lander. ■ The 
next year he entered the employ of the Embar 
Cattle Co. and made his home on Owl Creek, 
near where he now lives, taking up land from 
the government for the purpose. In 1894 he se- 
cured an interest in the Embai Cattle Co. (an 
incorporated institution), which he has increased 
and magnified, until it is now of considerable 
volume, and he is also the very capable superin- 
tendent and general manager. This company 
has done an enormous business, for. at one time, 
it had fully 25,000 cattle, its usual holding being 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



903 



about 6,000, and all well-bred Herefords. The 
company also runs and handles about 1,000 
horses, and, for the use of its stock, owns and 
occupies 3,000 acres of land, well chosen for its 
purposes, affording excellent facilities for the 
business. In addition to his interest in this com- 
pany, of which he is a director, and in its stock, 
Mr. Price has a fine herd of cattle of his own, 
together with mining claims of value and also 
considerable stock in the First National Bank of 
Thermopolis, of which he is one of the directors. 
His living children are Elizabeth, wife of Ed- 
ward Major, of Fremont county; Clara B.,wife of 
V. D. Funteney, of Bighorn county ; Annie T. ; 
Robert J. ; William J. ; George E. ; while the de- 
parted ones are Edward and Frank. When the 
reason is sought, for the rapid growth and de- 
velopment, and the substantial character of the 
civil and political institutions of the Northwest- 
ern states, it can easily be iound in the character 
of the men who were their founders and build- 
ers, men of heroic mold and heroic fiber, capable 
of stern endurance and gigantic effort, fertile 
in resources and untiring in action, with broad 
views of human rights and a clear conception 
of the destiny of their country. And of this class 
is Mr. Price, a progressive, substantial citizen. 

ROBERT RAE. 

Robert Rae was born in Lanarkshire, Scot- 
land, on September 21, 1874, and was one of the 
family circle that accompanied his parents, Rob- 
ert and Barbara (Stewart) Rae, to Illinois in 
1875, his remembrance of the ocean voyage, 
however, not being very distinct. His childhood 
and youth were passed in Illinois and Colorado, 
in which states he received a solid education in 
the public schools and early became identified 
with coal mining, which he pursued for some 
years, later engaging in various occupations of 
greater or less importance, until 1901, when he 
established his present lucrative business at 
Frontier, and became a permanent resident of 
the place. He is a member of various fraterni- 
ties, notably the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 



lows and the Improved Order of Red Men, while 
he is also connected with the Phoenix Indemnity 
Co. The whole family stands in a fine relation- 
ship to society and is intimately associated with 
numerous representatives of the county. 

ABRAHAM E. RAGAN. 

Among the leading representatives of the live 
stock industry in Laramie county is the subject 
of this sketch, Abraham E. Ragan, who, as the 
proprietor of one of the largest ranches in this 
part of the state, has achieved such success as 
few attain. He is a native of Pennsylvania, a 
state that has furnished the nation with much 
moral force and sinew, his birth occurring in 
Westmoreland county, on March 3, i860, the 
son of Philip and Sarah M. (Fleming) Ragan, 
both also natives of Pennsylvania. In 1866 the 
father removed his family to Washington coun- 
ty, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until the 
death of his wife, in 1899, since which time he 
has been making his home with his son, Abra- 
ham. Abraham E. Ragan lived under the paren- 
tal roof until his seventeenth year and received 
his educational discipline in the public schools, 
supplementing the knowledge thus acquired by 
a course of private study. Before he was 
eighteen, he began farming on his own account 
in Iowa, and was thus engaged until 1877, at 
which time he went to Nebraska, where he re- 
mained until the following spring, then came to 
Wyoming in the employ of the U. S.' govern- 
ment, making his headquarters at Rawlins until 
the autumn of 1888, when he resigned his posi- 
tion and entered the employ of a cattleman at 
Fort Laramie. He rode the range in that vicin- 
ity for a number of years and became thoroughly 
skilled in all the details of the live stock busi- 
ness. In 1866 he homesteaded the land upon 
which the town of Guernsey stands, and, after 
holding it for five years, sold out to Mr. Guern- 
sey, who afterwards plotted the site and placed 
the lots on the market. This town had a rapid 
and substantial growth, rapidly becoming an 
important business center. In 1891 Mr. Ragan 



9°4 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



took up a ranch on the Platte River, five miles 
to the northwest of Guernsey, carried on the 
cattle business there until 1896, then purchased 
his present place consisting of 3,000 acres located 
sixteen miles northwest of the town. This ranch 
is one of the best improved and most valuable, 
as well as one of the largest, in the state. Its nat- 
ural growth of herbage is dense and vigorous, 
affording excellent pasturage for the large num- 
ber of cattle and horses which Mr. Ragan ranges 
upon it. He is a stockman of experience and 
close and intelligent observation, his influence 
has been most helpful to the industry which en- 
gages the capital and energy of so many leading 
men, and his example is both an inspiration and 
an ornament to the vocation. He is a gentleman 
of courteous and obliging demeanor and thus far 
in life his career has been one of signal useful- 
ness. An example of high integrity, and ' of all 
the graceful and pleasing amenities of civilized 
society, he has the universal esteem of his fel- 
low men, who honor him for his genuine personal 
worth. He was married at Fort Laramie, Wyo., 
on October 15, 1883, to Miss Mary E. Peterson, 
of Missouri, the daughter of Peter and Eliza 
(Ray) Peterson, natives of New York. Mr. 
Peterson, a tailor by trade, died in Utah on No- 
vember 14, 1878, and was buried at Salt Lake 
City, and his widow, who is still living, makes 
her home with the family of Mr. Ragan, which 
also embraces himself, his wife and one son, 
Walter E., who was born on February 2, 1884. 
In politics, Mr. Ragan is a pronounced Republi- 
can, but not a bitter partisan, looking primarily 
to the good of the community rather than the 
success of any party. 

P. A. RALLI. 

One of the foremost stockmen of the state 
of Wyoming, one -who has had an interesting 
and varied experience, is P. A. Ralli, the subject 
of this brief sketch, whose address is now En- 
campment, Wyoming. He is a native of Sussex, 
England, although of Grecian parentage, hav- 
ing his birth on September 13, 1856. He is the 



son of A. A. and Wewra (Maurogardato) Ralli, 
natives of Greece. His paternal grandfather, Al- 
exander Ralli, was a native of Scio, Greece, and 
was the governor of that province. He was ex- 
ecuted by the Turks at the time of the great mas- 
sacres in and around 1820, when some 20,000 
Greeks were killed in cold blood by the "un- 
speakable Turks." His father, the great-grand- 
father of Ralli, had, in his day, also been mur- 
dered by the Turks. At the time of the massa- 
cre of 1820, some of the children of Governor 
Ralli, among them being the father of the sub- 
ject of this review, escaped' from the country 
and made their way to the city of Marseilles, 
France, where relatives of the family were resid- 
ing. The firm of Ralli Brothers had then large 
mercantile and financial interests in Europe, and 
maintained a branch house in the city of London, 
England. The father, A. A. Ralli, was sent to 
this branch concern, and there was given a posi- 
tion. He remained in connection with this busi- 
ness for many years, later, becoming a partner 
and a member of the firm. He continued to re- 
side in the city of London until the close of his 
life, and of his thirteen children, P. A. Ralli, 
of this sketch, was the fourth son. He grew to 
manhood in England, and attended the famous 
school at Rugby, pursuing a thorough course of 
study. After his graduation from that great 
educational institution, he went abroad to study 
the foreign languages and spent about one year 
in visiting Greece and other countries of the 
continent of Europe. He returned to England, 
began the scientific study of agriculture and 
farming at his own farm in Berkshire, pursued 
his studies in this line for about two years, and 
then spent about three years in actual farming op- 
erations. At the end of that time he went to 
the city of London, and secured a seat on the 
stock exchange, in association with his father, 
and continued in that business for about two 
years, when his father died. Mr. Ralli then re- 
tired from active business, gave his time to 
yachting and pleasure and embarked on a trip 
around the world in his yacht. When he arrived 
at Quebec, Canada, he was persuaded to send 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



9o5 



his yacht home, and to join a hunting party go- 
ing on a trip through the western states. After 
finishing this trip, he had such pleasant memor- 
ies of it that he thereafter acquired the habit of 
annually coming to the West for a couple of 
months shooting. Becoming interested in ranch- 
ing and stpckraising, he finally purchased an in- 
terest in a ranch in southern Wyoming, and, 
in 1891, he bought the interests of his partners, 
thus becoming the sole owner of the property. 
Since that time, he has passed more or less of his 
time in Wyoming, giving his personal attention 
to his extensive stock interests, and has met with 
conspicuous success in this enterprise. He is 
the owner of one of the finest ranches in the 
state, having about 1,500 acres under irrigation, 
growing great quantities of hay, which is all 
consumed on the place by his stock. He makes 
a specialty of Shorthorn and Hereford stocks, 
and has crossed these breeds with great success. 
He is the owner of some of the most valuable 
animals in the western country, having one of 
the finest herds of the state. He usually carries 
about 1,000 head of cattle, selling his surplus 
each year, and constantly improving his herd 
in quality, rather than in numbers. In February, 
1896, Mr. Ralli was united in marriage to Mrs. 
Broadbent, a native of England. They pass a 
considerable portion of their time in England, 
visiting their ranch and other Wyoming proper- 
ties only at intervals. Mr. Ralli is one of the 
representative cattlemen of the western country, 
and is held in high esteem by all classes of his 
fellow citizens. He has done much to develop 
the resources of this section of the state, and to 
draw the attention of capital to the advantages 
of investment here, being a valued land-owner 
of the commonwealth of Wyoming. 

ROBERT RAWHOUSER. 

The great strength of America in her phe- 
nomenal growth and progress has been her rural 
population. From the teeming acres of her bound- 
less domain have come forth the forces, which 
have given her distinction in every forum, and 



supremacy in every line of human thought and 
activity. As the older states were peopled, their 
restless, energetic men and women sought other 
worlds to conquer, and the tide of emigration has 
steadily flowed westward until it has overspread 
the entire country, redeeming it from barbarism, 
making it fruitful with the products of industry 
and skill, a fit footstool for the Most High, and 
also a happy home for his children. To none 
of the older states is the great West more indebt- 
ed for supplies of sterling manhood and success- 
ful enterprise than to Pennsylvania, from whence 
came the prosperous, progressive and representa- 
tive farmer, who is the subject of these para- 
graphs. Among the thrifty and substantial peo- 
ple of York county, in that great state, he was 
born on April 17, 1847, tne son °f David and 
Sarah (Duncan) Rawhouser, also natives of the 
Keystone state and well-to-do farmers of its 
fertile soil. When he was two years old, the 
parents removed to Henderson county, 111., and 
there followed their accustomed industry until 
the death of the mother in 1861. The father 
continued his agricultural operations four years 
longer, and, in 1865, returned to York county, 
Pa., and there passed the rest of his days, dying 
in 1889. Their son, Robert, began his educa- 
tion in the schools of Illinois, finishing it, how- 
ever, in Pennsylvania. After leaving school he 
both farmed and worked at railroading until 
1868, when he removed to Iowa and passed two 
years farming, near Red Oaks, in Montgom- 
ery county, and was then employed for a number 
of years on various kinds of public works, in the 
meantime making several visits to his old eastern 
home. In 1878 he located in Washington coun- 
ty, Neb., and, after working on a farm which 
he there bought until the spring of 1879, he went 
to the Black Hills and sought advantage in min- 
ing among the throng which then filled the new 
Eldorado, and continuing his operations in that 
section until 1884. He then began prospecting 
for himself, and, during the three years he fol- 
lowed this business, he was very successful. 
From 1887 until 1892 he teamed in the Black 
Hills country, then returned to his farm in Ne- 



906 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



braska, which he sold in 1894, and passed the 
next two years at Hot Springs, S. D., merchan- 
dising there with water as a commodity. In 
July, 1896, he came to Wyoming, and settled on 
his present ranch, on Canyon Springs Prairie, 
where he has since resided, prosecuted a profit- 
able business in farming and raising stock, and 
occasionally making a mining venture in the 
Black Hills, with more or less success. He is a 
pioneer on this prairie as he was also at Dead- 
wood, and he has here given close and careful 
attention to the development and improvement 
of his excellent farm of 200 acres. On March 
27, 1883, in York county, Pa., Mr. Rawhouser 
was united in marriage with Miss Laura Camp- 
bell, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter 
of George and Leah (Stokes) Campbell of that 
state. Her father was a teacher and farmer, 
one of the sturdy men who give character to a 
community and trend to its civic and educational 
forces. Mr. and Mrs. Rawhouser have six chil- 
dren, George, David, Charley, Katie, Harry and 
John. In fraternal relations Mr. Rawhouser be- 
longs to the order of Freemasons, holding mem- 
bership in a lodge at Central City, S. D., and 
in politics he affiliates with the Republican party. 

ABNER RICHARDSON. 

A respected citizen of Albany county, and one 
who has had a varied career, and is now engaged 
in the hotel business at Tie Siding, Wyoming, 
is Abner Richardson, the subject of this brief 
review. Born in the year of 1839, he is a native 
of the state of Virginia, and the son of John and 
Lucinda (Ziger) Richardson, both natives of 
that state. The father followed the business of 
blacksmithing in the Old Dominion, who subse- 
quently removed his residence to Tennessee, 
where he continued in diligent operations in the 
same occupation up to the time of his decease. 
His son, Abner, of this sketch, grew to man's 
estate in Virginia and received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of that state. In 
1857, desiring to make his own way in the 
world, he left his home and secured emplovment 



in a tobacco factory in the southwestern portion 
of his native state, and continued in that pursuit 
up to 1861. In that year he answered to the 
call of his state for troops to engage in the Civil 
War, and enlisted in Co. A, Forty-second Vir- 
ginia Infantry, C. S. A. He served continuously 
from that time up to the time of his capture 
at the battle of Spottsylvania, where he was 
made a prisoner of war, and was later held in 
confinement by the Union authorities until the 
close of hostilities. During his term of service 
in the Confederate army he served under the 
command of Gen. Stonewall Jackson and par- 
ticipated in the great Seven Days' battle on the 
peninsula of Virginia, and also in the battles of 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Second Bull 
Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and 
Spottsylvania, where he was made a prisoner. 
After the war he removed from his former resi- 
dence in old Virginia to the town of Newburg, 
W. Va. Subsequently he removed to the state of 
Ohio and still later to Hamlin, Mo. Here he es- 
tablished his home for the long period of seven- 
teen years, during which time he was engaged 
in railroading. At the end of that time he dis- 
posed of his property at Hamlin and removed his 
residence to Wyoming, where he located at the 
city of Laramie, continuing here in the railroad 
business for a further period of sixteen years, 
having been occupied in that pursuit for not less 
than thirty-six years of his industrious life. At 
the expiration of that time he purchased a hotel 
property at the town of Green River and en- 
gaged in the hotel business for fourteen months, 
when he removed to Tie Siding, where he has 
continued in the same occupation until the pres- 
ent writing, carrying on a successful and pros- 
perous business and is popular with all classes 
of people. In 1866, in the state of Missouri, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Anna Dondley, 
a native of Maryland, and the daughter of Wil- 
liam Dondley, a respected citizen of Missouri, 
who was engaged in both farming and railroad- 
ing. In former years Mr. Dondley had held 
an important construction contract on the great 
Chesapeake & Ohio canal, and had borne a con- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



907 



siderable part of the labor of the construction 
of that great work. To Mr. and Mrs. Richard- 
son have been born three children, Luie, Augusta 
and Henrietta, all of whom are living. The fam- 
ily is among the most respected in its section 
of the state and the head of the house is as pop- 
ular a man as he is a capable and popular host 
in the management of his hotel business. 

E. N. RIDEOUT. 

This enterprising and successful citizen of 
the rapidly progressing city of Evanston, Wyo- 
ming, is a native of "away down East," for he 
was born in Hancock county, Maine, in 1846, 
one of the ten children constituting the family 
of his parents, Noah and Harriet (Saunders) 
Rideout. The Rideout family is one of New 
England's earliest, several of the name holding 
civil and military office during the Colonial and 
Revolutionary eras, as well as in later days. 
Noah Rideout was born in Vermont in 1809, 
where his father, Benjamin, was also born, the 
son of an early settler in the undeveloped forests 
of that state. Learning the stonecutter's trade, 
Noah became a contractor and builder, acquiring 
a local reputation by the character of his honest 
work, and representing his town in the Legisla- 
ture of Vermont for a long term of years. Har- 
riet (Saunders) Rideout, the mother of our sub- 
ject, was an exceptional woman. She not only 
discharged faithfully all of the -numerous duties 
of a housewife of her place and period, but 
reared her large family in the fear of the Lord, 
giving also largely of her time and means to the 
cause of the gospel, being a devoted Christian. 
She was born at Bucksport, Me., of Scottish 
parentage, and died in 1882, aged sixty-five years. 
Our New England people of the last generation 
believed most thoroughly in teaching every boy 
a good trade in his youth, and this good custom 
was followed in the case of our subject, who 
served his time, and became an expert at black- 
smithing, in his native state, thus acquiring a 
practical knowledge, which everywhere he could 
easily transmute into gold. Like many other 



courageous New Englanders, Mr. Rideout was 
early impressed with the advantages that a prac- 
tical man like himself would enjoy in the develop- 
ment of the great West, and, at the age of twen- 
ty-four years, turned his steps thitherward, mak- 
ing his first objective point one of the early min- 
ing camps of Montana. He did not remain long 
in the present Treasure state, but went to Salt 
Lake City, Utah, and there did profitable black- 
smithing for fifteen years, being prospered in his 
undertakings, which he conducted with wise pru- 
dence and persistent industry, the beautiful 
ranch of 900 acres in Rich county, Utah, he still 
owns, having been purchased and developed dur- 
ing these years of prosperous activity. Later 
transferring his energies and home to Evanston, 
Wyo., he has here built up a reputation of a 
skilled blacksmith, a bright practical man of 
affairs in all directions and of a public spirited 
citizen, who is prominently interested in all local 
matters of public interest. In 1902 he engaged 
in the livery business, which he is successfully 
conducting in his admirable business manner. In 
1879 was celebrated the marriage union of Mr. 
Rideout and Miss Mary Taylor, a native of Utah 
and a daughter of Harry and Mary Taylor, all 
of Utah. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Rideout 
consists of three children, Eva, Everett and Au- 
gustine. In the manifold and brainy sources of 
the development of this new land of the West, 
none have labored to a more consistent or a more 
valuable return to the community than has this 
quiet, industrious "village blacksmith." 

CHARLES F. RIETZ. 

Among the successful young stockmen of 
Laramie county, Wyoming, who, through their 
own efforts and industry, are on the fair road 
to prosperity and to substantial fortune, is 
Charles F. Rietz, the subject of this sketch, who 
is a native of the county of Waupaca, Wisconsin, 
he having been born there on September 29, 1868, 
the son of William and Catherine (Grober) 
Rietz, both natives of Germany, who emigrated 
to America many years ago, and were among the 



<jo8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



earliest settlers of Waupaca county. Here his 
father engaged in farming, which he continued 
to follow up to the time of his demise, which 
occurred in March, 1898. He was laid away 
for his final sleep in the city of Weyauwega, in 
the state of Wisconsin. The mother is still living 
and now makes her home at her ranch on Cotton- 
wood Creek, north of Wheatland, Wyo., where 
she is successfully engaged in the stock business. 
Her son, Charles F. Rietz, received his early 
education in the public schools of Waupaca coun- 
ty, Wis., and remained at the family home until 
1885. In that year, desiring to engage in busi- 
ness on his own account, and to make his fortune 
in the country farther west, he left his home in 
Waupaca county, and, in company with his 
mother, came to the then territory of Wyoming, 
where they took up land on Cottonwood Creek, 
about fifteen miles from the town of Wheatland, 
and engaged in the business of raising live stock. 
They met with success in their new venture and 
continued in association in this line until 1895, 
when Mr. Rietz purchased his present ranch 
property, situated on the Laramie River, about 
fourteen miles from Wheatland, and there con- 
tinued in the same business. By hard work, 
careful attention to business and good business 
judgment, he is building up a prosperous busi- 
ness, his operations growing more extensive from 
year to year, and he is destined to become one of 
the solid and substantial business men of the 
community. On August 27, 1895, Mr. Rietz was 
united in the holy bonds of matrimony, at Chey- 
enne, Wyo., with Miss Minnie A. Griffen, a 
native of Missouri, and a daughter of Charles D. 
and Ellen (Jamieson) Griffen, also natives of 
the same state. The parents of Mrs. Rietz re- 
moved their residence from Missouri to Wyo- 
ming in 1885 and now are esteemed citizens and 
residents of Wheatland. Mr. and Mrs. Rietz 
have two children, Charles A. and an infant who, 
at this writing, has not been christened. Mrs. 
Rietz is a devout member of the Roman Catholic 
church, taking a deep interest in all works cf 
religion and charity. Fraternally, Mr. Rietz is 
affiliated with the Order of Woodmen of the 



World, being a member of the lodge at Wheat- 
land. He is a stanch member of the Republican 
party, and in all matters which affect the public 
welfare takes an active and prominent part. He 
is a progressive and public spirited citizen, loyal 
to his political party 'and friends, but has never 
sought or desired office for himself, preferring to 
devote his entire time and attention to the man- 
agement of his private business. In this he has 
been very successful, and now is the owner of 
520 acres of land, well fenced and improved, 
and with large herds of stock. His thrift, integ- 
rity and other sterling traits of character, have 
earned for him the high opinion and esteem cf 
all who have been associated with him. 

AUGUSTUS L. RIPLEY. 

Owning, and for years operating, a large and 
productive ranch on the Belle Fourche, at the 
very base of the Devil's Tower, one of those nat- 
ural phenomena found in various places, which, 
seemingly "the wizard Time has reared to count 
his ages by," Augustus L. Ripley, now the popu- 
lar, widely known and hig'hly esteemed boniface 
and liverymen of Sundance, Wyo., has had im- 
pressive lessons of the bounty of nature and her 
mighty power. His ranch is one of. the most 
desirable and fruitful in that section of the state, 
generously supporting his large herds of su- 
perior cattle. The lofty tower under whose shad- 
ow the ranch lies in its peaceful beauty, is one 
of the most interesting natural objects to be seen 
within a range of many miles, even in a coun- 
try where the scenery is everywhere full of the 
picturesque and the sublime. This tower is a 
gigantic column of granite rising to a height of 
1,280 feet from the river bank 800 feet from the 
water's edge. Until 1896 the foot of man had 
never scaled its shaggy and precipitous sides or 
rested on its inhospitable summit, but, in that 
year, Mr. Ripley's son, Willard, and his friend, 
William B. Rogers, climbed to the top of the tow- 
er, being the first white men ever to make the 
ascent. They occupied seven weeks in the expe- 
dition, and their preparations for it, making lad- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



909 



ders and other appliances and accomplishing the . 
feat. The peak is now a great resort for tour- 
ists. In Mr. Ripley the blood of the Cavaliers 
of Virginia mingles with that of the hardy and 
resourceful people of New England, his father, 
Jonathan Ripley, being a native of the Old Do- 
minion, belonging to a family prominent in the 
history of the state from Colonial times ; his 
mother, erst Nancy Frost, having been born and 
reared in Perry county, Maine, where he was 
born on June 7, 1837. The father was a ship- 
builder and lumberman in Maine, who, in 1854, 
removed his family to Wisconsin, settling in 
Grand Rapids, there engaging in the lumber in- 
dustry until his death in 1866. His widow sur- 
vived until 1878, when she died and was buried 
at Warsaw, Minn., the place of her last home. 
Mr. Ripley was principally educated at Gardner, 
Maine, and removed with his parents to Grand 
Rapids when he was seventeen years old, making 
his home with them in that city and assisting his 
father in the business. In 1850 he started a lum- 
ber business of his own at Grand Rapids, con- 
ducting it with success and expanding volume 
until 1875, finding food for it all over the lumber 
territory of the state, and establishing mills in 
various places. In 1875 he relinquished this 
business and removed to Clay county, Iowa, 
there purchasing land and engaging in farming 
until 1879. In the autumn of 1880 he came to 
the Black Hills and there conducted a sawmill 
for a year. The next spring he came to Wyo- 
ming, . and, settling in Crook county, located his 
family on land near Rocky Ford Creek, where, 
after a few months' absence in the Black Hills, 
he began the raising of cattle, continuing the 
enterprise there for two years. In 1883 he re- 
moved to the ranch he now owns on the Belle 
Fourche, and here continued his stock operations 
until April, 1899, when he turned its manage- 
ment over to his son, Willard, and removed with 
his wife to Sundance, bought the Sundance hotel 
and a livery business and has been active in the 
management of them since that time. In 1902 
he bought another livery business in Sundance, 
and has combined the two into one large and act- 



ive industry, the only one of its kind in the town. 
In addition to his ranch on the Belle Fourche, 
he owns another one on the Missouri River, sixty 
miles from Sundance, on which he winters his 
cattle. In politics Mr. Ripley is an ardent Re- 
publican, dating his alliance with the party from 
its foundation. His first vote was cast for Lin- 
coln the first time he ran for President, and he 
has consistently stood by the nominees of the 
party ever since. Fie takes a leading interest 
in local affairs, although averse to public office, 
serving his people as county commissioner in 1888 
and 1889. On April 18, 1862, at Grand Rapids, 
Wis., he was married to Miss Phoebe Jenks, a na- 
tive of New York, and a daughter of Henry and 
Sarah (Van Valkenberg) Jenks, also natives of 
the Empire state, from whence they removed to 
Wisconsin, and, at Grand Rapids in that state, 
the father carried on a lumber business until 
1866, and then farmed in Wayne county, Iowa, 
until his death in 1892. Since that time the moth- 
er has made her home with her son in Webster 
county, Iowa. The Ripleys have one child, their 
son, Willard A. Mr. Ripley is an Odd Fellow, 
holding membership in a lodge located at Spen- 
cer, Iowa. He is universally esteemed, being 
one of the best known men in Crook county. 

FRED ROBERTS. 

Fred Roberts, one of the successful and pro- 
gressive stockmen of Uinta county, living near 
Cokeville, Wyoming, was born in England, on 
March 30, 1861, the son of George and Sarah 
(Jarman) Roberts, also natives of England, 
where their respective families had lived from 
time immemorial. The father was an industri- 
ous and well-to-do farmer, and came to '.he 
United States with his family when his son, 
Fred, was quite young. They settled in New 
York state, where the parents are still living. 
Their family consisted of seven children, six of 
whom are living. Fred, like the others, was 
educated in the public schools of New York, as- 
sisted on the farm between the terms of school 
and remained at home until he was twenty-three, 



910 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and then, in 1884, came to the West and followed 
sheepherding for three years. In 1887 he came 
to the part of Wyoming where he is now a resi- 
dent, and again engaged in herding and in range- 
riding for others. In 1891 he began the sheep 
industry for himself, and since then he has great- 
ly expanded his business and is running two 
bands of high-grade sheep of considerable value. 
He has been prudent and thrifty and has accu- 
mulated an agreeable and comfortable supply 
of this world's goods, owning now a pleasant 
home at Cokeville and other property besides his 
flocks. He belongs to the Woodmen of the 
World and takes an earnest interest in the affairs 
of his lodge. He was married, in this county, 
in December, 1887, to Miss Lizzie Wallace, a 
native of Missouri, whose parents, William and 
Lizzie Wallace, came to Wyoming a number of 
years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Robert have three 
children, Bessie, Goldie and Lewis. Mr. Rob- 
erts' career is a good illustration of what indus- 
try, shrewdness and close attention to business 
will do for a man in this great western country. 

JOHN LUMAN. 

From both shores of the Potomac, the ma- 
jestic river which was made classic by the displays 
of American valor" which ensanguined it during 
our Civil War came the ancestry of John Luman, 
one of the prominent stockmen and representative 
citizens of Bighorn county, Wyoming, living 
near Hyattville, who was born in Ohio in 1838. 
His father, James Luman, was a native of Mary- 
land, and his mother, whose maiden name was 
Martha Ankrum, of Virginia. They became resi- 
dents of Ohio soon after their marriage, and, 
when their son, John, was four years of age, 
moved to Virginia, where they lived until 1854, 
when they came west to Douglas county, Kan., 
and there engaged in farming. In 1859. when 
lie had just reached his majority, he came to Wyo- 
ming and for two years was in the employ of 
Judge W. A. Carter. At the end of that time 
he went to North Platte, Neb., and secured em- 
ployment as a hunter for the Overland Sta<re Co.. 



under Ben Holliday. After a service of some 
length in this capacity, he went to the mines of 
Colorado, where he remained until 1867, and 
then came to Wyoming again, locating at Fort 
Fetterman. He engaged in freighting in that 
neighborhood and hauled the first load of wood 
drawn to the fort. From there, after freight- 
ing for a number of years, he went to South 
Pass, where he continued that occupation for a 
time, then went to Laramie, where he carried 
on a livery business for several years, after which 
he removed to Colorado, and there conducted a 
stock business until 1872, when he returned to 
Laramie, remained until 1880, then returned to 
Lander, and later came to the Bighorn basin and 
wintered on the Bighorn River, near the Hot 
Springs. Looking about for a desirable tract of 
land for a permanent residence and as a basis 
for an extensive stock industry, he selected his 
present location, here took up land and added 
more by purchase, until he has 1,000 acres. This 
estate is well located, has a serviceable variety 
of altitude, is well watered, and has been so im- 
proved that is now considered one of the most 
desirable ranches in the state. His well-kept herd 
numbers about 700 fine cattle and the brand has 
a high rank in the market. He also has valuable 
property in Basin and elsewhere in the state. Mr. 
Luman is an enterprising and public spirited cit- 
izen, earnestly interested in the welfare of the 
county, helpful in every project designed to pro- 
mote it. He was one of the organizers of the Big- 
horn County Bank, and from its organization he 
has been one of its directors. Fraternally he is 
connected with the Order of Freemasons. At 
Laramie, in 1872, he was married to Miss Susan 
Besnette. They have one child, their daughter, 
Flora, now Mrs. William Reynolds. In his long 
life in the Northwest and in the variety of hazard- 
ous occupations in which he has been engaged, 
Mr. Luman has necessarily been in many danger- 
ous and difficult situations ; he has fought wild 
beasts and savage men. confronted the lawless 
element of humanity with a determined and suc- 
cessful resistance, and on his person bears the 
marks of his conflicts. One of these, which re- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



911 



calls a very narrow escape he had from a violent 
death, is a scar received in a hand-to-hand con- 
flict with a grizzly bear. He has suffered also 
the wrath of the elements and braved in safety 
many a storm, which involved fatal consequences 
to others, whose energies failed. 

ROSWELL D. ROBINSON. 

This wide-awake and up-to-date merchant at 
Uva, Laramie county, Wyoming, also an ex-car- 
penter and hotelkeeper, was born in Exeter, Ot- 
sego county, N. Y., on May 13, 1849, a son °f 
Hiram and Adeline (Chapell) Robinson, natives 
of the same state, whose ancestors settled there 
prior to the Revolution, and in which struggle 
they took an active and gallant part. Hiram 
Robinson, father of Roswell D., was a very prom- 
inent farmer in Chenango county, N. Y., and 
was also a trader in live stock and produce. He 
there lost his wife by death, in November, 1853, 
and there, also, his own death occurred, in Oc- 
tober, 1863. Both were highly respected people, 
beloved in their community, and were recognized 
as representatives of" the better class of the resi- 
dents in the town and county and section of the 
state. Roswell D. Robinson, it will be seen, was 
but fourteen years of age when his father died. 
He then went to live with a brother in Chenango 
county, N. Y., assisted him on the farm, and also 
attended the common schools. At the age of 
■twenty years he began the business of life on his 
own account, as a carpenter, having learned the 
trade from his brother, when living with him in 
Chenango county. But he continued farming 
with his uncle, A. B. Robinson, who conducted a 
produce store in Greene, Chenango county, and 
owned several large farms in the vicinity, and 
until he was twenty-nirie years old, Roswell D. 
remained in that section of the country, chiefly 
in his uncle's employ. In 1878 he went to Law- 
rence county, Mo., for the benefit of his health, 
which constant labor and a somewhat inclement 
climate had impaired. He remained in that state 
about eighteen months, then went to Colorado 
Springs, Colo., which affected him so beneficiallv 



that he was soon enabled to resume the active 
duties of life. For two years he carried on a 
meat market, and then reengaged in carpentry. 
In 1882 he removed to Fort Collins, where he 
worked at his trade for four years, and in No- 
vember, 1886, came to Wheatland, where he 
worked as a carpenter for the Wyoming Develop- 
ment Co. for eighteen months. In 1888 he came 
to Uva, and followed his trade for about three 
years, and, in 1891, embarked in hotel-keeping, 
buying his present buildings the following year. 
This business he followed with success until 1895, 
being an affable and obliging gentleman, well 
fitted for the duties of a landlord. On closing 
out his hotel business, Mr. Robinson opened a 
merchandising business in the same building, in 
which he has met with the usual success which 
has attended all of his business transactions. He 
was united in marriage, in November, 1869, in 
Greene.. N. Y., with Miss Harriet Rogers, a na- 
tive of New York and a daughter of Daniel Rog- 
ers and his wife, of the same state. Mr. and 
Mrs. Robinson have been blessed with one child, 
Laura, who, married with Frank Wiley, lives in 
Chenango county, N. Y., her husband being a 
merchant. Miss Harriet (Rogers) Robinson 
was called away from life in November, 1874, 
and her remains were interred in Greene, N. Y. 
Mr. Robinson chose for his second wife Miss 
Lizzie Archer, of Fort Collins, Colo., with whom 
he married on December 6, 1881. This lady is a 
native of England, a daughter of James and Anne 
(Sturgeon) Archer, who came to America in 
1849, with their family, and first located in New 
York state, where the father followed farming 
during the remainder of his life. To R. D. and 
Lizzie (Archer) Robinson has been born one 
child, Howard D., who first saw the light at Fort 
Collins, on May 8, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
inson are consistent members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and Mr. Robinson is a member 
of Wheatland Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Rob- 
inson has large interests in iron and copper mines 
in the Hartville district and gold mines on Doug- 
las Creek, which are so valuable as to . have de- 
termined him to close up his mercantile affairs 



912 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



and to devote his entire attention to his mining 
interests, as his gold claim on Douglas Creek ad- 
joins one of the most productive mines of that 
section and promises grand results. Mr. Rob- 
inson is a man of excellent business talent, and 
is, moreover, a useful and valuable citizen, be- 
ing full of energy and "go-aheadativeness." He 
is universally respected for his integrity, and few 
men in Laramie county stand higher. 

WILLIAM ROBINSON. 

Having come to the West, at the age of eigh- 
teen, from his Ohio home, and, having his sub- 
sequent life in this part of the country, always 
on the frontier, William Robinson, of Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, has seen every phase of the 
pioneer's experience and is to-day one of the best 
types of the class, being in tastes, aspirations, de- 
velopment and record, a real pioneer. In 1832, 
in Ohio, one of the rich states of the eastern Mis- 
sissippi Valley, renowned in all our post-Revolu- 
tionary history for fts rapid progress and great 
benefactions to the hosts of her early settlers, and 
later residents, his eventful life began. His par- 
ents were John and Mary (Hunter) Robinson, 
also natives of Ohio, who passed the whole of 
their lives within its border, engaged in prosper- 
ous farming on its rich and fruitful soil. There 
William Robinson acquired a common-school edu- 
cation, remaining at the parental home until he 
was eighteen years old. He then came to Ne- 
braska, and, in that state, built the first house 
erected on Wood River. Nine years later he 
crossed the plains to California and joined the 
army of miners who were then demanding of our 
mother earth the surrender of her buried treas- 
ures. Three years he was engaged in mining, 
then went to Nevada and, during the nine years 
following, was occupied in mining there and in 
Idaho and in freighting from Umatilla Landing, 
( )re. In 1871 he came to Wyoming, and. locat- 
ing on the Laramie plains, carried on a thriv- 
ing business in raising stock until 1875, when 
he sold out and went to New Mexico, where he 
parsed two years. In 1877 he returned to this 
stale, settled in the Powder River country and 



engaged in hunting and trapping, also in acting 
as a guide for parties of tourists through that ro- 
mantic and picturesque country. Eight years 
were spent in these occupations, and then, in 1885, 
he removed to the Bighorn basin, located a tract 
of land on Spring Creek, and again engaged in 
stockraising. He found the business profitable 
and congenial, and continued it in this region un- 
until 1898, when he sold out, and, in partnership 
with George McDonald, with whom he is still as- 
sociated, bought the ranch on which he now lives. 
The partners have 800 acres of the best land in 
the basin, and conduct one of the flourishing and 
well-managed stock industries of this part of 
the county. They have a commodious and com- 
fortable residence on the ranch, and have also 
provided well in the matter of building and other 
conveniences for their herds of fine cattle. After 
years of wandering and adventure, being engaged 
in various occupations in a number of places al- 
together different in character, having seen life 
in many phases of both ease and privation, safety 
and danger, Mr. Robinson now finds himself com- 
fortably settled for the residue of his earthly ex- 
istence on a farm of sufficient size to give him 
plenty of occupation and which is productive 
enough to make a sure return for his labors, con- 
tent with his peaceful engagements, surrounded 
by the advantages of a well-established and .pro- 
gressive civilization and safely moored in the 
harbor of a general public esteem. 

' WILLIAM D. ROONEY. 

Young, energetic, ambitious, straightforward, 
independent and systematic, with a good store of 
the self-reliance and resourcefulness born of ne- 
cessity and cultivated in the face of actual diffi- 
culties, William D. Rooney, of the Wildcat Creek 
region of Crook county, Wyoming, is justly en- 
titled to the high place he holds in the regard 
of his fellows as a progressive ranchman and cat- 
tlegrower, an influential citizen and a capable and 
successful business man. And, whatever he is as 
a leading man and productive force in the com- 
munity, he is all the result of his own natural en- 
dowments, brought out and trained bv circum- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



913 



stances. He was born on October 29, 1871, in 
Buffalo county, Neb., 'and when he was three 
years old his father died, leaving him to the care ■ 
and nurture of an excellent mother, who had, 
however, but slender resources for rearing her 
family. His parents were Dennis and Margaret 
(O'Connor) Rooney, natives of Ireland, who 
came to America soon after reaching years of 
maturity and settled in Wisconsin. In 1865 they 
removed to Nebraska, and, finding an agreeable 
location near Fort McPherson, they there "stuck 
their stake" and engaged in raising cattle. They 
were among the first settlers in the neighborhood, 
where they remained until the death of the father, 
in 1874. Two years later the widow removed 
her family to Sidney, Neb., and there made her 
home. What opportunities for attending school 
her son, William, had were presented to him 
here and at Crawford, in the' same state. At the 
age of eleven years he began riding the range as 
a cowboy, and he continued to serve a number 
of the large outfits in this capacity for years on 
the Platte River in western Nebraska and Wyo- 
ming, mastering the business in every detail, and 
having in his experience many thrilling adven- 
tures, narrow escapes and tests of his courage and 
endurance. His permanent residence in Wyo- 
ming began in 1886. Three years later he began 
a two years' service of range-riding in Johnson 
county, and, in 1891, he settled in Crook county, 
where for ten years he worked for the Western 
Union Beef Co. In November, 1901, he bought 
his present ranch. on Wildcat Creek, thirty-three 
miles north of Gillette. He then determined to 
abandon the life of an old-time cowboy and be- 
came, as far as he could, a representative and 
successful cattleman. In this aspiration he has 
found a congenial field for his energy and capa- 
bilities, has built up a business of magnitude and 
high character and has enlarged and intensified 
his hold on the confidence and regard of the peo- 
ple. On February 14, 1901, at Gillette, Wyo., 
Mr. Rooney was united in marriage with Miss 
Effie Brown, a native of Arkansas and a daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Felicia (Taylor) Brown, na- 
tives of Indiana and Nebraska. Her father 



was a railroad man until J 876, when he took up 
a homestead in Sumner county, Kan., and there 
died in 1880. Mr. Rooney is a Republican in 
politics, and, while firm in his party allegiance, 
is not either an ofiiceseeker or a partisan of the 
kind that would forego any general good for his 
community for the sake of a party advantage. 

WILLIAM ROWLANDS. 

The subject of this sketch, William Row- 
lands, now deceased, was one of. the earliest set- 
tlers of the territory of Wyoming, having first 
come to the city of Cheyenne in 1867. He was 
a native of Taleof, Wales, and a son of Thomas 
and Mary Rowlands, natives of the same coun- 
try. His father followed the occupation of farm- 
ing in Wales, and continued in that pursuit there 
up to the time of his death. The subject of this 
sketch grew to manhood and received his early 
education in the schools of his native country, and 
emigrated to America in the early fifties. After 
remaining in the eastern states for a number of 
years, with varying success, he removed 'his resi- 
dence to Denver during the early days of the 
territory of Colorado. Here he secured a posi- 
tion on the police force of that city in 1863, and 
was continued in that position for four years. In 
1867, he removed from Denver to the city of. 
Cheyenne, where he also became a member of 
the police force. After serving in this capacity 
for a short time, he received an appointment as 
city marshal of Cheyenne, which position he oc- 
cupied with credit to himself and with satisfaction 
to the citizens. Subsequently he was elected to 
the office of justice of the peace, in Cheyenne, 
and served the public in that capacity for two 
years. In 1873 he came to the vicinity of tht 
present location of Pine Bluffs, and took up the 
ranch which he long subsequently occupied, and 
which is now owned by Mrs. Kate Rowlands, his 
widow. Here he engaged successfully in the 
stock business, in which he continued up to the 
time of his decease, which occurred in 1897. 
During the later years of his life, he had retired 
somewhat from active business pursuits, having 



914 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



acquired a competency, and spent a considerable 
portion of his time in travel. At the time of 
his death, he was temporarily residing in Denver, 
Colo., but he was buried in the city of Cheyenne, 
Wyo., the scene of his early political and business 
activity. On August 19, 1862, at Denver, Colo., 
he was united in marriage with Miss Kate 
O'Rourke, a native of Ireland, the daughter of 
John and Mary (Dillon) O'Rourke, both natives 
of that country. The father of Mrs. Rowlands 
followed the occupation of farming in his native 
country, and continued there in that pursuit up 
to the time of his decease. In 1853, in the com- 
pany of friends and relatives, Mrs. Rowlands 
left the home of her childhood in Ireland and 
emigrated to America. Arriving here in the 
month of December, of that year, she remained 
for a time in the city of Brooklyn, subsequently 
removing to Chicago, 111. Still later, she visited 
the city of St. Louis, Mo., where relatives re- 
sided, thence removed to the city of Denver, ar- 
riving there in i860. That city was then a fron- 
tier town and the surrounding country was in 
an unsettled condition. She engaged in the busi- 
ness of raising cattle in that vicinity, however, 
and continued in that employment up to the time 
of her marriage with Mr. Rowlands, in 1862. 
To their union two children were born, George 
A. and Mary Jane, both of whom died in infancy 
and were buried in Denver. Two nephews of 
Mrs. Rowlands reside with, her at her ranch on 
Muddy Creek, about seven miles southwest of 
Pine Bluffs, Wyo., and have direct charge of 
her ranch and stock interests, they caring for 
her property, and guarding her rights in the 
same manner as though they were her sons. 
Both Thomas Kelly and Michael O'Rourke, the 
nephews, are practical and experienced ranch- 
men, possessing a thorough knowledge of the 
handling of stock, and are fully competent to 
take charge of the extensive business, and to suc- 
cessfully carry out the directions of the owner 
in the management of the property. Mrs. Row- 
lands is a careful and capable business woman, 
who has shown her ability to successfully con- 
duct the business since the decease of her late 
husband, and she has steadily added to her hold- 



ings, from year to year, until she has now one 
of the finest stock ranches in that section of the 
state. She enjoys the respect and esteem of all 
who know her, and well deserves the financial 
success which has come to her. 

GEORGE H. RUSSELL. 

A scion of old Pennsylvania families active 
and serviceable in the history of the state from 
early Colonial times, the son of parents who left 
their family associations, and the scenes and tra- 
ditions of their native state, to become early set- 
tlers in Ohio, where he was born on August 15, 
1850, and passing his childhood there and on 
the prairies of Illinois, and his youth and early 
manhood among the mountains of Colorado, 
George H. Russell, of Ishawood, in Bighorn 
county, Wyoming, has had a varied experience 
and seen many phases of human life. When he 
was five years old his parents, Benjamin A. and 
Mary (Lytle) Russell, who had moved from 
Washington county, Pa., to Ohio, again moved 
with their young family to Whiteside county, 
Illinois, and, after remaining there two years, 
they took another flight toward the setting sun, 
locating in Gilpin county, Colo., where their son, 
George, was reared and partially educated. As 
he approached the years of maturity he was en- 
tered at the Worcester (Mass.) Military Acad- 
emy, and, in that institution received the finishing 
courses of his education, while, soon after leav- 
ing its classic halls, he began to learn carpentry. 
When he ' had finished his apprenticeship he 
worked at his trade in Colorado until 1885, then 
came to Wyoming and located at Lander, now 
the county seat of Fremont county. Here he 
found profitable employment at his special craft, 
for in a new and growing country the mechanical 
lines of usefulness are always in great demand. 
He remained in Fremont county until 1897, car- 
rying on a thriving farming industry in connec- 
tion with his carpenter work. In that year he 
removed to Cody, and, in 1900, to his present 
residence on the South Fork of the Stinking Wa- 
ter River, near the town of Ishawood. Here, on 
a valuable homestead which he then took up, he 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



9i5 



has since resided and carried on with vigor and 
success an expanding stock business, keeping it 
up to an elevated standard and pushing its de- 
velopment with the energy and breadth of view 
characteristic both of himself and his ancestry. 
In the same year he was elected county com- 
missioner for a term of four years, and is now 
discharging his official duties at this writing 
(1903), with great credit to himself, and to the 
advantage of the people and the county. He mar- 
ried at Empire, Colo., in 1879, with Miss C. H. 
Kirkland, a native of the state. They have five 
children, Harold, Mary C, Lydia O., Bertha O. 
and Abby L. Mr. Russell is an active and es- 
teemed member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows and of the Woodmen of the World, 
and takes an earnest and appreciative interest in 
the proceedings of both orders. His active and 
useful life has made him secure in the confidence 
and good will of his fellow citizens of the coun- 
ty, while his business capacity, breadth of view, 
public spirit and progressiveness have given him 
a high place in public estimation as a forceful, 
wise, enterprising and safe public official and 
representative man. 

URBY RUTHERFORD. 

■ Although a young man, less than twenty-five 
years old, and having been a resident of Wyo- 
ming for less than ten years, Urby Rutherford 
has made an enduring mark on the commercial 
and social sentiment of the section in which he 
lives, and risen to the front rank in the stock in- 
dustry in the lines of enterprise, resourcefulness 
and integrity in conducting the business. He 
is a native of Illinois, born in that state on June 
17, 1878, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Feur- 
er) Rutherford, also natives of Illinois. In 1890. 
when he was twelve years old, the family moved 
west, and, in 1895, he came to Wyoming and 
located at Meeteetse, where he inaugurated a 
promising stock business. After following this 
line of industry for a short time in that neigh- 
borhood, he took up a homestead near Ther- 
mopolis, and there he still engages in the raising 



of stock with energy and success, and is carrying 
on general farming operations of magnitude. In 
addition to his ranch at that place, he is inter- 
ested in land on Shell Creek, where a prosperous 
stock industry is conducted. His herd on the 
home ranch consists of 200 good cattle, and he 
is careful to keep the breed pure and the stan- 
dard high. Mr. Rutherford is an active and serv- 
iceable member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows and his advice and assistance are greatly 
appreciated in the affairs of his lodge. On De- 
cember 29, 1 901, at Otto, he was married to Miss 
Estella LaGest, like himself, a native of Illinois. 
She presides over his attractive home, assists in 
dispensing the gracious and refined hospitality for 
which it is noted, and both herself and her hus- 
band are as much esteemed as guests as they 
are admired as hosts, being always cordially wel- 
comed at any social gathering. 

JOHN RYAN. 

The life of the well-known subject of this 
sketch has been largely identified with the great 
West, and few men are better acquainted with 
the various states and territories in which he has 
operated in various capacities. His career has 
been fraught with interesting experiences and 
thrilling adventures, for to him have come many 
of life's ups and downs ; the former finally pre- 
dominating. He is now fortunately situated, 
owning one of the finest ranches in the county of 
Laramie, and, as a successful raiser of live stock, 
easily ranks with the leading men of that great 
industry throughout the state. John Ryan was 
born in County Limerick, Ireland, on April 15, 
1848, and is the son of John and Mary E. 
(Hayes) Ryan, his parents being also natives 
of the Emerald Isle. In January, 1849, John 
Ryan removed his family to the United States 
and, after spending a short time farming in 
New York, changed his abode to Indiana, set- 
tling near the town of Lexington, where he car- 
ried on agricultural operations until 1855. In 
that year he migrated to Holt county, Mo., in 
which county and the adjoining one of Buchanan, 



916 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



he lived until his removal to Kansas in 1866. 
There he settled not far from Kansas City and 
spent the remainder of his life in that locality, 
dying a number of years ago. The subject of 
this review remained with his parent until fifteen 
years old, at which early age he. severed the 
home ties and started out to seek his own fortune, 
going first to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he 
secured employment as a freighter for the U. S. 
government. In 1866 he assisted to haul mater- 
ial for the construction of Fort Phil Kearney, 
in the northern part of Wyoming, and, after re- 
maining six months at that place, went to Fort 
McPherson, where he worked during the winter 
following. In 1867 Mr. Ryan went to Fort Rus- 
sell, where he was in the employ of the govern- 
ment until the fall of 1871, at which time he re- 
sumed freighting, operating between Cheyenne 
and the Black Hills and from the former place, 
and Sidney, to all northern points and govern- 
ment posts until 1882. While thus engaged, his 
life was one of constant activity, attended at 
all times by thrilling experiences and of dan- 
gers not a few. He also enjoyed excellent op- 
portunities in the way of observing the country, 
and comparing the relative advantages of the 
different parts as places of residence. Being 
pleased with the region adjacent to the Laramie 
River, six miles west of Fort Laramie, Mr. Ryan, 
in 1877, took up his present ranch, but did noth- 
ing in the way of its improvement until he quit 
freighting in 1882. In that year he moved to 
the place, and at once engaged in the -cattle busi- 
ness, which he has since carried on with success 
and profit. From time to time, he added to the 
area of his land, until his ranch now includes an 
area of 500 acres, and, in many respects, it is 
011c of the finest and most valuable properties of 
the kind on the Laramie River. He has here 
made a number of substantial improvements, 
and, by the exercise of sound business qualities, 
he has amassed a sufficiency of this world's 
goods to place him, not only in comfortable cir- 
cumstances, but to make him independent for 
the rest of his days. Mr. Ryan's wide and va- 
ried experience throughout the West brought 



him in contact with all classes and conditions of 
people, the result being to enlarge his practical 
knowledge of the world and. to better fit him 
to manage the large business interests which he 
now controls. Possessing the genuine humor 
and natural wit peculiar to him naturally, he is 
a most amiable gentleman and congenial com- 
panion, the very soul of good fellowship, and his 
company is much sought by those who enjoy 
the pleasure of his acquaintance. He is one of 
the honored pioneers of this state, and has not 
only witnessed its growth and development, but 
has aided its progress and advancement, faith- 
fully performing the duties of citizenship, dis- 
charging every trust reposed in him by his fellow- 
men. Mr. Ryan was married on December 22, 
1887, to Maria, a daughter of Isaac and Mary 
Thompson, natives respectively of Pennsylvania 
and Ohio, and, at the present time living in Kan- 
sas. Besides himself and wife, the family of 
Mr. Ryan now consists of four children, Maggie, 
Bridget, Janet and Louise, for Kate, the young- 
est child, is not living. 

JOHN SALMELA. 

From the rugged country of Finland in the 
north of Europe to the valleys and mountain 
ranges of Wyoming is a far distance indeed, but 
from that country has come to America many 
of her enterprising sons and daughters, who 
have loyally aided in the building up of the civ- 
ilization of the Great West. Among this num- 
ber is one of the successful ranchers and stock- 
growers of Uinta county, Wyoming, where his 
productive ranch and home is located near Almy, 
John Salmela by name, who was born in Fin- 
land in 1856, the son of Henry and Sarah (Or- 
by) Salmela. The father followed agricultural 
pursuits in Finland all of his life, dying in 1875 
at the age of eighty-nine years. His father, 
Andrew, was also a farmer, as had been his an- 
cestors for hundreds of years. The mother of 
Air. Salmela still lives in her native land, at sev- 
enty years of life enjoying good health and spir- 
its. Giving his labors to his father until he was 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



9i7 



twenty-one years of age, John Salmela then be- 
gan life for himself, and, hearing much of the 
wonderful country across the sea, where the touch 
of industry transmuted everything to gold, he 
prepared to test the truth of the stories by an 
actual personal experience, coming hither in 
1880, and making his first location in Sandusky, 
Ohio. One year later he came to Minnesota, tar- 
rying there a year, thence migrating to Carbon, 
Wyo., becoming there a workman in the mines, 
and winning praise and substantial reward for 
his diligent and effective labor. For eight years 
he followed mining in Carbon, then came to the 
mines at Almy, where he displayed the same 
industry and attention to his duties that he had 
manifested in Carbon. He later secured a ranch 
of eighty acres, and his earnings were well in- 
vested in stocking and improving it, and it is 
now in a prosperous condition, returning him a 
good annual income. In 1887 he married with 
Miss Helen Peasby, a daughter of Henry and 
Mary (Kinney) Peasby, also a native of Finland. 
The cherished children are Lempy, deceased ; 
Lena ; Elmer, deceased ; John ; Elmer ; Sophia ; 
Ida and Anna. Mr. Salmela supports the Re- 
publican party and is much interested in the pub- 
lic and local affairs of the county. 

CHARLES SCHOONMAKER 

A descendant of one of the old Knickerbocker 
families, originally settling on Manhattan Island, 
thence drifting up into the Hudson and Mohawk 
River valleys, and over into New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Charles Schoonmaker, now of 
Granger, Wyoming, exhibits in his personality 
many of their worthy traits of zealous industry, 
keen business sagacity and thrift and steady loyal- 
ty to friends, He was born in New Rochelle, Illin- 
ois, on November 14, 1859, the son of L. V. and 
Hannah (Nichols) Schoonmaker, his father 
coming from the Pennsylvania-Dutch branch of 
the family and his mother being a native of New 
York. The father devoted himself to agricul- 
tural pursuits and was an influential man in his 
community, active in public and political affairs. 



A strong Republican in political faith, he dis- 
played the inherent patriotism that the family 
had manifested in the early days of the Revolu- 
tion, by enlisting in an Illinois regiment of in- 
fantry, with which he served valiantly during 
the bloody years of the great Civil War. His 
wife, a delicate woman of rare traits of character, 
could not withstand the rude blasts of life and 
passed from earth in i860, leaving four children, 
Andrew, now of Evanston, Wyo. ; Jennie, the 
late wife of David Hyland, of Chicago, 111., died 
on August 27, 1902 ; Elmira, wife of M. E. Twiss 
of Oakland, Calif. ; Charles. Her memory rests 
like a fragrant essence in the hearts of her chil- 
dren. After the Civil War Mr. Schoonmaker 
returned to Illinois, where he died on Novem- 
ber 6, 1871, a short time after the great Chicago 
fire, and Charles Schoonmaker most vividly re- 
members seeing and watching it burn night after 
night. Compelled to take up the burden of his 
own maintenance when but eleven years of age, 
Mr. Schoonmaker had but little aid from the 
education of schools, and none whatever from 
the adventitious circumstances of wealth and in- 
fluence, but, with a courageous heart, he threw 
himself into the struggle of life, and has won a 
creditable success. His limited education he has 
supplemented both by study and in the school of 
experience until now he is a well-informed man, 
having positive ideas well predicated and a cor- 
rect understanding of the progress of events, be- 
ing a valued member of the Republican political 
party. His first labor was as a chore boy, but 
by diligence and faithful attention to the duties 
placed upon him he won friends and advance- 
ment. He had the desire of young manhood to be- 
come a railroad man, and, in 1875, he came to 
Wyoming and became a brakeman on the Union 
Pacific Railroad. Here his devotion to duty and 
interest in his work was soon manifest and his 
genial nature gave him great popularity in all 
circles, but, on July 12, 1877, he met with an 
accident that resulted in the loss. of his left leg. 
After his recovery he was given a situation on 
the road that he could fill, and, after several 
changes, he was made the pumpman at Granger 



9i8 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



station. This responsible position he has con- 
tinued to fill for seventeen years and has proved 
a very capable, trustworthy and efficient man. 
Through his frugality and industry he has been 
prospered, has now a fine interest in sheep, and 
is counted one of the best citizens of the com- 
munity. He married Miss Emily Coles, in Ev- 
anston, Wyo., on March 22, 1883. Her parents, 
Frederick and Sarah (Brown) Coles, are natives 
of England, whence they emigrated to America 
in 1865, and are now residing in Uinta county, 
Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Schoonmaker have 
had four children, Hattie ; Nettie, died at the 
age of three years ; Charles Frederick ; Clarence 
Lester, all promising children. 

GEORGE H. SABIN. 

Although he is just past thirty years of age, 
and has lived but a third of his life so far in 
Wyoming, George H. Sabin, of the Shell Creek 
region of Bighorn county, Wyoming, manager 
of the Shell Creek Sheep Co., has made a record 
for himself in the strenuous life of the cattle in- 
dustry and in the late Spanish-American War, of 
which many an older man might be proud. He 
was born on October 22, 1872, in the state of 
Maine, which was also the place of nativity for 
his parents, John and Ida (McKeen) Sabin. 
When he was six years old they removed to Ge- 
noa, Neb., and there he lived ten years and re- 
ceived a common-school education. In 1888, at 
the age of sixteen, he took up the burden of life 
for himself, going to the Black Hills in South 
Dakota, where he rode the range for four vears 
in the cattle business. In 1892 he came to Wyo- 
ming, and during the first seven years of his 
residence in the state was employed by Colonel 
Torrey of the Embar Cattle Co. In 1898 he 
went to the war with Colonel Torrey's Rough 
Riders as chief packer for the company, and 
in 1899, in partnership with the Colonel, he 
formed the Shell Creek Cattle Co., of which he 
has since been the efficient manager. The com- 
pany handles about 10,000 sheep, large herds of 
fine cattle and numbers of good horses. It has a 



beautiful ranch of 1,800 acres on Horse Creek, 
on which much money has been expended in im- 
provements, and which is one of the best known 
and most admired ranches in this part of the 
state. Under the skillful direction of Mr. Sabin 
the business has attained a high standard, both 
in the quality of its output and the manner in 
which it is conducted, and is highly vitalized 
and very vigorous, moving forward along the 
lines of healthy development with rapid strides 
and constant gains in the confidence of its pa- 
trons and an increasing hold on the best cattle 
markets generally. Mr. Sabin is a zealous, act- 
ive member of the Masonic fraternity and ren- 
ders valuable service to his lodge. He was unit- 
ed in marriage with Miss Bertha A. Whaley on 
March 27, 1898, and they have three children, 
all sons, Harry G., James T. and Clyde. Every 
business enterprise which he has touched has re- 
ceived from Mr. Sabin a quickening impulse and 
shown at once the force of his enterprise and 
resourcefulness. He is wise in his lines of action 
through reading and study, but much more so by 
judicious and discriminating observation, apply- 
ing the lessons learned by experience to secure 
better success and avoid disaster. Both in prog- 
ress and conservatism he is capable and effective 
for the good of the interests he has in charge. 
He is well known in all parts of the county as 
a wide-awake, untiring, far-seeing and courage- 
ous man of business and a citizen of public spirit 
and advanced ideas. 

FREDERICK SCHLEUNING. 

Prominent as a hotel proprietor and a stock- 
man at Lander, and justifying, by his enterpris- 
ing and courteous disposition, the good opinion 
in which he is held, Frederick Schleuning is 
firmly and agreeably established in a new country 
far from the home of his fathers and filled with 
aspirations widely divergent from those of his 
childhood and youth. He is a native of "fair 
Bingen on the Rhine." where his life began on 
February 15, 1855, and where his parents, Er- 
nest and Louisa Schleuning, and their ancestors 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



gig 



for generations were born and reared. His fa- 
ther was a man of consequence, a public official 
with important functions to perform, among them 
serving many years as one of the forest inspec- 
tors of the state. He died in 1894 at the ad- 
vanced age of seventy- three, leaving a widow, 
who still resides at Darmstadt. Of their six 
children five are living. Frederick was educated 
in the government schools of his native place, 
finishing at the Polytechnic College at Darm- 
stadt, and he there began business as both an in- 
surance agent and a wine merchant. In 1887 he 
came to the United States, and, locating at Rapid 
City, S. D., was employed for a short time as a 
bookkeeper, then he took charge of and conducted 
his brother's meat business while the latter 
made a trip to the Fatherland. In 1889 he re- 
moved to Hill City, in the same state, during the 
boom of the Harney Peak Tin Co., and there 
remained until 1892, when he came to Wyoming 
on a prospecting tour into the Shoshone moun- 
tains. In the fall he returned to Rapid City, 
there conducted a prosperous business until 
1895, when he sold it and removed to Lander, 
beginning the hotel and live stock business to 
which he has since given his time and attention, 
and which he has developed into agreeable and 
profitable proportions. He owns one-half in- 
terest in 320 acres of alfalfa and meadow land 
adjoining the town of Lander, and raises a fine 
grade of Hereford cattle. He also deals in wool, 
soliciting and handling it for purchasers. His 
public house, the Bridge Hotel, is one of the 
popular hostelries of this section of the state, 
and he is one of the best known and most es- 
teemed hotel proprietors to be met with in the 
Rocky Mountain region, giving due attention to 
every element of comfort for his guests, neglect- 
ing no matter of public interest or welfare. 

JOHN SHAW. 

The subject of this brief sketch is one of the 
successful business men of Carbon county, Wyo. 
He is a native of England, born in that country 
on May 10, 1838, the son of John and Ann 



(Muller) Shaw, natives of that country. The fa- 
ther followed the occupation of mining and farm- 
ing, continuing in those pursuits in England up 
to the time of his demise, which occurred when 
he had attained the age of seventy-five years. 
His father was also named John, that being a fa- 
vorite name in the family, and was a native of 
England. The mother is still living and con- 
tinues yet to make her home in England. John 
Shaw, of this review, grew to manhood in his 
native country, received his education in the pub- 
lic schools in the vicinity of his boyhood's home, 
was compelled by circumstances to leave school 
at an early age to assist in the support of the fam- 
ily and began work as a coal miner, continuing 
in this pursuit up to 1866, when he determined 
to seek his fortune in the New World. Dispos- 
ing of his property in his native country, he bade 
farewell to the scenes of his childhood and early 
manhood, set forth for America, where upon 
his arrival he located in Pennsylvania, and there 
engaged in the business of mining, securing em- 
ployment for three years, and in 1869, returned 
to England. Remaining there until 1874, the 
desire to again tempt fortune in America be- 
came strong in him and he sold his property in 
England and came to the United States. This 
time he went to the Lake Superior region, se- 
cured employment in the mines, at which he con- 
tinued for eleven years, then accepted a position 
on the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which he held 
for three years. He then resigned that position 
and went to Illinois, where he again engaged in 
mining for about one year, then removed to 
Iowa, where he made his residence during the 
following two years. He then concluded to go 
still farther west, and came to Douglas, Wyo. 
Here he continued in his former business of min- 
ing, and held to that pursuit until the year 1900. 
He then removed to Hanna, in Carbon county, 
where he embarked in the livery business in 
which he is still engaged. He is also interested 
in ranching and cattleraising in Carbon county, 
and a prosperous and progressive man of busi- 
ness, he is held in high esteem by all who know 
him, and his many sterling traits of character 



920 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



have won for him an enviable position in the 
community where he resides. In 1874 Mr. ShaAV 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary Boswell, 
in England. She was a native of the same coun- 
try, a woman of noble character, who was a true 
helpmeet to her husband during the period of 
their married life. She died during their resi- 
dence in the state of Michigan, where she was 
buried. Mr. Shaw is one of the representative 
men of Carbon county, having done much to pro- 
mote the interest and develop the resources of 
that section of Wyoming. 

IRA B. SAWYER. 

The young manhood of Ira B. Sawyer, of 
near Bigtrails, Wyoming, was darkened by the 
awful shadow of our Civil War. In that san- 
guinary contest he bore his part bravely, yet 
wearing the marks of its burden in wounds re- 
ceived on hard-fought fields, where nothing 
seemed so cheap as human life. But, since the 
return of peace, he has borne his part as bravely 
in its bloodless contests, as ever he did in the 
presence of a valiant foe. He was born in Ohio, 
on June 26, 1840, the son of Reuben and Rizpah 
(Dolson) Sawyer, natives of Virginia and early 
settlers in Ohio. There he remained, having the 
usual experience of country boys of his time and 
station, until May 25, 1861, when he enlisted in 
Battery F., First Michigan Light Artillery in de- 
fense of the Union. He served in that command 
four years, three months and eight days, partici- 
pating in many of the most sanguinary battles 
of the war. He was with Sherman on his cele- 
brated march to the sea, was wounded at Atlan- 
ta and also at Lookout Mountain. After his dis- 
charge at the close of the war he lived for a 
short time in Chicago, then came to Nebraska, 
and, locating j n the western part of the state, took 
up a homestead near Kimball, at that time the 
far frontier, being hundreds of miles from a rail- 
road and many more from a close and populous 
civilization. In the wild life he there encountered 
he found contentment, in the conviction that his 
duty was well performed, and safety in the force 



and resoluteness of his spirit. He remained 
there until 1893, engaged in raising stock and 
farming, then came to Wyoming, and, in part- 
nership with his son, George, continued the en- 
terprise on desert land, which they took up for 
the purpose, and which they have now well irri- 
gated and in a good state of improvement, both 
as to buildings and cultivation. It is one of the 
desirable homes of this section, comprising 54a 
acres, having sufficient variety in altitude and 
soil for the best results in the stockgrowing op- 
erations in which they are engaged. They have 
200 graded cattle and a band of fine horses, and 
their numbers are continually increasing, as their 
farm is steadily advancing in value. Mr. Saw- 
yer was married on May 16, i860, to Miss Sarah 
Johnson, a native of Ohio. They have three 
children, William W., a resident of Illinois ; Em- 
ma, the wife of Amos Dow, of Toledo, Ohio ; 
George, residing in Bighorn county, this state. 

JOHN SIMS. 

It has been frequently noted that the Great 
West, with its beautiful climate, its picturesque 
scenery and its lone, free, untrammeled life, main- 
tains a strong hold on those who have ever tarried 
for any length of time in the shadows of its 
mountains, along the banks of its streams or on 
the wide-reaching benches and plains of this most 
wonderful and mysterious country. This is well 
exemplified in the case of Mr. Sims, who formed 
his association with the country when pioneers 
held their lives in their hands, and all was new. 
strange and novel. After the rough experience 
contingent upon active participancy in the new 
mining camps for a series of years, he claimed 
an identification with the great ranching industry 
of Linta county, Wyoming, and has ever since 
been held in the highest esteem as one of the 
representative stockmen and honored pioneers of 
the county. John Sims was born in 1830. in 
Wales, that small division of Great Britain which 
has given so many of its worthy sons as actors 
in the development of the industrial resources of 
the United States. He was the son of Morgan 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



g2i 



and Theresa (Bifton) Sims, but his early life 
and education were passed under the guiding 
hand of his estimable grandfather, William Sims, 
in whose home he was reared from infancy un- 
til he assumed an individual battle for existence, 
which occurred at an early period of his life. 
His initial employment in his own behalf was 
in connection with coal mining in South Wales, 
where he • remained until his emigration from 
Wales to Utah, in 1865. In Utah he at once 
entered the mining field, locating first on the 
American Fork, where fortune gave him more 
than the usual good luck of miners. He later 
came to Almy, Wyo., and for a period of five 
years was here identified with mining, being suc- 
cessful in his operations, at once taking an ad- 
vanced position in the public and social elements 
of the vicinity and county. In due time thereaft- 
er the great possibilities and financial actualities 
of the live stock business attracted his attention, 
and he placed a due proportion of his earnings 
and acquired capital into this business of cumula- 
tive prosperity, acquiring title to a tract of land, 
which has now become a valuable ranch and es- 
tate, which he has given over to this profitable 
and fascinating branch of the American hus- 
bandry. Here Mr. Sims has since devoted his 
energies to the raising of thoroughbred cattle, be- 
ing also one of the honored and progressive citi- 
zens of the county, taking great interest in the 
welfare of his section and state, and command- 
ing the respect of all. In politics his Democracy 
has no uncertain sound, and the voters of Uinta 
county have three times honored both themselves 
and him by electing him a county commissioner, 
in which responsible office he manifested unusual 
executive and legislative ability. His interest in 
education has caused him to be long retained in 
the minor, but exceedingly useful office of school 
trustee. In 1845 ^ r - Sims was united in wed- 
lock with Miss Mary Ann Phillips, a daughter 
of David and Elizabeth (Jones) Phillips, all of 
them being natives of Wales, where Mrs. Sims 
was born in 1830. Four children have come to 
their home, William, John, Thirza and George, 
deceased. It is not too much to say, in conclu- 



sion, that, the development of the state of Wyo- 
ming could only be accomplished through the 
untiring and continued labors of such men as 
the class of which Mr. Sims is a splendid repre- 
sentative, and that its character and future pros- 
perity will only be assured by the supremacy of 
this class in its industrial and political circles. 

JEREMIAH H. SHEEHAN. 

There is scarcely any business which brings 
its head and manager into contact with a greater 
variety of people or requires in him a wider 
range of faculties than that of .keeping a hotel ; 
for the human animal is exacting to the last de- 
gree in all matters affecting his personal comfort, 
easily making himself at home where he finds 
his exactions duly considered and his comfort 
properly provided for. It is, therefore, a logical 
result, that Jeremiah H. Sheehan, the genial pro- 
prietor of the Hotel Fremont at Lander, is one 
of the most popular and successful men in his 
business in the state of Wyoming, for he has by 
his natural aptitude and long practice all of the 
gracious arts of the pleasing and accomplished 
publican, also that extensive and accurate knowl- 
edge of human nature which is so essential to 
the work of catering to the wants of the public. 
He is a native of Oneida, N. Y., where his life 
began on August 21, 1857. His parents, Mich- 
ael and Ellen (McConliff) Sheehan, were born 
and reared in Ireland and emigrated to the 
United States when they were young. They 
were successfully engaged in farming and were 
the parents of seventeen children, of whom five 
are living. Their son, Jeremiah, received a pub- 
lic-school education in his native state and there 
followed the occupation of his father until 1882, 
when he came west and located at Denver, Colo., 
where he engaged in teaming for a number of 
years, after which he entered the hotel business, 
carried it on a short time, shifting from that 
to the dairy industry. In 1885 he sold out and 
removed to Lander. Here he built the Brookside 
Hotel and conducted it until 1892. He then re- 
moved to the New Fremont, the finest hotel in the 



922 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



city, of which he has been the owner and pro- 
prietor ever since, and to which he has given an 
excellent reputation throughout Wyoming and 
adjoining states as a first-class and homelike hos- 
telry in every respect. In addition to his hotel 
business, he has extensive stock interests in the 
county, owning about 1,100 acres of land, well 
adapted for grazing and stockraising purposes, 
and improved with all the modern appliances for 
the stock business. In this enterprise, as in his 
hotel business, he is a public spirited and ener- 
getic man, in all the relations of life giving to 
the state the services of the best citizenship. On 
October 9, 1884, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Ellen McMahon, of Denver, Colo., a daugh- 
ter of John P. and Catherine McMahon, natives 
of Ireland and emigrants to the United States 
in their early married life. 

ERICK SIMONSON. 

Transplanting the thrift, industry, frugality 
and enterprise of his native Denmark into the 
wilds of America, and there pursuing his wonted 
occupation as a tiller of the soil, Erick Simonson, 
one of the most progressive and successful farm- 
ers on Canyon Springs Prairie, in Weston county, 
Wyoming, has seen that favored region coaxed 
from its native wildness into the genial and re- 
sponsive conditions of scientific husbandry, bask- 
ing in the full sunlight of prosperity, fragrant 
with the odors and opulent with the fruits of 
civilization and enlightenment. He has the ad- 
ditional satisfaction of knowing that his personal 
counsels have assisted in guiding, and his hands 
in impelling, the forces that have brought about 
this beneficent change. He was born in Denmark, 
on August 14, 1834, the son of Simon Neilson 
and Caran (Rasmusson) Simonson, also of Dan- 
ish nativity and descendants of long lines of frug- 
al and industrious ancestors. Erick Simonson 
was educated in his native land, remaining at 
home until he was twenty-one years of age, as- 
sisting on his father's farm while looking for- 
ward to a career in life to be wrought out by 
his own endeavors and according to his own 
plans. When he left home he engaged in farm- 



ing on his own account, continuing work in this 
line in Denmark until 1881, when, hearkening to 
the voice of America calling for men of brain and 
brawn to accept the bounty of her mighty oppor- 
tunities and aid in developing her limitless nat- 
ural resources, he dared the heaving ocean for 
a home on her benignant bosom, coming first to 
Lead City, S. D., there working for three years 
on the railroads and in the woods. The next six 
years he passed on a homestead he had located six 
miles west of Lead City, and was moderately suc- 
cessful in his farming operations. In 1890 he 
sold his property, came to Wyoming, and, taking 
up the ranch on which he now resides, twenty 
miles south of Sundance, determined to make it 
his permanent home and the recipient of his best 
labors and most skillful attention. It has re- 
warded his efforts with a fertility and bounty 
most gratifying, being now one of the most desir- 
able farms in a region of desirable farms. He was 
one of the first settlers in this section, and he is 
now one of the most prosperous and substantial. 
his property being highly improved and well sup- 
plied with all the conveniences of modern rural 
life. He carries on an extensive business in 
stockraising and agriculture, and. at the same 
time, he gives due attention to the proper ad- 
vancement and development of the community 
in educational, mercantile and in civic channels. 
On October 7, 1856, t Mr. Simonson was united 
in marriage with Miss Annie Yenson, of Den- 
mark, who still abides with him after nearly fifty 
years of wedded life filled with varied and in- 
teresting experiences, as benignant and sustaining 
in age, as she was helpful and inspiring in youth. 
They have had five children. One, Maggie, is 
deceased, and Dem, Rasmus, Charlie and Alexan- 
der are living. They are followers of Luther in 
religious affiliation, and Mr. Simonson a con- 
sistent Republican in politics. 

JOHN P. SIMPSON. 

Born on September 18. 1838, in the proud- 
est of the states. South Carolina, of parents whose 
ancestors were prominent in the civil and mili- 
tary history of that gTeat commonwealth from 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



923 



Revolutionary times, doubly orphaned in child- 
hood by the death of his father when he was 
but four years old and of that of his mother when 
he was seven, John P. Simpson, now of the Jack- 
son Hole county of Wyoming, a prominent ranch- 
er and stockman, had for his assistance in the 
battle of life the incentive of a high example in 
his forefathers, and also the preparation which 
comes from the hard school of experience through 
self-reliance and dependence on one's own re- 
sources and endeavors. Well has he used his 
capital in these respects, making it to multiply 
in a record of enduring credit and a substantial 
competence of material possessions. He was 
the son of John and Martha (Postlewaite) Simp- 
son, whose families were both prominent in 
South Carolina and who were themselves of ex- 
cellent standing and held in high esteem. They 
had four children, one of whom died in infancy, 
one, William I., was killed in a battle of the Civil 
War, in which he was a sergeant in an Illinois 
regiment, and two are now living. In early 
childhood, the surviving children of the family 
were taken to Illinois by relatives, and there John 
P. grew to manhood, was educated in the public 
schools, then came to Kansas of his own accord, 
eighteen months later moving on to Colorado, 
where he engaged in a livery and sale business, 
handling horses, and also in mining, which he 
conducted for about eighteen years. He next 
turned his attention to mercantile enterprises at 
Central City, and to contract work for the gov- 
ernment, working at Fort Morgan, building Fort 
Reynolds and furnishing transportation for the 
troops to that point. He continued contracting 
in that neighborhood until 1877, when he went 
to the Black Hills, where, during the next five 
years, he carried on a livery business at Dead- 
wood, S. D. At the end of that time he returned 
to Colorado, and, in 1889, located on Wind River, 
where he started a stockraising industry on a 
ranch which he occupied until 1892. He then 
sold his interests there and came to Wyoming, 
initiating a similar enterprise on a portion of the 
350 acres of excellent land which he now owns 
and farms, raising large crops of alfalfa, cereals 
and timothy, as well as quantities of wild hay. 



He is also extensively engaged in raising both 
cattle and horses and is a representative citizen in 
his community, illustrating in his demeanor to- 
ward public affairs the same uprightness, candor 
and breadth of view that have distinguished his 
operations in private life. Fraternally, Mr. Simp- 
son is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and 
belongs to the order at Deadwood. He was 
united in marriage, on December 25, 1866, in 
Colorado, with Miss Margaret S. Sullivan, a 
Virginian by nativity, a daughter of James and 
Susan (McDowell) Sullivan, descendants of old 
Colonial stock, always prominent in its day and 
section. The Simpsons have had seven children : 
William L., now an attorney at Lander; Joseph 
Clinton ; Pearl, now wife of S. A. D. Kiester, a 
druggist of Lander ; James S., a prosperous 
stockman of Grovont River ; Ida, married to 
W. P. Redmond, of Uinta county ; Claude and 
Alva A., living at home. Mrs. Simpson was the 
accomplished and accommodating postmistress 
at Jackson for a period of six years. Mr. Simp- 
son has had an eventful and interesting life. In 
his early manhood he was well acquainted with 
Generals Grant and Sheridan and other promi- 
nent commanders. He knew Denver and Chey- 
enne in their infancy, and has ridden through 
bands of hostile Indians without harm when oth- 
ers were killed. 

SAMUEL C. SMALL.. 

Back to the "land of the heather and the hill" 
must we pass in considering the ancestors of Mr. 
Small, for even his father was a son of "auld 
Scotia's hills and dales," descended from families 
long residents of that country, where he at- 
tained manhood and engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits after his marriage until his emigration to 
America, where he established his home in In- 
diana, residing in that fertile state until his re- 
moval to Kansas', where he secured a homestead 
and has long conducted prosperous farming oper- 
ations, being now practically retired at the age 
of seventy-five, his devoted wife also now light- 
ly carrying the weight of her seventy-four years. 
They have been citizens of the best character, in 



924 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



their lives showing daily evidences of their strong 
religions convictions, being valued members of 
tne Baptist church, while the husband has always 
taken intelligent interest in public affairs as a 
Republican. Samuel C. Small, son of the above 
worthy couple, L. and Elizabeth (Getty) Small, 
was born in Indiana, in May, 1865, and, after 
passing the usual life of a farmer's son, working 
in the fields during the summer months and at- 
tending the short terms of the winter schools, un- 
til he was eighteen, quickly left the parental 
homestead for the very alluring plains of Kansas, 
where he engaged for some time in agriculture, 
thence migrating to Nebraska and continuing the 
same vocation, ever making his way further and 
further into the wonderful land of the West, un- 
til he came to Green River, Wyo., as a fireman 
on the Union Pacific Railroad, continuing to be 
thus employed for seven years, then locating on 
640 acres of government land, in Uinta county, 
joining the ever increasing number of prosper- 
ous stockmen of his section, and the stockraising 
industry he still continues with cumulative suc- 
cess, ranging fine herds of superior horses and 
cattle. Another employment, largely of a scien- 
tific nature, has come to Mr. Small. The won- 
derful fossil remains of animals of strange form 
and contour, which have been quietly reposing 
for unnumbered eras of times in the geological 
horizon of the Dionceras beds of the Middle 
Eocene period, have attracted the surprised won- 
der of the world's greatest scientists, being reve- 
lations of the life existing on this continent thou- 
sands upon thousands of ages ago, and many 
have been exhumed and transported from their 
Wyoming restingplace to be exhibited in the col- 
lections of colleges and universities and in the 
public museums of the eastern states and Euro- 
pean cities. In this important work Mr. Small 
has been an important factor. He has given 
largely of his time to the searching out and the 
unearthing of these striking' remains, by his 
careful management and skill preserving intact 
many of the finest specimens yet preserved of 
fossil fishes, reptiles, clams, tropical leaves and 
plants, birds and insects. In connection with 
Mr. George Halderman, he discovered and ex- 



humed an iron bolt, lying thirty-six feet below 
the surface of the solid rock in which it was em- 
bedded, which eminent geologists, and the wise 
men of the East, declare to have been a portion 
of a vessel that must have been constructed at 
least 30,000 years ago. In this connection Mr. 
Small has been of great service to the advance- 
ment of science. In matrimonial relations Mr. 
Small has been highly favored, his interesting 
wife liaving her birthplace at Newstead Abbey, 
England, now world-renowned from its associa- 
tions with the gifted poet, Lord Byron. It was 
on September 12, 1892, that Miss Mary A. Bos- 
ton became his bride. She was a daughter of 
Andrew and Sarah A. (Saunderson) Boston, the 
father being a skilled ironworker, and for twenty- 
two consecutive years the trusted foreman of a 
large manufacturing house in England, thence 
emigrating, and becoming the foreman of a mine 
at Almy, Wyo., where he was killed by an explo- 
sion. He was the son of Joseph and Ann (Smith) 
Boston, his father, a farmer, dying in 1856, aged 
forty-two years, while his wife attained the ven- 
erable age of ninety-seven,, dying in 1892. This^ 
Joseph was the son of another Joseph, also a 
former, who died in 1855, at the age of ninety- 
six years, his wife, Jane, having been 100 years 
old at her death in 1850. The mother of Mrs. 
Small was born in England in 1830, and now re- 
sides at Diamondville, Wyo. She was a daugh- 
ter of William and Mary (Newbery) Sanderson,. 
of whom the father died in 1862, aged seventy- 
four years, and the mother in 1876, also at the 
age of seventy-four years. 

H. FRANK SMITH. 

The third in number of the daring pioneers 
who first invaded the primeval wilderness of 
what is now Weston county. Wyoming, and by 
his labors and his influence aiding largely in re- 
ducing it to civilization and systematic product- 
iveness, holding in his own right 480 acres of 
its fruitful soil, and having under lease a large 
additional acreage, on which he conducts a lead- 
ing cattle industry. H. Frank Smith, of the 
Stockade Beaver Creek region of Wyoming, has 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



92 5 



well earned the honorable mention among the 
builders and makers of this state which it is our 
pleasure here to give him. He inherited, from 
a long line of progressive ancestors, a true pio- 
neer spirit and enthusiasm, his parents, Anthony 
and Rachel (Freel) Smith, having been among 
the first settlers in Warren county, Iowa, where 
he was born on April 6, 1853, both his father 
and his mother having been brought there by 
their parents in early life, and having been reared 
in that county when it was a part of the Far 
West. There the father, although a mechanic, 
followed farming successfully until his death, in 
1861, and there the mother is now passing the 
evening of her days, rich in recollections of what 
seems a remote past, because measured by condi- 
tions rather than years, realizing, as none but 
actual observers with experience can, the all-con- 
quering spirit of American colonization. Mr. 
Smith remained with his mother, attending school 
and assisting on the homestead until he was 
twenty years old. He then purchased a farm in 
his native county and farmed it for four years. 
In 1877 he removed to Nebraska, taking up a 
homestead in Buffalo county, in that state. Aft- 
er three years of varying success as a farmer 
diere, he parted company with his land and cat- 
tle, and came to his present location on Stockade 
Beaver Creek, making his home for a while with 
J. H. Freel, on the ranch adjoining the one which 
he now occupies himself. He at once secured a 
freighting outfit and put his energies to work in 
the line of enterprise incident thereto, hauling 
supplies to the Black Hills for two years. In the 
spring of 1882 he homesteaded on his present 
ranch, ten miles northeast of Newcastle, and 
since then he has devoted his entire time to ranch- 
ing, improving his property, increasing its boun- 
daries, developing its resources, making it com- 
fortable and complete as a home, and placing its 
products, both animal and vegetable, on the mar- 
ket in a way that has brought them high appre- 
ciation and to him gratifying returns. He saw 
almost the beginning of civilized man's estate 
in the section, being the third person to settle 
there, and he is now the only survivor of those 
who began its inspiriting history. When he "stuck 



his stake" on the banks of the creek, Laramie 
county extended along the entire eastern bound- 
ary of the territory from Colorado to Montana. 
On March 3, 1874, Mr. Smith was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Josephine Freel, a native of War- 
ren county, Iowa, where the nuptials were sol- 
emnized, and where her parents, J. B. and Mar- 
garet (Roberts) Freel, were prosperous farm- 
ers and pioneers. Mrs. Smith did not hesitate to 
walk life's dangerous way with her husband into 
the wilderness, and has contributed her share to 
the growth and improvement of the section in 
which they live. He is a Republican in politics 
and has served his people as county commissioner 
in 1895 and 1896. Fraternally he belongs to the 
Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the. 
World, holding memberships in lodges of these 
orders at Newcastle. In addition to his ranching 
and cattle interests he has valuable holdings in 
oil properties with the Rattler and the Custer 
City oil companies. 

JOHN J. SMITH. 

John J. Smith, a prosperous and enterprising 
stockman of Bighorn county, Wyoming, living 
near Hyattville, on a ranch which he took up as 
a homestead, which he has greatly improved and 
beautified, came to the state in 1866 among the 
early pioneers, and helped to lay the foundations 
of its present greatness and progress. He is a 
native of Pennsylvania, where he was born on 
January 14, 1844, his parents being Edward and 
Jane (Johnson) Smith, Ohioans by nativity, who 
removed to Pennsylvania early in their married 
life, and in that state their son, John, was reared 
and educated. In 1861, when he was but seven- 
teen years of age, he enlisted in the Thirteenth 
U. S. Infantry and served three years. After 
his discharge he worked in the South, engaged 
in building telegraph lines, until 1866, when he 
again enlisted in the regular army as a member of 
the Fifth Cavalry, and was sent with his com- 
mand to Kansas, and afterwards to Colorado and 
Wyoming. During his term of service in this 
regiment, he participated in a number of Indian 
fights, seeing active service also in other lines 



926 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of frontier army work. At the end of this term of 
enlistment he went to the Indian territory, and, in 
that region, through portions of the territory and 
Texas, he carried on a stock business until 1882, 
when he came north to Nebraska, then, after a 
four years' residence in that state, he for a sec- 
ond time, changed his base of operations to 
\Yvoming. He took up a homestead, -near what 
is now Hyattville, and there settled down to im- 
prove his property and develop the stock busi- 
ness which he immediately started and which he 
has since conducted with increasing volume and 
profit, having now 100 cattle and a number of 
horses, all of good quality, and always kept in 
excellent condition, so far as skillful and care- 
ful attention can keep them so, as he applies to 
the management of his business an intelligence 
and a system derived from his long and varied 
experience, studious and reflective reading and 
judicious observation. He was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Buckmaster, a native of 
To\va. but a resident of Johnson county, Wyo., at 
the time of the marriage, which occurred on Oc- 
tober 27, 1887. They have six children, Mol- 
lie. Lottie, Ruth, John, Joseph and Jesse. 

SLATER F. SMITH. 

Born on July 4, 1868, in the great state of 
Illinois, when four years old he removed with his 
parents to Marshall county, Kan., where they 
lived six years and then took up their residence in 
Shawnee county, and three years later in Lvon 
county, in that state, and, remaining there until 
he was twelve, when he started out in life for 
himself, Slater F. Smith, of near Tensleep, in 
Bighorn county, Wyo., has had a very extensive 
experience in travel and with the customs and 
manners of different peoples, and he has gleaned 
therefrom the culture and breadth of view that 
comes with such experience. His parents were 
R. D. and Jennie E. (Fitzgerald) Smith, the 
former native in Illinois and the latter in Indi- 
ana. They were well-to-do farmers and found 
much advantage in this change of situation,, as 
opportunities opened in new states and counties. 



and they sought them with characteristic Ameri- 
can enterprise. At the age of twelve, as has been 
noted, their son, Slater, began the battle of life 
for himself, and, having something of a roving 
disposition, with an ardent desire to see the world 
for the benefit of the travel, he gave himself up 
to this desire, making two trips across the con- 
tinent from ocean to ocean and two also from 
Battle Creek, Mich., to the Gulf of Mexico. His 
longing satisfied in large measure, he determined 
to settle down to quiet life in a permanent home, 
and, choosing the cattle business as his occupa- 
tion, he came in 1896 to Wyoming, and located 
in the Bighorn basin, where he has a good ranch 
and a herd of fine cattle. To his interests here 
he has given a close and assiduous attention, 
applying to their development and enlargement 
the knowledge acquired in his extended trips and 
in his residence from time to time among people 
of different climates and environments, who were 
engaged in widely different pursuits and produc- 
ing a great variety of commodities. He has 
brought the part of his land under cultivation to 
a high state of fertility and raised the standard 
of his stock to an elevated basis. He is now ap- 
proaching the very prime of life, and, with thf 
enterprise and public spirit he has displayed, both 
with reference to his own business and the affairs 
of the community in which he lives, in which he 
always takes a warm and intelligent interest, his 
future promises well for himself and for great 
usefulness to the people among whom he has 
cast his lot. In fraternal relations he is connected 
with the Modern Woodmen of America, and 
gives to the meetings and affairs of his lodge 
the same careful and discriminating attention 
all his other interests receive. 

ROLLIN C. SMITH. 

Decidedly one of the most able and energetic 
young men residing in Cumberland, L T inta coun- 
ty, Wyoming, in Rollin C. Smith, who was born 
in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 28, 1874, a son 
of Watson B. and Fannie R. (Coon) Smith, the 
former of whom was born in Virginia, the lat- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



927 



ter in Pennsylvania. Watson B. Smith was a son 
of Rollin C. and Mary A. (Reid) Smith, of old 
Colonial stock and natives of Virginia, where 
Rolliri C, the father of Watson B., took an active 
part in the War of the Revolution. Watson B. 
Smith was a successful lumber merchant and 
passed the latter part of his life in Omaha, Neb., 
where he died in 1881, being a prominent and 
devoted member of the Baptist church, his widow 
still resides in Omaha, a member of the same 
church and greatly respected by all her neighbors. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Watson B. 
Smith were six in number, Ella M., Gertrude R., 
Rollin C, Louise C, Sherman and Watson B. 
Rollin C. Smith, the gentleman whose name 
stands at the head of this biographical record, 
is, a graduate from the high school at Omaha. 
After quitting this institution he was em- 
ployed for four years as clerk in the Omaha Na- 
tional Bank ; next he was employed as a book- 
keeper for the Megath Stationery Co., of the 
same city for about two years, then as bookkeeper 
for the Union Pacific Coal Co. in its office at 
Hanna, Wyo., for one year, and next as clerk in 
the general office of the Union Pacific Railroad at 
Omaha, Neb., for four years, being a most ex- 
cellent accountant. Mr. Smith next became 
bookkeeper for the Union Pacific Coal Co., with 
headquarters at Rock Springs, Wyo., for six 
months, and then was the storekeeper at Car- 
bon for a few months, when he was placed in 
charge of the company's two stores in Cumber- 
land, Wyo., as their general manager, a position 
he has since filled with marked ability and to the 
full satisfaction of the company. Mr. Smith may 
be said to have made his way through the world 
entirely by means of his individual exertions and 
talents, with no extraneous assistance, save that 
which his qualifications have won for him. He 
enjoys the confidence of his company which em- 
ploys him and the esteem of all its officers, as 
well as that of his fellow employes and the gener- 
al public of Cumberland. Certainly he deserves 
that esteem, for he is imbued with all the pro- 
gressiveness and vigor of the genuine westerner. 
Mr. Smith has done his full share of the labor re- 



quired in redeeming a new community from the 
crude associations, which, as a rule, environ it 
in its embryonic state, and in elevating it to a 
higher plane of civilization, and Cumberland is- 
rapidly advancing in its progress, financially and 
ethically, and is now recognized as one of the 
refined places of residence of Wyoming. 

WILLIAM J. SMITH. 

This ex-Union soldier and veteran of the 
late Civil War, but now a resident of Rawlins, 
Carbon county, Wyoming, was born in New 
York City, in 1844, and is a son of William and 
Bridget (Rivardan) Smith, both of whom were 
born in Ireland. William and his wife were on a 
visit to America when their son, William J., 
whose name opens this biography, first saw the 
light, but these parents returned to Ireland in 
1848, where they passed the remainder of their 
earthly existence. In 1857, at the early age of 
thirteen years, W. J. Smith started out in life 
on his own account, by apprenticing himself to 
the baker's trade, of which he became a thorough 
master, and continued to follow it in New York 
City until the breaking out of the Civil War, 
when he enlisted in Co. A, Eighteenth New 
York Infantry, and served as a valiant and duti- 
ful soldier for four long years, taking part in all 
the marches, skirmishes and engagements in 
which his regiment had a share, and proving 
himself to be a warrior of superior mettle, win- 
ning also for himself the esteem of his superior 
officers and the love and applause of his comrades 
in arms, as well as the gratitude of the nation. 
After the close of the war Mr." Smith drifted 
from New Orleans to Lyon City, Wyo., where he 
followed his trade for eighteen years, establish- 
ing an excellent trade and acquiring a fine repu- 
tation for the superiority of his output. In 1872 
Mr. Smith came to Rawlins and established a 
neat bakery on Front street, which has contin- 
ued to prosper as the years have passed along. 
As a citizen, Mr. Smith has attained a popularity 
that is also greatly to his credit and he is now 
filling the office of justice of the peace, to which 



928 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



he was first elected as a Democrat many years 
ago. The marriage of W. J. Smith took place 
in 1876 to Miss Margaret Sheehan, who is also 
of Irish extraction, and of the nine children who 
have blessed this union eight are still living, 
Maggie, William, Henry, Mamie, Madge, Nellie, 
Kate and Joe, John being deceased. This family 
stands very high in the esteem of the community 
of Rawlins, and Mr. Smith is ever ready with 
what means he has at his command to contribute 
to the improvement of Rawlins and its surround- 
ings, but is never an advocate of over-taxation. 
His character for integrity is unblemished ; his 
industry is a matter of comment with the people, 
his proficiency in the manufacture of bread is 
always recognized as something surprising. The 
problem of the making of the best and most 
wholesome bread at the minimum cost has been 
long a puzzle with the manufacturers of the staff 
of life, but Mr. Smith seems to have solved it. 

HENRY J. SOMSEN. 

The subject of this sketch is a native of the 
state of Wisconsin, having been born in the 
Badger state on February 18, 1852, and is the 
son of Henry J. and Johanna Brendiena (Ren- 
sink) Somsen, both natives of Holland. He re- 
ceived his early education in the public schools 
of his native state and of Minnesota, where he 
later resided. In 1874 he left the home of his 
childhood and youth for the purpose of seeking 
his fortune in the country farther west, and came 
to the then territory of Wyoming. Soon after 
he visited Salt Lake City, Utah, and there pur- 
sued a course of study at an excellent commercial 
college of that place. After leaving Salt Lake 
City he engaged in the timber business for several 
years and met with considerable success in that 
vocation. He then entered upon the business of 
ranching and stockraising at the place where 
Cokeville, Wyo., now stands, remaining there 
for a period of about ten years. At the end of 
that time he disposed of his property at Cokeville, 
and purchased the place where he now resides. 
He is the own<:r of a large and well-improved 



ranch property, and successfully engaged in the 
business of raising cattle and horses. He is a 
prosperous and enterprising citizen of that sec- 
tion of the state, and has, from time to time; held 
various positions of trust and honor in the gift of 
his fellow citizens. For a definite period of time 
he held the position of justice of the peace at 
Cokeville, and was also the postmaster at that 
thriving place. In both 1886 and 1896 he re- 
ceived the nomination of the Republican party, 
with which he is politically affiliated, as a candi- 
date for member of the Legislative Assembly, 
but, in common with all others on his party tick- 
et he met with defeat at the polls. On July 25, 
1877, Mr. Somsen was united in marriage at 
Salt Lake City, Utah, to Miss Emily Gentry, a 
native of England, and the daughter of Samuel 
and Elizabeth Gentry, both natives of that coun- 
try, who are still living at Coalville, Utah, at a 
very advanced age. During the pioneer days of 
the West, they came across the plains with ox 
teams, being among the earliest settlers of the 
territory of Utah. To the union of Mr. and 
Mrs. Somsen were born seven children, Henry 
S. ; Olive, now the wife of James Sharp, of 
Vernon, Utah; Frank M. ; John B. ; Maude E., 
deceased ; Alma E. ; Garrett W. The family 
were for many years among the most highly re- 
spected in the community where they maintained 
their home. In connection with his ranching 
and stockgrowing operations, Mr. Somsen has 
for many years been actively engaged in the tim- 
ber and logging business, and, for nine years, 
he was the efficient superintendent of large op- 
erations in the getting out of railroad timbers for 
the Union Pacific Railroad. Many of the logging 
streams in his vicinity have been the scenes of 
his active timber operations, and he has directed 
the driving of logs on a large number of them 
in that section of his state, L T tah and Idaho. He 
is one of the representative citizens of the county 
and the state where he resides, always taking a 
leading part in all matters calculated to work for 
the advancement of the community and the de- 
velopment of the resources of the state, and is 
held in high esteem bv all classes of his fellow 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



929 



citizens. He has from childhood manifested a 
great interest in horses, which, in a large meas- 
ure, was an inheritance. This has been not only 
a source of great pleasure to Mr. Somsen, but 
also of a decided benefit on many occasions, one 
incident in his life will clearly demonstrate this. 
During the Ute outbreak of 1876, when, on the 
headwaters of Crow River, Utah, the Indian 
agent, Meeker, was killed, Mr. Somsen escaped 
by the fleetness of his horse. On July 30, 1902, he 
had the misfortune to lose his wife, she having 
passed away at the age of forty-five years, sin- 
cerely mourned by a large circle of friends and 
acquaintances, as well as by the members of her 
own immediate family. She was a noble Chris- 
tian woman, and her memory is held sacred by 
her surviving husband and children. 

CARL STEIN. 

The sturdy German element in our national 
commonwealth has been one of the most impor- 
tant and forceful factors in furthering the nor- 
mal and substantial development of the coun- 
try. As a class they are proverbially industri- 
ous and frugal, signally appreciative of practical 
values, also of the higher intellectuality which 
transcribes provincial confines. Well may any 
person take pride in tracing his lineage to such 
a source, for it is from the Fatherland that much 
of the moral backbone and sinew of our com- 
posite nationality has been derived. Carl Stein, 
the subject of this review, is one of the sterling 
citizens that the great German nation has con- 
tributed to the American republic, and, as such, 
his name is eminently worthy of mention in a bi- 
ographical compendium of Wyoming's success- 
ful, self-made men. Carl Stein, who is now en- 
gaged in cattleraising operations about five miles 
north of Fort Laramie, was born in Germany on 
December 13, 1865, the son of Chris and Bertie 
(Rinehart) Stein. By occupation the father is 
a miner, still working at this vocation in his 
native country. Carl Stein was reared to ma- 
turity near the place of his birth and received his 
-educational training in the public schools, attend- 



ing them until a youth in his teens. When old 
enough to be of practical service, he began work- 
ing with his father in the mines, and so contin- 
ued to do until 1890, when, thinking the United 
States abounded in better opportunities for a 
young man than obtained in his native land, he 
bade farewell to friends and the familiar scenes 
of his childhood, and took passage for the great 
country across the sea. Reaching his destination 
he made his way direct to Hartville, Wyo., 
where for one year, he labored in the mines, at 
the expiration of that time engaging in railroad 
construction. Mr. Stein continued in the em- 
ploy of the railroad company until 1899, at which 
time he moved to his present ranch near Fort 
Laramie, and turned his attention exclusively to 
cattleraising. He acquired the ranch in 1892, 
but his affairs at that time were not in proper 
condition for him to take possession, so he spent 
the intervening years formulating plans and per- 
fecting arrangements for his future career as one 
of the country's successful stockmen. Since tak- 
ing up his residence on the ranch, Mr. Stein's 
business has grown in magnitude and import- 
ance, presenting a series of continued successes, 
and, today, he easily ranks with the enterprising 
and well-to-do men of his calling in the vicinity 
of Fort Laramie. His time is entirely given to 
his business, and the excellent condition of the 
ranch, and everything that is thereon, indicates 
the care with which he supervises all of his af- 
fairs. He is a man of sound judgment and prac- 
tical ideas, being plentifully endowed with the 
best and most desirable of all qualities, good com- 
mon sense. He is progressive in his methods, 
and to his energy and perseverance are attribu- 
ted the gratifying results that have attended 
his efforts since becoming a citizen of the great 
West. Fidelity is one of his chief characteris- 
tics, such fidelity as is manifest in his devotion 
to his family, his friends and to his adopted coun- 
try, and, in the faithful discharge of all of the 
duties of life, it has won him warm and lasting 
regard wherever known. In 1887 Mr. Stein was 
united in marriage with Miss Minnie Kenast, of 
Germany, a daughter of Frederick and Wilhel- 



93° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mina (Barman) Kenast, a union blessed with 
three children, Louisa, Hattie and Paul. The 
Lutheran church represents the religious creed 
of Mr. Stein, his wife also belonging to the same 
body of worshipers. 

CHARLES L. STOUGH. 

With a record of private enterprise, public 
service and estimable citizenship, of which al- 
most any man might be proud, still rendering 
vigorous and efficient service to his county in 
his second term as sheriff, Charles L. Stough 
stands forth conspicuously as one of the best 
and most esteemed men in his portion of the 
state. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, 
the son of Jefferson and Sarah (Huff master) 
Stough, also natives of Ohio and of German 
origin. They were prosperous farmers and did 
the best they could for their three children, all of 
whom are living, the second being Charles. The 
mother died in Ohio in 1863, aged thirty-one 
years, while the father is now and has been for 
years a resident of Lander. The exigencies of 
his condition made it impossible for the future 
sheriff of Fremont county to secure more than a 
meager common-school education, for, at the 
age of ten years, he was obliged to take his place 
as a hand on the farm, and, when he was seven- 
teen, he left the paternal rooftre'e and made his 
way to Kansas, where he rode the range as a 
cowboy and and a cattleman until 1880. At that 
time he came to Wyoming, and, locating in that 
part of Sweetwater county, which is now Fre- 
mont, devoted himself ardently to the stock busi- 
ness with such success that he has found it both 
pleasant and profitable, and has continued it 
ever since. He took up land on the Sweetwater 
River, increasing his holdings from time to time 
until he now owns 400 acres, all of which is hay 
and grazing land. On this desirable ranch he 
conducts an active cattle business, which he 
pushes with a commendable energy. It is not 
however, so engrossing as to preclude him from 
an active and influential participation in public 
affairs, to which he turns bv natural inclination 



and special adaptability. In the fall of 1890 he 
was elected sheriff of the county on the Republi- 
can ticket, and during his time of service in this 
capacity, administered his office in a way that 
made him a terror to evil doers and gained him 
the enduring confidence of the county. He ar- 
rested the notorious "Butch" Cassidy, who up 
to that time, had defied the officers of the law,, 
and upon his conviction conveyed him to the 
penitentiary. After the conclusion of his four- 
years' term as sheriff, Mr. Stough gave his at- 
tention to his ranch business until 1896, when he 
was elected a member of the State Legislature^ 
and, in 1900, he was again chosen sheriff of his 
county, an office which he is still filling accept- 
ably. He is a member of Lander Lodge, No, 
10, Knights- of Pythias, and of the local lodge 
of the Woodmen of the World. On January 4, 
1 89 1, he was married to Miss Minnie Cooper, a 
daughter of George and Catherine C. (Mead) 
Cooper, residents of Lander, but natives of Wis- 
consin. Five years later her father died; his 
widow now maintaining her residence at Lander. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stough have three children, Law- 
rence, Donald D. and Verna. 

HYRUM STRONG. 

How much of endeavor, of endurance, of tire- 
less activity, yes, and also of hardship, deprivation 
and suffering the term "old-timers" represents. 
The states of the Rocky Mountain region can 
never adequately reward those who came to them 
far in the van of organized civilization, and, by 
both their activities and their vicissitudes, blazed 
the way for others to follow. Their names will 
ever be held in highest honor. It is most fitting 
that in this volume we record something con- 
cerning these brave sons of the early period, 
and so we here place, in enduring form, a re- 
view of the personality and family history of 
one of these brave frontiersmen, whom every 
old-timer will recognize as worthy of the place.. 
Hyrum Strong, now of Cumberland. Uinta coun- 
ty, Wyoming, was born in Lee county, Iowa, on 
March 30, 1845, a son of Ezra and Maria 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



93i 



(Beard) Strong, the mother being a native of 
Pennsylvania and the father of Ohio. His pa- 
ternal great-grandfather was Sampson Strong, 
who rendered faithful service to the colonies in 
the Revolution. The grandfather was Ezra 
Strong, of whom tradition says that he was a 
robust pioneer who carried a musket that gave 
good execution in the War of 1812. The father 
of Hyrum Strong was a well-to-do farmer and 
stockman in Iowa, also an expert millwright and 
carriagemaker, which trades he successfully con- 
ducted in connection with his farming opera- 
tions. Ezra Strong later came to Utah, where 
his wife died in i860, and he afterwards mar- 
ried Mary Niswonger, of Pennsylvania, and re- 
moved to Oregon, where she also died and was 
buried at Woodland. After many changes of 
residence and circumstances, the father died in 
the Bighorn basin of Wyoming, at the age of 
seventy-five years. He was a restless, energetic 
man of more than ordinary ability, possessing 
great endurance and activity, and, as a prominent 
member of the Mormon church, built up several 
settlements of members of that faith, acting as 
their president. Hyrum Strong was the eldest 
of eight children of his father's first marriage, 
and came to Utah from Indiana with his parents 
in 1854, when he was but nine years old. His 
school advantages were those of the village of 
Springville, Utah, but, at an early age, he as- 
sumed a business relation for himself in stock- 
raising and ranching, continuing this successfully 
in Utah until 1890, when he came to the Fort 
Bridger section of Wyoming, and, when the res- 
ervation was thrown open to settlement, took up 
a quarter-section of land, on which he engaged 
in stockraising and general farming. His per- 
sistent and well-planned efforts have brought him 
prosperity. He has a fine farm near Mountain 
View where he raised about the first crops ever 
harvested in the neighborhood and planted the 
first garden of the vicinity, thus demonstrating 
the actual value of the land by showing its pro- 
ductiveness under skillful management and 
proper culture. He has real-estate interests also 
in Lyman, Wyo. On July 23, 1863, in Rock- 

58 



ville, Utah, Mr. Strong was united in marriage 
with Miss Mary Huber, a native of France, and 
daughter of Edward and Mary A. Sledt Huber, 
who came to Utah in 1858. The 'children are, 
Mary M., wife of Arthur Barney of Montana; 
Olive E., wife of Wallace Stevens of Fort Brid- 
ger; Hyrum Orson, who married Caroline Sim- 
mons of Price county, Utah, and owns a valuable 
ranch of 160 acres adjoining his father's prop- 
erty. In April, 1902, he established a livery and 
feed stable at Cumberland, in connection there- 
with running the company's stables. He also is 
proprietor of the stage line to Carter and is en- 
gaged in draying; Samuel F., married Miranda 
Tidwell, of Price county, Utah, and lives near 
Lyman, Wyo. ; Lydia M., wife of Henry Witt of 
Lyman; Joseph E., married Josephine Herford 
and resides at Lyman, Wyo.; Wallace, married 
Savala Hobson and lives on Clark's Fork, Mont. ; 
Rosette, died in infancy at Monroe, Utah; Ida, 
died at sixteen years and was buried at Lacenter, 
Washington, and Geneva, now at the parental 
home. Mr. Strong is a loyal adherent of the 
Church of the Latter Day Saints, and in and by 
his life exemplifies its teachings most faithfully, 
himself and family standing high in public es- 
teem. He has become familiar by actual visits 
with most parts of the great West, and is one 
of the best types of the early pioneer. 

J. H. SULLIVAN. 

The attentive and competent yardmaster of 
the Union Pacific Railroad at Rawlins, Wyo- 
ming, J. H. Sullivan, is a native of Kentucky, 
born at Ashland, in 1858, a son of James Sul- 
livan. His father was also born in Kentucky, 
and the mother, whose maiden name was Crookes, 
in Virginia. James Sullivan was a blacksmith 
by trade, and, in 1869, he removed from Ken- 
tucky to Nebraska, and thence, in 1883, to Raw- 
lins, Wyo., where he passed the remainder of his 
life, dying in 1901, at the advanced age of eighty 
years, his wife having preceded him to the grave 
in 1900. James H. Sullivan received his school- 
ing in Kentucky and Nebraska, and, at the age 



932 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



of fifteen years, started out in life to make his 
own living, commencing his career by working 
on the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming, at 
which labor he continued for three months, when 
he returned to Nebraska and clerked in a store 
at Lone Tree, now Central City, for two years. 
He then came to Rawlins, in 1875, followed brak- 
ing on the Union Pacific Railroad for a few 
years, and then took charge of J. W. Hughes & 
Co.'s ■ store in Rawlins, for six months, when 
he accepted the position of timekeeper for the 
Union Pacific, held it for a year, and was then 
employed as a fireman for two years, from which 
position he was promoted to be conductor of a 
freight train, and this position he held three 
years, and was then employed as conductor on 
the O. R. & N. R. R. for four years, following 
which he returned to Rawlins and here filled the 
responsible position of yardmaster for eight years. 
He then went to Pocatello, Idaho, and had charge 
of the railroad yard there for fifteen or eighteen 
months ; he next returned to Rawlins and again 
accepted the position of yardmaster, which he at 
present holds. Mr. Sullivan is a very friendly 
and genial gentleman, is- a Mason in high stand- 
ing, a citizen of unblemished character, and, in 
politics, is a' stalwart Republican ; but he has 
never had any ambition toward filling public of- 
fice. In January, 1889, Mr. Sullivan married, in 
Oregon, with Miss Mollie Duncan, a daughter 
of Squire Duncan, and a native of California. 
This lady was most untimely called away by 
death, in 1894, at the early age of twenty-six years, 
leaving no children. Mr. Sullivan, however, has 
a host of warm friends left to console him in his 
bereavement, so that his way through life is 
somewhat ameliorated. 

ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND. 

For ten years this enterprising and wide- 
awake stockgrower and farmer has been a resi- 
dent of the Bighorn basin of Wyoming, closely 
identified with the stock industry in that section 
of the state, and, during that time, he has not 
only made substantial gains in worldly wealth, 
snch as the old patriarchs rejoiced in, "lands 



and flocks and cattle upon a thousand hills," but 
he has become well established in the esteem of 
his fellow citizens of Bighorn county, being rec- 
ognized as a leading factor in the commercial life 
of the community in which he lives. He is a 
native of Canada, where he was born in the 
month of October, 1861, the son of William and 
Mary (McMasters) Sutherland, who were Scotch 
by nativity, descended from a long line of pa- 
triotic and serviceable ancestry in that country. 
When their son was nine years old they came to 
the United States and lived in Chicago until 1873, 
when they removed to North Platte, Neb., where 
they resided until 1880, when the son, Alexan- 
der, came to Wyoming, and was employed in 
riding the range for a number of years in John- 
son county. In 1893 he removed to the Bighorn 
basin and settled on Tensleep River, where he 
has since been engaged in raising stock and im- 
proving and fai-ming his land. His land he has 
reduced to systematic productiveness, placed on 
the way to great beauty in arrangement and 
adornment and here he supports generously a 
fine herd of 200 superior cattle. He has made 
by his own efforts whatever estate he possesses, 
and, while it is gratifying in proportions and 
character, it is only the promise of the fruits that 
are sure to follow his methods of thrift and en- 
terprise. He is one of the progressive and ener- 
getic men of the county whose impress has al- 
ready been made in enduring lines on the minds 
of his fellow citizens and the local institutions of 
his county, and the vantage ground he has al- 
ready gained will only serve to increase his op- 
portunities and power for further usefulness and 
influence. Fortune did not vouchsafe to him 
any adventitious circumstances, and the schools 
of learning were not open to him, except for 
short periods at irregular times, but, in the able 
school of experience, he was taught self-reliance, 
independence, quickness of perception and readi- 
ness in action. And these qualifications for suc- 
cess in life, which are never so well established 
or so fully developed 'under any other teacher, 
have been his main dependence and his whole 
capital in his successful battle for supremacy 
among men. From early life he has been de- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



933 



pendent on his own exertions, has never looked 
to any other source of power ; and the natural 
capacity which nature gave him has thus been 
developed and multiplied by active and intelligent 
exercise, and made useful in every phase of his 
being, so that he is essentially a self-made man. 

H. J. B. TAYLOR. 

Conspicuously connected with the wild, free 
life of the West for more than a quarter of a 
century, and having "made good" his right to 
be called a pioneer by his strenuous industry in 
varying fields of its activity, Herbert J. B. Tay- 
lor is well entitled to representation in this vol- 
ume. He was born in Monongahela, Washing- 
ton county, Pennsylvania, on August 29, 1858, 
being the son of Josiah and Lucinda (Frye) Tay- 
lor, descendants of very early families of the 
commonwealth and natives of the same state. 
The father was a farmer and a miller, taking an 
active part in all that concerned the public wel- 
fare. The Taylor family has given its loyal de- 
fenders of the country in every war in which 
the republic has been engaged from Colonial 
times, and it was not strange that Josiah Taylor 
should hearken to the sound of the bugle, and 
join the Union forces in the greatest internecine 
war described upon the pages of history. Here 
he did most gallant service, and was spared long 
after the "wardrums ceased to roll" to see the 
conquests of peace in the land. He died in Colo- 
rado in 1894, and the mother is now a resident 
of Boulder, Colo. In 1876 Mr. Taylor started 
for the western plains, tarrying for a time at 
Dodge City, Kan., and then for three years he 
engaged in farming, thence proceeding to Colo- 
rado, when his occupations for a year were some- 
what varied, driving stage, working on the rail- 
road and other kindred labors. Tiring of this, he 
went to Salt Lake City and engaged in freight- 
ing for the U. S. government between Salt Lake 
•City and Fort Thornburg, continuing this for 
six months and then pursuing the same employ- 
ment between Cheyenne, Wyo., and Fort Laramie 
until the spring of 1881, when, going to Fort 
Bridger, he was there identified with the govern- 



ment service as a teamster and as a wagonmaster 
until the spring of 1884, for his faithful perform- 
ance of his duties receiving the marked com- 
mendations of his superiors. He concluded his 
connection with the government to work in the 
Carter post-store, being there employed until the 
abandonment of the post by the Federal troops, 
when his services in that capacity were not needed. 
Thereupon he engaged in ranching and cattle- 
raising, and, as a preliminary to this, he had 
previously made claim- to the 160 acres where 
he now resides. Here he runs a fine herd of 
superior cattle and a superior strain of horses, 
conducting his business operations with wise 
forethought and with careful discrimination. He 
takes a vital interest in all public matters of a 
local character, having been an efficient school 
trustee for several terms., On April 24, 1884, 
he married with Miss Anna Hanson, a daughter 
of J. B. and Mary A. (Webster) Hanson, na- 
tives of England, who is an able helpmeet to her 
industrious husband. They have had seven chil- 
dren, of whom four survive, Herbert A., de- 
ceased ; Katie, deceased ; Eugene, deceased ; Ed- 
gar L. ; Beulah ; Mary A. B. ; Charles. The 
family enjoys the confidence and friendship of 
the entire community, and at their hospitable fire- 
side "the latchstring ever hangs out." 

ROBERT SWENEY. 

Becoming a resident of Wyoming when he 
was but ten years old, and having passed the rest 
of his life so far within the limits of the state, 
Robert Sweney, a successful and enterprising 
stockgrower and farmer of the Shell Creek coun- 
try in Bighorn county, may almost be considered 
a product of the commonwealth. His youth and 
manhood have been spent on her soil, he was 
educated in her schools, he exercised his first 
right of citizenship among her people,, and he is 
deeply and loyally interested in her welfare. He 
was born in Iowa on March 11, 1869, the son 
of Grigg and Lydia P. Sweney, and when he was 
four years old his father died. In 1879 his 
mother was married to Mr. R. H. Austin, of 
Wyoming, whose biography appears elsewhere 



934 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in this volume, and came at once with her new 
husband and her young family to this state. They 
settled at Fort Halleck, remained there for a 
number of years, then moved to Rawlins, and, in 
1887, came to reside in the neighborhood of their 
present homes. When he reached the proper 
age, Mr. Sweney took up a homestead, which he 
still owns, and which he has greatly improved. 
In partnership with his brother, Harry K. Swe- 
ney (see sketch on another page), he owns 150 
cattle, and on their land, which comprises two 
adjoining tracts of 160 acres each, they carry on 
a flourishing stock and farming industry, which 
is steadily increasing in volume and value. Mr. 
Sweney is also a U. S. mail-carrier by contract, 
and gives as careful and systematic attention to 
his official duties as he does to his private inter- 
ests, braving all weather and daring all dangers 
and hardships incident to the service. He is an 
active and valued member of the Modern Wood- 
men of America, and a progressive and widely 
known and highly esteemed citizen of the coun- 
ty. Of the labors of such true and honest work- 
ers and producers the future great prosperity of 
the commonwealth must come. 

PETER SWANSON. 

Among the successful self-made men of Wyo- 
ming, who, by their own exertions, have risen 
from obscurity to positions of honor and trust, 
Peter Swanson, the present efficient and popular 
sheriff of Sweetwater county, is deserving of 
especial notive. He has been identified with the 
industrial interests of this part of the state for 
a number of years, is distinctively a man of the 
people, with their good always at heart, and, 
by his integrity and upright course of conduct, 
he has won an abiding place in the hearts and 
affections of his fellow citizens. Mr. Swanson is 
one of the many strong-armed, clear brained, hon- 
est and progressive men that Sweden has con- 
tributed to the United States. Reared in that 
far-away northland, possessing in a marked de- 
gree the many sterling virtues for which the 
Scandinavian race has for centuries been cele- 
brated, he has proved to be a valuable citizen of 



the great republic on this side of the Atlantic, 
and, in all but birth, is a loyal and devoted Ameri- 
can. Mr. Swanson was born in Sweden in 1857, 
and is the son of John and Mary (Nellie) Swan- 
son, both parents being natives of that country. 
The father was a farmer by occupation, a man of 
considerable prominence in his locality, being a 
devoted member of the Lutheran church, he rose 
to high station in its official circles, and, in no 
small measure, was a leader of thought in the 
community where he spent his life. His death 
occurred in 1867, at the age of fifty-two years. 
Mrs. Swanson is still living near the place of 
her birth, having reached the ripe old age of 
eighty-seven years. Peter Swanson was reared 
on the paternal homestead, from his pious, God- 
fearing parents he early received instruction 
which had much to do with the framing of a 
symmetrically developed character, and in shap- 
ing his life to useful and noble ends. He at- 
tained manhood having a full belief in the re- 
quirement that man should earn his bread by the 
sweat of his brow, consequently has always had 
a profound respect for honest toil and never 
knew by practical experience the meaning of in- 
dolence or idleness. He remained under the 
paternal roof until reaching the j^ears of his 
young manhood, meanwhile attending the com- 
mon schools in winter seasons, spending the rest 
of the year as his father's faithful assistant on 
the farm. Having read and heard much of 
America, and the opportunities there held out 
to energetic young men, Mr. Swanson, at the 
age of twenty-one, decided to cross the ocean 
and seek his fortune in America. Accordingly, 
he arranged his affairs to that end, bade farewell 
to kindred and friends, looked for the last time 
on the familiar scenes of his childhood, and, in 
due time, landed on the shores of the New 
World and entered upon a new destiny. Mak- 
ink his way westward as far as Denver, Colo., 
he secured employment in the smelting works 
of that city, and, after remaining there a short 
time, came to Rock Springs, Wyo. During the 
eight years following his arrival at the latter 
place, Mr. Swanson was engaged in coal min- 
ing. He husbanded his earnings and became 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



935 



well situated, financially. Subsequently, he served 
four years as marshal of the town, and for a 
period of two years he was a deputy sheriff of 
Sweetwater county, discharging the duties of 
both positions in a manner that won him high 
repute as a conservator of law and order. His 
career in the latter office was such that he was 
nominated in 1898 as sheriff by the Republicans 
of the county, and was triumphantly elected. 
From that time to the present, he has discharged 
his official functions to the satisfaction of all, 
except the lawless and criminal classes, and it is 
universally conceded that the county has never 
had a more efficient, painstaking or a more pop- 
ular public servant. He has attended to his du- 
ties faithfully, ever being unremitting in main- 
taining the dignity of the law and bringing evil 
doers to justice. Mr. Swanson is courteous and 
obliging to all with whom he has official or other 
relations, and stands high in public esteem. He 
has many warm friends throughout the county, 
upon whose loyalty he can always rely, and by 
faithful service has proven himself worthy the 
confidence reposed in him. A Republican in poli- 
tics, and an earnest party worker, in the matter of 
personal friendship, political ties with him count 
for naught, as many of his closest companions 
hold views antagonistic to those which he en- 
tertains. In 1882 Mr. Swanson chose a life com- 
panion, being then united in marriage with Miss 
Minnie Anderson, a daughter of George Ander- 
son, Esq. Their children are Olga, Dora and 
Melville. As stated in the initial paragraph, Mr. 
Swanson is a self-made man ; as such he easily 
ranks with the leading men of his county, and it 
is with much pleasure that the foregoing sketch 
of his life and tribute to his sterling worth as a 
citizen and official is here accorded a place. 

HENRY J. THOMAS. 

To sketch the life of a busy man of affairs, 
and, in a manner, to throw a well-focused light 
upon the principal events of his career, is the 
task in hand in writing of the well-known gentle- 
man whose name furnishes the caption of this 
article. Henry J. Thomas is a native of Ohio, 



born in the county of Carroll on April 30, 1865. 
His parents, Daniel and Margaret Thomas, were 
born in Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, the 
father for a number of years being a farmer in 
the latter state. In 1866 Daniel Thomas moved 
his family to Missouri, and engaged in the manu- 
facture of woolen fabrics at Plattsburg. He 
continued in that business until his mill was de- 
stroyed by fire, in 1875, and, two years later, he 
came to Wyoming and bought a ranch a short 
distance east of the city of Cheyenne. From 
that date until his retirement from active life a 
few years ago, he was interested in the cattle in- 
dustry, a part of the time in partnership with his 
son, who is the subject of this review. Mrs. 
Thomas died in 1870 and was buried at Platts- 
burg, Mo. The childhood and early youth of 
Henry J. Thomas were spent in Plattsburg, and 
he ' received a good education in the schools of 
that city. In 1879, when fourteen years of age, 
he accompanied his father to Wyoming, and, for 
some time thereafter, worked on the ranch near 
Cheyenne, acquiring within a few years a valua- 
ble practical experience in the live stock busi- 
ness. Actuated by a commendable desire to fit 
himself for business life, he went to Chicago, in 
1882, and took a full commercial and business 
course in the Bryant & Stratton Business Col- 
lege, after which he returned to Wyoming and 
resumed ranching operations with his father. A 
little later they became associated in the cattle 
business, and continued as partners until 1896, 
when Henry purchased the entire interest, and 
became sole proprietor of the ranch. He re- 
mained where his father originally located until 
1896, in August of which year he bought his 
present ranch, situated nine miles east of Fort 
Laramie, and, since that time, he has been quite 
extensively engaged in cattleraising. meeting with 
the success commensurate to the energy by him 
displayed- in the business affairs. He has taken 
great pains in improving his place, especially in 
the way of buildings, having one of the finest 
and most convenient residences on the river, the 
beautiful grounds adding greatly to the attract- 
iveness of the premises, the whole bespeaking the 
home of a familv of culture and 2'ood taste. Mr. 



936 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



Thomas is one of the leading stockmen of his 
section, and, as a citizen, occupies a commanding 
position in the community. Early taught to rely 
upon his own resources, he began courageously 
the struggle of life, and, in the years that fol- 
lowed, he not only worked his way upward in a 
business sense, but his honorable course has com- 
manded the respect of those with whom he has 
been brought in contact. His sound judgment, 
unimpeachable integrity and practical experience, 
together with his adaptability to business, and 
his keen insight into human nature, have fitted 
him well for almost any calling in life. The 
splendid condition of everything on his ranch at- 
tests the interest Mr. Thomas manifests in both 
his home and business. His place, known as 
the Grattan ranch, was the scene of one of the 
most thrilling experience in the annals of Laramie 
county, which forms quite an interesting chap- 
ter hi the history of the state. Briefly stated, it 
appears that on October 6, 1854, a squad of 
United States soldiers and a number of huntsmen 
came to his place for the purpose of demanding 
from the Indians a certain member of the tribe, 
accused of the committal of some gross offense. 
The demand was met with an indignant refusal 
to deliver the accused Indian, and, in the fight 
that followed, the savages greatly outnumbering 
the whites, every man in the Federal company 
was killed. This is known as the Grattan massa- 
cre, and has been described in full by various 
writers and appears in different histories of Wyo- 
ming and the West. Mr. Thomas was married 
on December 6, 1892, in the city of Cheyenne, 
with Miss Mary J. Hauphoff, a daughter of Jo- 
seph J. and Mary Hauphoff, and four children 
have resulted from the union, D. Lloyd, Guy E., 
Mildred and Cleon H., all living. Mr. Thomas 
takes an active interest in whatever makes for 
the good of the community, materially, morally 
or educationally, and his name appears in con- 
nection with all enterprises having these ends in 
view. As a member of the local board of educa- 
tion, and an official thereof, he has done much 
to promote the efficiency of the schools in his 
district, and, in other ways, has been mindful 
of the interests of the young and rising gener- 



ation. He is a good man, a worthy citizen, well 
meriting the honor and esteem in which he is 
held by the people of his own and other com- 
munities of the commonwealth. 

GEORGE TERRY. 

A career full of interest, crowded with ex- 
periences rare even in the history of the western 
frontier, has been that of George Terry, now the 
chairman of the Board of Council of the Sho- 
shone tribe of Indians. The former position of 
chief of the tribe has been dispensed with, and 
the subject of this sketch, holding the position of 
chairman of their board, in that capacity now 
represents the collective tribe, representing it in 
all discussions and negotiations concerning or 
involving the affairs or property of the tribe. A 
volume full of interest might be written concern- 
ing the thrilling experiences of Mr. Terry upon 
the frontier, and of the many expeditions in 
which he has been a prominent factor and the 
leading spirit. He was born at Fort Bridger, 
Wyoming, on February 1, 1853, and all of his 
life has been passed in the Far AVest. He is 
the son of Josiah Terry, many years a well-known 
character of the frontier, being one of the earliest 
of the pioneers of the vast region now compris- 
ing Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Coming into 
the country which is now the state of Wyoming 
as early as 1847, in the- employ of the old Y. X. 
stage company, he conducted the first U. S. 
mail expedition from Salt Lake to the Missouri 
River. He is still living in Utah, at an ad- 
vanced age. The mother of his son, George Ter- 
ry, the subject of this sketch, was a member of 
the Shoshone and Comanche Indian nation, be- 
ing a noble woman of strong character, who 
transmitted to her children the admirable char- 
acteristics which made her notable among her 
people. Mr. Terry has a just pride in his parent- 
age, attributing much of his success in life to 
the inheritance and the training which he re- 
ceived from his mother. His early education 
was acquired in the public schools of Salt Lake 
City, and he subsequently was under the direct 
tutoring of Professor Park, later a regent of 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



937 



the State University of Utah. After completing 
his education, he traveled for a short time in New 
Mexico, Arizona and the southwestern portion 
of the United States. He then came to South 
Pass, Wyo., and was there during the first min- 
ing excitement at that place. He assisted in the 
burial of the first white man killed there by the 
Indians, and, subsequently, his father and the 
family were compelled by threats to leave the 
vicinity. They went first to Green River, and, 
later, to Salt Lake City, where they remained for 
some years. In 1880, they returned to South 
Pass for a short time, then again removed their 
residence to Salt Lake. In 1884, they returned 
to their former residence in Wyoming, and Mr. 
Terry acted in various capacities for the United 
States in and about the Shoshone agency and 
reservation. In the year 1901, he was made the 
chairman of the Board of Council of the Sho- 
shone people, and wields a large influence in that 
capacity, which he always uses for the best in- 
terest of all parties concerned, and he enjoys the 
confidence and respect of both the officials of the 
U.S. government and the white citizens, as well as 
of the Indians, the people whom he more directly 
represents. In 1885, Mr. Terry was united in 
marriage with Miss Kate Ennos, a member of 
the Shoshone nation. They have had eight chil- 
dren, of whom three are living, Josiah H., Ju- 
lia A. and Felicia. The family are highly re- 
spected at the agency, and by all classes of peo- 
ple. In addition to his other business interests, 
Mr. Terry is engaged in the business of ranching 
and stockraising, and is the owner of a fine ranch, 
consisting of over 400 acres of land, well fenced 
and improved, with convenient and modern 
buildings, while his residence is the largest and 
best on the reservation. He is a substantial busi- 
ness man and property owner, foremost in the 
advocacy of all measures calculated to work to 
the interest and advancement of his people and 
of the community in which he maintains his 
home. In 1894, Mr. W. L. Clark, a U. S. gov- 
ernment allotting agent, made a large number of 
allotments on the Shoshone reservation, which 
were both unjust and unsatisfactory to the peo- 
ple of that nation. In order to remedy the in- 



justice which was thus sought to be done, Mr. 
Terry visited Washington, D. C, and there, 
through his influence in the Department of the 
Interior and the senators and representatives in 
Congress, the order of allotment was held in abey- 
ance, pending further investigation, and the offi- 
cial promise was made that the wrongs com- 
plained of should be righted. The great service 
which he thus rendered has added to. the large 
influence which he already wielded in connection 
with the public affairs of his people. 

WILLIAM E. TAYLOR. 

William E. Taylor, now a prominent stock- 
grower of Bighorn county, Wyoming, and the 
popular merchant and postmaster of Bonanza, a 
pioneer of the state in 1886, is a native of the Do- 
minion of Canada, where he was born on De- 
cember 21, 1859, the son of William and Lucinda 
M. (Harvey) Taylor, who were also born and 
reared in Canada. He reached the age of twenty 
and received his education in his native province, 
and then was engaged in pedagogic labors as a 
teacher for a time. Tiring of this occupation, he 
went to Boston, Mass., and in that city engaged 
in the ice business until 1886, when, turning his 
back upon the conveniences, pleasures and ad- 
vantages of an advanced and cultivated civiliza- 
tion, he came to Wyoming, locating at Bonanza, 
where he started one of the first mercantile es- 
tablishments in the Bighorn basin, being at that 
time in a partnership association with his brother, 
Alonzo, which continued until April 1, 1897. The 
enterprise which they originated and carried on 
W. E. Taylor is still conducting, and it has be- 
come one of the established institutions of the 
country. He carries a large and varied stock of 
general merchandise, suited to his trade and to 
the community, omitting no effort on his part to 
keep the stock down-to-date in every respect. He 
also owns 800 acres of good land, has a fine herd 
of cattle and a drove of good horses, while in 
the affairs of the community, and in all that 
conduces to the convenience of the people, he 
takes a leading part. He is a stockholder of 
the local telephone company, and, when Bighorn 



938 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



county was organized, he was its first county 
clerk, serving without salary. He has been post- 
master at Bonanza since 1897. Fraternally, he 
belongs to the Odd Fellows. In Boston, Mass., 
on November 14, 1888, he was married to Miss 
Ethel M. Bennett, a native of that city. They 
have had three children, Harry and Grace, and 
Charles, deceased. 

JOHN A. THORNE. 

This prosperous, progressive and public spirit- 
ed farmer and stockbreeder of Bighorn county, 
conducting his operations on a superior ranch of 
320 acres, lying near the town of Otto, came to 
Wyoming when he was nineteen years old, and 
he has been a resident of the state almost all of 
the time since then, having passed a few years, 
however, in Nevada and Idaho. He has given 
the vigor and enthusiasm of his young nianhood 
and the ripened powers of his full maturity to 
the development of the state, and to the advance- 
ment of her interests and her people, and is rec- 
ognized as one of her leading and representa- 
tive citizens in the section of his residence and 
amid the scenes of his useful labors. Mr. Thorne 
was born on October 21, 1855, at Davenport, 
Iowa, a son of James and Jane (McLumphrey) 
Thorne, both natives of Indiana. In his native 
state he reached the age of nineteen and received 
a common-school education, working between 
the terms of school at various occupations as he 
had opportunity. In 1874 he came to Wyoming, 
locating at Evanston, where he spent a year. 
From there he went to Nevada, and for five years 
was engaged in mining in that state, then moved 
to American Falls, Idaho, and was identified 
with mining operations in that region for a year. 
In 1882 he returned to this state and took up 
his residence at Atlantic City. Here for a while 
he followed mining, then turned his attention to 
raising horses, continuing this enterprise until 
1889, when he came to the Bighorn basin and 
took up land near Otto, making this his perma- 
nent home, and the seat of a promising industry 
in stockraising and farming, which he imme- 
diately inaugurated, and which he is still conduct- 



ing. He has 320 acres of land, which is nat- 
urally good, and yet has been much improved 
by skillful and systematic cultivation. He has 
supplied it with good buildings, ample in size and 
sufficient in number for the requirements of the 
business and for all the comforts of an attractive 
home. And, as he has been energetic and dili- 
gent in here building his own fortunes, he has 
also been as zealous and active in a leading 
way in helping to build up and develop the 
county and community in which he has cast 
his lot. From the serious business of his vo- 
cation, and the cares necessarily incident to 
it, he finds occasional relief and pleasant recre- 
ation in the meetings and proceedings of his 
lodge of Odd Fellows, to which he has belonged 
for a number of years. He was married at Al- 
bion, Idaho, in 1880, to Miss Electra A. Rut- 
ledge, a native of Ohio, who was reared in Ore- 
gon. They have one child, their son, Bertram 
O. Thorne, born at Atlantic City in 1883. 

FRANK O. THOMPSON. 

While actively and serviceably engaged in 
the profession of teaching, as the principal of 
the Burlington (Wyoming) schools, a profession 
revered by all men, yet scarcely by any held in 
the high esteem it deserves, in that capacity aid- 
ing in the development and improvement of the 
neighborhood in which he lives, and in giving 
proper trend and force to public sentiment at its 
fountain head. Mr. Frank O. Thompson, of near 
Cody, is also a contributor to the material wealth 
and resources of his adopted state by conducting 
a thriving and profitable stock and farming in- 
dustry on his beautiful and well-managed ranch. 
His parents were Henry and Amanda (Dean) 
Thompson, natives of Canada and early settlers 
in Illinois, where their son, Frank, was born on 
November 18, 1868. He grew to manhood and 
was educated in his native state, and, after leav- 
ing school, was employed as a bookkeeper and 
salesman in a mercantile establishment. In 1888 
he came west to Colorado, and. for two years 
thereafter, was in the employ of the Union Pa- 
cific Railroad in the civil engineer corps. He 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



939 



then went to Nebraska and engaged in buying 
and shipping cattle and other stock until 1896. 
In that year he came to Wyoming, located land 
four miles east of Cody and settled clown as a 
stockgrower and quiet farmer. The educational 
demands of the neighborhood, however, soon' 
forced him into service as a teacher, and he has 
been employed in this dual capacity ever since, 
being now the highly esteemed principal of the 
school at Burlington, where he has in charge 
one of the largest, and, as he has made it, one 
of the best schools in the county. He also gives 
close and useful attention to local public affairs, 
and is one of the leaders of thought in all mat- 
ters pertaining to the moral and educational ad- 
vancement of the people of his portion of the 
state, to whom he rendered faithful service, as 
deputy county assessor, in 1902. He is a valued 
member of the Modern Woodmen of America, 
holding affiliation with Cedar Lodge of the order, 
at Cody, and taking an active part in its proceed- 
ings. In all northern Wyoming no man is more 
highly or more universally esteemed and respect- 
ed than this eminently useful gentleman. 

NATHAN D. THATCHER. 

Born and reared in the farther West, educat- 
ed in her schools, making his interesting and suc- 
cessful career out of her industrial and commer- 
cial institutions, in himself, Nathan D. Thatcher, 
of Thayer, Uinta county, Wyoming, owes noth- 
ing directly to the cultivated East, except its 
opportunities, which his ancestors utilized for 
their advantage and for the benefit of the com- 
munities in which they lived. His life began at 
Logan, Utah, on October 3, 1867, his parents, 
John B. and Rachel (Davis) Thatcher, having 
crossed the plains from Ohio to Utah in 1847, 
being with the first expedition into that region, 
driving an ox team all of the way. After his ar- 
rival, the father was a clerk in the Z. C. M. I., 
and for a number of years he was its manager. 
He then removed to the Gentile Valley, of Idaho, 
now known as Thatcher, so named in his honor, 
where he is actively engaged in ranching, stock- 



growing and dairying. From the beginning of 
his residence in this part of the world, he has 
been prominent, looked upon as a leading citi- 
zen. He has served in the Legislature of Idaho, 
and in 1896 was there nominated for the office 
of lieutenant-governor. He has also served as 
assessor of Bannock county, in that state. In 
the Church of the Latter Day Saints he has been 
bishop of Thatcher, or of the Thatcher ward, as it 
was then called. When he lived there he was 
also bishop of Logan, being one of the first bish- 
ops. He was always progressive and enterpris- 
ing, seeing the need of school facilities in the 
Cache Valley, long ago he built a schoolhouse, 
one of the first in the valley, where he taught one 
of the first schools of that section. His parents 
were Hezekiah and Alley ('Kitchen) Thatcher, 
pioneers in Utah, and "forty-niners" in Califor- 
nia. Hezekiah Thatcher was very successful in 
his mining operations in that country, and in 
1856 returned to Logan and built the first grist 
mill and the first sawmill in his neighborhood, 
conducting them for years. He also organized 
the Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institute at 
Logan, and held its destinies in his hands from 
the beginning, breathing into it his own quicken- 
ing spirit and endowing it with his own vigor 
and activity. Nathan D. Thatcher was one of 
the eleven children born to his parents, of whom 
eight are now living. His mother was accident- 
ally killed in the Gentile Valley, and, after a time, 
his father married with her sister, Sarah Davis, 
and they had nine children. Nathan was educated 
in the public schools of Logan, and, after leaving 
school, he worked for his father for several years, 
then, in 1890, started a sheep industry for himself 
in Idaho. This he disposed of in 1895 and start- 
ed a dairy business at the same place, in 1901 dis- 
posing of this also, thence coming to Wyoming 
and locating at Thayne and building the cream- 
ery of that place, which has a capacity of 10,- 
000 pounds per day. He also purchased a mer- 
cantile establishment, which he has since been 
conducting, having a full line of general mer- 
chandise. Both of these enterprises have his 
careful attention and supervision, and both are 



94Q 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



prospering by reason of his judicious manage- 
ment. Mr. Thatcher yet owns a 200-acre farm 
in Idaho, and this, like all his other interests, is 
well cared for and highly developed. He has 
been very active in church work and takes great 
pleasure in it. He has filled a mission in Ken- 
tucky with success and has acceptably served 
as one of the presidents of the Seventy. On 
May 18, 1892, at Logan, Utah, was solemnized 
his marriage with Miss Rachel Folkman, native 
in that state, but, at the time of the marriage, re- 
siding in Idaho, being a daughter of Jeppe G. 
and Serena (Anderson) Folkman, and a niece 
of A. Anderson, a former mayor of Logan. Her 
father was born and reared in Denmark and her 
mother in Norway. Of their eleven children 
six are living. Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher have had 
six children. Those living are Nathan D., Jr:, 
Rachel H, Eulalia S., John K. and Reginald H. 
One son, Basil, died in infancy. In all the rela- 
tions of life Mr. Thatcher has borne himself 
above reproach and given an inspiring example 
to his fellow men, among whom he is held in high 
esteem, and over whom he wields an influence, 
which is constant and forceful for good. 

REUBEN M. TUTTLE. 

Prominent in business circles, valued in 
church councils, influential in political affairs, 
fortunate in worldly wealth, and ministering to 
the comfort of his fellows from a stock of mer- 
chandise that comprises the best of its kind, and 
is served with that cheerfulness and courtesy of 
manner which adds zest to its flavor, Reuben M. 
Tuttle of Jackson, Uinta county, Wyoming, has 
within him and around him all the elements of 
personal comfort, public esteem and approbation. 
He was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, on Febru- 
ary 7, 1870, a son of Elanson and Mary A. (Tay- 
lor) Tuttle, the former a native of Canada and 
the latter of England. The father came to Salt 
Lake City in 1849 an d the mother a year later. 
The father was a lumberman and both were 
prominent members of the Mormon church. He 
died in 1878, aged seventy-two years. She still 



lives at Salt Lake. They had five children, of 
whom Reuben was educated in the public schools 
supplemented by a year's attendance at the Salt 
Lake University.. After leaving school he was 
first employed as a range-rider in southern Utah, 
where he followed this occupation for eight 
years. He then became a solicitor and collector 
for the Fish Brewing Co., of Salt Lake City, 
traveling through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and 
Nevada. Early in the winter of 1902 he started 
. his present business enterprise in Jackson, by 
opening one of the most attractive sample rooms 
in that part of the state and catering to the taste 
of a large and exacting trade. By study of the 
wishes of his patrons and attending to the needs 
of his business, he has established himself firm- 
ly in the regard of a generous patronage, and 
has become one of the mercantile features of the 
town. He owns a great deal of property in the 
city and has contributed to its progress and im- 
provement in many ways. The building in which 
he conducts his business, which he built for the 
purpose, was the first brick structure erected in 
Jackson. He takes an active part in public af- 
fairs and aids by his counsel, and more substan- 
tial support, every enterprise for the good of the 
community. He was married at Salt Lake City, 
Utah, on November 2, 1891, with Miss Maria 
T. Wixcey, a native of that city and a daughter 
of John and Sarah J. (Thomas) Wixcey, natives 
of England and Wales respectively. They have 
one child, a son named Clyde R. Tuttle. Their 
pleasant home is a center of genial and bounte- 
ous hospitality, and the entire family is well es- 
teemed throughout the surrounding region in its 
social, church and business circles. 

THOMAS L. VAN NOY. 

Thomas L. Van Nov, of Thrane, Uinta coun- 
ty, Wyoming, now a prominent stockgrower and 
also the alert proprietor of a busy sawmill, was 
born at Richmond, Utah, on May 4, 1866, a son 
of W. T. and Agnes (Byrrell) Van Noy, the 
former a native of the Mississippi Valley and the 
latter of Scotland. They met and were married 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



941 



in Utah, having crossed the plains to that terri- 
tory in different years, the mother having been 
in one of the handcart trains and worked her 
way across on foot by helping to draw one of 
the carts. The father was a millwright of pro- 
gressive views and enterprising industry, who 
died in the state of his adoption, on March 2, 
1900, aged about seventy-eight years. His wife 
died there in 1878. Their son, Thomas, was the 
fourth of their eleven children, eight of whom 
are living. He received a common-school edu- 
cation of limited extent in his native state, and, as 
soon as he was old and large enough, he was 
put to work in his father's sawmill. Soon after 
this, while still in youthful years, he began busi- 
ness for himself by running a sawmill of his 
own in Idaho. He sold his interests in that ter- 
ritory in 1889, came to Wyoming, locating at 
what is now the town of Thayne, there building 
a store, which he conducted until 1902, when he 
sold it to N. D. Thatcher, of the Bedford Cream- 
ery Co. He then took up a homestead of 160 
acres, on which he now resides. From that time 
he has been developing this estate, bringing it to 
a high state of improvement and cultivation, and 
from it he has been conducting a prosperous cat- 
tle and sheep industry. He also runs a sawmill 
which is situated about two miles northerly of 
Thayne. His interest in local public affairs has 
been earnest and abiding, which has brought him 
into prominence as one of the leading thinkers 
and workers for the good of the community. 
He has served his people as a justice of the peace 
in civil affairs and in the Church of the Latter 
Day Saints he has been one of the most active 
and serviceable workers. For a number of years 
he was president of the Young Men's Mutual 
Improvement Association, and for eleven years 
the efficient superintendent of the Sunday-school 
at this place. He was married at Logan,Utah, 
on January 13, 1886, to Miss Martha T. Vail, 
a native of Idaho, a daughter of Isaac and The- 
resa A. (Beeler) Vail, the father born and reared 
in Illinois and the mother in Indiana. Mr. and 
Mrs. Van Noy have ten children, Thomas Loren, 
Bertha T., Florence Edna, Agnes Lavine, Zel- 



norah, Ora Elzada, John, Lettie, William Avon 
and James. Mr. Van Noy's father was three 
times married, first, to Miss Catherine Hen- 
dricks, by whom he had eleven children ; sec- 
ond, to Mr. Van Noy's mother, this marriage also 
being blessed with eleven children; after the 
death of these two wives occurred the third mar- 
riage with Miss 'Katy Bagley, and they had four 
children. Twenty-one of the twenty-six chil- 
dren of his father are living, making their way in 
the world in various lines of activity, exempli- 
fying in their daily walk the lessons of thrift, 
industry and integrity they learned at the pater- 
nal fireside. 

JAMES M. TOLMAN. 

James M. Tolman, of near Otto, Wyoming, 
is one of the prosperous and progressive stock- 
men and farmers of Bighorn county, and a prom- 
inent and successful worker in the Church of 
the Latter Day Saints. He was born in Utah, 
on November 18, 1855, the son of Cyrus and 
Margaret E. (Utley) Tolman. His father came 
to Utah with the first train of Mormon emi- 
grants in 1847, one °f the first Argonauts of that 
most wonderful religious movement, which 
swarmed the vast desert wastes of the Inter- 
Mountain region with a productive host of in- 
dustrious and religious citizens, and soon attained 
to prominence and influence in the councils of 
the church. He carried on a profitable farming 
and stockgrowing industry for a number of years 
in Utah, then removed to Idaho, where he died 
in 1902, at the time of his death being a church 
patriarch, and ever a venerated leader in all 
church affairs. Both he and his wife were na- 
tives of Maine. In his native state of Utah James 
M. Tolman grew to manhood and was educated. 
There, too, he began the business of life on 
his own account, mining and farming for a num- 
ber of years within its limits, then, in 1887, mov- 
ing to Uinta county, Wyoming. This state has 
since been his home, among her people he has 
lived, among them labored with, assiduous energy 
and industry, carrying on at the same time his 



942 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



own private business as an enterprising and pro- 
gressive farmer and stockbreeder, except during 
an absence of several years while he was on a 
church mission to Oregon and Washington. In 
1901 he sold his interests in Uinta county and 
moved to the Bighorn basin, purchasing there 
seventy acres of excellent and highly improved 
land near Otto, on which he. has since made his 
home. His stock and farming business is well- 
managed and prosperous ; the church affairs of 
this neighborhood, which are largely in his 
charge, are flourishing, expanding with gratify- 
ing steadiness and vitality. He is a high priest in 
the church and the superintendent of the Sunday- 
school at Otto. In 1 891 he married in Utah with 
Miss Maggie Erickson, a native of Denmark, 
who came to the Mormon state when she was 
young. They have seven children, Myra, Beat- 
rice, Warren, Clementine, Emery, Laura and 
Foster. Wherever Mr. Tolman has lived he has 
made warm friendships and won public esteem, 
and at every change of residence he has left be- 
hind him the memory of time well-spent in the 
service of his fellows, being possessed of genial, 
courteous, entertaining -and stimulating compan- 
ionship, and also being a high example in self- 
denial, reliability and devotion to dutv. 

WILLIAM VAN PATTEN. 

Descended from old Colonial families, who 
brought to the New World from their native 
Netherlands the enterprise, love of liberty and 
progressive ideas of that favored and freedom- 
loving land, William Van Patten, now a prom- 
inent and resourceful stockman and farmer, liv- 
ing about three and one-half miles north of Lan- 
der, has every incentive in the lessons and exam- 
ples of his ancestry for the best citizenship, and 
he has exemplified in his own career the qualities 
of self-reliance, elevated manhood and produc- 
tive energy for which they were distinguished. 
He was born in Peoria county, Illinois, in 1849, 
a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Collins) Van 
Patten, the former a native of New York and the 
latter of Kentucky. The father was a successful 



farmer and stockraiser, who died in i860, aged 
thirty-eight years. The mother is yet living in 
Illinois. Both the Van Patten and the Collins 
families have borne conspicuous parts in the 
civil and military history of the United States, 
members of the various generations fighting for 
the cause of their country in every war and dig- 
nifying with their ability and by their high char- 
acter the annals of public and private life in the 
quiet days of peace. Col. John B. Van Patten, 
the brave commander of a New York regiment, 
gained renown for gallantry in the Civil War, 
reflecting the luster of his bravery upon his 
nephew, William, and his other relatives, and 
a grand-uncle, Benjamin Collins, dared death in 
the hottest of the fight under General Jackson 
at New Orleans in the War of 1812. William 
Van Patten received only a limited education 
in the public schools of Illinois, being called early 
in life to take his share of the work on his fa- 
ther's farm, and soon after, in 1876, led by his 
ambition to do something for himself in the 
same line, he left the prairies of his native state 
and sought a foothold on the frontier in south- 
western Missouri, where he passed two years in 
following the vocation of the patriarchs of Holy 
Writ. From Missouri he removed to Colorado, 
where he worked in the stone quarries and 
freighted to Leadville until 1883. I" that y ear 
he came to Wyoming, and, locating at Lander, 
began farming and stockraising operations, fa- 
voring graded Durham, Herefords and Polled 
Angus in his breeds of cattle, and keeping his 
horses up to a high standard in breed. He also 
does freighting from Casper over the Rattle- 
snake Hills to Lander. His ranch consists of 
160 acres of the best meadow land in this fa- 
vored section, being also highly improved and 
skillfully cultivated. It yields abundant crops 
of cereals and hay and a prolific growth of gar- 
den vegetables. Mr. Van Patten is a man of 
liberal and progressive views, who gives an in- 
telligent and helpful attention to every public 
enterprise. He is an active member of Wind 
River Camp, Woodmen of the World, at Lan- 
der, and has been of great service in building up 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



943 



and popularizing the organization. On January 
24, 1873, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Margaretta Stetzler, a daughter of George and 
Mary (Root) Stetzler, natives of Pennsylvania 
and descendants of old Colonial families, who 
came over from England in the Mayflower in the 
Colonial period of our history. Her father, who 
was a skillful carpenter while in active business, 
is still living at Lander, having reached the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-five years. His wife died 
in Illinois, on January 25, 1877, aged sixty-seven. 
Six children have come to their marriage, of 
whom four died in infancy. Those living are 
Lulu Maude, wife of Charles Pease, of Fremont 
county, and Charles Veeder, who still resides 
under the paternal roof. Mr. Van Patten has 
been especially active in educational matters. 

A. L. VEITCH. 

We have had frequent occasion to speak of 
that Scotland has made to the Great West, men 
the valuable contributions of her very worthy sons 
whose intelligence, integrity, good morals and 
industry have been sterling factors in the build- 
ing of new communities, filling, as they usually 
do, places of mark in the professional, commer- 
cial and industrial departments of the states or 
territories where they have made their homes. 
One of these sturdy sons of "auld Scotia," who 
occupies a prominent place in the estimation of 
the citizens of the neighborhood and county of 
his residence, is A. L. Veitch, a native of Mid 
Lothian, Scotland, born on March 22, 1843, the 
son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Esplen) Veitch, 
both natives of Peebleshire, where their respect- 
ive families have long been engaged in farming. 
The subject of this sketch, the youngest of five 
children, had the usual life of a Scottish farmer 
lad. He attended school in the intervals of labor, 
early acquiring, from the strenuous life of agri- 
culture, a vigorous constitution and developing 
great powers of endurance. He was later en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits for some years in 
the vicinity of Edinburg and Leith, in 1870 emi- 
grating, and casting in his lot with America. 



Mercer county, Pa., was his first American resi- 
dence, and here he tarried four years, after which 
he proceeded to Boone county, Iowa, and there 
engaged successfully in farming for fifteen years, 
being prospered in his undertakings and winning 
many friends. During the excitement attending 
the great gold discoveries at Leadville, Colo., Mr. 
Veitch joined in the stampede thither, where he 
passed four years in mining operations. In 1889 
he sold his Iowa interests and for two years 
thereafter was located in South Dakota, thence 
coming, in 1891, to Wyoming, and, finding a good 
opportunity, engaged in stockraising, near Doug- 
las, there continuing for four years, when he re- 
moved to Natrona county,, and has since con- 
ducted there the raising of cattle of a superior 
quality, meeting with the good success naturally 
accruing to the diligent and industrious husband- 
man who conducts his operations with wise care 
and careful discrimination. His eligibly located 
and finely equipped ranch is situated nine miles 
east of Casper, and here he ranges an excellent 
herd of about 500 finely bred cattle. His suc- 
cessful labors are certain to result in even a much 
greater degree of prosperity than he now enjoys, 
as the success of this department of the state's 
greatest source of revenue is cumulative, year 
by year adding to the number of the magnificent 
animals running on the extensive range. Among 
his brother stockmen and associates, no one is 
held in higher regard. He has enjoyed the min- 
gled sorrows and blessings that come to a well- 
assorted and happy marriage union, for in 1870 
occurred the ceremony uniting him and Miss 
Agnes Mcintosh in wedlock. She is the daugh- 
ter of William Mcintosh, a well-to-do farmer of 
Forfarshire, Scotland, who still abides on the old 
homestead in his native land. Mr. and Mrs. Veitch 
have had these children : Andrew, deceased ; Ag- 
nes, deceased ; William, now engineer at the coal 
mines at Glenrock ; Robert, engaged in ranching 
near Casper ; Edith ; Mabel ; Inez. In all of the 
relationships of life, the family, the social and 
the civil, Mr. Veitch stands as an example of 
the highest type. Ever true to his convictions, he 
is a worthy member of the Republican political 



944 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



party and of the Presbyterian church. No one in 
a wide extent has the friendship of the people 
in a greater degree, while his hospitable home is 
a place of enjoyment for his numerous friends. 

FRANK H. VIRDEN. 

In the free, wild regions of the West a cer- 
tain lawlessness at times is prevalent, for here 
thieves, bandits and murderers have a wide range 
of uninhabited country in which to secure and 
form hiding places ; oftentimes thinking them- 
selves entirely safe from the hands of the law, 
and being correspondingly defiant and arrogant. 
It is well, then, that in such a country that the 
office of sheriff should be filled with men of 
great personal courage, untiring health and vig- 
orous constitutions, men who are as fearless as 
the criminals who would escape punishment, and 
as relentless in pursuit of them as a sleuthhound. 
Such a one is Frank H. Virden, who has, with 
great capability and firmness, filled the office of 
sheriff of Converse county, Wyoming, for two 
consecutive terms of two years each. He is cred- 
ited with the delivery of more cattlethieves at the 
state penitentiary than any other sheriff in the 
state, and he has been at all times uncompromis- 
ing in his pursuit of wrongdoers and a fearless 
official, ever being actuated by a just sense of 
the rights of the people and of his duty as 'a 
maintainer of law and order. On one occasion, 
he followed two horsethieves 400 miles, at last 
capturing them in Montana, returning alone with 
them, and making the trip of 800 miles in seven 
days and nights. In his official career, from 1892 
to 1896, he captured several murderers, his cour- 
age and keen detective ability rarely ever prov- 
ing at fault. These are but samples of his in- 
tense activity as a preserver and conserver of 
peace, and never had Converse county a more 
faithful, diligent or effective official. Air. Vir- 
den is a native of the state of Delaware, where 
he was born on February 22, 1864, the son of 
Joseph B. and Elizabeth F. (Rust) Virden, the 
father being the son of 'Mitchell Virden, and the 
mother the daughter of Peter Rust ; all being 



natives of Delaware, as were their ancestors from 
Colonial days, their predecessors generally pass- 
ing their lives in quiet agricultural pursuits, but 
being always law-abiding and law-preserving cit- 
izens. Peter Rust attained the patriarchal age 
of eighty-seven years, and many others of the 
family have been very old at their deaths. The 
father was always a resident of Delaware, pass- 
ing from earth in 1893, the father of eleven chil- 
dren. Frank H. Virden was the fifth child of 
the family, and, at the expiration of his school 
days, he served an apprenticeship of six years, 
but, coming to Wyoming in January, 1887, ne 
worked at ranching, first for wages; until 1891, 
when he started in business for himself by buy- 
ing an interest in Box Elder Park, and engaging 
in the raising of stock. Here he remained, suc- 
cessfully conducting his special line of husbandry, 
until 1 901, when, selling his property there, he 
purchased his present home, the Charles George 
ranch, situated fourteen miles west of Douglas, 
and here he is still conducting stockraising in an 
unpretentious way, Hereford cattle being his 
specialty, and of which breed he is running now 
about 200 head. His memories of Delaware were 
so pleasant, that, in 1896, he returned to that 
state on a visit, and, during his stay there, in De- 
cember, 1896, he wedded with Miss Sallie Black, 
a lady of culture, executive ability and grace, 
who returned with him to aid him in his life's 
activities. They have one child, Thomas Virden. 

PETER VANDERVOORT. 

Although a resident of Wyoming but little 
over a decade of years, Peter Vandervoort, now 
of Meeteetse, has been actively and serviceably 
connected with the growth and development of 
the portion of the state in which he has been 
living, and has added materially to its agricul- 
tural, commercial and social importance, by pre- 
cept and example stimulating its activities and 
turning them to new fields of operation. He 
was born at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on March 
15, 1867, his parents being Peter and Maria 
(La Grange) Vandervoort. When he was six 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



945 



years of age his parents became residents of 
Minnesota, nine years thereafter removing to 
South Dakota, where he reached man's estate 
and finished his education. In 1887 he sought 
an opportunity to make his own way in the world 
in a new territory and in a different vocation 
from that so long conducted by his father. For 
four years he lived in Montana, a portion of the 
time at Helena and the rest at Kalispell, and, 
in 1 89 1, he came to Wyoming, locating at once 
in the Bighorn basin near Otto. He raised there 
the first crop of grain ever grown on the Bur- 
lington Flat, having gradually prepared his land 
for it by judicious and careful attention. In 
1901 he sold his interests in that neighborhood 
and bought a ranch of 480 acres on Spring Creek 
from which as headquarters he runs fine herds 
of cattle, numbering at least 150 head, and be 
occasionally handles a number of horses. With- 
in the same year he opened a meat market at 
Meeteetse, and from that time forward he has 
steadily increased its trade and raised the stand- 
ard of its merchandise. He is also a one-half 
owner of the Vandervoort & Holliday livery and 
feed barn, one of the most popular establish- 
ments of its kind in this part of the county. For 
a number of years Mr. Vandervoort has been a 
valued and serviceable member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and he is a married man, 
the ceremony making him one occurring at Hel- 
ena, Mont., in 1890, when he wedded Miss Car- 
rie Clark, a native of Minnesota. Their family 
circle contains their two children, Murrell and 
Gladys, who add life and sunshine to their pleas- 
ant home, which is an attractive resort for mul- 
titudes of friends. 

HARVEY L. PERKINS. 

Harvey L. Perkins, Jr.. a leading citizen and 
prominent stockgrower and farmer of Bighorn 
county, with a fine ranch of 560 acres of excel- 
lent land and large bodies of stock near Otto, is 
altogether a product of the Northwest, and es- 
sentially a representative of its best elements of 
citizenship. He was born in Utah in 1858, was 



reared and educated in California, being mar- 
ried in Utah, while he has lived and labored in 
other states of this region. His whole life, so far, 
has been passed in the West, and all the inter- 
ests involved in his life's activities are centered 
in this section of the country. To no other por- 
tion does he directly owe anything for what he 
is or what he has accomplished. His parents are 
Harvey L. and Elizabeth (Parke) Perkins, a re- 
view of whose eventful lives will be found else- 
where in this work. His father was a native 
of Illinois and his mother of Missouri. When 
he was a year old they moved to California, there 
he grew to manhood and received his education, 
there also he began the battle of life by industri- 
ously laboring on a farm. In 1881 he proceeded 
to Idaho, and, locating land in Cassia county, set- 
tled down to the independent, but trying, life of 
a stockgrower and farmer. During his residence 
in that state he was a city marshal for two years, 
and for two years was a deputy sheriff and for 
two years sheriff of the county. In 1897 he closed 
out his interests in Idaho and came to Wyoming, 
locating in Bighorn county, on a portion of the 
land now included in his productive ranch of 560 
acres situated on Grey Bull River, in the neigh- 
borhood of Otto. Here he has dwelt since his 
arrival in the state, steadily engaged in improving 
his property, raising the land to an advanced state 
of fertility and productiveness, and carrying on 
a. large and prosperous stock business, in which 
he handles horses, cattle and sheep in considerable 
numbers, having usually about seventy-five cat- 
tle, nearly as many horses and some 6,000 sheep. 
His business is successfully managed, bringing 
him in large returns for his outlay of money 
and labor. But he is not wholly absorbed in it, 
nor fully satisfied with its revenues, as being 
the sole or chief object of his existence. He is a 
gentleman of public spirit, and is earnestly de- 
voted to the progress and improvement of his 
community, county and state, and, to secure their 
advancement and the promotion of their best in- 
terests, is one of the matters of high importance 
and chief concern with him. To every movement 
tending to their advantage he gives a cordial en- 
couragement, and his timely aid ; by his wisdom 



946 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



in counsel, his zeal and energy in action wherever 
the public interest is involved, as well as by his 
upright and useful life, high character and genial 
and accommodating disposition, he has won the 
warm regard and the full confidence of the people 
all around him and throughout the county. He 
was married in Utah in 1878 to Miss Victoria 
Parke, a native of Nevada. They have eight 
children, Ralph D., Andrew L., Ila M., Alice, 
Earl and Beryl (twins), Ella and Leona. 

JOHN B. WADE. 

A man of unbounded energy and conspicuous- 
ly connected with many exciting experiences in 
the early pioneer epoch of this state, John B. 
Wade, now a successful operator in horses and 
cattle, three miles west of Lucerne, Sweetwater 
county, Wyoming, is a man of whom much could 
be written. He was born in Springfield, 111., on 
January 7, 1842, a son of James A. and Sarah 
(Elliott) Wade, the father being a Virginian by 
birth and the mother a native of New York, they 
long conducting the hotel at Springfield, which 
was the boarding place of "Abe" Lincoln when 
he was a member of the Illinois Legislature. The 
father was a stirring member of society and a 
recruiting officer for the U. S. army in the time 
of the Mexican War, and accompanied Captain 
(afterward General) Grant in his service in Mex- 
ico. Mr. Wade removed with his family from 
Illinois to Utah in 1850, stopping at Fort Bridg- 
er, where they arrived on September 16. Here 
the father engaged in boring for oil, and, later, 
built the first house erected in Evanston. In 
1 85 1 he received the appointment of U. S. mar- 
shal of Utah, and, in connection with the duties 
of that office, conducted blacksmithing, which he 
carried on until his death at Evanston, in Sep- 
tember, 1881, he surviving his wife, who died 
in November, 1880. John B. Wade was thus 
early familiarized with pioneer life and received 
the education of the schools of Salt Lake City, 
studying during the winters and working in the 
summer months, early leaving school, however, 
to engage in the practical life everywhere sur- 
rounding him. He graphically relates that he 



was as a youth identified with the Indian trad- 
ing outfit of "Jim" Bridger and "Pike" Vascus, 
whose trading post was located at Bridger, and 
of his captivity by the Utes, who took him to 
Uinta, where for two years he was in their sole 
society, then escaping from them and returning 
to Bridger. Thereafter he was engaged with the 
pony express until 1861, riding the trail from 
Fort Laramie to Salt Lake City, making both 
the first and last trips of the company. In 1861, 
when the pony express was superseded by the 
stage line, for a short time he was a driver on 
the daily line, soon going to Salt Lake City, 
where he purchased the stock for the stage route 
from Camp Floyd to Virginia City, Nevada, for 
the California Pioneer Stage Co., thence going 
to Montana, in the fall of 1862, with a freighting 
outfit, and he was with the party who made the 
first discovery of gold in Alder Gulch. Continu- 
ing successful freighting operations for five 
years, in 1868 Mr. Wade returned to Wyoming, 
where he secured construction contracts on the 
line of the Union Pacific Railroad, his work in- 
cluding that portion of the road passing through 
the present town of Green River. He returned to 
Montana for the winter, then located in the stock 
industry on Henry's Fork, near Lone Tree, soon 
thereafter removing to Bear River, where he 
successfully followed the raising of horses and 
cattle until 1875, when he located at his pres- 
ent scene of operations, where he has since re- 
sided, being prospered in his undertakings, and 
owning 320 acres of valuable land, on which, he 
has placed good improvements, where he is run- 
ning fine herds of stock. Of the numerous thrill- 
ing adventures recounted by ;Mr. Wade, the fol- 
lowing are notable examples. The lone horse- 
back rides of the pony express service were 
fraught with constant danger and escapes from 
hostile Indians, the exciting experience of that 
historic Christmas morning when he was the 
guide of General Connor's troops to the bloody 
battle with the Indians on Bear River, and his 
arrival at Fort C. F. Smith, in 1863, a few hours 
after four companies of U. S. troops had there 
been killed by the savages. After a life of such 
excitement, the quiet life of peaceful ranching 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



947 



must be both restful and enjoyable. On Septem- 
ber 17, 1883, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Mr. Wade 
was joined in matrimony with Miss Carrie A. 
Adams, of Evanston, a daughter of Orson and 
Charlotte (Gingell) Adams, both of English line- 
age, the father's birth occurring in Virginia, while 
the mother was born in Australia. They have 
nine children : Oliver J., Grace, Edward J., 
Sarah May, Grover C, Ernest, Lucy, Ruth and 
Pearl. 

EDWARD JOHNSON. 

From the close and congested life of the man- 
ufacturing section of a great Eastern city to the 
wide freedom and congenial companionship of 
nature on the unbounded steppes of the great 
Northwest, from the incessant whirr of wheels 
and the monotonous rumbling of machinery to 
the placid scenes and harmonious voices of nat- 
ural life in the country, is a long distance in space 
and environment, but it is one that many have 
taken to their own advantage and comfort and 
also for the good of the country in which they 
have settled. Among the number of civilizing 
and productive forces that the older states have 
given to the new, and that the cities have given 
to rural life, none is more entitled to favorable 
consideration and extended mention than Ed- 
ward Johnson, of Horse Creek on Snake River, 
sixteen miles south of Jackson, in Uinta county, 
Wyoming. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., 
on July 4, 1849, a son °f Robert and Elizabeth 
(Butterworth) Johnson, the father a native of 
the same city and the mother of England. She 
died when he was but three years old, and. thus 
left to the care of his father, who was a busy 
wool manufacturer in Philadelphia, and whose 
health was not robust, he grew to the age of 
eighteen years with rather an irregular course of 
mental training, but with strong natural endow- 
ments and a keen perception of their proper use. 
In 1867 his father died and he was apprenticed 
to the trade of machinist, having previously com- 
pleted a course of instruction at Freeland Semi- 
nary, in his native state. In 1869 he came west, 
and, after spending a year at Fort Steele, as en- 
gineer in the U. S. quartermaster's department, 
59 



and another one at Fort Shaw, under Colonel 
Carlin, in the same capacity, he located in Wyo- 
ming, and has since been engaged in the stock 
industry. In 1898 he took up the farm of 160 
acres on which he now lives, and he has there 
developed a profitable business in raising grain 
and hay, and in producing superior breeds of 
stock. He has given himself up wholly to the 
enlargement and improvement of his enterprise, 
and is realizing the legitimate fruits of his • dili- 
gence and devotion to business, his farm being 
a desirable property, well-improved with good 
buildings and other necessary equipments, well- 
located and brought to a high state of cultivation. 

LEWIS A. WEBB. 

A Wyoming pioneer of 1886, in which year 
he settled in what is now Johnson county, near 
the present town of Mayoworth, Lewis A. Webb 
has witnessed the transformation of this section 
from a wilderness into something like a garden 
and has contributed his due portion to bringing 
about the change. He first saw the light of this 
existence on November 22, 1851, in Louisiana, 
where his parents, John and Zada A. Webb, 
were" born and reared and were living at the 
time of his birth. When he was five years old 
they removed to Texas, and, there, in the course 
of time they died and were laid to rest. He 
was reared on a Texas farm, and, following the 
custom of the country, after he left school, he 
began the handling of cattle and horses, breed- 
ing and raising them for the Eastern markets. 
In 1886, induced by the prospects of the newer 
country with its wider and more varied range 
and less active competition, he came to Wyo- 
ming with a drove of horses, and located on 
Dutch Creek. After selling his horses he en- 
tered the employ of a stock company and worked 
faithfully for the corporation for two years, then 
bought cattle and again engaged in the stock bus- 
iness for himself, settling on a portion of the 
land which he now occupies. He now owns 740 
acres of land, with about 2,000 head of cattle. 
He has prospered in .his business, owing to his 



948 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



superior judgment and capacity in conducting it, 
and has become one of the substantial men of 
the county, having potency in more than one line 
of commercial and industrial activity, and finan- 
cial standing of weight and influence. He is a 
stockholder in the Stockgrowers' Bank of Buf- 
falo, Wyo., and has personal connection with 
other institutions of enterprise and usefulness. 
Mr. Webb married, in 1898, in Bighorn county, 
Wyo., with Miss Jeannette M. Mercer, a native 
of Oregon. They have two children, Zada M. 
and Anita. The head of the house is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, be- 
longing to Buffalo Lodge, No. 44, and in poli- 
tics is an ardent working Democrat. He has 
helped materially to raise the standard of cattle 
in his part of the state by breeding from thor- 
oughbred Herefords, giving to this line of activ- 
ity, as he does to every other, the best ener- 
gies of a mind well trained by experience. 

C. C. P. WEBEL. 

There is nothing more interesting in the 
whole range of human literature than the life 
history of a self-made man, who, by force of his 
native energies, tireless exertions, keen percep- 
tions, honesty of purpose and integrity of char- 
acter, united with every-day common sense and 
a resistless will, has attained a leading position 
in any one of the world's departments of profes- 
sional, industrial, political or commercial activi- 
ties. So, in collating the records of the sons 
of Wyoming, we find that the career of Mr. We- 
bel distinctly indicates what a potency his in- 
dustry and participation in the business affairs 
of the commonwealth have been exercising dur- 
ing all the years of his residence within her bor- 
ders. He was born in Pittsburg, Pa., on No- 
vember 29, 1852, the son of Philip and Katharine 
(Beerhauers) Webel, both of whom were born 
in Germany, descendants of ancient families of 
that great country. The father first came to 
America in 1836, and, during the war with Mex- 
ico, he gave valiant service as a captain under 
the celebrated Gen. Zacharv Tavlor. The war 



over, he returned to Germany, but, in 1849, ne 
again came to the New World, making his home 
in the city of Philadelphia, later removing to 
Pittsburg, there erecting a large brewery. .In 
1853 he practically retired from business, and, 
fixing his residence in Chicago, 111., resided there 
until his death. C. C. P. Webel, the second child 
in a family of five children, received the superior 
educational advantages of the Chicago schools, 
and, upon the close of his educational discipline, 
took his departure for the distant wilds of Wyo- 
ming, arriving at Cheyenne on May 2, 1878. His 
novitiate in the new business activities of the 
territory was as a range-rider, and, in 1879, he 
was employed by the Seawright Bros, in the same 
capacity, they having driven cattle from Oregon 
and Washington territory on two trips, the first 
trip being immediately subsequent to the great 
raid of the Bannock Indians, who had taken the 
warpath. Continuing in their service until 1882, 
Mr. Webel went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where, 
at the celebrated Eastman Commercial College 
he took a course of technical instruction in the 
laws of business and the principles and methods 
underlying a successful commercial career, and 
after his graduation, he returned to Cheyenne, ful- 
ly fortified and equipped in the ethics and knowl- 
edge of practical business, but he again entered 
the employment of the Seawright Bros., whose 
base of operations was on a ranch located on the 
Platte River, thirteen miles northwest of Cas- 
per. He did not long continue here, owing to his 
refusal to do some irregular branding, and he 
was thus taken from a vocation in which he 
might never have developed to the extent his 
present operations indicate, as, on his way to 
Cheyenne, he stopped at Fort Fetterman and 
purchased the mercantile house of E. Tillson & 
Co., and engaged in trade at that place, taking as 
his partner in the venture, H. Altaian, now of 
Cheyenne, thus forming the firm of Altman & 
Webel. which did a most prosperous business 
from the first. In 1884 Mr. Webel sold his in- 
terest to his partner and engaged in lumbering 
operations at Laramie Peak mills, at La Bonte, 
from the mills furnishing lumber under contract 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



949 



for the U. S. government for two years and mak- 
ing money. He then located on his present ranch 
on the Big Muddy Creek, thirteen miles from 
Casper, and here he now is the owner of 5,000 
acres of eligibly located land, much of it being 
under effective irrigation and has a fine herd of 
over 500 head of thoroughbred Hereford cattle. 
He continued the active supervision of its opera- 
tions until about ten years ago when he em- 
ployed others to relieve him of the care, practi- 
cally retiring from active business. Fortune had 
favored his earnest and well conceived efforts, 
the result being unexampled prosperity "from 
start to finish." In 1898 Mr. Webel, in associa- 
tion with his brother-in-law, G. W. Metcalf, en- 
gaged in merchandising in an extensive manner 
at Casper, forming the Webel Mercantile Co., of 
which Robert Taylor is now the president, G. 
W. Metcalf, secretary, and C. C. P. Webel, man- 
ager. In their elegant and capacious two-storied 
brick store they carry a stock of strictly first- 
class goods, equal to, if not superior to, that of anv 
other mercantile house in the state, and conduct 
a business of corresponding proportions. Mr. 
Webel is one of the pioneers of Casper, a member 
of the city government, and, to a great extent, 
the prominent personal factor in its progress and 
growth. He was the organizer of and is a large 
stockholder in the Saw Creek Land & Live Stock 
Co., of which he is the treasurer, the company 
owning a suitably improved ranch of several 
thousand acres, with a magnificent range, on 
which they are running from 15,000 to 20,000 
sheep. On January 14, 1868, Mr. Webel was 
united in matrimony with Miss Louie Bayer, 
of . Wittenberg, Germany. Their children are 
Susie and Charles C. P. Webel, Jr. Mr. Webel, 
as a citizen, fully exemplifies the characteristics 
so strongly shown in his business life and meth- 
ods, and heartily endorses and supports all meas- 
ures which he believes will eventuate in the bene- 
fit of the people, the community or the state, be- 
ing fraternally connected with the Masons, the 
Odd Fellows and the United Workmen. In this 
connection we will mention that, while residing 
in Chicago, at the time of the great fire of 1871, 



the store in which he was then employed shared 
the fate of the devoted city and was swept entire- 
ly away by the relentless torrent of fire that dev- 
astated the town. A short time later he was one 
of the organizers of the First Regiment of Illi- 
nois National Guards, one of the "crack" military 
organizations of America, holding in this the 
rank of lieutenant when he came west. 

JOHN WEBER. 

The German Fatherland has many creditable 
representatives in the New World, and, wherever 
found, they are noted for intelligence, thrift and 
enterprise. An honorable representative of this 
element is found in John Weber, the subject of 
this sketch, a man who has achieved success m 
civil life, and who, during the darkest period of 
the history of America, did loyal service for his 
adopted country as a soldier in the Southland. 
John Weber was born in the kingdom of Ba- 
varia, Germany, on June 17, 1839, the son of 
Adam and Catherine Weber. Adam Weber was 
a farmer in the Fatherland from childhood until 
his death. His son, John, was reared on the 
home place and early learned to appreciate the 
dignity and nobility of honest toil. He received 
a good education in the schools of his native 
place and assisted his father with the work of 
the farm until attaining his majority, when he 
came to the United States, reaching this country 
when the national atmosphere was rendered mur- 
ky by the approaching clouds of a great civil 
war. Landing in New York harbor in 1861, Mr. 
Weber made his way to Rochester, N. Y., where 
he remained variously employed until 1864, when 
he enlisted in Co. C, Fourteenth U. S. Infantry, 
with which organization he served until the close 
of the Civil War in the Army of the Potomac. 
In the regular army he served by successive re- 
enlistments until 1 88 1, spending the last five 
years of his military experience as a member of 
the Fifth U. S. Cavalry. During the interim 
between the close of the war and the expiration 
of his last enlistment, his command traversed va- 
rious parts of the West and saw much active 



95° 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



service. His troop of cavalry was transferred 
to Fort Russell, Wyo., in 1876, thence to Fort 
Laramie, at which place he received his discharge 
five years later. On quitting the service, in 1881, 
Mr. Weber took up a ranch, situated three miles 
to the east of Fort Laramie, on the Platte River, 
and turned his attention to cattleraising. He 
remained in that locality until 1888, when he 
moved to the ranch, five miles further to the 
east, which he has since owned and on which he 
now lives. Coming to Laramie county in a 
comparatively early day, Mr. Weber had a fine 
opportunity to make a judicious selection of 
land, and that he was guided by excellent judg- 
ment in his final choice, is attested by the splen- 
did location of his ranch, it being in one of the 
finest valleys and richest grazing belts in this 
part of the state. He has made a number of val- 
uable improvements on his place in the way of 
buildings, and now has a comfortable and at- 
tractive home, abundantly supplied with the com- 
forts and conveniences calculated to make ranch 
life pleasant and agreeable. From a moderate be- 
ginning, he has gradually added to his stock, and, 
by judicious purchase, as well as by sound judg- 
ment in his sales, he has met with a success such 
as few attain. Mr. Weber devotes his attention 
exclusively to cattle and horses, and is consid- 
ered an authority on all matters pertaining to 
their raising. He is an excellent judge of these 
animals, and freely imparts his knowledge for the 
benefit of others engaged in the same business, 
which he has so long and so successfully fol- 
lowed. Ranking with the leading stockmen of 
his section, he has done much to promote the in- 
dustry in Laramie county, while in many other 
ways, he has contributed to the development and 
prosperity of this part of Wyoming. Enter- 
prising and public spirited, he takes an active 
interest in county affairs, using his influence and 
means to further any legitimate movement hav- 
ing for its object the general good of the country 
and the improvement of the people, socially or 
morally. He is a true American citizen, having- 
the best interests of his adopted country at heart. 
as was demonstrated by his long period of severe 



military service. Mr. Weber married in Rochester, 
N. Y., on September 2, 1862, with Miss Mary 
Trimmel, a native of Germany and a daughter 
of Michael and Elizabeth (Flory) Trimmel. 
These parents came to America in 1849 and set- 
tled in the western part of Canada, where Mr. 
Trimmel followed agricultural pursuits until his 
death. Mrs. Weber was young when brought to 
the New World and spent the greater part of her 
single life in Canada. She possesses many ex- 
cellent qualities of head and heart, is well versed 
in matters of business, and has ably cooperated 
with her husband in carrying on the industry in 
which he is now engaged. Not a little of his 
success is due to her wise counsel and judicious 
advice. She is a lady of beautiful character', and 
spared no pains to instil into the minds of her 
offspring those principles of rectitude, which bore 
fruit in correct lives and exemplary conduct. 
This worthy married pair have had seven chil- 
dren, Mrs. Elizabeth Hauser ; Mrs. Amelia Ouin- 
lan ; Mrs. Mary Cook ; John, who died on Feb- 
ruary 24, 1901, at the age of thirty-three years; 
Mrs. Catherine Barnes ; Jacob ; Margaret, now 
the wife of William F. Lawyer. Mr. Weber and 
family .subscribe to the Catholic faith and are 
devoted members of the church. 



JOHN H. WARD. 

Among the energetic, prosperous and public 
spirited citizens of Cumberland, Uinta county, 
Wyoming, stands out conspicuously John H. 
Ward. He has won prosperity by his own ef- 
forts and has acquired a large following of per- 
sonal friends, being also a self-made man, whose 
counsel and advice are often sought, not only in 
the everyday business transactions and opera- 
tions of life, but in society and political circles 
as well, he having shown a clear insight into pub- 
lic matters of a local nature, a fertility of re- 
search in the devising of ways and means to ac- 
complish symmetrical results and having held 
most capably offices of distinct trust and re- 
sponsibility. Mr. Ward is a native of Iowa, hav- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



95i 



ing been born in Allamakee county, on April 5, 
1857, a son of John and Annie D. (O'Donnell) 
Ward, natives of Ireland, who emigrated from 
that country in 1854, eventually making their 
home in Iowa, still later removing to Dakota, 
where occurred both of their deaths, that of the 
mother on December 25, 1898, and that of the 
father in 1899, when he was sixty-nine years of 
age. During the dark days of the Civil War, 
John Ward showed his patriotic loyalty to his 
adopted country by gallant service in the Union 
army as a member of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, 
while, subsequently to this, he engaged with his 
old-time bravery in contest against the hostile 
Indians of the West. After an attendance at the 
common schools of Iowa Mr. Ward engaged In 
railroad construction work, finally becoming a suc- 
cessful contractor in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyo- 
ming and Idaho, his advent in Wyoming occurring 
in 1880. In 1886 he was a resident of Uinta coun- 
ty, where his bold and fearless character, and other 
marked qualifications for the position, attracted 
such attention that he was nominated and elected 
to the responsible office of sheriff, holding this 
by successive reelections for the unusually long 
term of fourteen years. During this period, and 
since, he has been an active factor in all public 
matters, his advice being often sought and 
followed. At the conclusion of his duties as sher- 
iff,' Mr. Ward located at Cumberland, and en- 
gaged in the saloon business, which he is now 
successfully conducting. He has valuable real- 
estate interests in Evanston, his former home, 
including the opera house and a fine residence 
of modern architecture arid improvements. He 
is also fraternally connected in Evanston with the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen and with 
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Salt 
Lake City. The rites of holy matrimony were 
consummated between Mr. Ward and Miss Mar- 
garet Byrne at Evanston, Wyo., on January 17, 
1888. Her father was James Byrne and both of 
her parents were natives of the Emerald Isle. 
Their only child, Bernard, died in Evanston at 
the age of six years. Since he left home at 
thirteen years of age Mr. Ward has traveled 



in all of the western states and in British Colum- 
bia and Mexico, meeting many adventures and 
some thrilling experiences. 

THOMAS GUNSTON. 

Living in retirement from the active pursuits 
of life in peace with all mankind on his beautiful 
ranch in the picturesque and fertile section of 
Wyoming, through which the Lone Tree Creek 
winds its doubling course, owning there some 
1,200 acres of fine land, besides having under 
lease from the Union Pacific Railroad several 
thousand more, Thomas Gunston is secure from 
the frowns of fortune, well established in the high 
regard of his fellow men to whose advancement 
in moral, intellectual and material lines he has 
essentially contributed by his busy and useful ca- 
reer. His home is twenty-five miles west of 
Cheyenne, its location and attractive natural fea- 
tures make it a popular resort for tourists, and he 
is now associated with? Eastern capitalists and 
friends in an enterprise for the erection of suit- 
able accommodations for the large number of 
people who seek the inviting shades of his es- 
tablishment in summer. He is a native of Wilt- 
shire, England, where he was born on April 7, 
1850,, the son of Matthew and Mary A. (Hill) 
Gunston, also natives of that place. His father, 
the manager of a large estate in Wiltshire, re- 
mained there until his death in 1868. The mother 
is still living at the advanced age of ninety-two 
years, and yet resides in the house in which she 
was born. In Wiltshire Mr. Gunston grew to 
manhood and received his early education, re- 
maining at home until he was nineteen, then, 
hearkening to the voice within him demanding 
larger opportunities and greater freedom of 
movement, in 1869, he left the storied land of his 
birth and took up his abode in the United States. 
In Massachusetts he secured employment as en- 
gineer in a sawmill, and a year later a better posi- 
tion as engineer in a brickyard at Taunton. In 
the fall when the yards were closed, he went to 
Suffolk, Conn., and found work in the employ 
of a tobacco buyer until spring, then removed to 
Agawam, Mass., took a position as engineer on 



952 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



a steamboat running on the Connecticut River, 
but after two months of arduous work in this ca- 
pacity, he accidentally lost his right hand and 
was taken to a hospital in Boston for treatment, 
thereafter making his home with a friend, L. L. 
Whitman, until he was able to go to work again. 
He then went into the employ of Edward Waldo 
Emerson, a son of the great philosopher, Ralph 
Waldo Emerson, and passed the next two years 
at his home at Concord, Mass. During the suc- 
ceeding two years he conducted a farm for a 
friend on shares. In April, 1879, ne came to 
Wyoming in the service of Hay & Thomas, and 
worked for them at their Lone Tree ranch until 
the autumn of that year. Then, after a visit to 
his mother, four brothers and five sisters in his 
old home in England, he returned to Wyoming 
and secured a position in a government survey 
among the sand hills in the northwestern portion 
of Nebraska, where he had many thrilling expe- 
riences with Indians, bears and other wild ani- 
mals of the new country. From this time until 
the spring of 1886 he passed the summers and 
falls in Wyoming engaged in various occupations, 
now in merchandising,, now in cattleraismg, ship- 
ping also for different. firms, in the winter bask- 
ing in the smiles of cordial friendships in the 
Eastern cities. In 1886 he purchased and lo- 
cated on his present ranch, in July of that year re- 
ceiving a visit from his devoted friend, L. L. 
Whitman, of Springfield, Mass., who remained 
with him more than two months, and who had an 
impressive memorial of his arrival in Cheyenne 
by losing his valise and overcoat by the fire which 
destroyed the Union Pacific Hotel within two 
hours after he had registered as one of its guests. 
In 1887 Mr. Gunston bought out his partner, and, 
until 1893, divided his attention between farm- 
ing and cattleraising on the one hand, and ship- 
ping cattle to the Eastern markets on the other, 
but from 1893 until his retirement from active 
business he devoted his entire energy to cattle- 
raising and ranching operations, in which he was 
eminently successful. In 1902 he leased his ranch 
and gave up active business. On December 7, 
1887, Mr. Gunston was united in marriage with 
Miss Eleanor E. Fairley, a native of England 



of Scotch ancestry. Her maternal grandfather 
was heir by right of birth to a large Scottish es- 
tate and also to the title of Lord Lochinvar, Vis- 
count of Kenmore, but the estate and title were 
lost to the family before Miss Fairley's mother 
was born. It is said the income from the estate, 
£80 a day, goes into the Bank of England, having 
no one at present to claim it. But one of the Gun- 
ston children, Gordon Fairley Gunston, who bears 
the surnames of his mother and grandfather, in- 
tends to attempt to recover the estate when he 
becomes of age. Tne other child of this family 
is Edna Lenora Hattie Gunston. Their father 
and mother were married at Camp Copeland, 
near Braddqck, Penn., at Mrs. Gunston's father's 
homestead, which is a part of the bloody and his- 
toric battlefield of Fort Duquesne, where, in an- 
te-Revolutionary days, the British General Brad- 
dock was killed. Mrs. Gunston is a daughter of 
George Samuel and Fannie (Gordon) Fairley, na- 
tives of England. The father was long engaged 
in the iron business in Pennsylvania, dying there 
highly respected in 1898. Mr. Gunston is an ar- 
dent Republican but is not an active partisan and 
has never sought political preferment. He is an 
earnest, enterprising and progressive citizen, al- 
ways interested in the welfare of his section of 
the state and the good of his fellows. The family 
are zealous members of the Episcopal church, 
prominent in every good work in church circles. 

FRED COOK. 

For many years an industrious and a hard- 
working miner in the mines of the old and the 
new world, and now the popular restaurant keep- 
er of Fossil, Wyoming, Mr. Fred Cook has wit- 
nessed many experiences and changes in the less 
than half-a-century of his existence. He was 
born in South Wales, Great Britain, in the year 
1855, the son of George and Jane (Painter) 
Cook. The father was born in South Wales in 
T826. and, after a more than superficial educa- 
tion, he became a foreman on the line of the Lon- 
don & Great Western Railway of England, and 
is now living a retired life, passing the close of 
an eminently useful life at his residence at New- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



953 



bridge in South Wales,, being now seventy-seven 
years of age. Family tradition gives his descent 
from the celebrated Captain Cook, whose trag- 
ical death in the Hawaiian Islands is a matter of 
historic note. The paternal grandfather of 'Fred 
Cook was Archibald Cook, also of South Wales. 
Mrs. Jane (Painter) Cook was born in the same 
romantic portion of the British Isles in 1826, a 
daughter of George and Jane Painter, who were 
progressive agriculturists, by their thrift and in- 
dustry acquiring a fortune. She is now living 
in 'the eventide of a charming life of domestic 
virtues and christian activity as a leading work- 
er of the Baptist church. Fred Cook passed his 
boyhood and youth in his native country, where 
the prevailing industry is the mining operations 
connected with the extensive coal mines of that 
section, and where these offer flattering promises 
of remuneration to aspiring and energetic youth. 
Is it not strange that at the age of seventeen Fred 
was obtaining fair pay for a man's work in the 
mines. He continued to be thus employed until 
he had arrived at the age of twenty years, when 
he carried into effect a plan, that he had long been 
contemplating, by bidding farewell to the home 
and friends of his youth and crossing the Atlan- 
tic to the land of mightier possibilities on its west- 
ern shores. Three years of interesting activity 
then came to him in the coal mines of Pennsyl- 
vania, and, subsequently to this labor, he took 
"Westward Ho !" for his motto, and, making 
Wyoming the objective point of his journey, he 
terminated it at Almy. Here he was successfully 
identified with mining for three more years, in 
1887 changing entirely the nature of his industrial 
activities by locating on homestead and desert 
claims in the neighborhood of Fossil, his present 
postofBce address. Here the years have come 
and gone with ever increasing prosperous condi- 
tions and here a fine herd of blooded cattle are 
ranging under Mr. Cook's brand, while, in con- 
nection therewith, he has recently established a 
much needed institution in the way of a restau- 
rant at Fossil, where he is receiving a steadily 
increasing patronage and is manifesting the qual- 
ities of an excellent caterer. All public and local 
matters of importance to the community find in 



Mr. Cook an earnest champion and his interest in 
the success of his political party is evidenced by 
his earnest labors in its behalf. In 1877 Mr. Cook 
was united in marriage with Miss Jane Davis, 
a daughter of William and Mary (Brown) Da- 
vis, who are now living in South Wales,, where 
Mrs. Cook was born and where her marriage was 
celebrated. Their children are Elizabeth, Mary, 
Catherine, Gwendoline and George, who died in 
Wales, and Christopher and Clara, both of whom 
died in Pennsylvania, where they are buried. As 
a typical representative of sterling characteristics 
of both his native and his adopted lands, Mr. Cook 
stands out preeminent, being one of whom his 
best friends, and those who have known him the 
most intimately, have words of praise for his 
qualities of head and heart and his progress in 
enterprise. 

JOHN WERLIN. 

The subject of this sketch is a prominent 
ranch and stockman, whose residence is at Dal- 
las, in Fremont county, Wyoming. He is a na- 
tive of the state of Illinois, having been born in 
Will county, in that state, on September 27, 
1844, being the son of Antony P. and Mary Wer- 
lin, both natives of Switzerland, who were among 
the pioneers of the Mississippi Valley. He was 
the fourth of a family of eight children, of whom 
five are still living. Growing to manhood in his 
native state of Illinois, he received his education 
in the public schools of that commonwealth, and, 
upon the completion of his education -he learned 
the trade of harnessmaker, and followed that oc- 
cupation in the city of Chicago. At the time 
of the breaking out of the Civil War, he entered 
the service as an artisan and followed his trade 
during the four years of the contest. At the close 
of the war he located in Joliet, 111., and there 
engaged in his former pursuit and also engaged 
in contracting for stone on the canals then in 
process of construction. Subsequently, he dis- 
posed of his business -interests in Joliet and re- 
moved his residence to the city of St. Louis, Mo., 
where he remained until the spring of 1868. At 
that time he went to the newly discovered placer 



954 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



mines of Montana, and, for a time, was engaged 
in mining and freighting at different places in 
that territory. He had mining interests at German 
Gulch, Last Chance Gulch and French Gulch and 
at Silver Bow Junction. In 1870 he bought and 
sold cattle and entered upon freighting operations 
between Fort Benton at the head of navigation 
on the Missouri River, Montana and Last Chance 
Gulch, where the city of Helena is now located. 
He continued in this business with considerable 
success until 1875, then came to the territory of 
Wyoming, where he continued in freighting, and, 
in 1877, located the place which has since then 
been his place of residence. Here he engaged 
in ranching and stockgrowing, in which opera- 
tions he has remained up to the present time 
(1903.) He is interested quite extensively in 
cattle, horses and sheep and has met with marked 
success, being now the owner of a fine herd of 
graded Hereford cattle, and holding large tracts 
of land under lease from the state in addition to 
his own extensive holdings. He is one of the 
owners of the First National Bank of Lander, 
Wyo., and one of the representative property 
owners and business men of his section of the 
state. On September 22, 1877, Mr. Werlin was 
united in marriage with Miss Josephine Acker- 
man, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Jo- 
seph and Elizabeth Ackerman, natives of Al- 
sace. Their four children are, Josephine M., 
Louisa F., Helen and Florence A. Mrs. Werlin 
passed away from life on December 13, 1887, 
and was buried at Joliet, 111. She was a superior 
woman, deeply devoted to her husband and chil- 
dren, as well as to the charities of the community 
where she resided, and her loss was sincerely 
mourned, not only by the members of her im- 
mediate family, but by a large circle of friends 
and acquaintances. In addition to his other busi- 
ness interests Mr. Werlin is largely interested in 
the Diana mine, at Atlantic, Wyo., which prom- 
ises to become one of the most valuable mining 
properties in that section. Fraternally, he is af- 
filiated with the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men, being a member of the lodge at Green City, 
and takes an active part in the social and fra- 



ternal life of the community. He is held in high 
esteem by all classes of his fellow citizens, con- 
sidered as one of the leading business men. 

JOHN WESTON. 

We now make a record of the life and activ- 
ities of one of the unostentatious citizens of 
Uinta county, Wyoming, who has ever been an 
industrious, hard-working and valuable citizen of 
the communities of his residence, who is held in 
high esteem by his many friends and acquaint- 
ances as a man of correct life, sterling integrity 
and undeviating industry. John Weston was 
born in County Middlesex, England, in 1831, the 
son of Richard and Anna (Willis) Weston. His 
father pursued the quiet, uneventful life of a 
prosperous English farmer, until his death, and 
the mother is still residing on the old home- 
stead. Receiving slight advantages in an edu- 
cational direction, at the age of sixteen years Mr. 
Weston individually began business by learning 
brickmaking, engaging in this strenuous method 
of obtaining a livelihood until he came to this 
country in 1885. He had established a home 
of his own in 1869, when he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Rouse, daughter of Sam- 
uel Rouse, of Kirkbyfolly, England, and a wo- 
man of unusual mental and religious attributes, 
taking great delight in her domestic duties, and 
also being active and prominent in the various 
departments of the activities of her church, the 
Methodist, and a highly valued member of that 
religious denomination. She died on April 4, 
1883, aged thirty-seven years, and awaits the 
resurrection in the quiet rural cemetery of her 
English home. Her four children are Edward, 
Henrietta, Minnie and Anna. Mr. Weston on 
leaving England came directly to Almy and for 
the long period of thirteen years he was con- 
nected with mining at that place, four years ago, 
however, retiring and making his residence on 
his little ranch in the vicinity of the brisk and 
progressive town of Almy. Mr. Weston is a 
Republican in his political affiliations, but has 
never sought office. 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



955 



RICHARD WHALON. 

There are few who can more justly claim the 
proud American title of self-made man than the 
well-known subject of this review, who, at the 
tender age of twelve years, was thrown upon 
his own resources with a limited educational 
training, and no especial fitness or adaptation for 
the cares and responsibilities of life. He was 
industrious, determined, ambitious and resolute, 
however, and these, with other admirable quali- 
ties, stood him in stead of fortune, enabling him 
to overcome difficulties and obstacles in his path 
and work his way steadily upward to the plane 
where success places the laurel upon the vic- 
tor's brow. From early boyhood to the present 
time, his life has been replete with incident and 
adventure, and, were it put 'in permanent form 
upon the printed page, his career would make 
a volume of rare and absorbing interest. Rich- 
ard Whalon is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 
Carbon county in 1842, his parents being Rich- 
ard and Julia (Campion) Whalon, natives of 
Ireland, but for many years residents of Penn- 
sylvania, both dying in that state. By occupation 
the father was both a brick and a stonemason, and 
earned more than local repute as an efficient and 
successful workman and builder. As stated in 
the introductory lines. Richard Whalon was a 
the introductory lines, Richard Whalon was a 
mere lad when he started in the world to make 
courage him or to give him prestige, and, with 
no capital but a naturally bright mind, a strong 
wiil, a determined purpose and a laudable am- 
bition to make the most of his opportunities, he 
left the scenes of his childhood's home at the age 
of twelve years, then accepting the position of 
pantry boy on a coasting steamer, plying be- 
tween New York and ports of the southern coast 
states. After serving in this capacity for a pe- 
riod of five years, winning the confidence of his 
employers and the good will of all the • officers 
and hands aboard the vessel, he resigned his po- 
sition, and, returning to Pennsylvania, worked 
for two years in the coal mines. In 1861 he quit 
mining and went to Washington, D. C, where he 



engaged with the U. S. government as a team- 
ster, continuing to serve as such about three 
years, during the greater part of which time he 
was connected with the telegraph department. 
At the close of the Civil War Mr. Whalon re- 
turned to Pennsylvania, but did not long remain 
there, starting west in 1865, with Leavenworth, 
Kan., as his objective point. Reaching his des- 
tination in due time, he engaged as a teamster 
to freight goods across the plains to Denver, mak- 
ing his first through trip in the fall of 1866. Dur- 
ing the ensuing winter and spring, he remained 
in Denver, variously employed, and then began 
freighting to different points in the northern and 
western territories. In this way he spent two 
seasons, meeting with many interesting and thrill- 
ing experiences, proving himself an industri- 
ous, careful and faithful employe. Mr. Whalon 
brought his first load of freight to Fort Laramie 
in 1868, and he has practically made this section 
of country his base of operations ever since. For 
about nine years, he divided his time between 
freighting and cattleraising, and, at the end of 
that time, located permanently in the latter busi- 
ness. He resided on Chugwater Creek from 1868 
until 1877, and, in the latter year, brought his 
stock to his present ranch, which lies about ten 
miles northwest of Fort Laramie, and here he 
has been actively engaged in raising cattle and 
horses to the present time. His place, consist- 
ing of 500 acres of valuable grazing land, is ad- 
mirably situated for general stock purposes, con- 
taining a plentiful supply of water and an abund- 
ance of the luxuriant, nutritious grasses for which 
the valleys of this part of Wyoming have long 
been noted. Being the first actual settler in the 
valley, Mr. Whalon had the "pick and choice" 
of locations, and, after carefully examining the 
country, and comparing the merits and advant- 
ages of the different parts, he did not long hesi- 
tate in selecting, as the nucleus of his estate, a 
portion of the beautiful and finely situated tract, 
embraced within the limits of his present ranch. 
He made temporary improvements on the place 
long before settlers were permitted to locate in 
this part of the territory or the land opened to 



956 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



settlers, and was several times warned by the 
commandant at Fort Laramie to remove his be- 
longings and vacate the ranch. With a persistency- 
characteristic of the man. he refused to hearken 
to these preempting demands, but stayed on, fully 
cognizant of the fact that he was laying himself 
liable to arrest, or, at least, to forcible ejection, 
at the hands of the military. For some reason 
he was not molested, and, from that time to the 
present, he has remained in an undisputed pos- 
session, meanwhile complying with the legal re- 
quirements necessary to secure permanent right 
to the government land. During the first few 
years of his lonely life in the valley, he was fre- 
quently in danger of being driven out or mur- 
dered by the Indians, especially when the savages 
on the Chugwater tried to steal or run off his 
cattle. To protect himself and his stock from 
these marauders, he was obliged to hire a number 
of men to watch the ranch, and this, too, at no 
little expense, for several years elapsed before 
the valley was safe from these thieving and mur- 
derous incursions. In due time, however, the red- 
skins were driven to other parts, a tide of immi- 
gration set in and all available grazing lands 
were soon taken up by stockmen, who made per- 
manent settlements. Mr. Whalon is one of the 
most experienced cattlemen in the West, as his 
long and varied experience on the range abun- 
dantly proves. In the course of his experience 
he has traversed the greater part of nearly every 
western state and territory, coming into contact 
with all classes and conditions of people, and, by 
personal experience, learning all about the busi- 
ness that is practically worth knowing. His suc- 
cess since locating on his present place has been 
most marked, and today he is financially one of 
the strong and reliable stockmen of the Fort Lar- 
amie section, owning one of the best ranches iii 
the country, which he has abundantly stocked 
with the finest grades of cattle and horses. Not 
only has he been successful in stockraising, but 
in outside affairs he is considered ij the lead- 
ing men of his section, being recognized for his 
sound and far-seeing judgment and respected for 
his good character and sterling worth. Mr. 
Whalon is a splendid specimen of the intelligent. 



enterprising and progressive western men. In- 
heriting from his immediate ancestors the vivac- 
ity, generosity/ and the spirit of wit and humor, 
for which the Irish people have long been justly 
celebrated, he is the life of any company into 
which he may be thrown, and his personal popu- 
larity is only bounded by the limits beyond which 
his name is not familiar. Notwithstanding the 
numerous hardships and rough experiences 
through which he has passed, he is still strong, 
hardy and well-preserved, full of life and spirit, 
and makes his presence felt wherever he goes 
and among all people with whom he "mingles. In 
his relations with his fellow men, in business or 
otherwise, his dealings have been above the sus- 
picion of wrong and his name is synonymous 
with all that is honorable and upright in citizen- 
ship. The name is- also indelibly fixed in the 
geography of this part of Wyoming, "Whalon 
Canyon" having been so called in compliment to 
him, as was also "Whalon Station," a village on 
the railroad. Mr. Whalen reads much and keeps 
himself well informed upon the great questions 
now before the people, especially those relating 
to state and national legislation. From the be- 
ginning, his career has been a checkered one, and 
it forcibly illustrates what a boy, properly en- 
dowed, can accomplish in the face of obstacles 
calculated to discourage the strongest heart and 
most determined will. Throughout all Mr. 
Whalon has been directed and controlled by cor- 
rect principles, and his life, measured by the high- 
est standard of excellence, presents little to criti- 
cise and much to commend. There is nothing 
small or intolerant in his nature, for, belonging" 
to that class of men who believe politics to be a" 
matter of principle, and religion largely a mat- 
ter of conscience, he has little patience with 
the bigot, and is ever ready to accord to others 
the rights he claims for himself. He is appre- 
ciative of whatever is honorable in man, and rec- 
ognizes in every being, however humble, the 
spark of divinity which bespeaks a heavenly or- 
igin and a noble destiny. In closing this review, 
it is not too much to say for Mr. Whalon, that 
no man in his section of country has exerted a 
greater personal influence or enjoys a greater 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



957 



degree of popularity. He is eminently worthy of 
the success he has achieved, and of the high es- 
teem in which he is held. 

ANTHONY WILDE. 

Laramie county has its due complement of 
enterprising and progressive business men, prom- 
inent among whom is the skillful miner, success- 
ful stockraiser and representative citizen, whose 
name introduces this sketch. Anthony Wilde is 
a native of Pennsylvania, born in the city of 
Pittsburg on November 28, 1852. His parents 
wore John and Catherine F. Wilde, mention of 
whom may be found elsewhere in this volume in 
connection with the sketch of Joseph Wilde. Un- 
til fifteen years of age, Anthony remained with 
his parents, "meanwhile attending the public 
schools, in which he acquired a fair education. 
When fifteen he entered upon an apprenticeship 
to learn carriagemaking, and served his time at 
that trade in St. Paul, Minn., in due season be- 
coming an efficient and skillful workman. He 
followed his trade until he was twenty-three years 
old, while thus employed passing the last three 
years in Colorado, to which state he removed in 
1870. In 1873 he turned his attention to mining 
and to milling, following both vocations in Colo- 
rado until 1889, when he came to Wyoming and 
engaged in the live stock business on the Laramie 
River, near Fort Laramie. While looking .after 
his cattle interests, Mr. Wilde devoted a part of 
his time to mining at South Pass, where he lo- 
cated several valuable gold and silver producing 
properties, also making several trips to Colorado 
in behalf of his mineral interests in that state. 
Since 1891 he has been quite extensively engaged 
in mining in the Hartsville district, where he 
owns large gold, iron and copper claims, which 
he is rapidly developing with most encouraging 
prospects of rich returns at no far distant day. 
He employs a large number of men, who, under 
his experienced direction, are making substantial 
progress in what promises to be one of the most 
prolific mineral regions in this section of the state. 
Mr. Wilde took up his present ranch, which is 



situated eleven miles east of Wheatland, in 1896, 
and, in connection with mining, he is largely in- 
terested in the cattle industry, which has resulted 
greatly to his financial profit. He has a fine es- 
tate, containing many substantial improvements, 
and he has taken much interest in making his 
home beautiful and attractive in all of its ap- 
pointments. As a business man, he is shrewd 
and far-seeing, the success he has attained be- 
speaks the possession of sound judgment and 
ripe experience. As a citizen he is public spirited, 
using his influence in behalf of whatever tends 
to the material interest of his county and state, 
sparing no pains to promote the social and moral 
condition of the people of the community in which 
he resides. Mr. Wilde has been twice married, 
the first time, on June 19, 1876, with Miss Mary 
A. Harigan, of Missouri, who departed this life 
on September 26, 1897, leaving four children, 
William J., Maggie, Katie and Rosie. The sec- 
ond marriage was solemnized October 26, 1899, 
with Mrs. Luella Kinsey, of Iowa, daughter of 
James M. Adams, and they have one child, 
Louis A. 

SAMUEL T. WILSON. 

This prosperous, intelligent and highly es- 
teemed gentleman, is descended from old Mary- 
land and Kentucky families, long resident and 
prominent in those states and also valuable in 
their contributions to the history and progress 
of their people. He is a pioneer of 1882 in Wyo- 
ming, and has, on her soil, exhibited the same 
spirit of productive enterprise that his forefath- 
ers gave evidence of on the fertile lands of the 
older states in which they lived. He was born 
in Jackson county, Missouri, on March 27, 1847, 
the son of John and Margaret Wilson, the for- 
mer being a native of Maryland and the latter 
of Kentucky. His childhood and youth were 
passed at Independence, Mo., and in the schools 
of that city he received his academic education. 
He engaged in farming, after leaving school, and, 
after following this vocation a few years, opened 
a grocery, which he conducted with varying suc- 
cess until he was called upon to serve one of the 



958 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



leading banks as a clerk and bookkeeper. His close 
attention to whatever business "he had in hand, 
his superior capacity for any kind of business, 
gave him standing in the community, and he was 
appointed a deputy sheriff of the county, holding 
the position for four years. In 1882, having seen 
something of the cattle industry, and with clear 
vision perceiving the opportunities it afforded for 
profitable business employment, he organized the 
Wilson Cattle Co., and selected, as the base of 
its active operations, the ranch on which he now 
lives on Wood River, lying not far from Sun- 
shine postomce. For a number of years the com- 
pany flourished and carried on an extensive busi- 
ness. But the time came when it was deemed 
expedient to close its operations, as the members 
had other interests which claimed the major part 
of their attention, and Mr. Wilson bought the 
ranch and has continued the business on his own 
account. The ranch comprises a large area of ex- 
cellent land, which has been highly improved and 
thoroughly prepared with a complete equipment 
for the stock industry, and is one of the choice 
places for this purpose on the river. Mr. Wil- 
son's herds are made up mainly of well-bred 
Polled-Angus and Hereford cattle, and he zeal- 
ously labors by careful attention and breeding 
to elevate his standard year by year. In 1900 he 
settled his family on the ranch as a permanent 
residence, and since then it has been their home. 
Mr. Wilson has been prominent in the Masonic 
order for many years, and has also been known 
far and wide, within its boundaries, as an en- 
thusiastic devotee of the "mystic tie." He was 
married at Independence, Mo., in 1870, with 
Miss Nannie J. Stone, a native of that place. 
They have two children, John A. and Natalie, 
now Mrs. H. J. Robertson, Jr., of Kansas City. 

JAMES M. WRIGHT. 

The gentleman whom we now have the pleas- 
ure of reviewing in a brief record of himself and 
ancestry, is not only a representative stockman 
of Uinta county. Wyoming, but has the higher 
and far greater distinction of being one of the 



country's brave defenders in the great War of 
1861-1865, he being a valiant soldier and receiv- 
ing well-earned promotions in the field. He was 
born in 1832, in Rensselaer county, N. Y., the 
son of Chester and Alice (Mosher) Wright, the 
father, also a native of New York, following- 
there his trade of shoemaking until his death, 
in 1858, at the. age of sixty-two years. He was 
a son of Bernard Wright, also a New Yorker. 
A Democrat in political faith, he was often hon- 
ored by the people with offices of trust, and was 
a sterling citizen. His wife, who. died in 1855, 
aged fifty-eight, was a woman of deep religious 
principles and inculcated them in her every ac- 
tion in life, being a kind and loving mother and 
a general favorite of the people. James M. 
Wright was the youngest of the seven children 
of his parents, and, after availing himself of 
the public schools of his native county until he 
was sixteen, he commenced the activities of life 
on his own responsibility. In 1862 he was in 
La Salle county, 111., and his love of country 
caused him to enlist in Co. G, One Hundred and 
Fourth Illinois Infantry, and with its record of 
gallant bravery, and long years of marching, 
countermarching and fighting, he was closely 
connected until the close of the Civil War. He 
displayed the qualities of courage, coolness and 
intrepidity, and rose by his gallantry through 
successive promotions from the humble rank of 
private to that of first lieutenant. The record of 
his service is the calling of the roll of numerous 
and historic battlefields, but among others, we 
will specify his participation in the especially 
historic battles of Duck Creek, Chickamauga, 
Lookout Mountain and the long march of Sher- 
man from Atlanta to the sea, his military life 
having a fitting ending in the grand military re- 
view at Washington, succeeding the surrender 
of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Mr. Wright passed three 
years in Illinois after peace came to the people, 
then, in 1868, engaged in agriculture in Missouri 
for six years, then cultivated a Kansas farm in 
Kiowa county, thence coming to Wyoming in 
1880, here taking up both desert and homestead 
claims on Hams Fork, four miles north of Kem- 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WY0M1XG. 



959 



merer, being the pioneer settler of the district, 
and where he is now engaged in stockraising. A 
Republican in his political relations. Mr. Wright 
loyally supports the candidates of his party. His 
marriage to Miss Anice N. Robinson, a bright 
daughter of the Green Mountain state, was con- 
summated in 1855, and this union has been a 
most harmonious one, she being a valuable and 
cherished helpmeet, and extending to their nu- 
merous friends a truly western hospitality.. Their 
children are J. O., Walter C, Hattie J., Emma, 
Cora, and Eva and Olive, deceased. 

Z. WILSON. 

Z. Wilson, one of the most esteemed and 
most enterprising and progressive stockmen of 
the Bighorn basin of Wyoming, whose residence 
and excellent ranch of 200 acres is located not 
far from Bonanza, is a native of West Virginia, 
where he was born on February 25, 1863. His 
parents, Beckett and Nancy (Mason) Wilson, 
were natives of Pennsylvania, who removed to 
West Virginia early in their married life. They 
were prosperous farmers in their new home, and on 
the farm which they cultivated with success their 
son, the subject of this review, was reared, and 
in the schools of the vicinity he was educated. 
When he reached man's estate he engaged in the 
occupation followed for generations by his fore- 
fathers, at first in his native state, where he re- 
mained until 1887, then in the vicinity of Greeley, 
Colo., he carried on the same "pursuit until 189T. 
Deeming that Wyoming offered still better op- 
portunities for financial reinforcement in his en- 
terprise, in the year last named he came hither, 
acquired title to a home on her prolific soil by 
taking up the ranch which he now owns, which 
has been much improved by his assiduous and 
systematic labor. His stock now consists of cat- 
tle, horses and 1,000 sheep. All of these fine 
animals show the benfits of judicious care and 
attention and the wisdom of his good selection in 
breeding. He has also settled, in a measure at 
least, the oft-discussed and still moot question 
of whether sheep and cattle will thrive together, 



especially when horses are added to the prob- 
lem ; for all his stock are thriving and appear to 
be easily kept in good condition without unusual 
care on account of the combination. Mr. Wil- 
son was married in West Virginia in 1878 to a 
native of the state, Miss Margaret Parker. They 
have seven children, Permetes E., Mida, May, 
Ernest, Ina.,. Lester and another. The head of 
the family is a member of the Junior Order of 
American Mechanics, useful and much esteemed 
in the order. He is an enterprising citizen, pos- 
sessing good public spirit, with an intelligence to 
apply it for the benefit of the community and 
in aid of all movements for the advance of its 
people, among Avhom he stands high as a pro- 
gressive,, enterprising and representative man of 
broad views and excellent character. 

JOHN A. WYMER. 

That great beehive of industrial, agricultural 
and commercial activity, the commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania, has contributed to the develop- 
ment of the Northwest an element of thrift and 
diligent application, of resolute spirit and re- 
sourceful self-reliance, that has made its mark 
wherever it has settled and gone to work. To 
this element belongs John A. Wymer, a progres- 
sive and enterprising farmer and stockman lo- 
cated near Kearney, in Sheridan county, who 
was born in that great state in September, 1847. 
His parents, Josiah and Katherine (Lehnart) 
Wymer, were also natives of Pennsylvania and 
of German ancestry. When he was three years 
old they removed to Ohio and engaged in farm- 
ing on a fine farm in one of Ohio's fertile val- 
leys, where he grew to manhood, and, as he had 
the opportunity, he attended the district schools 
of his neighborhood. As soon as he was old 
enough, in 1864, he enlisted in the Union army 
as a member of Co. G, Fifty-first Ohio Infantry, 
and served to the end of the Civil War. • At its 
close lie returned home and, after a short stay 
there, came west to Iowa, where he remained 
until 1866, in that year going to Cass county, 
Missouri, where he engaged in farming until 



960 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



1871. He then removed to Boulder, Colo., 
and in that city conducted a livery business until 
1886, when he came to Wyoming as a member 
of the Colorado colony and settled in Sheridan 
county, there taking up homestead and desert 
claims, and he conducted a vigorous and profit- 
able farming and stock industry on this land 
until 1900. In that year he sold his ranch and 
bought the one on which he now lives, which 
comprises 280 acres of excellent land and is lo- 
cated on Piney Creek. Here he has a fine herd 
of superior cattle and is actively and success- 
fully engaged in a stock business of increasing 
volume and value. His well-improved and high- 
ly cultivated farm, and all the evidences of en- 
terprise, thrift and comfort about it, proclaim 
him to be both an excellent farmer and a thor- 
oughgoing business man ; while the public es- 
teem in which he is held shows that he is true 
to all the best elements of good American citizen- 
ship. He is active and zealous in behalf of the 
improvement of his county, giving to every en- 
terprise looking to this end his heart)* and sub- 
stantial support. In 1902 he was elected a jus- 
tice of the peace and is filling this important and 
trying office with general acceptability. Frater- 
nally, he is connected with the order of Freema- 
sons and gives serviceable attention to the affairs 
of his lodge. Air. Wymer was married in Colo- 
rado, in 1877, to Miss Estella Faro, a native of 
St.' Paul, Minn. She died in Sheridan county, 
Wyo., in 1894, leaving two children, Lula, now 
the wife of William Trasper of Butte, Mont., and 
Charles, who is living with his father. 

JOHN W. WRISINGER. 

A successful ranchman and stockgrower of 
Albany county, Wyoming, who is residing about 
two and one-half miles east of Laramie, is John 
W. Wrisingcr, the subject of this memoir. A 
native of Lawrence county, Indiana, he was born 
in 1851, and is the son of Francis Wrisingcr, his 
father being a native of the state of Ohio, and his 
mother, whose maiden name was Trader, having 
received her birth in the state of Maryland. His 



father, who was born at Dayton, Ohio, in 1828, 
was engaged in farming in his native state and 
he subsequently removed to Indiana, where he 
continued in the same pursuit up to 1859. In 
that year he disposed of his' farm and property 
and removed his residence to Missouri, where 
he established his home and still continued in 
the same calling. He was the son of John and 
Millie (Bunker) Wrisinger, the former a native 
of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. John 
Wrisinger, the grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch, was a pioneer farmer of Ohio, where 
he resided up to the time of his death, which 
occurred in 1879, at the age of eighty-four years. 
The grandmother also passed away from earth 
in the same state, in 1888, at the age of eighty- 
eight years. The mother of our subject died dur- 
ing his infancy, and was the daughter of John 
Trader and wife, oldtime farmers and respected 
citizens of the state of Maryland. She was the 
mother of three children, namely, George ; Ra- 
chel, deceased ; John W. Wrisinger, who grew -to 
manhood in Lawrence county, Ind., and there re- 
ceived his education, such as his limited oppor- 
tunities permitted in the public schools of the 
vicinity. At the age of fifteen years he was com- 
pelled by circumstances to leave school to com- 
mence to earn a livelihood. Leaving his home 
at Lawrence, he secured employment in driving 
a team and in lumbering on the Ohio river. He 
continued in this pursuit for thirteen years and 
then disposed of his property in Indiana and re- 
moved his residence to Missouri, where he en- 
gaged in farming and there remained, following 
that occupation for about three years, and, in the 
spring of 1880 he came with his family to Albany 
county, in the then territory of Wyoming. Here 
he purchased his present ranch property, situated 
about two and one-half miles east of Laramie, 
and engaged in the combined vocations of ranch- 
ing and stockraising, in which he has continued 
to operate until the present time. He has been 
successful in business and is one of the leading 
citizens of this section of the county. In 1877 Air. 
Wrisinger was united in the boh' bonds of wed- 
lock with Miss Julia Adams, a native of Ray 



PROGRESSIVE MEN 



OF WYOMIXG. 



961 



county, Mo., and a daughter of Giles and Eliza- 
beth (Copp) Adams, respected residents of that 
county. They have an adopted child, Leroy 
Wesley Wrisinger. The family are highly re- 
spected in the community where they maintain 
their home. Mr. Wrisinger has been elected as 
a justice of the peace by the favor of his fellow 
citizens, although against his own wishes, he 
preferring to devote his entire time to his busi- 
ness affairs. He is a public spirited citizen and 
has done much to promote the welfare of the 
county where he resides. 

WILLIAM O. YOUNG. 

This highly educated gentleman and now suc- 
cessful stockman, having his ranch home on Bear 
River, twenty miles south of Evanston, Uinta 
county, Wyoming, was born in Summit county, 
Utah, on August 14, 1861, a son of Hans O. 
and Henrietta G. (Homer) Young, natives of 
Norway, who came to the United States about 
1855 or 1856, and settled in Summit county, 
Utah, in i860, where Hans O. Young has since 
been engaged in mercantile trade, with the ex- 
ception of one year spent in Europe. Hans O. 
Young, beside being a successful merchant, has 
been a very prominent public man and office- 
holder ever since he came to America. He repre- 
sented Summit county in the State Legislature 
of Utah in 1894, and has also filled the offices of 
county assessor and collector. He stands very 
high in the Church of the Latter Day Saints, be- 
ing the bishop of Parlor's Park ward. His wife 
whom he married in Summit county, was also 
very active in the work of the church and died 
at Parlor's Park, Utah, on November 27, 1900, 
at the age of fifty-six years, her remains being 
interred at Salt Lake City. Among the children 
of the marriage of Hans O. Young and Henri- 
etta G. Homer are the following : 'William O., 
whose name opens this biography; John, who is 
deceased and was buried in Alder Gulch, Mont. ; 
Henrietta Marie, widow of D. C. McGlothin, of 
Park City, Utah; Minnie F., wife of William C. 
Wallace, also of Park City ; Andrew H., married, 



and now foreman of the Quincy mine ; Frederick 
L., married, and living in Butte, Mont. ; Pearl L., 
wife of F. H. Bird, assayer, of Park City, Utah. 
William O. Young received his elementary edu- 
cation in the public schools of Utah, and, later, 
took the- normal course at Ann Arbor at the 
University of Michigan. He then taught for five 
years in the public schools of Salt Lake City 
and he was likewise the city superintendent of 
schools, but failing health caused his retirement 
from these honorable, as well as onerous, posi- 
tions, and for the following sixteen years, he de- 
voted himself to merchandising in Park City. 
He then disposed of his mercantile interests,, and 
came to Uinta county, Wyo., in 1892, entered a 
tract of 160 acres of land from the government 
and also purchased 320 other acres and converted 
the entire 480 acres into a cattle ranch or range, 
on which he breeds and runs cattle and horses. 
Mr. Young is likewise largely interested in lead 
mining, owning stock in five mines on Duck' 
Creek, in Nevada, and in oil lands his interest 
covers 8,000 acres in Uinta county, Wyo. Will- 
iam O. Young was united in marriage in Park 
City, Utah, on October 14, 1883, with Miss Mary 
J. McAllister, daughter of Richard W. and Eliz- 
abeth (Bell) McAllister, both natives of Penn- 
sylvania, Richard W. being a son of Richard and 
Eliza McAllister. Of this felicitous union have 
been born seven children, Maimetta, William W., 
Wesley O., Erma E., Henrietta P., Minnie B. 
and Delia to grace the home circle. 

EDWARD S. MURRAY, M. D. 

The medical fraternity of Sweetwater county. 
Wyoming, is ably represented at Rock Springs 
by Edward S. Murray, M. D., who, though com- 
paratively a young man, has achieved distinction 
in the profession such as few attain. The Doctor 
is a native of Pennsylvania, a worthy descendant 
of two old and well-known families of that state. 
William A. Murray, his father, born in 1822, 
studied law and became one of the successful 
legal practitioners of the city in which he lived. 
After a prosperous professional career of some 



962 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



years he died in the prime of his physical and 
mental powers, departing this life in i860 at the 
early age of thirty-eight years. Ellen (Shoemak- 
er) Murray, wife of William A.Murray, Esq., and 
mother of Doctor Murray, was a daughter of 
Edward and Mary Shoemaker, her father being 
for many years a prominent real-estate dealer of 
Pennsylvania. His father, Samuel Shoemaker, 
was a son of the Samuel Shoemaker who was 
elected mayor of Philadelphia when the town was 
first incorporated, being the first and one of the 
ablest of the long line of distinguished men who 
have held that office. Edward Shoemaker lived 
to the age of eighty-seven, his wife dying when 
seventy-seven years old. The family is an old 
and an eminent and a distinguished one, very 
prominent in Catholic circles. Mrs. Murray, who 
is still living, makes her home in Rock Springs, 
being, like her ancestors, a devoted Catholic and 
deeply interested in religious and benevolent 
work. Doctor Murray was born in Pennsylvania 
in 1857 and received his literary education in St. 
Vincent College. Early deciding to make the 
medical profession his life work he began prepar- 
ing himself for it by a preliminary course of 
reading under the direction of competent in- 
structors, thus acquiring a solid technical and 
scientific foundation for his special collegiate 
medical and surgical instruction, which he re- 
ceived at a noted medical college, from which he 
was duly graduated with the class of 1885 as 
M. D. Soon after receiving" his degree he came 
to Rock Springs, Wyo., established himself as a 
physician and surgeon and has since practised 
his profession with most gratifying success, win- 
ning a conspicuous place in the confidence and es- 
teem of the public, a representative patronage 
and a reputation for skill and success in both the 
medical and surgical branches of the profession. 
Doctor Murray brought to his practice a mind 
well disciplined by intellectual and professional 
training and, studious and thoughtful, he keeps 
in close touch with the trend of modern profes- 
sional thought and never suffers himself to be- 
come absolute in any phase of his calling. He 
is familiar with the latest discoveries in both sur- 
gery and medical science, is proud of his pro- 



fession and aspires to be what every physician 
should become, a true healer of men. Though 
ranking with the leading physicians and surgeons 
in this section of the state, the Doctor is one of 
the most unassuming of men, making no osten- 
tatious display of his success or attainments. This 
becoming modesty has made him friends and 
among his patients are many of the best people 
of the town and adjacent country. Politically, 
Doctor Murray is a pronounced Democrat, and, 
while not a partisan in the sense in which the 
term is generally used, he has always manifested 
interest in political affairs, especially in questions 
and issues pertaining to state and national legis- 
lation. He was elected to the General Assembly 
in 1888 and served one term, making a creditable 
record as a legislator. He has no desire, how- 
ever, for public distinction or trust, or for the 
honors and emoluments of office, preferring to 
devote his time and attention to his profession 
and to be known simply as a loyal citizen. The 
Doctor belongs to the various medical societies 
of his county and state and is widely and favor- 
ably known among his professional brethren. He 
takes a pardonable pride in the growth and devel- 
opment of the thriving town of his residence, has 
faith in its future and lends his influence to all 
measures for the public good. Doctor Murray 
and Miss Louisa Miller, a daughter of William 
H. and Elizabeth (Scott) Miller, were united in 
the bonds of wedlock in 1890, the union being' 
blessed with five children, Josephine, Edward, 
Thomas, Louisa and Gertrude. Mrs. Murray 
was reared in Wyoming, and her father ■ was 
prominent among the pioneer settlers of the ter- 
ritory. Fraternally, the Doctor holds member 1 
ships in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, 
the Modern Woodmen and the United Workmen. 

WILLIAM McNEIL. 

\\ nerever the sturdy Scotch race has planted 
its unyielding foot and set up its family altars, 
there has been marked improvement and develop- 
ment. Natural resources have come forth at its 
command and given themselves up to the serv- 
ice of "man. Through its influence commercial 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



963 



and industrial enterprises have taken on new pow- 
er and multiplied their forces and their activi- 
ties. Fallow fields have flowered and fruited un- 
der their careful and vigorous husbandry, while 
moral, social and educational elements have com- 
mingled for the general weal. The beneficial in- 
fluence of this race is widespread and impressively 
felt in the development of our own country and 
none is so churlish as to deny the fact. Among 
the Scottish emigrants who have thus been of 
material service to the United States must be 
named William McNeil, of Glenrock, Converse 
county, Wyoming, who was born at Falkirk in 
the land of Scott and Burns on May 26, 1858. 
His parents were John and Charlotte (McGreg- 
or) McNeil, both Scotch by nativity, belonging 
,to families which had lived and flourished in 
Scotland from time immemorial. They were till- 
ers of the soil, with modest competencies, but 
large in spirit and in ambition. When William 
was twelve years old he came with his parents 
to the United States. They settled at Youngstown, 
Ohio, where the father engaged in mining, and, 
where, after a short time, William also was thus 
employed. His education was necessarily limited 
and it was almost completed in his native land. 
In the mines his progress was rapid and at the 
age of nineteen he was foreman. In 1877 he 
came west to Colorado, and, locating at Williams- 
burg, in Fremont county, he was made foreman 
for the Santa Fe Coal Co. Three years later his 
parents also came to Colorado and his father 
went to work in the mines. The parents re- 
mained at Williamsburg until their death, bur, 
after six years of service for the Santa Fe Coal 
Co.. William removed to Erie, in the same state, 
where, in company with his brothers, John and 
Charles, he sank a shaft and opened a coal mine, 
which they proceeded to develop and work pros- 
perously for a time when they sold it to good 
advantage. It was then early in the nineties, and, 
after the sale of the mine, Mr. McNeil accepted 
the position of superintendent of the United Coal 
Co., with headquarters at Williamsburg. This 
post he filled acceptably for six years, at the end 
of which time the company was reorganized, the 
name being changed to the Northern Coal Co. 



Mr. McNeil held the superintendency under the 
new organization for five years, then, desiring 
to engage in business for himself, he bought an in- 
terest in the Glenrock Coal Co., at Glenrock, in 
this state, and took charge of its affairs as general 
superintendent, a position which he has held con- 
tinuously since with credit and profit to himself 
and much to the advantage of the company. These 
mines were discovered and opened in 1885 and 
two years later the railroad was built past them, 
greatly facilitating shipments of the product and 
correspondingly multiplying the output. The 
vein is lignite, six feet wide,, and the mine has two 
stopes, one running down more than a mile, the 
last having been opened since Mr. McNeil took 
charge. The coal is a particularly fine domestic 
variety, holding a high rank in the market. A 
new tipple is being installed now (1902) by the 
company, and all that is new of merit in machin- 
ery is being added. Mr. McNeil's management 
has been signally vigorous and progressive, the 
results showing commensurate with the energy 
expended, both in volume and value. On July 3, 
1879, Mr. McNeil was united in marriage with 
Miss Marian Barnard, a native of Austintown, 
Ohio. They have four children : Charlotte Mc- 
Gregor, now wife of John Kalishow, of Glenrock ; 
John Patrick, a resident of Colorado ; Ellen and 
Margaret, living at home. Mr. McNeil is a Free- 
mason of high degree, having gone through both 
the York and the Scottish Rites. He has taken 
thirty-two degrees of the Mysteries, and is a noble 
of the Mystic Shrine. He is also #n Odd Fellow 
and a Knight of Pythias, and has filled the chairs 
of his lodge in both these orders. He takes an 
active interest in the affairs of the fraternities 
to which he belongs, and is an ardent Republican 
in politics. His worth has been speedily recog- 
nized in political circles wherever he has lived 
any length of time. He was mayor of Williams- 
burg, Colo., for three years and also served in 
the. city council of that town ; and, during his resi- 
dence in that state, he on several occasions repre- 
sented his county in the state convention of his 
party. While living at Aguilar he served two 
terms in the city council. Although his residence 
in Wyoming has been comparatively brief, he has 



964 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



been a delegate to both the county convention and 
to the state convention of his party, rendering- 
good service to his constituency in both. In busi- 
ness he is shrewd and capable, in social life gen- 
ial and companionable, and, physically, he is a 
fine specimen of the Scotch athlete, taking part 
many times in the Scottish games and winning 
a good share of triumphs therein. He is highly 
esteemed by all who know him. 

- ROBERT McPHILLAMEY. 

On a farm in Sullivan county, New York, not 
far from the border of that other great eastern 
state, Pennsylvania, the useful life whose salient 
points of interest are here recorded, began on 
October 8, 1842, and on tins farm Robert Mc- 
Phillamey passed through school days and up to 
the verge of maturity, when the clarion call to 
arms in defense of the Union in August, 1861, 
transferred him to other and more stirring scenes 
of action, and, during our awful Civil War, he 
was kept in continual and strenuous exertion in 
field and camp and on the march under the great 
commanders of the Army of the Potomac. He 
is the son of James and Margaret (Johnston) 
McPhillamey, the former Irish by nativity, the 
latter born and reared in New York. The family 
was essentially a part of the rural population of 
the section where it lived and throve, bravely 
bearing its lot in that department of the people 
who are thediope and salvation of every country 
in every crisis. Tbe father was a well-to-do 
farmer, who remained connected with tbe agricul- 
tural interests of his county until his death. The 
son had much the usual experiences of country 
boys in his class and neighborhood, he worked. 
on the farm and attended the public schools of the 
vicinity as he had opportunity. In August, 1861, 
when he was not yet nineteen, fired with the pa- 
triotic ardor which had always distinguished his 
people on both sides of the house, he enlisted as 
a member of the Oik- Hundred and Forty-third 
New York Infantry, and soon thereafter found 
himself in the Army of the Potomac, undergoing 
that: rigid discipline enforced by General McClel- 
lan. which made that department of Hie Union 



forces one of the greatest fighting bodies of men 
known to human history. He served through 
the war in the Department of the Potomac and 
saw all its hardships and its glory. And, while 
never wounded in the service, he was in all of the 
leading engagements of that army, conducting 
himself at all times and in all circumstances with 
manliness, brave endurance and gallantry in ac- 
tion. At the close of the contest he returned to 
his native state and entered the employ of the 
Erie Railroad, remaining in its service for two 
years. In 1867 he came to Kansas, from there 
drove cattle to Texas, returning at the end of 
his mission to Burlingame in the former state, 
where he located and where he devoted the next 
twenty-three years of his life to farming and rais- 
ing stock. He became well and widely known and 
rose to influence and consequence in that portion 
of the country. In addition to his farming and 
stock industry, he did a large amount of contract 
work on the Santa Fe Railroad in Kansas. In 
1890 he sold his interests in Kansas and came to 
northern Wyoming, where he engaged for two 
years in contract work on the Burlington Rail- 
road. Since then he has done a large amount of 
business as a contractor on roads, bridges, ditches 
and other local works of construction. In 1891 
he took up the ranch which he now occupies, situ- 
ated on Tongue River, ten miles north of Sheri- 
dan. This he at once arranged to irrigate and 
there started extensive improvements, with a view 
to making it his permanent home and the seat of a 
cattle industry which he has since been conducting 
with vigor and enterprise. He has also a desir- 
able residence at Sheridan, where he lives with 
his family a portion of the year. For the last few 
years he has given his entire time to his ranch and 
cattle industry, in this being associated with his 
son, Jesse, wdio also has an interest in the busi- 
ness. In politics Mr. McPhillamey is an unwav- 
ering Republican, throughout his mature life giv- 
ing a loyal and active support to the policies, prin- 
ciples and candidates of that party. In fraternal 
relations he is a Freemason, holding membership 
in the lodge at Sheridan. He was married on 
December 21, 1869, at Burlingame, Kan., to Miss 
Maggie Brock way, a native of Indiana. They 



PROGRESSIVE MEN OF WYOMING. 



05 



have six children living, Jesse, James, John W., 
Frederick G., Maggie and William. Another 
daughter, Grace, died on February 13, 1901. In 
all the relations of life Mr. McPhillamey has lived 
acceptably, and, wherever he has dwelt, he has 
won the unqualified esteem and confidence of his 
fellows. His influence has been potent for good 
in may ways, and his example should prove an in- 
citement to young men struggling on the road 
to prosperity, pregnant as it is with the lessons of 
duty faithfully performed. 

CALAMITY JANE. 

Calamity Jane was a noted female scout of the 
western frontier from 1870, her daring intre- 
pidity, her rapidity of movement and her deadly 
skill with firearms, as well as the qualities she 
displayed as a rider, causing the Indians to con- 
sider her as possessed of supernatural powers. 
She was given her doleful name in 1872, by Cap- 
tain Egan, then commander of the U. S. army 
post at Goose Creek, whose life she saved. The 
captain was shot in an Indian fight and was in 
danger of death, when the brave female scout ap- 
peared on her horse, shot the Indian nearest the 
captain, and, picking up the wounded and un- 
conscious officer, she placed him in front of her 
on the horse and carried him to the fort, unin- 
jured by the shots of the other hostiles. When 
Captain Egan learned of his rescue, he said to his 
preserver : "You are a good person to have 



around in time of calamity, and I now christen 
you Calamity Jane, the heroine of the plains." 
Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) tells this story, 
which we give to illustrate the character of this 
brave woman, who did so much for the safety of 
the whites in pioneer days. She was only fitted 
for a wild and adventurous life and closed her 
eyes in her last sleep in the summer of 1903." In 
1876 this bold and daring woman, by a most 
courageous action saved the lives of six passen- 
gers on a stagecoach traveling from Deadwood, 
S. D., to Wild Birch, in the Black Hills country. 
The stage was surrounded by Indians, and the 
driver, Jack McCaul, was wounded by an arrow. 
Although the other six passengers were men, not 
one of them had nerve enough to take the ribbons. 
Seeing the situation, Jane mounted the driver's 
seat without a moment's hesitation, and brought 
the stage safely and in good time to Wild Birch. 
Jack McCaul afterward recovered, and some time 
later, while in Deadwood,, he assassinated Wild 
Bill, one of Calamity Jane's best friends. The 
murder was a cold-blooded one, and it was the 
general opinion that lynching was only too mild 
for him. Calamity Jane was in the lead of the 
lynching party, and it was she who captured the' 
desperado. She had left her rifle at home, but 
with a butcher's cleaver she held him up, and a 
very few minutes later McCaul's body was 
swinging from a cottonwood tree and his soul 
had passed over the great divide." All old-timers 
cherish her memory, as well they may. 



SOI* 

It 



1 






I 



